Randall

No woman has ever fought for me before.

Thank you, Georgina. You are such a caring, kind person. I can't wait for us to hang out again.

Oh, brother, I couldn't have said it better myself.

okay it's gonna sound a little unusual but for a year i've been texting a woman in vietnam and we've had a very deep connection and we've gotten to know one another so well that i fell deep in love with this woman good for you i mean you guys just found each other on the internet somehow Yeah, we found each other on the internet and decided to start texting.

And it was like a whirlwind romance for me.

Well, I wanted to profess my love to her in person. So we decided that I was going to fly out and I was going to meet her.

Wow, dude. Yes. I flew out. I was excited the whole trip. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat.

Wow. How'd it go then?

Well, I landed. I went to where we were supposed to meet and she didn't show up.

Well, you guys will be happy to learn that I met another woman from the Philippines.

We met online again, but I know this woman's real.

Have you FaceTimed with her? We didn't FaceTime, but we've been texting a lot. And let me tell you, I know you're going to think I'm crazy, but my heart tells me it's real.

No, no. Here's what I need you guys to help me with.

My friend, you know, everything that happened with the last girl.

He said to me, why not just meet a woman locally face to face and just see how it goes?

So I did. I actually got online and I matched with a young lady and we met up at a bar and her name is Georgina.

Yes. I'm just trying to see if maybe I am supposed to meet someone locally just to see where love may take me.

Yes, we just had a great conversation. She's been through some hurt in her past too, so we bonded over that. And we just really had a deep conversation, nothing too deep, just conversations about life and our goals and what we would like to achieve. And it was nice.

All right, so now... I gotta be honest, though. I felt like I was... cheating on my philippine girl so i'm a little torn and i had a good time so i want to put it in the universe's hands and universe being you guys and i want to see if this person wants to pursue this i'm not going to philippines but if they don't then i'm on the first plane out of here

I am so serious that if this doesn't work out today, I am on the first plane to the Philippines with a ring in my hand. Wow.

I like to look at flights.

But you're going to propose? Wow. Yes, absolutely.

Her name is Georgina, yes. Good memory, bro.

But think about it. This could be a sign from the universe. So let's just see what happens.

Georgina, I'm sorry. You are wonderful. I had a great time. But I got to tell you the whole story. A year ago, I fell in love with a person in Vietnam. They catfished me. I was heartbroken. I didn't know what to do. Then I found another person. And this woman's from the Philippines. I feel like she might be the one. I haven't met her yet. I haven't FaceTimed her. All we have.

Wait, wait, wait, wait.

Yes, I see what everyone else sees.

I mean, not a lot, a little bit.

Should I go with the girl in the Philippines or should I continue to pursue Georgina?

I didn't know if that was the universe telling me that I was making the wrong decision with the other girl.

You mean like there's a small percent, like 1% she's not real? No.

It's therapy adjacent, right? We were talking about it the other day where it's like, Well, if I don't take care of this, what's the worst that could happen? Well, everything will fall apart.

And maybe just saying it out loud. And maybe just saying it out loud so that when what does unfold is not nearly as bad as what you talked about. Sure. Yeah, I think you're right.

Yeah, which got a little spicy there for a second. This is getting, this should be the end of this game. I was like, yeah, let's end it right here.

Ryan, if you're listening.

Get them.

They're putting blue cheese and stuff in the ice cream. Let's vote.

Are we into it? We like classic flavors.

I'm not gonna- How unique?

Do you know that around Halloween, that Salt and Straw puts blood in their ice cream? Have you heard of it?

Like blood, blood.

Look it up. Pause the podcast. Google it. Look it up.

Salt and Straw seasonal blood ice cream. Look it up.

Pause the podcast. Google it. Welcome back. Pretty fucked up, right?

This is fantastic.

I mean, he feels all right about it. He's good. Yeah, he's good. I think we've learned so far. Toby's kind of good.

Welcome back to the podcast. I am Chris Sullivan. I only speak the truth.

You have to read further. Pause the podcast. Stop, you can't put blood in ice cream. Anyways, she goes to the ice cream. Yes.

I'm just saying it can go too far. That's all I'm saying.

Where's the cookies and cream? I guess we eat flesh, blood, ice, oh my God. Listen, all I'm saying is she goes to this ice cream shop and it's now fancy.

