‘This Is Us’: Rebecca’s Memory Loss Reaches Breaking Point in Midseason Finale

This is Us always delivers when it comes to its Thanksgiving episodes and Tuesday’s midseason finale did not disappoint. Viewers of the show were left anxiously awaiting the fallout from Randall (Sterling K. Brown) and Rebecca’s (Mandy Moore) conversation when he approached the subject of her memory lapses and mood swings, suggesting she seeks help, to which Rebecca scoffed at and shut the door on him.

It turns out that Randall may have been onto something after all.

The show opened with Randall feeling a little awkward in the kitchen with his mother there. Beth urged him to say something, because after all, “It’s Thanksgiving” as she put it. Rebecca made a few quips about how she was able to prepare the food without “burning down the house” or “forgetting” as Randall felt a sense of guilt coming over him after accusing her of suffering from memory loss.

Her confidence in proving Randall wrong didn’t last too long, however. Walking by a park alone, Rebecca’s memory concerns strike again as she looks across the playground and sees a man whom she believes is William, Randall’s deceased biological father, but as a younger version of himself. After going up to him she realizes that is not the case, telling the man, “I thought you were someone else,” before asking him where the nearest bakery is.

Arriving at the grocery store she was directed to, viewers see Rebecca encounter another moment of forgetfulness as she gets sidetracked heading towards the bakery section, instead seeing flowers and grabbing orange roses. The scene goes silent as she looks around the stores, looks at the ‘Bakery’ sign, and proceeds to go to the cashier. There, she fumbles around finding her card before subtly putting the chip in the wrong way.

She tells the cashier that it’s been a long day and “that’s why my brain is fuzzy.” When leaving, the camera pans back to see she left her phone behind at the register as Randall’s incoming call displays. This leads to her breaking point as she dines in a Chinese restaurant by herself and discovers she doesn’t have her phone, asking the waiter if they have a phone she could use than realizes she doesn’t know his number.

“I need to call my son,” Rebecca says through tears as she eventually is shown getting a ride back to Randall’s house by a pair of police officers.

That’s where the jump forward occurs — nine months to be exact — as the police officers actually are taking her to Kevin’s house in the woods for the kids’ 40th birthday party, thus the cake she was getting. It’s clear at that point her memory loss is worsening as she asks Kevin where Randall is and he tells her, “He isn’t. We aren’t speaking, remember?”

Then she is shown arriving in present day back to Randall’s house, telling him she was at a movie and had her phone off. She then tells Randall that a few minutes into the previews she forgot what movie she went to see and then says, “I think I need to go see a doctor.”

This is Us will kick back up with its winter premiere on Jan. 14.