It's Thanksgiving - the holiday for the Pearsons arguably most steeped in the traditions set by Jack - and the extended family is convening at Randall and Beth's townhouse for the first time for the occasion. Behind the scenes, there are some underlying and mostly unspoken tensions leading up to people arriving at the townhouse, many of those surrounding whether Shauna and Nicky will have their respective acts together to function without causing a scene. Rebecca is still angry with Randall, their problems which they at least agree not to involve Kate and Kevin. Kevin's immediate future is still up in the air now that Nicky's court issues have been resolved. And Kate, by omission, has to decide if she will disclose to Toby the truth behind Jack's first bite of solid food, to or not to which both have their pros and cons. As more and more people arrive, the collective group becomes physically fractured out of circumstance, the resulting issues which may compound the potential problems that already exist.
—Huggo