Previously on This Is Us...
I came here for my brother.
I was hoping to take him back with me.
You should've left me to rot!
Join my campaign.
You swear this is not a pity job?
I wouldn't dare offer you a pity job.
-Hey, I'm Randall. -Uh, Jesse.
RANDALL: Nice to meet you, Jesse.
Did William ever mention a Jesse?
Dad, Grandpa's gay.
Or at least bi.
There's no Jack here. It's Pilgrim Rick.
YOUNG RANDALL: I want every Thanksgiving
to be like this for the rest of my life.
(whispers): Can I help you with anything?
Maybe you could have asked me that question
before I started cutting the onions.
(laughs) No, because then you'd have me cutting the onions.
Yeah.
(Louie whimpering)
This is probably our last Thanksgiving
with the kids all living here.
Yeah, well, with how much they've been
at each other's throats, maybe that's a good thing.
-Whoa, Bec. -Hmm?
Are you opening up a pie shop that I don't know about?
I know, I kind of overdid it, huh?
Do you think we made a mistake by not giving the kids
some big, extended family Thanksgiving?
No, come on. Our families are terrible.
But Miguel's coming over.
He's pretty much extended family.
I know, and I feel like a traitor for having him over.
Bec, you're not a traitor.
His ex is my best friend,
and he's coming for Thanksgiving.
That's best friend treason.
Bec, it's the man's first Thanksgiving since the divorce.
And with Shelly taking the kids to Connecticut for her family,
he would be alone otherwise.
Well, maybe he wouldn't be alone
if he'd fought a little harder to save his marriage.
That is Shelly's side of things.
I didn't know we were taking sides.
Well, do you want to take sides?
I don't want to take sides. I don't want to have a fight.
I don't want to take sides, either.
(distant laughter, chatter)
What is that?
Uh... sounds like laughter.
-From our moody teenagers? -It couldn't be.
-Shall we investigate? -(scoffs) Shall we ever.
(laughing): Don't make it complicated.
-What's so funny? -Randall's college essay.
-It's not that funny. -KATE: Okay, then go ahead.
-Read them the question. -No.
-Read it. -Come on.
-JACK: Come on. -So the question is,
"So far, what person has most impacted your life?"
And he doesn't want to go
with the firefighter who found him on the steps.
-RANDALL: But the question is flawed. -KATE: No, no, no.
The question is an underhanded softball
-that you should clobber. -Clobber, Randall.
-No... -It's so easy. -Right?
The whole premise of the question is wrong.
No one person can have the greatest impact
-on your life. -Oh, my-- Blah, blah, blah.
Can someone please tell him that he's overthinking this?
Hey, your brother's gonna make the right decision.
What do you think?
The fireman's a layup.
-Oh! There you go. -He said it himself. -Oh...
-Come on. -Kev, ball.
-Bah. -Interception! -REBECCA: Not inside...
(chatter fading)
*
-Whoa! -I don't want to play.
I'm not playing!
-RANDALL: Touchdown! -(doorbell rings)
Doorbell. Doorbell.
Hey, Kev, you want to get that?
-KATE: Oh! -RANDALL: Oh!
How long does it take them to go to the store
and get cranberry sauce? I called an hour ago, Shelly.
(Miguel sighs)
Shelly, I just want to say happy Thanksgiving to our kids.
Shelly, don't hang up on...
She hung up on me.
Hey.
Hey. Happy Thanksgiving.
I brought a pie.
-REBECCA: I'm gonna go put it in the kitchen. -Yeah, okay.
*
So, the person who's made the biggest impact on your life?
-Yeah. -Ooh, that fireman who found you.
-No. No. I'm not... -Colleges love that kind of stuff.
-I'm not doing that... -Hello.
Uh, can somebody grab the Pilgrim Rick hat, please?
Wow. You guys still do that stuff?
Sure do, pal. Family tradition.
-That we've outgrown. -Oh, come on.
Aw, I still like when Dad does Pilgrim Rick.
Thank you, Katie girl.
Yeah, and it covers all the grays.
