‘This is Us’ season 5: Will Kevin and Randall finally make up?

Every now & then, we come across a show that gives you just as many heartwarming moments as it does heartbreaks. This is Us is hands-down one of the warmest shows to ever exist. Giving us a glimpse into the lives of the Pearson family – siblings and their parents – it jumps across several time frames to put together the story of the family, what brings them together, and what pulls them apart.

This Is Us has been running for a good 4 seasons now & the audiences have grown fond of each character for very specific reasons. Kate Pearson strikes a chord with us for her personal battle with her body, Kevin Pearson makes unexpectedly touching gestures, Randall Pearson fills in the shoes for the mature sibling.

In the larger backdrop are their parents – Jack Pearson and Rebecca Pearson with their heartwarming love story – and the grief of loss that the siblings are coping with across the current timeline.

The remnants of a season gone by

In the finale of its latest season, we see two of the siblings – Randall and Kevin – having a fight, or as would be more fitting to call it, a screaming match. Here’s what went down: throughout the season, we were worried about Rebecca’s health. The family matriarch was nearing death even in the previous season finale, so the only new morsel of information here was the diagnosis of early-stage Alzheimer’s. 

Now, we know the siblings haven’t seen eye-to-eye on a lot of things. But this fight was unprecedented. To add bitterness to an already dysfunctional sibling equation, they spewed things that’d ensure they lose each other. The fight happened over a difference of opinion but soon exploded into something bigger than that. 

After Rebecca received her diagnosis, she wanted to spend the rest of her days with her family. Kevin liked the idea – he’d even built her Jack’s dream house, remember? – but Randall differed. Randall felt that this would be an awful lot like giving up. He revealed to his therapist that he couldn’t live in the anticipatory grief of losing a mother, so he wanted to try every possible treatment.

In line with that thought, he convinced Rebecca to take part in a medical trial. The catch? This trial took place quite far away from home, as against the original plan of Rebecca dying with her family by her side. Even though Rebecca agreed to the trial, Kevin couldn’t accept this easily. So, in the finale of the fourth season, things got heated up between Randall & Kevin. 

The fight that opened the Pandora’s box of evil things

Their skirmish escalated into a bitter match of words. You know how there are certain things that remain unspoken in a relationship because of how capable they are of irreparably damaging the relationship? Well, all those statements were spoken that day. 

Randall called Kevin out on his selfishness. He then proceeded to insinuate that their father was disappointed in Kevin until he died. Kevin retorted by telling Randall that his adoption day was the worst day of his life – worse than the day of Jack’s death.

We still have questions

It’s possible that the fight is why the brothers are estranged when they meet in the future on their 40th birthday. 

In fact, Dan Fogelman explained why he kept the fight so bitter, “It had to be something that would really separate these two for a period of time in this family. This is Cain and Abel type stuff between these two; this is a fight that goes back to literally their inception, through them, as alpha males, growing up during exactly the same period of time, both with widely different skill sets.”

Sterling K. Brown, who plays Randall Pearson also told the press, “It was kinda tense amongst the Pearson brothers. And it’s just like any other family. You have your ups and downs. . .They’re the people that you’re given and you just gotta stick it out” 

While this won’t be an overnight fix, we’re hoping to see more heartwarming scenes as their relationship heals. Shooting for the next season is now underway after a brief halt due to the pandemic & This Is Us is likely to be back late October.