This Is Us season 6 episode 7 recap: The last Pearson Thanksgiving

This article contains SPOILERS for This Is Us season 6 episode 7.

Because of her ongoing ailment, Rebecca calls a Pearson family meeting during Thanksgiving at the cabin in this week’s episode of This Is Us season 6.

Catch up on everything from the last episode here!

This episode of This Is Us season 6 kicks off with a big leap back to a previous patriarchal generation where an adolescent Rebecca is helping her mom prepare a big Thanksgiving dinner. Next, we see fiancées Rebecca and Jack preparing their first Thanksgiving as hosts for Rebecca’s snobby parents. Following that, it jumps to widowed Rebecca and teenage Kate preparing their first Turkey Day since Jack died. Finally, we see elderly Rebecca in the cabin with her Californian side of the family.

This Is Us season 6 episode 7: The Cabin hosts the Pearsons yet again

In the cabin, Kate lets baby Jack lick the spoon for the pie which upsets Toby because he is worried about his son eating too many sugary foods. Jack’s parents have a little spat that Kate quickly diffuses because of the holiday. Kevin brought his guitar that he insists on playing and freestyling songs even though nobody asked him. Randall, Beth, and the girls are en route when Jae-won calls but Randall brushes it off since it is a big family holiday and he wants no distractions. He claims today will be a drama-free day but Beth reminds her husband what his last name is.

As “the black Pearsons” arrive at the Cabin, the episode bounces between teenage Big Three and adult Big Three where in the 1990s, everyone is awkward due to Kevin and Sophie breaking up, Miguel and Rebecca having sexual tension, and those same two bringing dates to Thanksgiving. The adult Big Three are caught off guard setting up the dining area when Rebecca tells them she wants to have a family talk after dinner.

Jumping back to fianceé Rebecca, her mom, Janet (played by Elizabeth Perkins), is standing over Rebecca’s shoulder being a nuisance while Jack is with her father, Dave (played by Tim Matheson) who is ignoring his wife and daughter’s friction. With a jump to widowed Rebecca, she is again making dinner basically by herself while trying to entertain the other adults.

As this is happening, Kate and Beth are setting the table while Kevin and Randall watch TV and talk about how Kate is starting to gain weight. Kevin justifies it by listing off everything that has happened to her but that doesn’t matter because Kate knows they are talking about her.

This Is Us season 6 episode 7: Kevin shows everyone the Pearson estate

With the present-day Pearsons, Kevin shows everyone the land where he will build their big family home. The Big Three separate shortly to discuss what they think their mom’s talk is going to be about but this is quickly interrupted when Toby asks Kate to help him with Jack because he thinks his son ate too much sugar. After trying to mediate the argument, Kevin carries on with the tour before they all take a family photo. But before Kevin and Miguel join in the pic, Miguel airs his hesitations about the lack of space for any potential guests, but that conversation is not yet fully had.

Fianceé Rebecca continues to have issues with her mom out of sight from Jack and Dave. Jack offers to go check on them but that is when they come out with a ready meal, and that is a ready meal that Jack is going to carve for the first time. This beautifully leads into a montage of every Thanksgiving dinner touched upon so far. Teenage Kate gets upset that Randall is pitying her so she eats a lot, Fianceé Rebecca finally snaps at her mother and storms off from dinner which leads to her mom leaving.

And then after Toby, who is wearing the revered Pilgrim Rick hat this year, scrapes off the sugary bits from the squash, Kate calls Toby out on him being afraid of Jack getting fat. Toby goes on a mini tirade which ends with him confirming Kate’s theory while also blaming Kate for his fears. At this point, Kevin is not being a mediator anymore and he tells Toby to take off the Pilgrim Rick Hat.

This Is Us season 6 episode 7: Randall and Beth being Randall and Beth

Fiancé Jack talks to Janet and informs her that Rebecca worked hard all week to make sure this meal was perfect. Janet tells Jack that she and Dave are moving to Connecticut so Janet is sad since Rebecca likely will not visit all the way up there. Jumping a bit to the 1990s, it is old vs young in a game of Taboo.

While everyone mostly stinks, Randall and Beth have some success while Rebecca and Randall are the best. However, this makes things awkward because of the aforementioned sexual tension that everyone in the living room can now see, even the dates of Rebecca and Miguel.

After the awkward dinner in the cabin, Randall explains to Beth that he misses himself and his daughters being close to his mom and Beth understands and empathizes with her husband. In the cabin, Toby and Kate have a productive talk where Toby says they both were fatter kids so he doesn’t want Jack to go through the same pain.

However, Kate brings up the fact that shaming food is not the answer to eating healthy, especially on one day like Thanksgiving that is an outlier. Basically, Kate shares that she is insulted that Toby would think Kate didn’t care what she fed their son.

This Is Us season 6 episode 7: Pearson family meeting

Once he is done talking to his future mother-in-law, Fiancé Jack consoles Rebecca but in doing so he let it slip that his parents were moving. Rebecca confronts her about it and they become affectionate with the other while turning on Jack for ruining this news. As the episode jumps to the 1990s, teenage Kevin talks to Miguel about how he misses his dad and basically threatens Miguel to stay away from his mom (I wonder how that works out).

Then finally we arrive at the big talk Rebecca wants to have with the Big Three and Miguel at the cabin. First, she explains Miguel is her health care proxy and her kids all understand and agree to this. Next, she announces that Kate will be the second in command only if Miguel is unable to be there, something that Randall and Kevin obviously wish they were selected for. Finally, Rebecca states matter of factly that her kids will not hold back their lives because of her disease. This whole scene, which is basically a monologue for Mandy Moore, is powerful with raw emotions consistent throughout.

Widowed Rebecca and Miguel are having a chat on the porch of her house reminiscing about Jack and their nights. When that tension rises up again, Miguel explains he is leaving for Texas and he alludes that he is leaving because of his feelings for Rebecca. Later, Rebecca is crying and while her teenage sons are no help, Kate is there for her grieving mom who is now losing her best friend in Miguel. All of this is proof that elderly Rebecca is right by choosing Kate since it has always been her.

How do you think Randall and Kevin will really feel about their mom choosing Kate? Does Kate’s extended absence in the flashforwards hint at something deeper with this information? Let us know your answers and opinions in the comments below!

Watch the new episode of This is Us season 6 next Tuesday, only on NBC, or stream the next day on Hulu!