‘This Is Us’: 4 Times Randall’s Made Us Ugly Cry
Practically every episode of This Is Us has fans ugly crying and reaching for tissues. Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) is known for being a great father who always says the right thing but it’s his son, Randall Pearson (Sterling K. Brown), who often tugs at our heartstrings. Keep reading to check out moments from Randall that made us ugly cry.
Randall says goodbye to William
While on a road trip to his hometown of Memphis, Tennesse, William’s (Ron Cephas Jones) declining health takes a turn for the worse. He ends up in the hospital with Randall at his bedside. As his final moments draw near, Randall says goodbye to his biological father whom he met only a few months earlier.
After four seasons of This Is Us, Randall’s goodbye to William remains one of the most heartbreaking scenes of the entire series. Even today we get choked up watching the clip.
He has a breakdown
From the beginning of This Is Us it’s made clear Randall’s a perfectionist. As a kid, he was always pushing himself to do better in school. As an adult, that means he works long hours in a high-pressure job. Randall’s anxiety is an ongoing issue until he reaches a breaking point when he’s at the office.
With his mind spiraling, Randall calls his brother Kevin (Justin Hartley) for help. An actor, Kevin’s about to perform in a play. Instead, he asks himself what Jack do and he ditches opening night to be with his brother. Crying on the floor of his office in dark, Randall’s comforted by Kevin. It’s a touching moment for the brothers who have a history of not getting along very well.
Taking the ugly crying to another level, in the same scene there’s a flashback to an earlier moment when a young Randall has a panic attack at school. He calls Kevin for support but he doesn’t help. Pass the tissues!
Randall and Beth say goodbye to Deja
Deja (Lyric Ross) goes back to living with her mom so she has to say goodbye to Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson), Randall, and their two daughters. After bonding with Deja, Randall and the rest of the Pearson family are, understandably, sad to see her go.
Saying goodbye to Deja, Randall has to wipe away tears. Before she gets in the car, Randall reminds Deja of the advice he gave her about working hard; “big house, fancy car.” It’s a bittersweet moment because Randall and Beth don’t know if they’ll see Deja again, if ever.
He hallucinates conversations with Jack
On a trip to the cabin with Kevin and Kate (Chrissy Metz), Randall unknowingly takes hallucinogenic mushrooms. He ends up having heartfelt conversations with his late father, Jack.
In a series of scenes, Randall admits to his dad his drive to be a perfectionist comes from feeling unwanted. In his hallucination, Randall tells Jack he always felt like a replacement for the Pearson family after they lost one of their triplets when Kate and Kevin were born. Jack immediately dispels the idea and we’re powerless to stop to the tears.
Brown’s won awards for his turn as Randall and it’s easy to see why. These are just a few of the actor has made us ugly cry playing Randall in This Is Us.
