Spoilers ahead for the Season 5 premiere two-parter of This Is Us on NBC.
This Is Us made its long-awaited return for Season 5 with a two-parter that brought the Pearsons into the era of COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter. In the process, the show proved that Kevin and Randall didn't spontaneously get over their ugly fight from the end of Season 4. While they had a civil but strained exchange by the end of the second hour, their feud is certainly still ongoing, and even Kate can't do anything about it. As it turns out, many fans are already tired of the situation.
The Pearson men had their blowout at the end of Season 4 over their different opinions regarding Rebecca's treatment for Alzheimer's, but the fight quickly began to cut deeper than just what was happening with their mom. Kevin claimed that Randall didn't take care of the family and Jack died because Randall didn't go into the fire to rescue him, while Randall countered by saying that Jack died ashamed of Kevin, and even insulted Kevin's acting skills in the process. Kevin got the awful, horrible, heartbreaking last word, however, when he yelled that the worst thing that ever happened to him was Jack and Rebecca bringing Randall home. Ouch!
Fortunately for fans still smarting from the brothers unleashing on each other at the end of Season 4, the Season 5 premiere didn't actually pit them against each other, but the awkwardness as they simply didn't address what happened was pretty painful. Kevin made a halfhearted overture when Randall was leaving the cabin, telling him that the twins were going to be a boy and a girl, and asking for advice on raising a daughter. It was uncomfortable and awkward and probably not what Big Three fans wanted out of their 40th birthday!
While both brothers threw some pretty nasty insults at each other last season, Kevin getting the brutal last word of top of everything in the Season 5 premiere seemingly has a lot of fans on Team Randall in this feud.
Who can really argue with that? I actually don't find it unrealistic at all that they would try to avoid the topic when they inevitably crossed paths again, but Kevin just sidestepped all the issues to bring up his future daughter. Between the current events weighing on his mind and the drama with his family, no wonder Randall was exhausted and content with just his wife and daughters by the end of the premiere!
I won't argue that Randall didn't say some terrible things to Kevin before Kevin crossed the line of saying that Randall joining the Pearson family was the worst day of his life, but I still say that it's on Kevin to start the apologies. Besides, Randall came in with a save in the premiere when he was the only member of the family who realized that Rebecca's episode was a result of a bad drug interaction that would wear off rather than anything more serious.
Hey, at least there was no danger of the Pearson boys violating social distancing rules! It might be for the best that they didn't hash everything out between them right then and there at the cabin, but asking Randall's advice after everything wasn't Kevin's best look. For some on social media, however, Kevin's lukewarm attempt at reaching out was actually a cry for help.
Kevin might need to actually say some things out loud before Randall is willing to notice anything that he's going through and want to help. Randall is dealing with the stresses of his job on top of everything else, and the big cliffhanger flashback of the finale revealed that his biological mother isn't dead after all. Randall already needs a break, and we're only two hours into the fifth season! Perhaps this person sums the situation up the best:
Unfortunately, I'm guessing that any resolution on the feud won't come anytime too soon. Not only are the brothers generally on opposite sides of the country, but they do have more pressing issues. Madison's pregnancy and their relationship aren't going to get any less complicated for Kevin, and Randall is still working through some issues, although Randall was self-aware enough in this episode to realize that he needs to switch from his previous therapist to a Black therapist he could be more open with.
Find out if and when the Pearson brothers patch up their fight with new episodes of This Is Us. The next installment airs on Tuesday, November 10 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. For more viewing options now and in the coming weeks, be sure to check out our 2020 fall TV premiere schedule.
