‘This Is Us’: Everything We Know About Deja After Tuesday Night’s Episode

This Is Us‘ Tuesday night episode was all about Déjà, and we learned just about everything possible about her.

The episode, entitled “This Big, Amazing, Beautiful Life,” tracked her life from her first moments to her whereabouts since leaving the Pearson household.

While Déjà’s history has always been a bit murky and one-dimensional, this episode really fleshed out all the finer details about her.

Scroll through to see everything we learned about her on Tuesday night’s episode.

Her Birth

The episode begins with Déjà’s birth, as one might expect.

Déjà’s mother, Shauna (Joy Brunson), is being supported by her grandmother, Gigi (Pam Grier). 

Shauna seems disinterested in holding Déjà, and Gigi reveals that Shauna is irritated that Dennis, who is presumably Déjà’s father, is not in the picture. It’s also worth noting that Shauna’s mother is nowhere in sight.

Her Bond With Her Great-Grandmother

By the time Déjà was five years old, she was extremely close with Gigi.

Gigi has picked up the slack where Shauna has faltered. The main bonding scene shows Gigi reading Goodnight Moon to Déjà as Shauna is out partying.

She Watched Gigi Die

Another heartbreaking detail of Déjà’s past is the moment she watched her great-grandmother die.

In one scene, Gigi, Shuana and Déjà is seen arriving back at their apartment after a grocery store trip. The matriarch begins to stumble and braces against the wall.

The young Déjà asks her Gigi if she’s alright. She tells her, “I’m okay, baby.”

However, Gigi falls to the floor and dies in front of Shauna and Déjà.

Her Big Kitchen Accident

Many of Déjà’s misfortunes stem from an unfortunate kitchen accident.

One day while Shauna is (supposedly) at work, Déjà prepares her a birthday dinner. However, she accidentally cuts her hand open in the process. She tries to reach her mother, but she does not answer.

Déjà has no choice but to get medical care. Child Services arrives to process the situation. When Shauna finally arrives after drinking with friends, Déjà is taken away from her. 

Her First Foster Home

Déjà’s first foster home was a hard place to live.

She shared a room with another girl and bonded with her. However, their foster father beat them any time they misbehaved.

Thankfully, Déjà tells social worker Linda (Debra Jo Rupp) about the abuse and gets her and her foster sister new homes.

Tension Between Her and Her Mom’s Boyfriend

Déjà eventually returns to her mother, but things are not well.

Shauna is seeing a man she met in rehab, and he is involved in some sort of illegal activities. He and his friends soon take over the house, which cause sa lot of tension between him and Déjà.

The boyfriend eventually leads to Shauna’s arrest, as he has an illegal gun stored in her car.

Her Life After the Pearson Home

The show also reveals Déjà’s life after leaving the Pearson household.

At first things are good. Shauna was doing much better at first, much like Randall and child services thought. Déjà was even helping her balance her budget by using a box for all Shauna’s earnings.

Things seem to be going well, but there soon comes a money shortage.

How She Became Homeless

One day, the mother and daughter realize they do not have enough to pay for heat in the apartment. After three weeks without heat, Déjà asks the Pearsons for help. They oblige and give her money, which Déjà deposits in the box.

Not long after, the family’s landlord gets into a verbal argument with Shauna, revealing that rent is far overdue and she is about to be evicted. Déjà is confused and heads to the box to settle the debt. However, the cash from the Pearsons is missing.

It turns out, Shauna took that money and used it to help pay for her boyfriend’s bail.

Her Possible Future at the Pearsons

After waking Déjà an Shauna after they find the duo sleeping in a car, Randall and Beth invite the mother and daughter into their home.

The pair then spends time with the Pearsons, eating a good dinner, playing UNO and talking about their current situation.

Shauna seems embarrassed but grateful for the help. She then confesses to Beth that she feels like a failure to her daughter.

“I failed Déjà,” Shauna says. “I failed her, and I can’t keep failing her. You know what I always say to her? ‘What would I do without you?’ I’ve been saying that to her since she was 5. Who puts that on a kid?”

At the end of the episode, Shauna then reveals she is leaving the Pearson home without Déjà. This presumably sets Déjà up to be a permanent part of the Pearson family.

This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, with past episodes currently streaming on Hulu.

Photo Credit: NBC / Ron Batzdorff