Last week on This is Us,we saw the ultimate end of Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Toby (Chris Sullivan), with the story of their divorce and Kate's journey to new love with Phillip. And while Kate's arc feels well wrapped, the show isn't moving past her wedding yet, as it provides the setting for this week's episode and presumably, next week, too.
For this week, episode 13, dubbed "The Day of the Wedding," the focus turns to Rebecca (Mandy Moore), regarding how her Alzheimer's impacts wedding moods and events. Juxtaposed with that is a flashback to a different struggle one day as mother of the Big Three in their six/seven-year-old era. The themes of the stories: routine and music. Around Rebecca's journey, there's, naturally, secondary stories – Kate's newfound bliss, Miguel (Jon Huertas) and Randall (Sterling K. Brown) drama, and a Kevin mystery that Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) and Madison work to solve. But first things first, the Pearson matriarch.
Rebecca
In the flashback, Rebecca's morning starts with robotically packing the kids' lunches. She then proceeds through a typical day — dropping the kids off, on time as always, going to the grocery store for a pound of ham, as predicted by the deli attendants. Then, she goes for a haircut. But when the stylist asks if she wants the "usual," Rebecca opts for something different – a Princess Diana cut.
However, Rebecca regrets the decision, and shamefully shows Jack when he returns home from work. Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) doesn't react optimally, as the kids share their dislike of her new look — Randall wants his "old mom back" and Kevin thinks she looks like Peter Pan. Jack eventually asks why she did it. She says she was upset about reeking of mom and feeling like she's on autopilot — she's tired of their routine and wants to feel spontaneous again. Jack says he never had a routine as a child so theirs is comforting, but Rebecca is afraid of forgetting herself. She wants to remember surprises can still happen.
