Tonight on NBC their honest & provocative dramedy series This Is Us airs with an all-new Tuesday, October 22, 2019, episode and we have your This Is Us recap below. On tonight’s This Is Us season 4 episode 5 called, “Storybook Love,” as per the NBC synopsis, “Rebecca hosts a dinner party. Kevin tries to support those around him. Randall faces concerns about how his family is adjusting to their new home.”
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This is Us begins tonight with Rebecca Pearson (Mandy Moore) unpacking the boxes at the new house, while Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) brings in a terry cloth tablecloth, something that just won’t do for Rebecca’s dinner party. 18-year-old Kate (Hannah Zeile) still feels weird waking up there as they have only been living there for a month now; both feeling it will take time for them to adjust. Kate is concerned about the fact that Kevin married Sophie (Amanda Leighton), but Rebecca feels they simply need to support them and it will be fun to celebrate. Randall (Niles Fitch) is bringing his girlfriend and Miguel Rivas (Jon Huertas) is also coming; causing Kate to wonder if he is bringing a sleeping bag since he is there all the time anyway. Kate is off to work, something she enjoys, although a little boring, she is in the back of the store kissing a boy when a customer arrives.
In the present day, Tess Pearson (Eris Baker) is eating her breakfast really quick, causing her mother, Beth Pearson (Susan Kelechi Watson) to tell her to slow down; but she has a ton of school work to finish before school. Randall Pearson (Sterling K. Brown) returns from his run, saying they are early birds and ran 10 miles; feeling good. Deja Pearson (Lyric Ross) walks into the kitchen and Randall offers her some cereal, but she rejects him, saying she is not going to forget that he treated her like a child and making decisions on who she can and cannot date. Beth tells Randall he needs a better plan.
Kate (Chrissy Metz) calls Randall, demanding to know what the baby gift is, but he says he cannot tell her as it will ruin the surprise. Toby Damon (Chris Sullivan) asks if it is a pony or a hot tub as the Pearson men are known for their grand gestures and it could literally be anything. He kisses her as he is off to the gym. Randall does reveal the gift is from him and Kevin (Justin Hartley) so she needs to call them when the gift arrives. Kate admits she is concerned about Kevin as he bought a trailer out in Pennsylvania.
Kevin sits outside his trailer with his Uncle Nicky Pearson (Griffin Dunne), enjoying their morning coffee. Nicky says the quiet was nice as Kevin wants to learn more about his dad’s childhood. Kevin shares a story about how his dad used to bring those cardboard boxes of ice cream home for them and he would open it up and cut it like it was cake; Kevin confesses how much he loved that. Nicky still remains silent but finally tells Kev he really isn’t into going to the hockey game that night but Kevin says he has to go as they are honoring veterans. He says Cassidy Sharp (Jennifer Morrison) is going and he promised her he would help her win her husband back, causing Nicky to tell Kevin he has strange relationships with people. Kevin says that is the nicest thing he has ever said to him.
Randall meets with a councilman, apologizing for missing out on drinks. He just sits at his desk but receives a call from his daughter’s school. They were unable to speak to Beth and Randall says he needs to leave as his daughter just had a panic attack.
Rebecca and Jack continue to prepare for the big dinner party. She gives him some food and Tobasco sauce to tie him over until she can find the pots and make lasagna. During the party, Randall is nervous because he forgot to ask his girlfriend about dietary restrictions, but she insists she likes salmon and everything is okay, reassuring him by putting her hand on his shaking leg. Miguel comes out with two bottles of wine as Rebecca dashes to the kitchen for the garnish. Kate mutters that the garnish is so important over the fact that Kevin got married.
Randall pulls out a piece of paper and beings writing, informing his girlfriend that he keeps a list of things that need to be fixed around the house, now that their mom is alone. Kate promises she is not alone since she is there. Randall’s girlfriend produces a bottle of hot sauce as a house warming gift, causing everyone to pause since it was what Jack always did. She shares that her dad always did it and it is something she picked up from him. Kevin and Sophie show up, Randall reminding Kate they are there to support their mom.
Randall returns home with Tess, who doesn’t want to talk about her attack. She immediately goes into the fridge as Randall tries to reassure her, saying it happens to him too, and it does come out of nowhere, remembering how Kevin has been there. Not knowing he felt that way, Beth walks in as Randall tells her what is going on. Randall says it does make sense that Tess is putting too much pressure on herself, but she angrily tells him not to say that she is like him as she doesn’t want to be anything like him.