It's fancy town. He's got banana and coconut. She gives him two middle fingers and walks out.

That's exactly right.

Yes. You and Dan have history, yes? Dan and I have history. We both made our Broadway debuts together. Yes. In Lombardi.

A play about the famous football coach. But Dan was also the lead in Dan Fogelman's other TV show. That's right. Or not lead, but one of the leads in pitch when we started this one. And then pitch didn't make it. And when this role came up, I was like, you know, you should get Dan.

We're getting new context. Yes. We're getting new context for Toby. Yeah. Through, which you always get when you meet people's parents or their friends or their sibling or whoever it is. And you get to know him a little bit better, through the dynamic between the two of them and the way they talk to each other, and it's not going swimmingly.

Dan Loria is the best curmudgeon. And for those of you who don't know, who don't want to pause the podcast and go look him up, he's the dad from The Wonder Years. He is the dad from The Wonder Years. So he's a classic, another classic television parental figure who has been sewn into our fabric.

No, yeah, just shooting, but yeah.

Yeah, we have concerns. We're a day and day, we have concerns about you marrying.

Like they were saying she had issues that she needed to work. They were identifying the same kind of codependent patterns that they had witnessed before. Right. Which is why it's not terribly out of left field. Exactly.

I think Dan must like trees. He must. I think it's an easy location for location scouts.

There's a tree. Except for that one tree. That was a little too easy, huh? They're like, well, that's a tree. We could shoot at that tree. Maybe we should wait two minutes, see if a plane flies over.

My favorite is, That scene where she asks if they can get married one day is so sweet. And we're starting to even have, at four years old with Bear, him being like, I'll be married someday. I'll be a dad someday. And Rachel just being like, what do you, yesterday she said, what do you think married is? Yeah. Our dad and I married? Are we married? And he said, yeah, you're adults. That's true.

And it's just so sweet to watch a little soul start to identify and try to define these things that are kind of undefined. Yeah.

As we were talking about the marriage thing with Bear, Aoife was overplaying, and Bear turns to her and goes, Aoife, one day, when you're older, you'll just, you'll get older, and then you'll die.

Took a real left turn. We're like, wait, what were we talking about, Bear?

That's what I've heard, marriage, end of your life.

Non-speaking autistic community.

Soulmates that have found each other again. They keep kind of recurring in different incarnations in different lives. Bear comes out with this, Rachel writes them all down. Like a shared note, the things that he'll just like turn to her and say, sometimes I try to talk to God, but I can't see him because he lives too deep in the woods, riding on a heart. And you're just like, yeah, I have to go.

Yeah, yeah. I gotta go. What is happening? Things that I take ayahuasca to say.

That's right.

While we're on this subject, just for, you had mentioned this podcast to us last time we were recording. Yeah. And you had also brought it up in the context of your dog.

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It was beautiful. We had two weddings. You did? Like almost two full weddings. Wow. Really? Oh, that's right. Yeah, I think I've told you.

And while therapy can sometimes feel out of reach, your mental health is worth investing in. BetterHelp makes it more accessible with a flat fee for weekly online sessions, saving you time and on average up to 50% compared to traditional in-person therapy. I have been benefiting from therapy for years. Sometimes I'm going every week. Sometimes I'm checking in once every five

for a little, a little, what would you call it? Maintenance therapy.

If you hear a little squeak in your car, you go see a mechanic, right? Yes, you do. So if you got a little squeak in that brain. Come on, man. Go see a professional. After you, man.

Well, we had like 180 people at our wedding. Whoa, big wedding. In Chicago. Okay. And we had to cap it because Rachel's family is like, hundreds of people. She's lived in this one town. Her family's lived in this one town for like four generations.

Played by the lovely Melanie Libbard.

That's what I said. Yep.

Boy.

Yep. Solid. The British accent also fake.

I love the little girl. If someone could edit like a little wig on him or something while he's doing that, yeah.

Let me tell you, some people were upset. Some people were upset. So we had essentially a whole nother wedding in Rachel's hometown. Rachel put the dress back on. We went to a hotel conference room, had a whole nother meal, had dancing, had all of these things.

What was that like on set? Because I don't think I was, I don't know if I was there for that day.

I also just mean, as an actor, I didn't think I was called to set. I didn't have any scenes that day. So I didn't get to see the grown-up children and you with Jack.