-ALL: Oh! -Whoa!
Ooh, do you need some ice for that burn?
-She got you. -I thought this was a Thanksgiving dinner.
I didn't realize it was a roast.
KATE: Hey, a little bit of both.
-JACK: Yeah, okay, sure. -Here, you might need the...
(laughter)
JACK: You knock it off with that...
Excuse me a second.
RANDALL: Don't take sides.
Hey. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
You know, I get the stress of who gets the house,
and the alimony and all that crap,
but turning the kids against me?
Your kids can't be turned against you, Miguel.
Okay? They love you.
Come on, Jack. Just say it like it is.
We both know that I wasn't there
for Andy and Amber like I should've been.
Work always came first, and now I'm paying the price.
Okay, fine.
You could have... you could've been a more present father.
You know? But you wanted to provide for your family.
I've never seen anyone work as hard as you.
You know, I remember, I remember when you made upper management.
I remember how proud of you I was.
You were gonna be doing the big deals with the big boys.
And then you figured out that the big deals
were done on a golf course.
And so what did you do?
You bought some clubs, you got lessons.
You would go to the range after work and hit balls...
Instead of going home and having a family dinner.
...until a Puerto Rican kid
who'd never been to business school,
who-who'd never set foot on a golf course,
let alone played on one, joins his boss's Saturday foursome,
and he becomes country club champion four years in a row.
You got to take that fight,
and you need to show your kids that you are still their father.
You hear me?
Yeah.
You don't want to be 65 years old and not know your grandkids.
(laughs, sniffles)
Man, what's a guy got to do to get some turkey around here?
Hey, have you heard from Jae-won?
-Hmm? -About moving today's soup kitchen visit
from the church to the rec center.
(distorted): Not yet. What about it?
Can you rinse and repeat, baby?
I'm sorry.
(Randall humming)
(water running)
(Randall spits)
-Ah... -(sighs)
-I have not heard from Jae-won. -Okay.
I hope he's on board with me changing the venue.
I'm not sure he likes me working on the campaign.
What? That's crazy.
You've had, like, 300 stupendous ideas
since joining my campaign.
The fish-fry fundraiser,
pushing for the town hall debate next week.
Plus, you look smoking even when you're dressing down
for a soup kitchen.
Okay. You're right.
I'm crushing being your field director.
You are.
-Mm. -(chuckles)
-Mm-mm. -Mm?
-Huh? -Hustle now.
-Yes. -Okay? I'll meet you downstairs.
Toby and Kate will be here any minute.
You sure they're up to cooking while we're out?
I mean, Kate's all IVF'd up,
and Toby's just getting back on his feet.
I quadruple-checked.
They are excited to be in charge this year.
TESS: Mom?
Yeah?
(phone chimes)
-(doorbell rings) -TESS: I don't feel good.
Hmm.
No fever. Go lie down, okay?
-I'll tell Aunt Kate to keep an eye on you. -Okay.
*
Happy Thanksgiving.
-Happy Thanksgiving. -Happy Thanksgiving.
The cavalry is here!
All right. What do we got here?
-Hey-oh. -Hi.
How's my sis feeling with her little turducken in the oven?
-Pretty good. -Yeah?
Yeah. The morning sickness isn't too bad,
and Toby's been coming through with the back rubs.
Yeah. My fingers are basically tension assassins.
-Give me some of that. Uh. -BETH: Oh, you know what?
Tess isn't feeling well.
Is it okay with you guys if she stays here with you?
Yeah, that'd be good practice for us
for when we have a little sicko of our own.
-BETH: Are you sure? -If this is too much for you, Tobe, you just...
Because we can make another arrangement, right?
Look, guys, guys, guys, guys. Hey, this-- it's great.
We'll watch Tess. This is gonna be fine.
Look, my comeback is about small victories, all right?
And helping Kate cook a 15-pound Butterball
using Snoop and Martha's recipe
will be a small but meaningful victory.
RANDALL: All right, then.
Hey, girls, let's hit the road!
BETH: So, if anything happens,
just give us a call. We'll be back by 4:00.
