This Is Us 1x04 "The Pool" Recap

This week's episode of This Is Us, called "The Pool," explored race and gave us some insight into how growing up with a white family affected Randall, as well as more background into Kevin and Kate and the whole Pearson family dynamics. Here's your recap for This Is Us 1x04 "The Pool."

Photo Credit: NBC

In the 80s, Jack and Rebecca take the kids to the pool. Things quickly get out of hand as Kevin clamors for Jack's attention, Jack and Rebecca realize they can't find Randall, and Kate is handed a note by her friends that says they don't want her to play with them anymore since she embarrasses them with a picture of a pig drawn on the paper. Rebecca finds Randall playing with some other black kids outside the pool under the watchful eyes of their mother. After a not-so-friendly encounter with the black mom, Rebecca and Randall start to walk away when the other mom gives them some advice about Randall's hair, as he's been itching the back of his scalp due to razor bumps. Rebecca doesn't appreciate the other woman's judgmental tone and she and Kevin go back to their pool chairs on the other side of the pool.

Randall has told his girls about William being their grandfather and is learning more about William's life, like he protested during the Civil Rights Movement. When William goes to take his morning walk around the neighborhood, he's stopped by a cop and Randall has to swoop in to vouch for him, apologizing to the cop for the confusion as it's a predominantly white neighborhood, much to William's chagrin. Randall decides he needs to take William shopping so he may fit in better and look more respectable but feels William is judging him for that morning's events as he thinks William would've taken a stand.

While Toby and Kate are out to breakfast, they bump into Toby's ex-wife Josie, who is skinny and beautiful to Kate's surprise, which causes her to questions why Toby is with her. Kevin goes to his first audition in New York for a play, reading opposite Tony -nominee Olivia which really doesn't go well. He calls Kate on his way out for support but she's busy spying on Toby's ex, and then Kevin bumps into Olivia on the street and they go for a drink. She advises him to go back to LA and take an acting class if he's really serious about theater, only to receive a text moments later informing her Kevin got the part.

Kate goes into the boutique Josie runs and she mistakes Kate for being someone interested in the open job there. Kate goes along with it, spitting out lots of information about Josie that she's gleaned from stalking her online. Kate later shows up to Toby's and tells him that she got a job -- at his ex's store. They get into a fight as Toby's getting tired of going through the same cycle with Kate, where she puts herself down about being fat, he makes a comment to make her feel good, and they go through it again, and yet Kate feels validated when Josie gives her a compliment. Toby tells Kate that Josie was terrible to him, that she cheated on him, lied to him, and then took half of his life's savings, and after she left him, he gained 95 pounds in a year and was suicidal, especially when drinking, which shames Kate a bit as their relationship has been more about her problems. Kate tells him she wasn't going to keep the job anyway and they make up.

Meanwhile, back at the pool, Kevin feels ignored and swims into deeper water where he can't stand and almost drowns, without Rebecca and Jack even noticing as they're busy with Randall and Kate. After Kevin accuses them of not paying attention to him, Jack promises he'll be there for Kevin. Rebecca sees Randall continuing to scratch at his neck, swallows her pride, and approaches the black woman from earlier, asking her for the name of a barber before questioning if Randall can play with the woman's kids after school some time. Jack sees Kate covering up with a towel at the pool since she didn't bring a T-shirt and he gives her his, along with a story behind it, calling it a magical T-shirt that allows her to control how her enemies see her. Kate puts on the shirt, decides she wants to be a princess, and seems to lose the sadness the other little girls caused with their note. Jack for the win!

After Tess's play at the school where played Snow White, Randall talks to William at home about growing up with white parents in a white neighborhood and tells William he won't apologize for his actions earlier that morning or for how he was raised or how he's raising his daughters. William adamantly tells him he has nothing to apologize for before apologizing to Randall and telling him that while William may have done everything wrong by Randall, Randall is doing everything right, and then calls Randall son. Okay, pass the tissues please.

After leaving a message for Kate telling her he got the part, Kevin shows up at Randall's. As Randall goes to open the door, we see a picture on the mantle of Jack and Rebecca with Kevin, Kate, and Randall as kids, along with the black mom from the pool. Randall introduces Kevin to William, who he calls his biological father, before Kevin heads to Annie and Tess's room. After Kevin has left the room with the girls, William asks if that was The Manny, saying he loves that show, and goes after them to get an autograph.

This Is Us continues to impress and each episode keeps getting better -- but four episodes into its freshman season and viewers are still left wondering: where is present-day Jack?! Maybe we'll learn more in the fifth episode on Tuesday!