Kevin wonders if Nicky has a Vietnam baseball cap to wear to the game. Nicky just wants 10 beers to get through this, but quickly says he is joking. Cassidy arrives, informing them that Matty’s (Noah Salbury Lipson) dad, Ryan (Nick Wechsler) is bringing him to the game in support of her. Matty is excited to see Kevin as Cassidy thanks Ryan for coming and they are introduced to each other. Nicky leans in and tells Kevin he really does have the strangest relationships with people.
Jack cannot find the fourth leg for the table and goes to find Rebecca in the kitchen; he kindly reminds her that she is already cooking three babies in her belly and she doesn’t need to do this. She says this is their first night in their new home and she wants to celebrate; wanting everything to be just right. She tells him to start on his salad.
Kevin tells everyone how he and Sophie decided to get married. They were walking through New York when he stopped in front of a theater that was playing “The Princess Bride”, their favorite movie and that was partially a sign, when the church across the street started ringing its bells and a street vendor walks up selling jewelry; at that moment he realized he couldn’t wait for another second to spend his life with Sophie. Sophie brings out the wedding pictures to share with everyone. The doorbell rings and it is Mark, Kate’s boyfriend from work. He wants to meet everyone and she brings him in.
Kevin talks to Ryan, while they are watching the hockey game. He has never been to a game and hates it. Nicky is struggling as the people around him keep drinking alcohol. The buzzer sounds and Nicky says he doesn’t feel good and needs to be somewhere else, he begs Kevin to let him go alone.
Kate is trapped at the house, wanting to know when the gift is going to arrive as she can’t imagine the grand gesture can be worth this much. She hangs up the phone and suddenly someone is at her door, but it turns out to be her mother who has no idea what she is talking about when she asks if she is her present.
Miguel and Rebecca learn more about Mark, who becomes the center of attention at the dinner. Randall thinks he is cool but Kevin feels he is too old for Kate as he is 23, but she reminds him that their dad was 6 years older than their mom. They both adore Randall’s girlfriend, but Kate snaps, saying Kevin got married without her and she is supposed to be his “person”. Rebecca walks in, demanding to know what is going on. Kate says she is not freaking out but is not pretending that this is normal, calling Kevin selfish for not inviting them to the wedding. Rebecca shouts at them that this is where more forward in their new house, and God helps her; they are going to pull themselves together get their whiny asses back to the table and enjoy her dinner!
Jack and Rebecca are busy setting the table when they realize neither one of them cleaned the over out and her dinner is burnt. He hugs her, telling her it still looks good. The dinner in the new home with the cornish hens is eaten in silence as Miguel whispers to Kate if they can get sick from the hens. When Rebecca looks at him, he tells her that dinner is so good!
At the hockey game, Cassidy and a few others are honored for their service; as soon as she gets her medal, Ryan asks Kevin to tell her that he had to take off and he will see Matty whenever, causing Kevin to roll his eyes. Meanwhile, Randall is worried about Tess so Beth suggests making her grilled cheese and see if Tess will talk to her then. He gets messages on his phone, saying Wilkins is pissed at him for leaving the office. He insists to Beth he is fine but she knows better. Randall says growing up he never shared genetic traits with anyone and now they have kids he wanted to know what they would have from him and now he passed on anxiety and panic attacks to their daughter. He feels so guilty for giving those traits to their daughter.
Beth comes home and tells William Hill (Ron C. Jones) that they are keeping Randall at the hospital for another night to make sure the medication is working. His dad wonders if this has been building for a while, causing Beth to reveal how Randall deals with his anxiety, feeling guilty for not seeing the signs. Will admits he also had anxiety when he was young, and when it was happening he thought he was going to die but his mother helped him through it. He confesses that of all the things he could have passed down he hates that it was that.
Jack pours them some wine saying the smoke gave the lasagna a nice hickory flavor, causing her to laugh. Later, Miguel finds Rebecca who wonders if she is trying too hard and if the family is just unfixable as the loss of Jack is simply too big for them. Miguel says the answers are in the bottle of wines he bought. She hasn’t drunk in 10 years, but he knows a lot about wine. He tells her about the win coming from a town close to Tuscany and the town is so small, saying they simply have to be patient with their crop, waiting out the bad years and hoping nd believing a better year is coming. He promises it always is. She thanks him and demands he gives her a glass of wine.