You gotta watch your salt. Black men gotta watch their salt. But I will say again, again, shout out to our makeup team because when you walk down that aisle. I have zero, even I know you, I know you well, like I have zero, it doesn't occur to me once that that is not 65 year old. You never bumped for a second. Never, not once, not once. No. It's crazy to me.

A couple of months. A couple of months. Yeah, a few months. But it was just hard. Yeah, it was hard to do.

Even to rewatch it.

Yeah, you killed that shit. And it's not just the makeup, it's the way you move and like the way you talk and that weird old voice you put on. My little old voice. Yeah, that one. Moon shadow.

And you talk about it with Miguel. And Miguel says, don't worry, you're fine. At least you're not me.

Of course they did.

We have buttons now, people. This is an archaic form of fastening my sleeve.

I was a mess through the whole thing. Almost to the point where Rachel was like, okay. Keep it together.

Like I was a mess to the point where she's like, maybe I've made a mistake.

Chill out, bro.

Your table 92. Who spent the entirety of that one reminding us that he was not invited to the first one.

Yeah, so shout out to her. I had food poisoning this whole day.

The whole day of the wedding shoot. Whole day. Got to my trailer that morning for hair and makeup, curled up in the fetal position in my trailer, sweating, waiting, sweating. Had to be in that suit.

And would go, shoot, go back to the trailer and just lay there in the fetal position and do whatever food poisoning does to a person. Are you serious, man?

It was rough.

It was one of those things where I was like, is this when actors go home? It was getting so bad where I'm like, I think this might be when actors are like, I can't do this anymore. And luckily, they would call and I would get that little doctor show. Like, okay, you're seen. All right. And we'd get through it. Yeah, man. Go back and lay down.

And I, of course, thought it was

Hilarious. She's like, this is hilarious. And what's your name, sir? Yeah, yeah. Let me figure out why you weren't there. Well, who are you? Yeah, so it was an interesting, they were all interesting. They were beautiful. Both weddings were beautiful.

There's a photo of me and you sitting on the front deck. Yeah. And we both look kind of exhausted. Sure. And I think you thought I was putting on a face. I did. I was not putting on a face.

I was like, it's like my long stare. And Sterling was like, oh, we're doing that? Okay, Sterling was like... I'll find the photo. I'll send the photo. Yeah, please.

We just sort of- I think Dan and Dad, I mean, they know. We get it.

What's going to be said? Gotcha. What's going to be said at this wedding?

It's about the toasts, right?

And for Kevin to be the one to initiate it. Correct, yeah.

I loved our first one better.

Toby is in bed.

I could have used it. I'll tell you this though. I look back on this episode and I was like, hey, Toby didn't get like any vows or a spee or a toast. And I'm like, that's a good thing because I wouldn't have been able to say anything.

Yeah, and we need to adjust your meds. We need to adjust your meds. Find out he's been on meds. What else?

And adult Tess and older Randall are getting ready for their quote unquote lunch date. And Randall says- It's time to go. It's time to go see her now.

Because are you the only person from the immediate family that we've seen in this timeline? I believe so.

Keep the conversation going.

Unanswered questions. Absolutely. And if Dan was, honestly, if you say... You don't need them, but we got them. Sure. So.

You know what I'm saying? Clearly, clearly William was not the first person you told that to.

Do they need to be going to visit her somewhere?

We're really getting into a section of the show now where I'm like, I don't remember what comes next.

And so I'm excited. I'm like watching for the first time. Like, I'm sure as soon as I see it, I'll be like, all right, sure. It'll come back to you. These four years just flew by. These next four seasons flew by.

All right, so now we can do our favorite segment, the fan segment. The fan segment. Shall we?

Let's do it. Let's do it.

Yes, yes. I get to this character again. We've been getting some incredible voicemails. And I was thinking, you know, if you guys felt like it, maybe we should listen to one. Give them a call back.

You like that idea? Come on, let's play the voicemail. Okay, here we go. For sure. We have, we just have to get Elisa on the line. So let's give her a call back.

Yeah, let's listen to the voicemail. Let's, guys, listen. Yeah, no.

Keep this all in. Keep this all in.

All right, so let's have a listen to this Elisa.

Voicemail from Elisa. Come on, let's do it.

