Fans were excited when This Is Us finally returned for its fifth season in late October 2020. But then the show went on hiatus after just four episodes, with plans to return on January 5, 2021.

There have been so many questions raised from the new season reveals thus far, including, most notably, what actually happened to Randall's birth mother Laurel and what will happen with Rebecca?

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One of the biggest questions relating to that storyline is the mysterious Vietnamese man named Hai who first appears in the episode "Changes" along with his young granddaughter Linh. It's presumed he has some tie to Randall's biological mother Laurel, but how? Who is he? Here are some theories to mull over while waiting for season five to resume.

He Was Married To Laurel

This is Us Laurel Photograph

The most obvious theory is that he was once married to Laurel, who didn't actually die, as William had thought. The camera pans to a photo of the man when Hai was younger, embracing a woman who looks a lot like Laurel, with the assumption being that it is her.

However, she can't be Linh's grandmother. What little girl, after all, has no idea who her grandmother is, even if the woman is now deceased? But she could be someone he dated before he settled down with her grandmother.

He Dated Laurel

This is Us Laurel

Rather than marriage, it could just be that he dated Laurel, they were the perfect couple, and she became the "one that got away." If it is indeed her in the photos, she's older than she was when she had Randall and was dating William but much younger than she would be in the present day.

It's possible that she survived, moved on to try and rebuild her life and get sober, and at some point, met Hai. They dated but never settled down, and now she has returned. Or perhaps she passed on, and he never quite got over her.

They Were Friends

This Is Us Vietnamese man

Fans automatically gravitate towards romance, but it's possible they were really close friends and confidants instead of lovers. That embrace could have been a totally platonic one. The show is no stranger to time jumps, but it's confirmed that he exists in the current time period since he saw Randall's viral video.

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Maybe she left the United States and settled in Vietnam, where she met Hai and he helped her through the difficult times in her life, including dealing with leaving a boyfriend and baby behind.

He Was With Her Friend

This is Us Laurel

The producers could be totally messing with fans and the woman in the photo isn't Laurel at all but someone entirely different. Might she be someone who was related to William? A mutual friend of both of them?

It's easy to jump to conclusions but Hai's connection to William, Laurel, and/or Randall could be completely outside of him knowing or having been in love with Laurel.

He Was Her Sponsor

Randall looking serious in This Is Us

One of the only logical reasons to explain why Laurel never searched for her son would be that she had to focus on her own health and well-being to get better before she could even consider trying to take care of someone else. It's also entirely plausible that she was sent to jail and couldn't look for Randall even if she wanted to.

Maybe once released, she went to another state or even country, met this man who was going through something similar, and he acted as her sober sponsor. They developed a deep connection, hence the loving photograph.

He Knew Jack

This is Us Jack

Hai is from Vietnam, and it can't be coincidental given that that's where Jack fought in the war alongside his brother Nicky. Is it possible that the man's connection is to Jack and not to Randall?

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He would be around the same age Jack would be if he were still alive, so it's entirely possible that Jack found out Laurel was still alive, kept it a secret just as Rebecca did about William, and sent her to an old friend from Vietnam who he knew would help her. It's a stretch but it's possible.

He's A Spiritual Healer

This is Us William

Maybe the woman in the photo has nothing to do with Randall and that story. Perhaps this man is simply some kind of spiritual healer who, when he saw the video of Randall, felt a connection and a need to help this man work through his pain.

In that sense, the woman in the photo could be just a misdirection, a random person who has nothing to do with anything. But perhaps where a connection lies is in the man being able to help Randall work through issues relating to his biological and adoptive fathers, not his birth mother.

He's A Psychic

William Hill in This Is Us

This one is far-fetched, but what if Hai is a psychic who feels as though the spirit of William has been speaking to him. Perhaps William visited this man from beyond the grave and introduced himself. When Hai heard Randall say the name "William Hill" in the video, he put two-and-two together and realized he had to help the spirit get closure with his son.

As for the woman in the photo, maybe Hai did happen to know Laurel at some point and this is why William's spirit felt that he would be the right person to approach for help, even if he's halfway across the world.

He's Tied To The Vietnamese Woman

Nicky looking defeated in Vietnam in This Is Us

Remember in the episodes when the truth was revealed about Nicky? Jack had been friendly with a Vietnamese woman, going out of his way to help her and her son. The son ended up getting killed by accident by Nicky, but did the woman have other children?

Perhaps her other child, or a child she had later, is the father of Linh and Hai was the Vietnamese woman's husband. Wouldn't it be crazy if everything went full circle like that? It wouldn't explain how Randall's mom ties into all of it. But it's a theory, nonetheless.

The Vietnamese Woman Was His Wife 

This is Us Vietnamese girl

There seems like there could be more story to Jack and his relationship with the Vietnamese woman when he was fighting in the war. As fans got to see, he helped her and her son stay safe, and she gave him a precious necklace that he eventually gave to Kevin.

Is it possible that Jack started up a romantic relationship with this woman that resulted in a child he wasn't aware he had? And maybe Hai was her husband at the time that she had the affair? Thus, Linh, Hai's granddaughter, could actually be Jack's granddaughter. It's one of the more out-there theories but with this show, anything is possible.

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