The world has been a little heavy lately, right? The pandemic, racial tensions, the U.S. election, the supreme court… so it’s no wonder that fans everywhere were excited for a bit of an escape with the season five return of everyone’s favourite family drama, This Is Us (Tuesdays, 9 pET, CTV).However, as creator Dan Fogelman previewed on a conference call before the show’s return, it would have been irresponsible for them not to dig into the current climate. And while it looks like the writers will keep politics out of it for now, these guys didn’t pull any punches in the two-hour premiere. Between highlighting racial tensions, digging into the idea of fatherhood and toxic masculinity, and giving everyone one heck of a surprise in the closing seconds, these episodes may prove that this will be the most intense season yet.

Randall Finally Gets Angry

Randall (Sterling K. Brown) was not in a good place when the show returned, and it had nothing to do with that giant fight he had with Kevin (Justin Hartley), nor his ongoing mental health struggles. Randall has been in a rough place with his family ever since he learned that Rebecca (Mandy Moore) hid the truth about his father from him, and now he’s questioning everything he ever believed. Watching George Floyd’s murder awoke something in him that he’s never had the space to fully express or detangle, having grown up with a white family. He relayed as much to Malik (Asante Blackk) in that powerful scene in which he recalled hearing about the murder of Jonny Gammage in 1995. Randall had no one to turn to then, and now he’s even sadder, angrier, more conflicted and overwhelmed than ever before.

Ohhhhh, RANDALL IS GOING THERE!!! OHHH, WE ARE DOING THIS?! ON TV!??!

LET’s GOOOO, @ThisIsUsWriters!!! THIS IS WHAT WE NEED! This is WHATWeNEED.WOWWWW. #thisisus pic.twitter.com/HZ2lDQpkED— Gia Peppers (@GiaPeppers) October 28, 2020

Randall should be angry though. As Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) reminded him, he was born out of several tragedies, and he has always made that proverbial This Is Us lemonade out of his lemons. But now, looking back, not only did he not have these important conversations, but he has always felt as though he had to hide who he is in order to make others feel better. The fact that Kate (Chrissy Metz) texts him to see which Black Lives Matter charities she should donate to rather than doing the work herself, or the fact that Kevin (Justin Hartley) remains so caught up in his own baby drama, is heartbreaking for him.[video_embed id='2064392']RELATED: 'This Is Us' star Eris Baker talks the show's fifth season [/video_embed]By the end of the premiere, Randall finally acknowledged that. He recognized that he just wants to be at home with his wife and his kids, and he doesn’t want to have to put his own feelings aside in order to make his siblings or mother comfortable anymore. He fired his therapist (Pamela Adlon) so that he could seek out a Black therapist, someone he can be more open with. And he let Kate in on why he needs his space, which is a good start in building a more honest relationship with all of the Pearsons in the future. For now though, everyone just needs to sit with their feelings. Which will clearly be hard on a show about family dynamics like This Is Us, but hey—it’s a start.

Get yourself a Beth. That’s it. That’s the tweet. #ThisIsUs pic.twitter.com/VMIOpHyh4T

— Sterling K Brown (@SterlingKBrown) October 28, 2020

Pulling Back the Layers of Toxic Masculinity

One thing This Is Us has always been great at doing is portraying male characters who are able to open up about their feelings and create equal dynamics with their partners that often reflect the kind of world people want to live in. The show definitely took the opportunity to do that again with its premiere, which flashed between the Big Three’s birthdays in the present day, along with their respective birth stories 40 years ago.In a parallel storyline Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) and Young William (Jermel Nakia) prepared for the birth of their babies, with both men wanting the best for their soon-to-be-born offspring. As a result, viewers got an in-depth look into William and Laurel’s (Jennifer C. Holmes) relationship, and the plans they had for their family. Meanwhile Jack went on the hunt for a radio when he forgot to pack it in the birthing bag, prompting Rebecca to give the nurse a speech about male emotions and the way men are typically raised. Later in the episode when Rebecca was in emergency surgery, the writers took the theme even further as William and then Jack prayed in the chapel. That latter scene even prompted Jack to call his father, giving fans one nice moment between the two men. Sadly, as everyone already knows, that wasn’t meant to last.

Systemic Racism and a Shocking Twist

To further highlight the complex—and often uncomfortable—conversations that still need to happen about racial injustice, unconscious bias, and the deep-rooted issues many are fighting to fix in this world, This Is Us went all-in. In the flashback portions of the episode, the writers crafted a much different world for Laurel and William than the one everyone has seen involving Jack and Rebecca. Laurel was passed over for a promotion in favour of someone who didn’t even need it. Their friends were arrested for handing out flyers. The EMS workers that arrived on the scene when William called for help with Laurel treated the father as though he didn’t even exist. Is it any wonder that William fled when they talked about calling social services?Fans know what happened next in terms of William leaving Randall at the firehouse, and all of the conflicting feelings he had about leaving his son in order to give him a shot at a better life. The cameras traced him every step of the way on that journey, which was tear-inducing in a way that only This Is Us can be. But what if William had gone back to the apartment rather than staying on that bus?Because as everyone learned in the closing seconds of the episode (just as a present-day Randall was telling Beth how nice it would be not to have any more surprises this year), the younger EMT worker finally resuscitated Laurel. That means that Randall’s birth mother has been alive this entire time, and that little tidbit isn’t just shocking—it’s game-changing. It also leads to so many more questions. Where has she been this entire time? Does she know what happened to Randall? How will they reunite? (Because you know they’re going to reunite.) Why did she never track down William? Who will play her in the present day? And last but not least, how will this affect Randall’s relationship with Rebecca?

Mom…? #ThisIsUs pic.twitter.com/zsRM0mSc4w

— Sterling K Brown (@SterlingKBrown) October 28, 2020

So many questions, and an entire season ahead in order to answer them. This Is Us is officially back, and the two-week wait until the next episode already seems entirely too long.Watch This Is Us Tuesdays at 9 pET on CTV.[video_embed id='2064398']BEFORE YOU GO: Justin Hartley reveals 'nasty' arm injury he suffered during quarantine workout [/video_embed]