This Is Us Review: Both Things Can Be True (Season 5 Episode 12)

If there’s a show capable of making emotional television feel exhilarating, rather than depleting, it’s This Is Us.

Despite everything This Is Us Season 5 Episode 12, “Both Things Can Be True,” takes on, it isn’t the least bit exhausting to watch.

On the contrary, an episode bursting with captivating characters is the closest the Pearsons have come to normal this entire season. It’s in their human triumphs and tribulations that we are reminded how extraordinary this family’s normal can be.

It’s still true that this season has showcased more than enough character-centric episodes to hit the mark. But the difference between the success of Nicky’s stand-alone episode and the success of this episode is the ability to finally give us quality, and quantity.

This season we have been treated to many bottle episodes and one-on-one dynamics. So it’s rather delightful to see all these small interactions finally intersect and amount to a full game board.

It would seem no player is out of play as Miguel and Nicky meet, Tess and Beth go at it, and Jack plans his proposal to Rebecca. Mandy Moore isn’t even present for the moment, but thanks to the bizarre sexual tension between Miguel and Jack during the mock engagement speech, her presence is certainly felt.

The Pearsons are dealing with a full house and after a season of allowing the pandemic to call the shots, This Is Us doesn’t waste this crucial chance to use Griffin Dunne and Phylicia Rashad to gain the upper hand.

We have begged This Is Us to give us the Miguel origin story we deserve and piece by piece, season by season the show has delivered. So it’s a delight to see Miguel get an adorable bromance moment with Jack, and a chaotic storyline as Nicky accosts him for stealing his brother’s girl.

Miguel raises his voice. It’s all, frankly, too much!

Yet, not nearly enough as Nicky makes the ridiculous decision to confront Miguel a few years too late about stealing Rebecca from Jack. Their bickering is hilarious and Kevin’s exasperation only adds to the fun. It’s an issue we would have once championed Nicky for bringing up but Miguel is family now, so it’s also incredibly sad to watch.

That doesn’t mean we don’t want the tea and these petty men give us plenty as Miguel lets Nicky know he has no right to assume anything was stolen from Jack. It’s a raw moment of anger from Huertas as Miguel finally allows us to see the fear that still plagues him from marrying Rebecca.

Somehow Miguel and Nicky managed to make this bizarre pairing work in a confrontation that is equal parts funny and devastating.

This storyline is complimented perfectly by Jack and Miguel’s proposal preparation.

This Is Us makes the impeccable decision to hold off on showing us more of Rebecca and Miguel post-Jack in exchange for a friendship-heavy storyline instead.

This not only gives us more of the famed bromance between Jack and Miguel but it allows the past and the present storylines to co-exist without malice for each other. By demonstrating how Miguel went to bat for Jack as the perfect husband for Rebecca, this episode makes it clear friendship has always been his priority.

Forgoing a mirroring storyline between Miguel and Rebecca that demonstrates how much they love each other while Nicky accuses Miguel of stealing her from his brother wouldn’t have had the same authenticity or pay off.

We also wouldn’t get to see Jack fake-propose to Miguel and what a waste of good chemistry that would be.

Speaking of good chemistry, who better to lead a heavy mother-daughter discussion than Beth and Carol? They have a valuable rapport with each other that is nothing if not entertaining.

Sure, these two women are not the kindest in their more honest moments as parents, but they’re sincere and that’s what counts. These two are using this time together to repair their relationship and I find their vulnerability in the face of pure evil quite sweet.

Something has to combat the bitter after-taste of angsty teen Tess and her nasty name-calling. As much as we hate reliving teen years on television dramas like this, Tess’ insufferableness is authentic and she does present Beth with a topical discussion about sexuality.

This Is Us uses a study-date gone wrong to educate viewers on why parenting an LGBTQ child should be an adjustment but never a sacrifice. Rashad and Watson have a very rewarding open dialogue on why it’s important to nourish relationships with your children, even if they don’t follow your path for them.

It’s a promising lesson for Beth that manages to keep this teen drama-filled storyline from becoming irritating while using Tess’ misplaced anger to demonstrate potential in covering these more difficult family dynamics for parents watching.

This Is Us somehow juggles many wonderful, yet drastically different storylines, to show us this cast of characters has plenty left to surprise us with.

In crafting this episode around the best man discussion, we get the best installment of the season yet and a perfect demonstration of how none of these stories have to connect to resonate with us, but when they do something truly magical happens.

This couldn’t be more apparent than in the final moments when we see the many girlfriends of Kevin’s past react to the magazine cover announcing his engagement to Madison. It’s not crucial to the episode’s story arc but the small montage gives us something so incredibly special and unique to this show’s calibre of storytelling.

That lingering second on Sophie’s face as her eyes take on a much deeper emotion than the other women is all this show needs to send us spiralling — because when it comes to these characters, This Is Us knows the subtly is what’s going to kill us.

And if the next episode can bottle up the chaos that is that last shot of Sophie, you know what? It just might.

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What did you think of this episode of This Is Us? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC.

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