-Yep. -Okay. -Yeah? All right. Let's hit it.
Hey, Annie, why is there a gigantic teddy bear
sitting at the dining room table?
It's a secret.
A secret? It's creepy is what it is.
-All right, have fun... -Have fun.
...at the homeless shelter.
*
Be right with you, folks.
Hello, little ladies.
Don't you guys look beautiful? Uh, you want to go
help them over there? Yeah.
Explain to me how this is better than Linwood Baptist.
Well, we just felt like, uh, the athletic center
represents a broader sample of the 12th.
Did we? Because, you know, at this very moment,
Sol Brown is handing out turkeys over at Linwood Baptist,
the biggest Thanksgiving soup kitchen in the city,
which gets photographed every year by The Inquirer,
The Telegraph, The Philadelphia Tribune...
Please stop saying newspapers at me.
We-we don't need a photo op, you know?
Randall wants to connect with the people.
He doesn't want to look like the guy who drove in
to hold a ladle and get his picture taken.
-We just want... -I need to go to the bathroom.
Oh...
To not be continued.
-Excuse me. -Mm-hmm.
Have we landed on a job title for your wife?
Yeah, field director. She'll spread my message, coordinate...
I'm aware what a field director does, since I usually hire them.
Randall, has your wife ever worked on a campaign?
Because I think she needs to understand
-that there's a system here. -Hey, Jae-won.
You've done an amazing job.
All right? You joining my campaign
has been divine intervention.
But Beth is my wife, and she's for real
and it's not open for discussion.
("Just a Friend" by Biz Markie playing)
Well, this is fun.
* Oh, baby, you
* You got what I need
* You got everything I need
* You're like medicine to me
* Oh, baby...
Here you go. Happy Thanksgiving to you.
They're raising my rent again.
-They want me to move out. -Of course they do.
Landlords want higher income earners to move in.
* So glad you saved me, dear
* Saved me, dear... *
Happy Thanksgiving to you, young man. Okay.
* Things were wrong, you made them right *
* How did you do it, dear?
* Do it, dear *
* Oh, I'm thankful every day
* Oh, that you came my way
* And I hope and pray
* That you never ever go away
* 'Cause you, oh, you got what I need *
* Little girl...
Don't be shy. This is a growing girl.
* You're like medincine to me
* Oh, baby...
ANNIE: Deja, you're giving too many.
The man said only one cookie a person.
Well, the man doesn't get it.
-BETH: Man.. -What?
None of my messages are getting through to Kate.
Mm. This reception sucks.
We should put that on our platform:
fix cell phone service in Philly.
Happy Thanksgiving.
* Don't ever stop them, dear
* Stop them dear... *
No, no. Wait, wait, hold up.
Great news. I convinced a photographer
from Linwood Baptist to come here and take some pictures.
Best of both worlds, baby.
-Oh, dude, that's great. -Yeah.
That's-that's great, right?
I'm sorry, guys. I just... I don't think it's a good idea.
People came here to have a nice meal with their families,
and most of them don't want to be photographed
getting a handout. You know, Randall's whole strategy...
You know, his strategy is to get more votes
than he currently has, Beth.
(overlapping arguing)
Guys, stop.
All right, I'm sorry, Jae-won.
-I-I called in a favor, man. -I know,
and I'm sorry, but you should've run it by us first.
No, actually, no, because I'm the campaign manager
-and what I'm supposed to do is get-- No, no. -Jae-won, please.
Randall, you're making a mistake.
What do you want me to do, man?
I don't care if it's a mistake,
she's my wife.
-Yeah, um, happy Thanksgiving. -To you and yours
as well, man. Hey...
Oh, man.
Yeah...
Ooh, a terrier! Dad, could we go play with it?
-Yeah, let's go say hi. -Oh, yay!
Hey, Randall.
Yeah.
I'm just curious.
Of my 300 ideas over the past few weeks,
how many of them did you really think were--
What's the word you used?
-Stupendous. -Or...
how many times were you just trying to make me feel good
because you thought your recently-fired wife
needed a win?
