This is Us season 4, episode 3 recap: Is everyone unhinged?

This is Us airs Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. on NBC. Spoilers ahead!

This is Us is really good at visual vignettes, as I call them, especially when they open the show.

The most memorable, for me, was the one in season 1’s “Kyle,” in which we see how William met Randall’s mother, Laurel, in Pittsburgh. Without any words, we see how they meet on the bus, fall into drugs, her getting pregnant, and then her death. It was beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time.

“Unhinged” begins by going back to how Nicky arrived at throwing a chair through the window at the VA.

Nicky begins seeing a therapist at the VA, and as he slowly opens up to her, we see him cleaning up his trailer. He stops depending on alcohol so much to deal with his demons. His light comes back.

And then, his therapist drops a bomb: she’s being transferred to Arizona.

Nicky reverts right back to the dark place he had been in since he came back from Vietnam, which leads him to throw a chair through the VA window drunkenly. And that’s why Kevin ends up passing on the movie to go help Nicky.

Kevin

Again, Kevin is in middle-of-nowhere Pennsylvania, and he’s determined to get Nicky back on track. He uses his charm to get him back in the VA to see another therapist. But Nicky is resistant and aloof.

Kevin eventually has to lure Nicky out of a bar and make him attend a meeting with him. They run into Cassidy (Jennifer Morrison) for the second time that day.

Earlier, Kevin met Cassidy’s son, Matty, in the waiting room of the VA, and they became fast friends over a video game. Cassidy wasn’t thrilled Matty made such an old friend, mainly since he belonged to the man who threw a chair at her (through the window).

As Kevin gives his second great monologue in a row, Cassidy and Nicky begin hysterically laughing at him. Compared to what they have been through, Kevin’s problems seem trivial. Kevin joins in because, for the first time in a long time, he realizes he’s not the center of the universe.

If Justin Hartley doesn’t get some awards show love next season, I’ll be pissed. He keeps getting better and better.

Randall

In Philly, Randall’s open-door policy is landing him in a bit of hot water with his new aid. She has no problem telling him to stop being his district’s therapist and play the political game, which begins with firing Jae-won as his chief of staff.

Well, that didn’t work for the district under the last administration, so Randall is trying something new. And instead of firing Jae-won, he fires his aid.

He does, however, put his office door back on its hinges because it’s a fire hazard.

Meanwhile, Malik tells Deja that he has a daughter, which jolts her. I give the kid a ton of credit for going to her first to tell her. And Tess is struggling to come out at her new school. She thought she would be able to start fresh as her true self but didn’t let on to anyone on that she is gay.

Kate

Well, the cat’s out of the bag. Toby is rocking a hot bod courtesy of daily CrossFit sessions, and Kate feels some type of way about it. Toby is Toby and assures her that she’s busy taking care of their baby and that no one expects her to be worried about losing weight right now.

But to someone who has always struggled with her weight, Kate is not ready or willing to hear that.

Toby’s business dinner scene literally broke my heart. Kate walks in looking beautiful and is probably feeling good about herself. And then, when the waitress tries to sit them in a booth and gives them a hard time when Toby politely asks for a different table, Kate had to admit why they need to move just tore me up.

Luckily, Kate “befriends” their new next-door neighbor. At first, the curmudgeonly man yells at Kate to tell “her husband” to stop blocking the sidewalk with his car. It turns out, he had a massive stroke and walks every day to build his strength back up. Now, Kate and Baby Jack will be joining him for his daily walks.

I hope we see more of the neighbor, played by Timothy Omundson (Galavant – great show, canceled too soon!).

Flashback

Jack makes a huge mistake at work and gets fired, but Miguel goes to bat for him, threatening to leave the company if their boss doesn’t change his mind. Spoiler alert, he changes his mind.

Kate and Kevin are still on summer vacation for a few more days. Kate does a workout video with Rebecca but is disappointed to see that she didn’t lose any weight after they were finished. I’ve been there, girlfriend!

It’s also Randall’s first day of junior high, and he’s so excited about a new teacher (Brandon Scott) because he’s African American. He wears his Air Jordans to school to impress him, but his teacher writes him up for the dress code violation. He experiences his very first panic attack and calls home. Luckily, Kevin is having himself a little “me” day and answers instead of Rebecca. In one of the sweeter Kevin/Randall-as-kid moments, Kevin rushes to Randall’s school and signs the yellow slip for him.

It seems as though next week’s This is Us will be Randall and Beth-centric since Phylicia Rashad returns as Beth’s mom.

Watch This is Us anytime.

Read last week’s This is Us recap.