This Is Us season 5 episode 5: Did Randall’s mother Laurel die?

Randall Pearson

After waiting for the past couple of months for answers, This Is Us season 5 episode 5 delivered the truth on Randall’s mother. It may not have been the truth that anyone wanted, but it is very much the truth nonetheless.

Near the end of the episode, Randall had an opportunity to speak on the phone for the first time with Hai, the mysterious “fisherman” who we had seen with his granddaughter earlier this season. This is a man who knew Laurel throughout much of her post-William life, and he had contacted Randall after his stripping video went viral.

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What news did Hai pass along? That Laurel died of breast cancer back in 2015, but lived a full life in the years before that. This goes along with many of the theories that people had — we didn’t imagine that This Is Us would leave another presumed-dead character alive like they did with Jack’s brother. Nicky. Yet, they also did keep Laurel alive long enough so that there are a lot of other stories that they can tell. We’re curious to dive more into why she never reached out to William or to Randall over the course of her life, especially since Randall was a grown adult for so many years and would have been capable of having that conversation.

There was another important moment that came leading up to Randall learning the truth: Him having a conversation with Kevin, who seemed to encourage him to make the call without even knowing it. We’re not going to sit here and say that this relationship is a-okay now, but we’re at least moving in the right direction.

Related News Check out more coverage on This Is Us, including another preview for what lies ahead

What did you think about what Randall learned on This Is Us season 5 episode 5?

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