“Every Version of You” picks up Randall’s story following the Thanksgiving dinner where Rebecca charged her children with living their lives to the fullest despite her Alzheimer’s diagnosis, and also chose Kate to serve as her primary decision-maker should anything happen to Miguel (Jon Huertas)—a decision which Randall clearly expected to go a different way. The episode also follows up on the conflict between Randall and his adopted daughter Déjà (Lyric Ross) which started back in episode 5, when Déjà announced she was planning to graduate high school early in order to move to Boston with her boyfriend, Malik (Asante Blackk). Here’s everything we learned in This Is Us Season 6 episode 10, “Every Version of You.”
Do Deja and Malik break up on This Is Us?
On the way to Thanksgiving dinner, Déjà comments that Malik wasn’t being very responsive over text—and while Randall’s later in Rebecca’s family meeting, she learns why. Shortly after the meeting concludes, Déjà confronts him, saying Malik broke up with her following Randall’s talk with him, and that she “literally hates” him now. When Randall says he was just trying to look out for what’s best for her because she’s his daughter, Déjà responds that she’s not. “Tess and Annie are your daughters. I’m just some girl you took from her mom.” From the looks on Randall’s and Beth’s (Susan Kelechi Watson) faces, it’s clear that Déjà drew blood with that remark. The following morning after Kevin and Kate have left, Beth tells Randall that Déjà is gone. Reluctantly, Tess reveals that she left the night before to go to Boston in order to convince Malik to get back together. Randall says he’s going after her while Beth and the other girls return to Philadelphia, but after a pointed comment from Randall about how Kate handles all of the big things now, Rebecca announces that she’s coming with him. After deciding to take their time on the road in order to give Déjà some space, Déjà calls the following morning. Randall hurries to Malik’s apartment, where they’re both waiting outside. It appears the breakup is sticking, but Malik insists he’s not doing it because of what Randall said. He just realized it wasn’t fair to Déjà, even though he loves her. Randall reassures him that sometimes, when something is meant to be, “these things have a way of coming back around.” Does that mean Mailk could still be in the running as the father of Déjà’s baby in the future? Seems like that’s still a definite possibility. In the car, Déjà tells Randall and Rebecca that everything has been “so intense” for her and Malik ever since they got together. She still hopes maybe someday they won’t be, and they’ll be able to be together. And she tells Randall that he is her dad, and she’s sorry for ever saying he wasn’t.
Why did Rebecca choose Kate on This Is Us?
On their road trip to Boston, Randall helps Rebecca reminisce about the special times they spent together when Randall was a kid. But the nostalgia is broken when Beth calls, saying she finally got in touch with Déjà in Boston. Randall wants to rush the rest of the way there, but Rebecca urges him to give her some space. So in lieu of covering the rest of the distance to Boston, they head to a bar. Later, at the winterized motel pool, Rebecca tells Randall that she realized after Jack died that Randall had already been taking care of her for years. We see this in a flashback to the Big Three after they escape the community pool in the year 2000, then head to the diner where Kate (Hannah Zeile) works. Randall (Niles Fitch) calls Rebecca to check in, then asks her to check the pocket of his backpack, where he has a bag of the Eat’n Park cookies that the two of them like to share. This, Rebecca explains in the present day, is why she didn’t make Randall the executor. She didn’t want to put the burden of caring for her on him after he’d already been doing it for his whole life. “You’re my hero, Randall,” she tells him, “And I will not be the person who holds you back anymore.”
Does Randall win the Senate election on This Is Us?
On the way to Boston, as Randall and Rebecca prepare for bed in their shared motel room, Randall gets a call from his assistant Jae-won (Tim Jo), wanting to schedule a meeting with the senior senator from Pennsylvania. But Randall is reluctant to schedule it, citing family issues, and won’t commit to a date. Randall reveals to Rebecca that the senator has put him on a shortlist to replace him after he retires the next year. But Randall hasn’t decided yet if it’s something he wants to pursue, saying he doesn’t want to make any major life decisions with so much about their family still feeling uncertain. It’s easy to understand what the senator sees in Randall, as the episode shows us flashbacks of Kevin’s life and makes it clear he’s always known how to smooth over conflict and appeal to people’s better nature. As a young child, he’s the one who got his whole family playing together in the pool, after Kate and Kevin both had given up for the day. And as a young adult, he persuaded the officer who freed Kate from the pool not to arrest them, explaining the difficulties their family had been through and how hard it would be on their mother. “Oh, and I might be president someday,” Randall adds as he finishes his speech. “So I really can’t get arrested.” Considering his options in the present day, Randall confides in Rebecca that he knows that if he runs for the Senate seat, he’ll win. And he doesn’t know where that path might lead. Before they part ways, Rebecca asks Randall to sign an article she cut out of a magazine about him. At home, she tucks the article into a box of memorabilia she keeps about Randall, who has signed the paper, “To my biggest fan, from hers.” Randall then decides to go ahead and schedule the meeting with the Senator, hinting that maybe the “Rising Star” article that we glimpse in the five-year flash-forward may be profiling Senator Pearson.
What happens next week on This Is Us?
Airing April 5, 2022, Episode 11 of This Is Us Season 6 is titled “Saturday in the Park,” and the synopsis ominously reads, “Rebecca and Miguel’s anniversary barbecue does not go as planned.” As a coda at the end of the episode, back at Toby’s apartment, Kate arrives home from her walk, fresh off telling Phillip (Chris Geere) that she wants to be considered for a full-time job in L.A. Before she can say anything, Toby tells her that the Big Green Egg smoker arrived in time for Rebecca and Miguel’s anniversary party. In response, Kate tells him that she’s not ready to move to San Francisco. “Not where we are right now. I’m sorry.” Could this be the event where Kate and Toby’s marriage crumbles for good? Our money is on yes, as it seems like we’re now rapidly approaching the end of KaToby. All we can do now is brace for impact. Next, will there be a This Is Us movie following the end of the series? Here’s everything we know about the Pearson family’s possible move to the big screen.