Beth...
Oh, man. That's what I thought.
Actually, it's not what I thought,
-you know, which really sucks. -(cell phone chiming)
-Hey. -Oh, God.
-What is it? -Oh, man. We got to get home.
-Come on, girls. Let's go. -Come on.
-Everything okay? -Yeah.
*
How we feeling?
We felt better shoveling crap back at my base.
Yeah, I'll bet.
Got about a week more to get that junk out of your system.
Roger that, Sarge. Glad to hear you got a new mission.
VIETNAMESE MAN: G.I.!
(speaking Vietnamese)
The boy cut his foot on the wire last week.
Then the wire is doing its job.
(helicopter flying overhead)
Supply chopper's bringing a hot turkey.
Me and some of the guys are gonna have
a sit-down Thanksgiving dinner.
You're welcome to join us.
That is, if you can leave your sunny-ass disposition here.
* In the chilly hours and minutes *
* Of uncertainty
* I want to be in the warm...
My dad's smoked turkey, the best.
-You'd smoke anything, Murph. -(laughter)
* To feel you all around me...
-Who you writing? -Robinson.
Figured he'd, uh,
he'd want to know about all the fun that he's missing.
Hey, uh, what's the deal with your brother, Sarge?
Hmm?
* When sundown
* Pales the sky...
He's fine. Just misses home.
He ain't fine. He's a medic.
He shovels guts back into body cavities.
Meanwhile, you all treat us like the field goal kicker
till you take a bullet and want morphine.
Then we're your best friend.
* Would be the sweetest thing
* T'would make me sing
* Ah, but I may as well try and catch *
* The wind
* Diddy di dee
* Dee diddy diddy...
Miss, can I...?
Heavy.
(speaking Vietnamese)
* When rain has hung the leave with tears *
* I want you near to kill
* My fears
* To help me to leave all my blues *
* Behind
* For...
(flies buzzing)
Hey.
You haven't been catching any fish.
No, no fish. I-I brought food.
Food. Thuc...
Food. Food.
(speaking Vietnamese)
Your boy, is he-he okay? He's okay?
(speaking Vietnamese)
Can I see him?
(man speaking Vietnamese)
Can I see him?
(flies buzzing)
-(woman speaks Vietnamese) -Okay.
BOY: Ahh!
(woman whispering in Vietnamese)
-Nicky, wake up. Come on. -What?
Hustle up, let's go.
Come on.
He's burning up. His foot's infected.
I'm not gonna save a kid's life
just so he can grow up one day and zap Americans.
Clean and dress the wound.
No.
Clean and bandage the wound. That is an order.
He's gonna be okay.
He's gonna be okay, but this is gonna hurt, okay?
It's gonna sting, ouch.
-(screaming) -It's okay, it's okay.
-(speaking Vietnamese) -(shushing)
TOWNIE: Okay in there, Sarge?
Yeah! We're doing good.
Ah.
He's just a kid, Nicky.
You need to wake the hell up.
This ville is nothing but women
and kids and old men.
(sighs)
My first CO here was a guy
named Captain Greg Minetto.
"Bones," we called him.
We were pulling security outside Da Nang,
and I'm brand new in-country,
virgin, scared to death.
Sometimes the guys got on my ass.
I mean, I couldn't stick on a damn Band-Aid without shaking.
(Nicky exhales)
But one time,
Bones got fed up with them always ragging on me, so...
he grabs a big chicken from the ville,
and bam,
chops off its head with his Ka-Bar.
(imitates knife slice)
And the chicken's flapping around without a head,
blood gushing,
and Bones takes the chicken and he tosses it to me.
There I am, with a bloody, flapping chicken,
and Bones says to the guys, "Pretend that chicken's you.
"Pretend you're the one flapping around,
"screaming for a medic, bullets still flying.
"You best hope Nicky doesn't mind
trying to save your sorry ass, because Nicky's all you got."
And after that, the guys showed me a little respect.
I mean, how could you not love Bones?
And the villagers loved him, too, you know?
