‘This Is Us’ Recap: Season 6, Episode 11 — ‘Saturday in the Park’

The good news: In this week’s This Is Us, little Jack doesn’t take a tumble into the fiery backyard smoker like I (and maybe you) feared.

The bad news: He does incur an injury that involves much shouting, crying and a trip to the emergency room for stitches. And it’s hard to see how his parents’ marriage is going to rebound from the incident and everything that surrounds it.

Read on for the highlights of “Saturday in the Park.”

A TRICKLE TURNS INTO A FLOOD | The episode begins with little Jack in bed, listening to his parents fight about Kate putting her name in for the new job at her school. They immediately drop the argument when they realize that Jack is awake, and they put on cheery faces as the three of them make their way to the park. Along the way, Kate sings very helpful alternate lyrics to Chicago’s “Saturday in the Park,” which assist Jack in navigating their neighborhood. And while he’s on the swings and Kate and Toby are pushing him and laughing, all is (temporarily) well with the Damon family. (Side note: Um, where’s Hailey?)

But the happiness is just a patch, as we learn as we watch everyone preparing for Miguel and Rebecca’s 10th anniversary barbecue at Toby and Kate’s place. Things are very tense between Kate and Toby, and everyone kinda knows what’s going on. When Randall and Beth arrive, Kate hugs her brother and starts crying. After she calms down, she asks him to take Kevin — who’s moving into his own home soon but who’s driving Toby insane in the meantime — and get him out of the house for a while so everyone can cool off.

And then the kitchen ceiling, which you’ll recall Toby dealt with a while back, starts leaking again. Miguel goes to shut off the water to the house. Kate and Toby start yelling at each other. And Rebecca, who is frustrated that no one is letting her do anything related to anything important, takes Jack into his bedroom to put on his shoes.

In the boy’s room, Jack tells her that he wears his rain boots to the park on Saturdays. (This will become important info later.) He also says he’s sad, because “Mommy and Daddy are mad a lot.” Good lord, this kid is such a good little actor! Meanwhile, Beth brings Toby a coconut drink in the backyard and offers that long-distance was tough on her and Randall, too, but they made it through. “I think the difference is, you moved for him, Beth,” Toby says, standing at the smoker. She says she did so for herself, her work… and her marriage, he finishes, and she can’t deny it.

MADISON MOVES ON | Kevin and Randall go to pick up the twins, but because they’re two hours early, Madison is just about to bring the kids to music class. So the guys stick around to talk with Elijah. When Kevin goes looking for him in the house, he finds him poking around in Madison’s jewelry box and holding a ring sizer: Yep, he wants to propose.

The news makes Kevin feel “not good,” so Randall informs him that they’re just going to drive around until any ideas about grand romantic gestures are gone from his brain.

In the end, when he finds out Madison is excited about the prospect of marrying Elijah (she’s…