'This Is Us' leaves us with a Christmas cliffhanger
This recap contains spoilers for This Is Us Season 1, episode 10, titled "The Last Christmas." To refresh your memory with where we left off, check out our recap of episode 9.
Tonight’s fall finale episode is titled “The Last Christmas,” and that could refer to more than one character -- but we won't spoil all the lump in the throat moments for you. Let’s get right to the recap.
Gut Punches and Hospital Visits
It’s Christmas Eve, 1970something and young Kate’s appendix has to be removed. As she’s wheeled into surgery, Rebecca tells her nothing bad ever happens on Christmas Eve, while young Kevin clings to his twin’s hand 'til the last possible moment.
Also at the hospital, the family finds Dr. K (Gerald McRaney – remember him from the first episode?) there as a patient, and he’s pretty sure it’s curtains for him.
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He has an internal hemorrhage that can be operated on, but the surgery is high risk for someone his age. Rebecca, Jack and Randall keep him company while Kate is under the knife. Jack credits Dr. K with helping them decide to adopt Randall, so Randall buys him a snow globe from the hospital gift shop to say thank you.
Dr. K is touched by the gift, but assures Randall that he simply gave Jack a nudge in the direction he was already leaning towards -- and if Randall someday has an opportunity to pay his parents' kindness forward, that's the only gift Dr. K needs. Cue the first rush of tears (but not the last).
Christmas with the Jews
Kevin and playwright Sloane are dealing with the fallout of lead actress Olivia’s sudden disappearance after their ill-fated cabin visit. The play’s producers have pulled their support so the project has fallen apart.
Sloane tells Kevin he owes her one and makes him come with her to her parents’ house for Hanukkah dinner. There, we meet Sloane’s parents and her condescending sister. After Sloane tells the kids there the story of Hanukkah, Kevin gets inspired and says they’ll produce the show themselves and he’ll put up his own Manny money to do it. He says Sloane should play the female lead because she performed the role when she was workshopping the play.
Reminder from last week’s episode: Kevin and Sloane slept together at the family cabin, so there’s a nice spark of chemistry between them and maybe, just maybe, he really likes her. Sloane is clearly flattered that Kevin thinks she could play the part instead of Olivia. I mean, you could light the Hanukkah candles with that spark.
Things I Never Told My Mother
Kate has her gastric bypass consultation appointment. Rebecca goes with her and is shocked when she hears Kate tell the doctor that she’s taken Prozac for depression and has binged on food recently.
On the drive home, Rebecca asks Kate if this was her fault and tells her she never knew whether she talked about food too much or too little when Kate was growing up. Chrissy Metz continues to astound us with her fearless performance that never shies away from Kate’s emotions and challenges.
William Reunites with a VSF (Very Special Friend)
William is at an AA meeting talking about how he’s grateful to be at his son’s house for his last Christmas. Guest star Denis O’Hare (happy dance!) plays Jesse, a man who tells a story about how he lost someone he loved and is still bitter about it because the man disappeared suddenly. After a protracted search, he found out that the man had a new lover -- his family.
The big reveal: the man he’s talking about was William! After the meeting, William apologizes and tells Jesse he disappeared to spare him the pain of his terminal diagnosis. Then he tells Jesse he came to the meeting tonight because he knew Jesse would be there. Jesse says he wants to spend whatever time William has left with him. Cue more tears and another lump in the throat.
This scene is another example of how deftly the show’s writers handle a heartbreaking moment about lost love and the need for closure. We get the sadness of time lost and then the beauty of two people who will get to be together again, at perhaps the most crucial time in their lives.
Just a Quiet Christmas Eve at Home
Meanwhile, Randall and Beth are at his company’s holiday party. She tells him she heard he bought a boat and tells him to get his money back. He refuses at first, then says he’ll cancel the deal.
He goes to find Andy (Westworld's Jimmi Simpson!) the co-worker who sold him the boat and finds him out on the balcony, about to jump. Randall gets him to talk and Andy says his marriage is over, his daughter Chloe will be lost to him and he made bad trades that mean his career is likely over.
Randall assures him that he doesn't have a monopology on pain, telling him about being left behind by his birth father then finding him 36 years later and forging a new relationship. Randall implores Andy to stick around for his daughter, that she’ll still love him, as long as he's there to earn her forgiveness.
Beth walks out to the terrace, inadvertently interrupting them. Randall freaks out when he turns around and sees Andy gone, thinking he used Randall's momentary distraction to jump -- but then he sees that Andy just walked back into the party, Randall's message apparently having gotten through to him. Cue the tears of relief.
But really, what’s Randall going to do with a boat?
Holiday Surprises
Randall thinks both Kevin and Kate have cancelled on Christmas Eve festivities but surprise, Kevin arrives with Sloane and Kate arrives with Rebecca. William even shows up with Jesse. And then, surprising Kate, Toby arrives dressed as Santa and tells her he flew across the country and wants to overcome their insanity because “we’re good together.”
He tells her he’s back on the diet, but for him, not for her. He says he can’t live without her and they kiss under the mistletoe and then go upstairs to have sex -- and they're not terribly subtle about it. We were hoping these two crazy kids could find their way back to love! It’s a Christmas miracle!
Back in the ‘70s: young Kate awakens from her appendix surgery and sees her family at her bedside. Dr. K makes it through surgery and also sees the family at his bedside when he opens his eyes. It’s another Christmas miracle!
Randall surveys his now-full living room and asks Beth if she knows who Jesse is, as we see Jesse's hand lingering on William's back.
Randall’s older daughter pipes up, “Grandpa is gay, or at least bisexual.” Kids say the darndest things! Randall takes a moment to process, and then smiles. Phew!
The group eats, drinks, does some karaoke and as the night winds down and Randall carries his daughters to bed, Toby gets up to help clear dishes and -- gasp -- collapses! The final shot of the episode is Toby in surgery, and it's not looking good. It’s a Christmas cliffhanger.
Punched in the Feels:
At least five or six times, which makes this episode an excellent preparation for spending the holidays with your loved ones, when awkward dinner conversations and emotional roller coasters are a hazard of the season.
But seriously, it's impressive to see how the show’s writers handle tough topics like suicide, estranged lovers, and sudden health crises with a matter-of-fact realness, which continues to enhance the show’s emotional punch and staying power.
Just tell us Toby's gonna be okay, okay?
