What does happily-ever-after look like for the Pearsons?
And as the episode rolls on it becomes too much for him to take.
I can only see tubes and tape and needles and pain, he tells Kate.
Credit: Ron Batzdorff/NBC
Toby makes it back into the room with Kate and the baby, holds him, and apologizes.
Jack, this is your dad, she says to their new son.
We check in on Kevin, meanwhile, in couples therapy with Zoe.
(Yes, this show moves fast.)
Zoe says she doesnt want them; Kevin sort of assumed he did.
And so Zoe puts the pressure on him: He needs to think through what he wants, clearly.
The ultimatum is implicit: Zoe or kids.
Kevin presents his kids-versus-Zoe dilemma, admitting he doesnt know what to choose.
Decide what you want, she says.
You always get it.
He comes home and makes his decision, telling Zoe kids are nothing compared to her.
Its all lovely and sweet.
Is this tying a bow up on things, or his (long-demonstrated) self-destructive tendencies creeping in again?
His commute is nearly 90 minutes; he still reads to kids at night while Beth is teaching.
He falls asleep with binders of reports scattered beside him.
The grind is brutal but theyre making it work.
Its a tight squeeze, but its after class so she can make it.
Shes not thrilled but agrees.
She tells Randall she cant make it; he pleads that she sees how important this is to him.
She hangs up rather abruptly, leaving her decision a theme there in this episode up in the air.
Randall waits outside the mans house in his car waiting for Beth to show up.
He texts and calls four times, only for it to go straight to voicemail.
All signs point to her standing him up, and hes furious.
Grow the hell up, Beth.
Turns out she planned on being there for Randall after all.
That voicemail is like a bomb at the dinner party waiting to detonate.
She tells him to go sleep on the cot thats in his office.
(And take this weird-ass purple cheesecake with you, she adds.)
(Like she said, he always gets what he wants.)
Serving as chaperones, Rebecca and Jack survey the action, admiring and happy and at times disappointed.
(They find Randall in the library after trying to get away for a quick makeout session.)
I wouldve walked right up to you and said, Hi, Jack predicts.And that would have been it.
She asks, Just like that?
He says, Just like that.
Then they wonder what their kids happily-ever-afters might look like.
We cant keep simmering like this forever, he tells her.
(Yeah, no kidding.)
And shes geared up, asking, You want to do this right now?
Randall slams the door and we cut to credits.
This couple has fought plenty this season, but I have a feeling we havent seen anything yet.
