Randall (Sterling K. Brown) is becoming Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) This Is Us season 3, but in a bad way. Arguably the most intuitive amongst the Big Three, Randall was living a perfect life when viewers met him back in the first season. He's smart, charming, and well-off, with two well-adjusted girls and a loving wife. He's proven time and time again that he has the biggest heart by taking William (Ron Cephas Jones) in after he abandoned him and forgiving Rebecca (Mandy Moore) when she intentionally kept his biological dad away. In that regard, many saw Jack in him. Yet he seems like an entirely different character in season 3, one that's more similar to the troubled Jack before his brief split with Rebecca.
It has been a tumultuous time in the Pearson household with Randall and Beth's regular arguments. This Is Us has been dropping hints that a major fight is happening soon and they finally came to blows toward the end of the show's latest episode, "Please Don't Take My Sunshine Away." Next week, their story continues as we learn their backstory. The series has previously teased how they met, but we're yet to know how exactly they came together. From the looks of the promo, the two's love story may be as romantic as Jack and Rebecca - unfortunately, it will be very different from the current status of their relationship.
Related: This Is Us Season 3 Is Struggling To Get Past Jack
After Rebecca and Miguel (Jon Huertas) announced that they're moving to Los Angeles to help Kate (Chrissy Metz) and baby Jack, Beth and Randall came back home determined to make things work on their own. But they clearly underestimated how demanding their respective jobs will be with their schedules just not lining up. Everything culminated during Randall's political dinner which she asked Beth to come to despite the long drive to Philadelphia and an event of her own. Assuming that her wife ditched him when she was 20 minutes late, Randall left a scathing message on Beth’s phone - but of course she showed up and she’s really mad.
Since This Is Us' whole political storyline started, Randall has become insufferable. He repeatedly looks down on Beth and her dreams of wanting to be a dance instructor despite him choosing a new career path he knows nothing about. The two’s shouting match at the end of this week's episode is reminiscent of Jack and Rebecca’s big fight before splitting up in This Is Us season 1, albeit without the third party element. At that point, Rebecca is starting to sing again after she gave it up temporarily to raise the family. Jack mocked Rebecca’s hopes of becoming a singer that late in her life.
Unfortunately, Randall isn’t as charming as Jack and This Is Us has yet to establish him actually sacrificing for his family for the viewers to actually be sympathetic to him. He haphazardly quit his job and let Beth financially support them for the most of season 2 - and had she not been laid off, it will still be the case despite him getting a job. He ran for a political seat in a city a couple of hours drive from their house and now he has a job where he'll be overworked and underpaid. Granted that it's quite impractical for Beth to pursue her childhood dream at this time, Randall has been acting the same way for quite some time if not worse. Jack was also dealing with alcoholism privately which somehow explains how he terribly treated Rebecca the night before their separation, and in the morning, he made up for it by giving the most moving speech about why he loves his wife, Randall, meanwhile, has simply been a selfish jerk.
It's been tough seeing Randall and Beth constantly fighting considering how good of a team they were in raising their two kids, and now Deja. It’s uncertain what will happen to the couple in the rest of This Is Us season 3, but considering the flashforward, they might not be in the best terms moving forward.
More: This Is Us Dropped Clues To A Sad Twist Involving Rebecca
This Is Us airs every Tuesday on NBC at 9 pm.