There’s been a secret simmering since the very beginning of the season on This Is Us. In the pilot, we learned that Randall was adopted by the Pearson family after being left at a fire station by his father, William, who he tracked down. After finding out that William is dying of cancer, Randall invited him into his home in an attempt to form a bond with him. They've come a long way since then, but their relationship may be changed forever now that the big secret is out. That's right, Randall now knows that William and Rebecca were in contact on This Is Us, and he totally blew up Thanksgiving dinner when he found out.
The full extent of the secret is that Randall’s adoptive mom, Rebecca, and William actually met soon after the Pearsons adopted Randall and have been in light contact since. They agreed that it wouldn’t be good for Randall to know William, so he stayed away. I thought that Rebecca was going to have to explain all of this to Randall herself, as William slipped last week and confessed to Randall's wife, Beth, but that's not how it happened. Instead, Randall stumbled across a letter between the two of them when he went to William’s apartment to retrieve something for Thanksgiving. Oof. Randall came back to the house ready to confront his mother, and confront he did, right at the dinner table, telling William and Rebecca that they both robbed him of a chance to know his father while growing up.
No one left the dinner table happy, but there's one character I'm particularly curious about. What will Randall do if he finds out that Beth discovered the secret before he did, and kept quiet? She only knew for a few days, but according to both of them, there are “no secrets” in their marriage. I would hope that Randall understands, because she did everything in her power to get Rebecca to tell the truth, and Rebecca almost did, but Randall may take out his frustration on her. Thanksgiving was already a mess, and I can’t imagine that the rest of the holidays will be better for the Pearsons if this isn’t resolved soon.
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