This Is Us: “Pilgrim Rick”
(Episode 1.08)
NBCUniversal
For those stressing out over tomorrow’s Thanksgiving festivities, “Pilgrim Rick” is a cautionary tale. It’s so easy to get lost in the preparation—the fixation on everything running smoothly, every dish being perfect and every family member being on their best behavior—that we tend to forget what’s really important. The holidays tend to be steeped in a dangerous mix of nostalgia and anticipation; we all frantically try to recapture the joys of our childhood and family traditions, and when we’re unable to relive these past moments with the same favor, we feel we’ve failed as a host or an entire family unit. Traditions become a part of us and make us feel at home, no matter where in the world we are, but we often allow them to dictate our holidays to the point that they become a source of unnecessary stress and tension. If the pie isn’t just so and the music isn’t from the Thanksgiving mix-tape your grandpa recorded thirty years ago, well, that’s it, the day is ruined. The truth is, none of that should matter. Catch the beautiful moments around you while you can. Don’t waste time trying to manipulate these moments to meet your expectations.
For Rebecca, Thanksgiving is one of the most dreaded holidays of the year. Knowing she’ll have to spend her day being belittled by her parents while her kids are forced to keep up the perfect-grandchildren charade in their uncomfortable party clothes and grandma’s hand-knit wool sweaters, she’s not excited about the day ahead. She puts herself under immense pressure, going out of her way to cook up the perfect cranberry sauce even though she knows she’ll be scrutinized by her mother the minute she walks into their house—nothing she does will ever be as good as her sister’s sweet potato pie.
As is usually the case in these scenarios, everything that could possibly go wrong, does. The kids knock over the cranberry sauce she slaved over, spilling it all down their dress-shirts and chinos; after several hours searching for store-bought cranberry sauce that can pass as homemade, they get stuck in traffic; to top it all off, their tire ruptures and they crash into a fence. As they walk 3.4 miles to the nearest roadside motel to call for help, Rebecca and Jack ask the kids how they plan on spending their own Thanksgiving when they’re grown-ups. To their surprise, the kids are delighted to know they have the option to skip it altogether. Apparently they hate Thanksgiving, not just because of their uptight grandparents, but because of how “mean” Rebecca and her “weird high voice” get whenever she’s around them. This revelation hits Rebecca hard.
In the present, Randall is in his element. He’s up at the crack of dawn prepping, putting together a special breakfast and getting the whole family in the spirit. Beth and William are trying their hardest to keep up a happy face, but are both dealing with their own struggles. For one, they’re sitting on a secret with the power to inflame tensions in the Pearson family even further—particularly between Rebecca, William and Randall. Secondly, William’s health is rapidly declining; he’s feeling particularly weak that morning, but insists on joining them on their 3.4 mile hike.