This Is Us – This Big, Amazing, Beautiful Life

By starrymag | March 13, 2018

By: Suzanne Fox

 

 

 

Shauna (Joy Brunson) is sixteen years old and is seen giving birth to Deja. Shauna’s grandmother (Pam Grier) is there while she is in the hospital. Flashbacks show Rebecca (Mandy Moore) giving birth with the help of her doctor (Gerald McRaney) and then Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) giving birth. William (Ron Cephas Jones) is at the birth of Randall. Shauna doesn’t want to hold the baby, but her grandmother tells Shauna she needs to form a bond with her baby.

 

GG (Deja’s great grandmother) comes home and finds Deja (Makenzie Lee-Foster) in bed alone. Deja is about five years old. GG gets into bed with Deja and reads Goodnight Moon to her. Rebecca is seen reading Goodnight Moon. Similarly, Randall is seen reading Goodnight Moon to his family.

 

Shauna comes home and GG yells at her for leaving Deja home by herself. Shauna tells her Grandmother that she was only two blocks away. Deja, Shauna and GG are seen walking down the hall of their apartment building. GG looks tired and out of breath. She suddenly collapses and dies. Shauna and Deja are extremely upset. Shauna holds onto Deja and insists she doesn’t know what she will do. Deja takes out Goodnight Moon and starts to read.

 

Years later, Deja (Lyric Ross) is a pre-teen at home by herself. Shauna promises to come right home after work so that the two of them can celebrate Shauna’s birthday. Deja attempts to make the Grandmom’s Jambalaya recipe. She puts a can on the floor and the can opener slips and cuts her hand. Deja can’t reach her Mom so she goes to an ER nearby. Linda (Debra Jo Rupp) from Child Protective Services (CPS) shows up a few minutes before her Mom does. Shauna says that she was out for her birthday after work and that her phone died. CPS takes Deja and keeps her in her office. CPS calls trying to find placement for Deja. Linda tells Shauna it will be for one night or maybe a few.

 

Linda places Deja in a home with a foster family, the Millers, and another girl Raven (Ciera Hart). Raven and Deja dance in their room until Mr. Miller (Marty Ryan) comes in to yell at them. Raven stands up to him and Deja questions whether that is a smart move. Another day, Raven and Deja are walking home from school. Raven convinces Deja that they steal some makeup from the corner store. The owner of the corner store says hi to the girls, as if they are regulars. The girls are seen in the back of the store, out of sight of the owner. Raven convinces Deja that they should steal some makeup and hair items. They quickly stuff these items into jackets and bags. Later that night, Raven is busy applying makeup to Deja. Soon they get called downstairs by Mr. Miller. The owner of the corner store is there and he knows they stole. Raven is beaten by Mr. Miller while Deja watches in horror.

 

About a year later, Linda from CPS shows up to check on Deja. Linda asks how everything is and Deja withholds the tales of abuse. Decision is obvious on Deja’s face as to whether or not to tell Linda about what is occurring at the foster house. As Linda goes to leave, Deja blurts out that the girls are being beaten. Linda removes them from the Millers house, as the cops arrive to talk to Mr. Miller. Neighbors stand around outside the house, watching this drama unfold.

 

Raven and Deja are placed in a facility with many beds. As they lay next to each other in separate beds that night, Raven tells Deja that being at the Millers wasn’t that bad. Raven says that despite the beatings, it could have been worse. Raven informs Deja that she doesn’t know how many beds she has slept in throughout her life. She lost count of how many beds she was in after the age of nine. Raven tells Deja that if she ever ends up in a good home with a good bed that she needs to hold onto that. Deja ultimately is moved from home to home until Shauna reappears. The upset of losing Deja caused Shauna to do drugs and she ended up in rehab. Deja knows that Shauna only used the drugs because she missed her daughter.

 

Now that Shauna is clean she regains custody of Deja. Deja is thrilled to go home and be with her Mom. However, Shauna informs Deja that she met somebody special at rehab, Alonso (Rey Gallegos). Deja is disappointed that their home is not just for the two of them as Shauna’s new boyfriend has moved into their place. He tries hard to win over Deja. Alonso acts charming and tries to talk like a kid to Deja. He insists that she will like him. Fast forward a bit and we see that Shauna has her old job back while a jobless Alonso and his friends sit around drinking. Alonso and his friends have turned the apartment into a mess. Shaun and Alonso fight but she leaves. Deja starts to clean up the dishes that are left unwashed on the coffee table. Alonso moves into the kitchen to help Deja with the dishes. He takes them away from her as Deja gets her backpack and slams out of the apartment.

 

Later, Shauna finds out that Alonso has a gun in the house. She kicks him out after yelling at him for having a gun around a child. Unfortunately, Shauna gets pulled over and the gun is found in her possession. Deja is seen at school, enjoying dance class. She has just been selected to move to the front and dance first. The police show up and the happy emotion drops from Deja’s face. She finds out that Shauna was arrested and Deja is taken away again. At this point she ends up in Randall and Beth’s home.

 

Deja feels like this is just another bed in her life. Flashes are shown of Beth doing Deja’s hair, Deja cutting the braids Beth put in for her, and discussions about how hard it is to say goodbye. Then Shauna returns to reclaim her daughter and Deja goes home with her. Everything is being shown from Deja’s perspective, as we watch Randall and Beth cry at Deja leaving.

 

Back in their apartment, Shauna tries very hard to pay the bills and work. Deja makes a bank out of a shoebox for her Mom. She has cut out pictures from magazines and glued them to the box. The joy is obvious in Deja’s face when her Mom is pleased with this gift. Together they track the cash and bills. Deja is seen stuffing money into envelopes to pay bills, alongside her mother. A common refrain throughout the episode is Shauna asking Deja what she would do without her.

 

The landlord knocks at their door and tells them they are late with their rent. She vows to come back later and collect it. Deja looks in the decorated shoebox bank and sees that all the money is gone, including what she borrowed from Randall. Deja flips out on Shauna when she finds out that Shauna took the money to bail Alonso out of jail. Deja tries to sell her clothes at a pawn shop, but they won’t take them. She considers selling her GG’s brooch but opts not to do that. Flashes are shown of Kevin holding onto Jack’s necklace. Deja and Shauna are seen packing their items after they were evicted. They then move into their car. Then, Randall and Beth appear in the window and wake Deja and Shauna.

 

Shauna and Deja go home with Beth and Randall. Tess (Eris Baker) and Annie (Faithe Herman) are delighted to see Deja. They all have dinner together, play Uno together, and watch movies as a family and bond over stories around the table. Beth goes to make up the sofa in the living room but Deja asks if she can have her old room back. Shauna comments to Beth that this is the first time she has seen Deja act like a kid. Randall goes up to talk to Deja. He leans against the bed on the floor while Deja sits at the end. Deja tells Randall how she likes to think about how everybody in the world is united by sleep. That everybody goes to sleep at night, regardless of income. Some people sleep on floors and some in beds. Deja confesses that she didn’t understand how Randall thought they were similar; something he said to Deja when she moved into their home the first time.

 

While Deja and Randall are upstairs talking, Shauna admits to Beth that she has failed Deja. Ultimately Shauna declares that she has to go and can’t take Deja with her. Shauna leaves without saying goodbye to Deja.