As Rebecca’s health continued to deteriorate, her kids sparred over how to handle her care in the wake of Miguel’s death on Tuesday’s episode of “This Is Us,” as the drama inches closer to its series finale.
The episode, which featured flashbacks of Rebecca taking care of her children when they were kids, focused on Kevin, Kate and Randall debating how to best take care of their mother, whose Alzheimer’s has progressed, leaving her further confused and wondering where Miguel was a week after he died.
The siblings had a meeting to hash out their differences of opinion on how to best proceed. Randall, believing home aids were no longer enough for her, wanted Rebecca to move in with him. Kevin was vehemently opposed to the idea, saying Rebecca told him to build her a house, which she did and which was where she was living.
“I’m going to honor her wishes, if it kills me,” he said.
When Kate volunteered to go on a walk with Rebecca, the kids could see she’s different.
“That’s not our mom, Kev,” Randall said.
“No, it’s not” Kevin said.
“Our mother was magic,” Randall said. “She always knew exactly what each one of us needed.”
Randall told Kevin how hard the situation was and guessed Rebecca couldn’t have known how tough it would be “to do right by what’s left of her.” He also remained adamant about not letting her stay in the house.
Kate called Toby, who reminded her Rebecca chose her to take care of her “for a reason” and she gets too passive when dealing with her brothers.
Randall told Beth he wanted Rebecca to move in, saying Kate was overwhelmed and Kevin won’t necessarily always be there. Beth, though, told Randall not to underestimate Kate and that Kevin was no longer a screwup.
Kate also told her brothers they never looked at their mother and summoned them to see Rebecca. She told Randall to brush her hair and Kevin to give her some lotion for her dry hands.
Kate, Randall and Kevin then gathered the entire family for a meeting where Kate said Rebecca won’t move in with Randall because it will affect his work as a senator, which their mom wouldn’t want. She also said they won’t keep her in the house Kevin built without family.
Trimming down the options, Kate said she and Philip will take Rebecca to live with them or in a facility near their home in Los Angeles, before Kevin stepped in to say he and Sophie would move into the house that Rebecca now lives in to be with her. Kate shot down the idea, claiming he can’t be away from his kids, but Madison said they can move, too, since Elijah’s job is remote and he has family in New Jersey. Nicky said he and Edie will also be there.
“We have an opportunity here to give Mom exactly what she wanted, for her and for us,” Kevin said.
Kate and Randall agreed to the plan before the episode drew to a close with the kids taking care of Rebecca and Kevin calling Randall to say he and Beth and the girls should get to the house as soon as they can because she doesn’t have long to live.
"This show has always been so brilliant about showing (how) as we age, and our parents age, we experience all of these beautiful moments in our lives," Chrissy Metz told People, reflecting on the episode. "It's so bittersweet that our parents teach us, through the way that they care for us, how eventually to care for them — if we're lucky enough."
In an interview earlier this week, Moore told TODAY she hopes the show's Alzheimer's storyline will make viewers impacted by the disease feel less alone.
“I imagine it’s such an isolating, terrifying experience as a caregiver and as a family member to watch your loved one go through this,” she said. “This is millions of people across this country. This is their reality. And I think things become a little less scary when they’re more known and we’re able to talk about them a bit more. I really loved that aspect of it.”
"This Is Us" returns for its next-to-last episode next Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET.