These 6 Theories Could Reveal Who Tess & Randall Were Talking About On 'This Is Us'

Deja is not in a great place when viewers leave her at the finale, and that's putting it lightly. She was taking a baseball bat to Randall's car after a particularly frustrating encounter with Toby's mom, so there are several ways things with her could go very south. Some people think that Deja is going into a downward spiral, and it'll eventually lead to her being in jail or in general ostracized by the rest of the family.

One person suggested that Deja even gets violent toward the family, which might have been foreshadowed when Beth and Randall played their "worst case scenario" game. Others have suggested that she gets into drugs and bad decisions in general, like her mom. There are some who disagree. "They aren't going to go through so much to show us how special Deja is only for her to mess everything up and go to jail," Shaftell wrote. Plus, as the most obvious suspect — she may be a misdirection.

This seems to be a popular theory among fan circles — plenty of people are very convinced that Beth is about to kick the bucket in these flash-forwards, and none of us are ready for it. We haven't seen Beth in these flash-forwards whatsoever, and it seems like she'd be tagging along to visit Tess with Randall in her new adult job, so her absence is notable.

She could be sick — that would definitely lend to the idea that Tess said she "isn't ready" to go see her — but it seems odd that Tess would say that as if she hasn't already been with Beth throughout any possible sickness. The conversation definitely hints that whoever they're going to see is someone they haven't seen in a while. Or, Beth could have died suddenly, which would explain some of the shock Tess seems to feel.

There have been a few hints that Annie feels a little neglected around the home, especially with everything going on with Deja. People are speculating that she goes down a bad path as she ages into adulthood. "[They're talking about] Annie. In rehab. Addiction runs in her family (paternal grandfather) and it seems like they are writing it like she was somewhat neglected growing up, not in an abandoned kind of way, but the parents were so caught up in the other kids that she fell through the cracks," wrote Reddit user ShaneKaiGlenn.

Annie has also not been in the spotlight much so far, which some fans think means the show might endear us to her only to break our hearts. That would be a very This Is Us thing to do. "I also think Annie is the Pearson we’ve seen the least amount of storyline about. Granted, she’s really young, but still, we’ve seen a lot of Tess and rarely any Annie," wrote Reddit user leanney88. "This opens the door for Season 3 to build her character and then break our hearts with something happening to her."

This is a unique theory, as Rebecca has already endured her share of traumatic hospital visits, but it would definitely make sense, and could work to pull a fast-one on those who aren't ready for more Rebecca heartbreak. "I think it’s Rebecca on her deathbed. Beth is too obvious, and I really don’t see it happening to Annie. Second most likely could be Deja in jail," 8bubbles8joe wrote on Reddit. "But again we don’t have enough information and I can see them pulling a signature This is Us twist on us once more."

There's also the possibility that Rebecca has Alzheimer's in the future, which would bring the emotional distress of the fanbase to an entirely new level. "Maybe Rebecca has Alzheimer’s and has days where she forgets that she adopted Randall and is hostile toward his whole family," wrote infinite_prism. "Sad to think about, but that might explain why Randall is reluctant to see her."

There's another theory floating around that is unrelated to any of the family members, and instead centers on Randall or Tess themselves. They could be discussing the fact that they have to go talk to a doctor that has some kind of life-changing results for them. "What if 'her' is referring to a doctor?" infinite_prism wrote. "Maybe Tess or Randall just had a cancer scare and they are about to get the biopsy results? Beth isn’t there yet because she got stuck in traffic and Annie is in college in a different state but is waiting anxiously by the phone."

This Is Us has done a great job of remaining true to its main clan of characters while still developing the side characters enough that we care about them on an extreme level, so the person who Tess and Randall are so upset about could be someone viewers haven't even encountered yet, especially given the twists and turns the plot has taken so far, pulling viewers in to characters like Deja, Toby and William, who aren't necessarily original parts of the Pearson clan.

Only time will tell how this seemingly crucial plotpoint will affect the characters, but at least we can rest easy knowing that Randall and Tess are safe for a decade or so, and the This Is Us writing team will hold our hands through any further struggles, just like they always have.