The old ladies, they did his laundry, brought him food.
There was this one.
No teeth, but always smiling.
She cut his hair and talked to him
and he would nod like he understood.
One night, the VC got through the wire,
tossed a satchel charge into his bunker
and turned Cap into a big sloppy bowl of chicken fricassee.
They targeted Bones and no one else.
The old lady with no teeth told her VC brother
where he could find him.
You can be nice to them all you want, Jack.
But they're not just women and children.
(playing piano)
You here all week?
That's the plan. You?
Um, hard to say.
-William. -Jesse.
-Please, don't, uh... -Ah.
-...let me stop you... -(laughs)
(playing)
Jesse?
Technically, cocaine is my problem,
not, uh, sparkling rosé, so...
-Come on. -Where are we going?
You need something besides cheap wine in your stomach.
Come on.
All right.
I was a bond trader in London.
The job was all-consuming and put strains
on an already complicated
and mismatched marriage.
Cocaine helped me keep pace with the workload
until the workload couldn't keep pace with my addiction.
I lost everything.
Moved to the States.
I lived with my sister for a while in Chicago,
and then I came to Philly, where I worked
front of house in a restaurant because my accent
-classed the place up. -Accent classed the place up.
Yeah, I was at that meeting.
Let's hear the true story.
Okay, fine.
You're... an inexplicably pleasant man
worthy of the truth.
I started using cocaine in the late '70s.
I-I liked cocaine.
(laughs): I... That's not true.
I liked Manchester United. I love cocaine.
Half my paycheck went to the stuff,
until I learned that...
smoking crack cocaine was cheaper.
Also, I was never a bond trader.
But one thing I said is true:
my marriage to Anissa was...
a complicated mismatch,
and I do have a sister in Chicago.
I... I don't know why Thanksgiving depresses me.
It's not my holiday.
In fact, isn't it to celebrate you
for defeating us in your independence?
(chuckles): No. It was not.
Anyway, I was invited to my sister's house,
but the people there will ask me how I'm doing,
and... I'm in no mood to spin lies
about the joys of being sober.
You stay sober, you won't have to lie about it.
Look, tonight a bunch of us sober musicians
are getting together. On the holidays we like to play,
uh, mostly to keep us from getting into trouble.
You're welcome to come.
Good Lord.
Listening to jazz sober sounds awful.
-(laughs) -What can I bring?
Just yourself. We need the audience.
(jazz music playing)
(speaking indistinctly)
So what needs to start first?
The cranberry sauce. You are in charge.
-This is not a can. -Right.
I'm making cranberry sauce from scratch?
Isn't that kind of a high-stakes duty?
Well, Randall has a recipe binder.
Recipe binder, okay.
Randall's recipes.
Okay. Of course, color-coded,
uh, with an entire section for confit.
And he's marked our page for us.
"Cranberry sauce with mint."
Randall's recipe for cranberry sauce has, like, 30 ingredients,
including "fresh mint from my garden."
-Randall has an herb garden? -Yeah.
Okay.
Okay, come here. What is happening? Come here.
Oh, okay, look. Randall is the perfect embodiment
of the perfect man. He's basically your dad,
-and I'm... -Toby.
Hey, me and you?
We got this.
-(sighs) -We can...
We're gonna be great hosts.
Okay? And we're gonna be great parents.
And today, we're gonna prove it.
-Yeah. You're right. -Okay? So let's do us.
-Okay. Do us. -Me and you.
All right, KaToby on three?
One, two, KaToby.
Tess, I got something for you.
Oh. Oh.
-(screams) -Ah! What, what, what?
Hey. Uh, Tess needs your help.
Why? Is she okay?
Yeah, fine. She just has-- she has two boxes of... things
that, uh, a-a young woman might need every full moon-ish.
-Oh. Ugh. -Yeah.
I think this might be her first period.
Yeah, yeah. She looked confused.
Hey.
Is everything okay?
TESS: I'm fine, just leave me alone.
I will, I just...
Is this your first one?
TESS: Yes.
Did you call your mom?
