Kevin found the answer to one very important question in the Nicky mystery during the Tuesday, January 15, episode of This Is Us, titled “The Last Seven Weeks,” as the NBC drama revealed to viewers what happened during the show’s hiatus.
Out With the Old
Kevin (Justin Hartley) and Zoe (Melanie Liburd) returned from Vietnam on a mission to discover more about his uncle, Nicky (Michael Angarano), after realizing he didn’t die in the war. The couple made headway in their relationship too, with Kevin asking Zoe to move in with him.
Zoe offered to contact her ex, a congressman, when they found that Kevin needed a little more sway to get Nicky’s records — which ultimately revealed that he was medivacked out of Vietnam in 1971, sent for a psychological evaluation and discharged a few months later — from Veterans Affairs. However, Kevin quickly registered animosity between the duo. Zoe then admitted that she broke up with her ex over an email after a two-year relationship.
Kevin took issue with this and the fact that Zoe had yet to unpack her stuff at his apartment, so Zoe asked for space. She eventually went so far as to break up with him and give him his key back. But Zoe later explained her hesitance stemmed from her father’s abuse and her struggles with finding a safe space for herself.
Kevin and Zoe reconciled, and as they began to unload her belongings, she came across a box of Jack’s things. Inside was a postcard from Nicky, which confirmed that Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) knew his brother was alive.
Comeback Kid
Randall (Sterling K. Brown) committed to his campaign, sacrificing his family in the meantime. Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) refused to support Randall as he continued to pour all of himself into the effort. Randall realized his error when the reverend gave him a speech about being proud of his life in old age. Randall went right home and apologized to Beth and the girls. He subsequently put the campaign on the backburner to spend time with his family.
However, Beth later delivered a mea culpa to Randall too for not supporting him and then encouraged him to finish what he started. During the apology, she also made a comment about her dad; while she and Zoe are technically cousins, Beth’s mother took in Zoe at a young age. Since we know Beth’s past will soon be discussed, that could have been the first segue.
Anyway, the duo’s united front paid off! Randall — to everyone’s surprise — won the election.
In flashbacks, Randall and Jack visited a monument of fallen soldiers in Washington, D.C. When Randall asked if they should find Nicky’s name, Jack shot him down and told his son it would be too sad.
Hand-Me-Downs
Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Toby (Chris Sullivan) cleared out a room in their apartment to convert into a nursery. In the process, Kate accidentally sold a set of collectible Star Wars action figures that Toby wanted to hand down to their son.
Kate tried to get them back, even pulling the dead dad, pregnancy and house fire cards, but nothing worked on the teenage boy who had bought the toys. So she bought new figures online while Toby commissioned a replica of a football stadium Jack built for Kate when she was little. Though, the parents-to-be agreed that their child’s most favorite things would be his mother and father.
This Is Us airs on NBC Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