Good day, madam.

Sure. I think you've mentioned this a little bit. There are some people who did not like the elopement.

Well, that February is such a short month. It's almost not even a month. You know, you have your brain years right there in the middle of it and then it's gone. It's like that.

Man, a lot has happened in the past.

It's going to be a good year. It's going to be a good This Is Us year. Yeah.

It used to be a birthday and it was a birth week. That's my birth month.

36 to 42. The This Is Us half decade.

They're the best years. Indeed. And then it's all downhill from there. No, no, no.

Like the That Was Us podcast.

You were talking about the recordings that Sid brought up in his episode, right? Yeah. I missed part of your message. Are you doing that in your life or is someone else doing that? Or did you just connect with that idea?

A friend of mine gave me a gift that was interesting and kind of got me kicked off because I thought about like all these videos that we take and these pictures and it's like, do you make photo? How do you hold on to these messages for your children as they grow? And a friend of mine as a gift registered Bear's name as an email. Oh, okay. And gave me the email and the passcode.

And I've started, I take the video or the photo and a little something and I send it to the email.

And then it's like, it's just there. And then one day when he's old enough to have an email, I'll just give it to him.

I need to do it more.

That is not true. When you had your kids, there was no internet. You couldn't have done this.

You want to give her a little shout-out?

She called me Sully. That's how you know we're friends. She called you Sully. That's how you know we're friends.

Yeah. And you heard it here first. This podcast, better than the show. Better than the TV show.

Yeah.

That's what she said. Is that the end of our episode, Gary?

Please like and subscribe. Share the show with one friend. Pick your favorite episode. Send it to them in a little text message. If you're watching on YouTube, you get to watch my excellent mind work of texting. I like that. And have them re-watch the show with us.

At this stage of my life, I just want, I'll put it on the record right now. Anyone who's thinking to me about cutting me off the wedding list, that's fine.

But we'll take one of those. We'll take one.

I'll read it. You don't think I'll read that shit? You go ahead and send it. I dare you.

I'm okay. I'll send something. I'll send you something nice.

A wedding is an interesting thing. It is a microcosm of your life together, right? It's the really first and maybe only time that all of your family will be in the same place.

Both families will be in the same place. It's a practice in negotiation. It's a practice in boundaries. Yeah. It's a practice in like financial planning. It's like all of the little things that you need to be like a successful couple are crammed into one pressure cooker of an event. Yeah. Yep. If it ends up being a pressure cooker.

It doesn't have to be. Yeah. And then you just see how the day unfolds.

I can't remember what he said, but it was like clearly he thought we were both men.

It was cool. It was very cool. We made our wedding cake out of wheels of cheese. We didn't, we're not big cake people. We had dessert, but instead, so we had our, our, our ceremony and then we did like a little cocktail hour with wine and stuff and cheese. And so we got, I went to, uh, to Whole Foods and bought like whole wheels of cheese in descending size.

And then the caterer decorated it with like flowers and ribbons. And then the first thing we did as husband and wife was cut the cheese. Yeah.

That's on brand. Yeah, that's part of the reason they did it, so I could tell you that today.

Yeah, Kate has been having these dreams leading up to, as we'll find out, leading up to her own wedding.

um don't run away please don't run away and kate gifts him with leslie nielsen's bow tie from naked gun 33 and a third and a third yeah yeah sorry sorry not please please madam yeah 33 and a half third 33 and a third leslie nielsen comedic god uh if you have not seen his super cut of him uh farting on talk shows please look it up oh i will right now okay pause the podcast

No way to tell. That's when he was like, lady, lady, lady. I mean, lady.

And Google Leslie Nielsen farting on talk shows. I gotta find this.

Me too. Moving on. More That Was Us after these words from our sponsors.

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Can you even believe it? How'd we get here?

Everybody's getting ready. Everybody's getting ready for the wedding. Everybody's getting ready.

Kevin and Randall, who we... Kevin comes in yelling at someone on the phone.

What do you mean? Don't give me excuses. Just fix it. All right? And then it's a throwaway at the end. All right. Talk to you later, Randall. Yeah. And he's been talking to his brother. Just fix it.

This is his gesture.

And we've come to find out that Kevin and Randall are the wedding planners on the day of the wedding.

