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This Is Us producer says Randall's 'pivot point' will answer flash-forward mystery

"It's a love letter to mothers and sons," says executive producer Kay Oyegun of Randall's trilogy episode, which she wrote.

By

Dan Snierson

Published on March 29, 2022 10:23AM EDT

Two weeks ago, Kevin laid the foundation for evolution. Last week, Kate scaled a hill that was both metaphorical and literal. And this week, Randall has his own lightbulb moment.

NBC's hit family drama This Is Us unveils the last installment of the final Big Three trilogy on Tuesday, and viewers will see how the Good Son responds after absorbing Rebecca's (Mandy Moore) plea/edict to her children to live life to the fullest and riskiest instead of limiting their choices based on her Alzheimer's. Like Kevin (Justin Hartley) and Kate (Chrissy Metz), Randall (Sterling K. Brown) wants the best for his mother, but concern for her well-being can be more consuming for him than it is for his siblings. And this is the episode in which he and Rebecca explore that charged space.

"One of the things that's lovely about Randall — bravery, fearlessness, all of that kind of stuff is part of his orbit and part of his life story," executive producer Kay Oyegun tells EW. "The fearlessness that Rebecca might be speaking of when it comes to Randall might be more of an emotional one, not necessarily similar with Kevin finding himself and with Kate finding her voice. For Randall, it's being fearless enough to find that balance between what he wants and what he wants to do, as it pertains to Rebecca."

Life always comes at Randall pretty fast, and this week, he'll be trying to figure it all out at 65 mph. Back in season 1, Randall embarked on a poignant-yet-joyful journey to Memphis with biological father William (Ron Cephas Jones), and now Oyegun says that "he's having a different kind of road trip" with Rebecca, as he struggles to understand her decision to anoint Kate as her health care proxy. What precipitates this automobile adventure, though, is not good, and it involves Randall's daughter Deja (Lyric Ross) finally discovering that he urged her boyfriend, Malik (Asante Blackk), to break up with her. (Spoiler: She's not thrilled.)

"Every Version of You" revolves around "memories" and serves as "a love letter to mothers and sons," sums up Oyegun, who penned the episode. It also concludes the first half of this season thematically, if not quite mathematically (it's episode 10 of 18). "Everyone's arcs are culminating here, and this is our pivot point to the rest of the season," says Oyegun. "It sets up that lovely flash-forward article [the 'Rising Star' story in The New Yorker] that we saw in the final episode of last season. It's a pivot point for him."

Pivot to the couch at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Tuesday to see Randall in motion.

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This Is Us producer says Randall's 'pivot point' will answer flash-forward mystery

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