The Pearson family's Thanksgiving traditions trace back to a single disastrous road trip — a blown tire, ruined cranberry sauce, and a night in a roadside motel where Jack improvised the entire holiday from scratch, giving Randall a celebration that felt like their own. In the present, Randall faithfully replicates every detail of that night, unaware that Beth has given Rebecca an ultimatum: confess that she has known William, Randall's biological father, since 1980. When Randall drives to William's apartment and finds a letter from his mother, he returns and reads it aloud at the table, confronting Rebecca with the years he spent searching for answers she already had. Kate, who spent the episode breaking up with Toby and surviving a turbulent flight, arrives in the aftermath and announces she is having gastric bypass surgery.

This episode  ...