【】
This recap contains spoilers for This Is Us Season 1, episode 11, titled "The Right Thing to Do."
It’s been a long break since the last episode. Remember when Toby keeled over at the end of the winter finale? Yeah, we hated when that happened.
Did Toby make it out of the cliffhanger alive? We'll get to that...
Daddy Issues
This week's installment starts with a flashback to teenage Jack: his dad is drunk and threatening his mom. Jack stands up to him until his dad leaves, and his mom makes Jack promise he’ll never be like his dad. Cut to Jack and Rebecca in bed, his hand on her pregnant belly, being generally adorable.
Then they’re looking at a new place to live, and Rebecca is worried they can’t afford it, but Jack reveals that he's put down the money for a security deposit anyway. It's only a two bedroom, though, since at this point, they think they're only expecting one kid.
We then see them at Dr. Scheider’s office and he tells them they’re having triplets. Cue their stunned faces and understandable concerns about raising three kids in a sixth floor walk-up with two bedrooms. But there's no way to get the security deposit back. Ruh-roh!
In the doctor’s lounge afterwards, Dr. Schneider tells Dr. K what he just told the young couple and Dr. K notes that triplets are tough, observing, “Glad they’re your patients and not mine.” FORESHADOWING.
In the present, Randall is feeling weird about his biological dad William being bisexual. Beth tells him to get to know Jesse (Denis O’Hare) and that might make him feel less weird. As usual, Beth is right. Randall tries to chat with Jesse the next time he comes over to meet William, but the conversation is awkward with a capital A. Oh well, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Awk-ward.Credit: NBCLove Heals
Meanwhile, Toby's alive! Kate is at the hospital with him, trying to get him to take it easy after his "heart attack."
He corrects her, noting that he actually has arrhythmia and that it doesn’t sound so awful. He's in the mood to canoodle while she's all business, trying to get him to eat something.
But wait, he's not out of the woods yet: The doctor tells Toby he has a hole between two chambers in his heart and recommends surgery. Toby says he’ll pass and would rather take medication. Kate disagrees vehemently, and tells him he’s being a child and an idiot if he doesn’t have the surgery. She leaves in a huff.
Luckily, she eventually convinces him to take the risk and in return, he declares his love for her before being wheeled into surgery -- unfortunately, she's so stunned, she doesn't say it back. We're poised for a surprise mid-episode heartbreaker, but thankfully, it doesn't come: Toby makes it out of surgery okay. Phew!
Post-surgery, Kate talks to an unconscious Toby and tells him the doctors told her it went well. She says she loves him too and admits that this is all scary for her. She says she wants to spend the rest of her life with him, if he’ll have her. Toby opens his eyes (of coursehe was awake) and says it would be better if she had a sexy nurse’s outfit on. He tells her he’d marry the hell out of her -- “This is just life trying to get in the way.” These two crazy kids are finally figuring things out!
If he's serious about that proposal, though, they're moving way too fast...
Mommy Issues
Back in the past, Rebecca has dinner with her mother, who’s played by Elizabeth Perkins! Mean Mom doesn’t think Jack can support Rebecca and 3 kids. Rebecca defends Jack, explaining he’s a construction foreman – not a handyman – and he’s doing well. Her mother asks what she’s going to do and you can smell the disapproval.
Later, Rebecca tells Jack her mother has offered to have them move in with her so they can save some money. Jack reminds Rebecca her mom drives her crazy, but Rebecca insists that she wants to try this out and give her mom a shot (mostly because she feels it's the best way to provide for the triplets when they're in such a precarious position financially). She asks Jack to go get her some ice cream so that she can have a sneaky cry about having to accept her mom's help in his absence. Jack forgets his wallet and goes back, overhearing her sobbing.
Hero that Jack is, he doesn't interrupt, just announces himself before leaving her to let it out. He's good at fixing things practically, not with words -- so instead of empty platitudes, he simply drives to his abusive dad’s house, takes his wedding ring off and tells pretends he's screwed his life up and needs money to pay off gambling debts.
Apparently his gem of a father is the type who wants to gloat at his son's failure and see him grovel, so Jack gives him the story he wants to hear. Dad harshly says Jack’s mother was bad at money too, and bad at everything else. Jack tells him his father was right – Jack’s never going to be good at anything. Did he get the money? We don't know, but after the encounter, Jack goes elsewhere and we see him get a wad of cash from someone – he sold his much loved Chevelle.
Bad News Blonde
Back in the present, Sloane and Kevin are rehearsing the play and it’s actually really good! The director even tells Kevin he thinks they can pull it off. Will wonders never cease?
Life imitating artCredit: NBCAnd then, like a bad penny, Olivia the disappearing actress shows up – just as Kevin and Sloane are getting into their groove. Now blonde, Olivia says she’s had an epiphany and wants to return to the play. Ugh.
Luckily, Kevin turns her down, telling her he’s keeping Sloane in the play. Olivia says, “What about us?” Kevin says he’s gonna keep dating Sloane because she’s nice and she treats him well and “sometimes you gotta do the right thing even though it’s not what you want.”
Predictably, Sloane overhears all of it. Kevin asks Sloane if she wants to go for a drink. She says she’s going to lay low tonight because “It’s the right thing to do.” Ouch!
Not That There’s Anything Wrong With That
Randall's obviously feeling a little threatened by William's relationship with Jesse and the trust William's placing in him, but when he's honest about his insecurities, William tells him the real reason he's been distancing himself from the family, and it's a heartbreaker.
William says he feels the cancer coming for him and Jesse has been helping him make arrangements, looking at nursing homes – William doesn’t want to put that on Randall’s family.
Randall reminds him that he's part of the family, and he'll never be a burden, telling William: “You’ve lived in this home, and you can die in it.” William says the meds are just making him feel sicker now. He wants to stop chemo treatments. They hold hands. Randall tells him “Everything’s gonna be okay. We’ll stop.”
Let’s pause here to blink away more tears.
And Babies Make Five
Back in the past, Jack takes Rebecca to an unfinished house and tells her he’s been working on it. Oh, and that he bought it.
She asks how he could afford it – he says he got a loan and sold the car. He starts pointing out the work he’ll get done before the babies arrive in six months, asking her to look past the mess and picture their life here.
She walks into the bedroom and envisions 3 cribs, Jack bathing kids in the bathroom, a life together blossoming before her eyes. Rebecca smiles blissfully when he asks what she thinks -- she sees it, alright.
It's a relief to end on a high note after such an emotional rollercoaster. Sorry, god of death:
Next week’s episode focuses on Dr. K (Gerald McRaney) and we’re warning you: it’s a gut buster.
This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on NBC.