Kevin drives Cassidy and Matty home. Matty is sleeping in the back while Cassidy is beating herself up for wishing a marriage could simply work out. She doesn’t think there is much to save, considering she doesn’t even think Ryan likes her. Kevin looks very sad.
Beth calls Randall and Tess to come downstairs immediately, she remembers something Will taught her that his mother helped him. Beth knows they hate what they have and how scary it is, informing them that William also had this, reminding them there is a fine line between worrying and caring. She loves Randall for caring so deeply, telling Tess there are things she gets from her dad that she needs to get used to and are great. Together they are going to get things under control but she will not allow Tess to speak ill of three of her favorite people in the world. Tess admits she is hearing her.
Beth grabs a glass of club soda and pours it in two glasses, telling them to take a minute and wait for the bubbles to settle, something William’s mother did with him when he had panic attacks. Tess tells them about what happened at school about the jock being hot and how she can’t come out now because it will be a whole thing. Randall takes her hand, saying that is a lot, but they can figure it out. She thanks her dad as Beth and Randall toast each other.
Rebecca is able to enjoy the dinner with Kevin, his new wife Sophie, Randall and his girlfriend, Beth, Kate, and her boyfriend, Mark. She tells them about the time she and Jack moved into their first home and she burnt the dinner, opening the window to get all the smoke out. Just as they are about to eat a bird flew in the house, but Jack is terrified of birds but comes in with a tennis racket and pillowcase. Jack made the most ridiculous screaming sound as the bird was chasing him, trying to protect her.
Somewhere along the way, Jack knocks over the lasagna and the two can’t help but burst out laughing and that is when it became the perfect night. She says they need to be able to think about him and not only be sad; they need to be able to talk about the hot sauce. He was perfect just the way that dinner was perfect. He was so happy and that is all she wants for all her kids, causing them all to smile. They all toast to happiness and to Kevin and Sophie. Rebecca finally admits the meal was disgusting and everyone is still hungry. Pizzas arrive at the door and the night becomes the perfect family night.
Cassidy brings Matty inside to bed as Kevin gives Ryan the jacket. Kevin chastises him, saying his wife was honored tonight at the hockey game and she was excited that he was showing up but if he was only going to stand there and stare at his phone all day, why did he bother coming. Ryan reveals he met her when he was 15, smashed into her in the hallways. He knew then that he just met his favorite person. The ceremony he is talking about is what broke his favorite person in the world. He was staring at his phone because he would have been openly crying in front of his son and that is not what he needs from his father right now. Kevin apologizes as Ryan orders him to stay away from his wife. Cassidy comes out, Ryan walks inside and Kevin tells her that Ryan still likes her.
Kevin returns to the trailers and finds Nicky who immediately says he is okay and sober but he is not a storyteller, nor does he like people but Kevin is the closest person he has been to in 25 years. He pulls out a box of ice cream, saying Jack wasn’t the first person to do this, he learned it from their father, Stanley Pearson (Peter Onorati) who was a bastard, but occasionally was fun. Nicky opens the box, explaining everything as he was doing it; depending on how good a boy they were was how big a slice they got. He asks Kevin how good of a boy he was today. Kevin says he annoyed his uncle but other than that he did pretty good. In that case, he gets pretty good slices of ice cream. Kevin smiles as Nicky says he has been very good.
Everyone is stuffed from the pizza as Rebecca says she has to give Kevin and Sophie their wedding gift, its a song from the movie The Princess Bride. She sits at the piano and sings “storybook love”.
Kate finally gets their gift and it is their old piano. Toby says the Pearson men have done another grand gesture. Rebecca is there to see them receive it. Kate is holding baby Jack as Rebecca looks on sweetly. Randall comes to bed as Beth says she found a therapist for both him and Tess. He feels he doesn’t need one, but she says he doesn’t need things to crash down before he gets help. She says they have resources and people who are trained to deal with this stuff. She is worried they are one big emotional thing from everything crumbling but he insists he is fine.
Kate opens the piano bench and finds all the polaroids from that night. She sees a photo of her and Mark and gets serious. Rebecca confesses she was trying so hard to keep things together that year after Jack died that she didn’t see what was really happening; Kate sadly admits she didn’t see either.
THE END!