Which I kind of... I knew all of the story plot points, but I'd forgotten that plot point, which brought me so much joy when I was rewatching this episode. Because it was also... one of the only times that we see you two like playful. Sure. Yeah. Like not just getting along, but like pointed in the same direction. Yeah. Witty banter in the writing. Yeah. Really fun.

And Beth, I think, is she the one who says that we're being held hostage by this attitude? Basically. So we get up there. We've learned a couple of things real quick right off the bat. Toby has parents. And they're coming. And they're coming to the wedding.

And we quickly also learn that we have misplaced This all kind of happens up front, right? The t-shirt that she wants to tie. Everybody's little missions are starting.

Yes. Yes, don't skip it.

I was just about to say, I was like, Sterling.

Yeah, I was like, wait, you just like flashed by the camera. I was like, slow down.

They both get called out.

That diatribe is.

You did not poop while you were in labor.

Chris. That was dumb.

Show us how they move. They sort of move like that. It was very, it was almost like, can we just take the baby out of the back of the neck?

Robotic baby.

We'll put a link in the chat for everyone.

Just you in the water like this. Totally. Rebecca just likes to float.

Just in her head above water. And then it was raining. I mean, it was. And so we couldn't get the wig wet. We were in the pool. Justin was directing that episode. I'll never forget that. That was hilarious.

What are we doing in this segment? We're going to be looking back at some Halloween costumes over the course of the years of the show.

Oh.

Some fatigues?

They really are, actually. I had four of them in my front yard the other day, and somebody else hit one of them and totaled their car. So it happens on a regular occurrence.

Are we the first to know? Yeah, boy. He knows, but it's the insurance that's making things tricky.

This isn't... This isn't the first car I totaled of his, but it was his car that he owned. I know. I'm a terrible son-in-law.

I think you guys might be right, but this instance, it was a little tricky because two years ago he bought the car because he was going to come up and visit me and the wife and the kids. And he used it for two weeks, and he hasn't been back in the last two years. And so he told us we could drive the car as long as I maintain it and I pay insurance on it. All right.

But we put the car and titled it under my name and registered it in my name because I'm up here in the state. And if anything were to happen, I were to handle it. And so I have this insurance policy and I expected this clunky $3,500 car to only get like a $3,000 payout. But for whatever reason, the insurance came back with a $10,000 payout.

And so it's a lot higher than expected, but I don't know who that money should go to. I kind of want the money, but it's kind of my father-in-law's car. But at the same time, I'm the title holder and I'm the insurance policy holder.

It was, if I pay the insurance and maintain the vehicle, I can drive it. And then we just kind of laughed and went on with our way. We didn't really communicate about it.

Well, when he bought the vehicle... He never signed it over into his name. We just went to the DMV and signed it into my name.

$3,500.

Okay.

Unfortunately, he's not much of a communicator. He never said that it was ours and it was a gift, but he said we can use it, and we've used it like it's ours, and we've used it for two years, and he's used it for two weeks.

What is he saying now? Yeah, now he is saying that... He's the owner of the vehicle, and if I wanted a payout, then I should have bought the vehicle, but that's actually the scenario I tried proposing to him, is let me just buy the vehicle from you right now. And this was before I knew what the insurance payout was. Let me just buy it from you and make it a payout.

Let me ruffle your feathers some more, George. I'm ruffled. He started contacting the insurance agencies so that he could get updates and try to get the total amount.

disclose to him behind my back and he's the type that will you know cut off ties don't they have to like verify identity how does he even have access to talk to your insurance folks i'm i'm not a hundred percent sure but the insurance has been sending him emails and and and you know discussing this policy with him so i i don't even know if this is kosher it's not like first of all this is a all right this is a relationship mess

Right.

Hey, Ken. Hey, George. Thanks for taking my call.

She's too much like her father, and I told her she's not allowed to talk to her parents right now until I figure it out because she might make the situation worse.

Yeah. So, unfortunately, I just wrecked my father-in-law's car by hitting a moose up here.

Until we figure it out.

Well, I meant about the situation. I'm not going to refuse her from FaceTiming with grandma and the kids.

We literally have a sign on the side of the road that has a number counter saying how many times a moose has been hit.

I have added a number to that.

I broke its leg, and then the cops had to come put it down, unfortunately. That's how it goes up here. Terrible. All right. It's the last frontier, that's for sure.