TESS: They didn't answer.
I tried calling them, like, five times.
I texted them, though.
I'm sure she'll call soon.
Is there anything I can help with?
-Yeah. -(both giggle)
Do you want to come down and help us?
I'm never leaving this room.
I'm too embarrassed to see Toby.
-Oh... -Wait, embarrassed?
Hey. Tess, you have nothing to be embarrassed about.
And this is coming from a woman who had
the most embarrassing first period ever.
So, when I was around your age,
we were staying at a beach house with Miguel's family
and I was sharing a room with Amber,
Miguel's daughter, who I worshiped.
I mean, she taught me how to put on mascara.
So, I was asleep when it happened.
So I stripped the bed, and then I'm tip-toeing down the hall,
and who do I run into? Her older brother Andy.
Who was a lifeguard.
And of course, here I am with this wadded-up bedding,
and he just says, "Oh, what, did you wet the bed, Pearson?"
N-Now, if I say yes, everybody at school is gonna think
that I'm a bed-wetter at the age of 12.
So what do I say? I say, "No, actually,
"I just had my period and I need a tampon. Do you have one?"
(laughing): He didn't know what to say.
So, he's like stammering and he tries to laugh if off,
but then he just, like, pushes past me. (laughs)
So, uh, needless to say, we've never talked about it since.
Anyway, I got you beat.
-Yeah, definitely. (chuckles) -Yeah.
(sighs)
Anyhow, I know you have a mom, but if there's anything
you ever want to talk to me about, anytime...
I mean, pretty soon, you're gonna have...
(whispers): your first kiss.
(normal): And your first boyfriend.
Or girlfriend.
Yeah, or girlfriend.
MAN (on audiobook): St. George came upon the ruins
of the Rollins house and slept on the cold sooted stones
of the fireplace hearth.
He awoke the next morning with...
Uh, I'm sorry, I...
The last I heard, St. George was lost in the brambles.
-Did I... did I miss something? -(chuckles)
Yes, 'cause you're not listening.
I think your mind is already at your daughter's house.
-No. -Yeah.
-No, no, it's not. -Yes, it is.
I thought that you were excited
that Amber had moved to Scarsdale.
I mean, we've only seen our grandson, what,
twice since they adopted him?
I am excited.
Well, in 6.5 miles, you better act like it.
(sighs) It's just...
I feel like a pity invite.
-What? -Yeah.
I mean, the only reason that we were asked to come over
is because Shelly is gonna be spending it
with her husband's family.
I'm sorry that you're missing Thanksgiving for this.
We're still gonna make it back to Randall's
in time for dessert.
And besides, I'm very much looking forward
to spending some time with your kids.
It's gonna be a good day.
(child coos)
Luke, you're supposed to eat turkey
-for Thanksgiving, not Cheerios. -(family laughing)
-(Luke crying) -Oh, honey.
Don't be scared; That's your grandpa.
Nah, it's okay; I have the same reaction
every morning when I look in the mirror.
(Rebecca and Miguel chuckle)
Oh, I, uh, read that Beckwith and Hightower are merging.
Is that a good thing for you, Amber?
I haven't been with Hightower for over a year, Dad.
ANDY: Geez, Dad.
Somebody hasn't been reading Amber's Christmas newsletter.
No, I do. I mean, we do.
It's very entertaining, by the way.
Thanks, Rebecca.
(Luke fussing)
(clears throat) We haven't, uh, seen Kevin's new movie, yet.
Hmm.
It's actually... it's quite good.
I've heard mixed.
Yeah? I think it's, um,
at a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes; it's a site
-that Kevin taught me about. -Come on, you're killing me!
Cowboys scored, Connor.
Sorry, we have Washington and the points.
No, it's okay.
Uh, we're a big football family, actually, so I understand.
Hmm.
(Luke giggles)
This vegan stuffing is delicious, Amber.
Well, thanks, Dad.
What about you, Luke, do you like your mother's stuffing?
Do you like the vegan stuffing?
(Connor grunts)
Do any of these side dishes have nuts in them?
