Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Toby (Chris Sullivan) coped with their son Jack’s blindness in markedly different ways during the Tuesday, October 1, episode of This Is Us, titled “The Pool: Part 2.”
A noticeably slimmer Toby could not hide his anxiety over the baby boy’s diagnosis. The family remarked on his weight loss, which he attributed to stress. Kate, for her part, seemed to be holding things together and appeared to be unshaken by any new developments. The couple had support from Kevin (Justin Hartley), Rebecca (Mandy Moore), Miguel (Jon Huertas) and Madison (Caitlin Thompson) as they navigated the ins and outs of parenting a blind child.
Kate eventually broke down when she thought about Jack never getting to see a Steelers game, and she wondered if his condition was her fault since doctors warned her not to get pregnant. But she regained her strength once she decided that he would live a limitless life, with the Pearsons’ help. She was still struggling, though. Toby mentioned that Kate was overeating to cope and that he was worried about her. Meanwhile, he was secretly sneaking to the gym to work out.
Kevin also tried to stay busy to maintain his sobriety. He helped Kate and Toby, attended AA meetings, wrapped a new movie with M. Night Shyamalan and considered a job offer in Chicago. However, he could not stop thinking about Nicky (Griffin Dunne), who ghosted him after Kevin wired him bail money. Instead of heading to Illinois to take a meeting about a new film, Kevin traveled to Nicky’s trailer to figure out what was up with him.
Nearby, Randall (Sterling K. Brown), Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) and the girls settled into life in Pittsburgh. Tess (Eris Baker) and Deja (Lyric Ross) wanted to express their independence by getting a bold haircut and riding the city bus to school alone, respectively, but their parents hesitated. Ultimately, they caved as viewers discovered that Deja’s route passed by Malik’s (Asante Blackk) auto shop and she had been flirting with him via text.
In flashbacks, Jack (Milo Ventimiglia), Rebecca and the Big Three went to the pool, but it was nothing like their season 1 trip. The kids were about to start seventh grade and were not into hanging with their parents. Kevin and Randall argued over their less than brotherly treatment of each other, and Kate kissed a boy after falling prey to a prank by popular girls.
This Is Us airs on NBC Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
