When This Is Us opened in a ’90s video rental store this week, I was totally expecting another heartfelt storyline from the Pearsons’ past, like the washing machine episode. Although watching the family try to pick out what movie to rent was a great blast from the past, the seriousness of this particular moment in time quickly set in. When a snowstorm hit just as Kevin and Kate came down with chickenpox, Rebecca’s slightly estranged mother Janet arrived to help run the house. Cue the generational cycle of mother-daughter drama and, most importantly, Janet’s inappropriate treatment of Randall.
We caught hints of how Janet viewed Randall differently from her biological grandchildren in Season 1, but as anyone knows, being trapped in a confined space with extended family can open a pretty messy can of worms. The severity of the issue appeared here, with Janet not only giving Randall a racially stereotyped gift of a basketball, but also making comments about the other kids in ways that panned out negatively in their adulthood. She gave Kate a small dress, telling her to make it her “goal” dress, and told Kevin to avoid scratching his face because it’s basically where the money is. Grandma was way more influential than we thought, huh?
Cabin fever made its mark when Janet mused about how Randall was the only Pearson to get into private school. Rebecca snapped, calling out Janet for failing to see Randall’s efforts to be noticed, saying “the twins and Randall” as if he isn’t part of the family and even treating Rebecca’s childhood maid the harsh way she did. If there’s anything Season 2 has proven to me so far, it’s that Mandy Moore needs an Emmy nomination next year.
This is wrong and you know it. #ThisIsUs pic.twitter.com/OeYuGqsIBQ
— This Is Us (@NBCThisisUs) October 19, 2017
Just as you were probably praising Rebecca for accusing her mother of being a racist, the show revealed that Randall witnessed the entire conversation, leading to a sit-down with his parents about racism. In addition to Randall’s hilarious reaction when Rebecca and Jack brought up Martin Luther King Jr. (“Did Grandma shoot him?”), the conversation was sweet, simple and scarily relevant to today’s social climate.
“Racism can sometimes be like that. People don’t actually say bad things. It sounds fine but there’s this mean undertone.” #ThisIsUs
— Lea (@fohlen11) October 18, 2017
By teaching their son that racism can disguise itself with a nice-sounding tone, Randall became the cautious person we know him as in the present day. From telling Kevin that “I’m still black” when they were wrestling on a public street to stepping in when neighbors were suspicious of William, he’s well aware of the racist subtleties that are automatically built into our society.
His parents’ lesson from 1990 also rang true to the current atmosphere of the country. While the United States is more divisive than ever, it’s easy for people to write off racist behaviors as a generational flaw or non-existent. But Mama and Papa Pearson encouraged Randall to be aware of these little moments that suggest something greater.
“I’m not one that would be the first to be able to give a conversation on what it is to be black and to experience racism, nor are Jack and Rebecca,” said show creator Dan Fogelman in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “So they’re struggling with a complicated topic that they’re already in a difficult position to comprehend or explain in the right way…We have a really diverse writing staff and we tried to attack all viewpoints and not turn this into an afterschool special.”
Having dealt with racism (and black hair in Randall’s present-day storyline) so powerfully, the This Is Us team definitely succeeded in sharing this important lesson and crucial moment in the Pearsons’ story.