What Now? is the seventeenth episode of the first season and the 17th overall episode of This Is Us.
Short Summary[]
The entire Pearson family gather at Randall's for an unusual party; Kevin and Sophie's relationship deepens on the night of his play's premiere; Kate struggles to open up to Toby about her father's death; and tensions are high between Jack and Rebecca as she leaves on tour with her band.
Full Summary[]
Rebecca is ready to leave for her tour, and Jack is late coming home from work to say goodbye. They separate on tense terms, without kissing goodbye. Kate confronts Jack about it, and Jack reassures her. Alone, Jack decides to go to an office retirement party at a bar, and orders a drink, despite having quit alcohol years ago. A co-worker, Heather, flirts with him, which he rebuffs.
Kevin tries to salvage his play after bailing on opening night. He begs the Times critic to come see the play again, who is skeptical.
William wrote a letter saying he wanted Tess and Annie to plan his funeral. Randall helps set up, and many unexpected people share their positive memories of him. All the characters gather for the funeral, which Tess and Annie set up to be more like a celebration. Randall realizes that Beth is grieving harder than he expected, and has her give a moving eulogy. It especially affects Kate, who had been thinking about her own father lately. Randall helps prompt her to open up more to Toby about it. Rebecca formally apologizes for keeping William out of Randall’s life.
After the funeral, everyone goes to Kevin’s play, which goes very well, but the critic doesn’t show up. Afterwards, he and Sophie declare their love and have sex. That night, Ron Howard calls Kevin to offer him a part in a movie.
On the way home, Randall stops by his office to chew out his boss for sending him a box of pears as condolences (which he is allergic to) and quits his job.
Beth finds a postcard William sent to her from Memphis as a formal goodbye.
Kate tells Toby about her belief that she caused Jack’s death. The story flashes back to Jack’s decision to follow Kate’s advice and go to Rebecca’s show, which he drives to, drunk.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Milo Ventimiglia as Jack Pearson
- Mandy Moore as Rebecca Pearson
- Sterling K. Brown as Randall Pearson
- Chrissy Metz as Kate Pearson
- Justin Hartley as Kevin Pearson
- Susan Kelechi Watson as Beth Pearson
- Chris Sullivan as Toby Damon
- Ron Cephas Jones as William Hill
Guest Stars[]
- Denis O'Hare as Jessie
- Jon Huertas as Miguel Rivas
- Alexandra Breckenridge as Sophie Inman
- Amanda Leighton as Teen Sophie
- Milana Vayntrub as Sloane Sandburg
- Hari Dhillon as Sanjay Jahiri
- Hannah Zeile as Teen Kate
- Logan Shroyer as Teen Kevin
- Niles Fitch as Teen Randall
- Eris Baker as Tess Pearson
- Faithe Herman as Annie Pearson
- Ken Lerner as Brandon Novak
- John Pollono as Tyler
- Julia Cho as Jill
- Anthony Marciona as Pench
- Megan West as Heather
- Bill Chott as Mailman
Music[]
| Song | Performer | Scene |
|---|---|---|
| "" |
|
Notes and Trivia[]
- This episode scored 11.15 million viewers.
Gallery[]
Episode Stills[]
Quotes[]
See Also[]
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A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here. |
| This Is Us Season 1 | |||||
| #01 | "Pilot" | #07 | "The Best Washing Machine in the World" | #13 | "Three Sentences" |
| #02 | "The Big Three" | #08 | "Pilgrim Rick" | #14 | "I Call Marriage" |
| #03 | "Kyle" | #09 | "The Trip" | #15 | "Jack Pearson's Son" |
| #04 | "The Pool" | #10 | "Last Christmas" | #16 | "Memphis" |
| #05 | "The Game Plan" | #11 | "The Right Thing to Do" | #17 | "What Now?" |
| #06 | "Career Days" | #12 | "The Big Day" | #18 | "Moonshadow" |