This Is Us Favorite Moment: Songbird Road Part One

There were a lot of beautiful, shcoking, and funny moments in this week’s episode of This Is Us, Songbird Road Part One. But with so many to choose from, there were still some that really stood out.

My number one favorite moment from This Is Us this week was when Rebecca scolded Randall for his “mind blown” mime. Kevin, Randall, and Rebecca all sit down with Kate on FaceTime to discuss the discovery that Uncle Nicky is still alive and that Jack had been lying to them about his death. Everyone is understandably shocked and little betrayed, but no one more so than Rebecca. At this point, though, Randall has plenty of experience with familial betrayal, so his attitude regarding the news is a litte more flippant.

When Kevin breaks the news to Kate, Randall makes a slow, dramatic exploding noise and balloons his hands around his head, stating “Mind completely blown.” Its a bit that is a little awkward in the context of this serious conversation, more than a little dorky, and 100 percent Randall. Everyone generally ignores this and takes it in stride. When Kevin reveals that there is still a Nicholas Pearson living at the last known address for Nicky, Randall does his “mind blown” mime again, which this time provokes a reaction.

Rebecca obviously takes the news of Jack’s betrayal very seriously, perhaps not so much because of the lie itself, but because of her doubts about whether she did all she could have done as a wife to make him come to terms with his past traumas. Randall’s childish “mind blown” mimes start to bother and distract her. She turns to Randall and simply says his name, sternly and plaintively, sounding almost like its at least the third time she’s asked him to stop doing something. That’s all it takes. Randall goes silent, turns away and puts his head down, double time. He looks shamed and contrite, just like the favorite child he is scolded by the mother he loves to please.

The moment is small, but its funny and its beautiful. I sometimes have a hard time seeing older Rebecca – Mandy Moore in old-age make-up – as adult Randall’s mother. Not just as Randall’s mother, but as any of the adult children. There is sometimes a strange disconnect for me between the children and their mother today and them 20 plus years ago. This moment really highlights the mother/son dynamic between them. No one else could have shamed Randall that quick with just a word. If it had been Kevin or Kate, he might even have delighted in annoying them a little.

Aside from the family dynamic, it’s just so wonderfully performed by Mandy Moore and Sterling K. Brown. For a show that spends a lot of time building up to big moments, they know that the delight often lies in smaller moments and relationship building, and this was one of the best.