I get a little allergic.
Uh, yes, actually, the sweet potato casserole
-has some slivered almonds. -Ah...
-I-I didn't know, I'm so sorry. -(clears throat)
-I didn't, I didn't know. -First you steal my father
from my mother, and now you're trying to kill
-my brother-in-law. -(Amber coughs)
Sorry, too soon?
No, no. Not too soon, actually.
You know, after your mother and I split,
I promised my best friend and myself that I would fight
to keep you kids in my life.
And for a long time, I tried.
(Luke babbles)
I called every day, I sent Christmas gifts.
I tried to plan things.
And I was lucky if I got an e-mail back from you.
So after a while...
Well, I gave up.
Well, you have the Pearsons now, at least.
Yes. Yes, I do.
In heartbreak, ten years after her husband
and my best friend died, and your mother had remarried...
...Rebecca and I found each other.
And we filled a hole in each other's lives.
Now, you don't have to be happy for us,
but we're not gonna apologize for being together.
So take all the shots at me that you want to,
leave me out of the family vacations,
leave me out of the inside jokes,
but the one time a decade that you see Rebecca,
you show my wife some respect.
(Luke giggles)
(Luke babbling)
Does anyone know the score of the football game?
It's 21 to 7.
Don't tell Mom and Dad about... you know.
I won't, but Tess...
your parents are going to love you no matter what.
So you should tell them.
Hey, Babe.
-What is this? -Uh...
This is what happens when you leave me
by myself to handle Thanksgiving dinner.
The trouble started when the cranberry sauce boiled over,
it exploded all over me, and then the trouble ended
when I went to baste the turkey, then dropped the turkey,
then stepped onto, nay, into the turkey.
So I had to improvise.
You know what this is?
A disaster.
No.
This is, like, Jack Pearson-level magic.
Blasphemy.
-Take it, you take it back. -I will not.
I will not.
How's Tess?
* When there's no choice...
She's... she's fine.
I think I did okay.
* And how do I...
RANDALL: So although I have great respect
for your university, I find the premise
of your question to be flawed.
No one person has had the greatest impact on my life.
No one person can be my MVP, my most valuable person.
Oof.
Shh. Hush. Go on, honey.
A British anthropologist named
Robin Dunbar wrote we meet approximately
three new people a day.
That's 1,095 people a year.
I'm 17, which means I've met
18,615 people so far, so how I'm I supposed to pick
the most impactful one out of 18,000?
-Good morning Vietnam! -(Tess giggles)
(whoops) Sorry.
-I can't stop doing that. -He really can't.
YOUNG RANDALL: Now you might say, "Randall,
most of these people are essentially strangers."
Happy Thanksgiving.
YOUNG RANDALL: But...
everyone starts off
as an essential stranger, right?
* We would see a sign, oh...
I hope you like pecan pie.
I do.
(chuckles)
Um, relax, William.
She's my cousin.
* Well I've been running...
I'm cool.
* From the ashes we left
(speaking Vietnamese)
* Forgiveness speaks for itself *
* But how can I forget?
* When there's a stain
* On it all
* But what if I need you
* In my darkest hour...
-REBECCA: Hello? -RANDALL: Hey!
* What if it turns out...
Grandpa!
Hey! Hello.
* There is no other...
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving to you!
How're you doing, Grandpa?
-Good. You? -I'm great.
I was left at a fire station by my birth father,
and then I was found by a fireman who took me
to a hospital, where a doctor showed me to my father,
who showed me to my mother.
* Well, I've been running...
YOUNG RANDALL: My story is unique, and I feel like
it's like that for everyone.
Strangers can be your most impactful people.
Acquaintances can be your most impactful people.
Family can be the most impactful.
And that's why I can't pick the person
who's had the greatest impact on my life
and why I think your question is flawed.
But if you insist on me answering,
if it's the only way I can gain entrance
to your storied university...
I choose the fireman.
-(family laughing) -Okay.
REBECCA: Wow. Beautiful.
You're in, son.
* My darkest hour
* And what if it...
Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH