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Recap

Past:

A young Beth is drawing a picture of a ballerina and her mother gets mad at her and Zoe for teasing her. Abe comes home all cheerful and happy. Beth gets a call from a ballet academy who wants her to come to a school. Carol is hesitant about it but Abe thinks they should check it out. 

They arrive at the school and Beth is mesmerized. Carol questions the school headmaster, Vincent about Beth's prospects. He assures her that he thinks if Bethany works hard, she could make history.  Carol is skeptical but Abe convinces her that the school is right for Beth and Beth assures her that she will work hard every single day. 

Vincent helps Beth during one of her classes and assures her she has the potential to be one of the best. 

A few years pass and Beth is a teenager. Vincent isn't as convinced that Beth wants it as much as she did when she was younger. He tells her if she still wants to be the best, she's going to have to work twice as hard. 

She comes home late and Carol sits her down so Abe can tell her that he has lung cancer. Instead of letting them drown in their sorrows, Carol forces Beth and Zoe to continue on with their day and be strong. 

Beth tells her mom that she's going to quit dance because her father's worked too hard to make it happen for her. Carol tells her that's not an option and she will stick to the path she chose. 

A new African-American girl enters her class and she is really good. Beth comes home late and her mom asks about when she will hear about the solo. As Carol deals with Zoe, Beth talks to her father. He shares with Beth the story about how she started dancing before she started walking. She was forever known as their little island girl.

She stops to talk to him more before changing her mind and going to bed. 

Some time has passed and Abe has passed away. Beth goes to class and the list for the showcase is up. Beth did not get the solo. She comes home and tells her mom that she didn't get the solo. She apologizes for disappointing her but Carol assures her that she did her best, which is more than good enough. 

Later that night, Carol gives Beth a college guide. She tells her that it's time for Beth to choose a different path because dance doesn't seem like the right path for her anymore. She doesn't want to see her daughter fail. 

Carol drops Beth off at a freshmen mixer. She decides to change her name from Bethany to Beth on a nametag. She bumps into Randall before taking off. 

Present: 

Principal Carol Clark roams the halls of her school and reprimands a few kids in the hall. A kid accidentally rams into her on his way down the stairs and she hurts her hip in the process. 

Beth and Zoe are on the road to visit Carol. Zoe advises Beth to try not to clam up when standing up to her mother about retiring. After some questioning, Beth admits to Zoe she hasn't told her mom that she lost her job. 

Beth and Zoe arrive at Carol's house and when they tell her she should be in bed and using her walker but Carol brushes them off and warms up dinner. 

At dinner, Beth tries to bring up Carol's job but clams up. Zoe steps in and brings up retirement or cutting back. Carol starts ripping into Zoe about not having a real job like Beth. Beth tells her mom that she got laid off months ago. 

Carol's already figured out a plan to get Beth back into the workforce and will help her work on her resume in the morning. 

In the middle of the night, Zoe and Beth hide out and smoke some pot Zoe hid behind a photo of their grandmother. 

As they get high, Beth talks about how much she admires the way Zoe handles things with her mother. Zoe says it's because this house represented safety for her. 

Zoe says she knows something bigger is going on with Beth and she has to find a way to talk about it or she will explode. As they quietly run back up the stairs, Beth stops to look at her father's chair. 

While alone, Beth talks to the chair and tells her father that she did forget that part of herself that loved dancing. She found love with a man that reminds her so much of him but without Abe in her life, she wasn't able to fully be herself. 

Carol is up at the middle of the night and sees Beth. She tells her she's going to start searching for firms for Beth. Beth tells her she doesn't want her to help. Beth confronts her about not letting their family take the time to grieve and she took Beth's carefree spirit away from her. 

She tells Carol that the reason her other three siblings never come around is that she never allowed them to breath when around her. Beth tells Carol she's afraid to dream big because of her. 

The next morning, Carol tells Beth more about her relationship with Abe and how he gave her air and balanced out her serious, determined side with brevity and lightness. She apologizes for taking dance away from Beth so quickly after Abe died. 

Beth assures her that while she misses dancing, her mother put her on the path to Randall and her kids, which she's very happy about. 

Beth comes home and tells Randall she knows what she wants to do next. He drives her to a ballet studio. Meanwhile, Carol goes back to work and uses the walker Zoe and Beth begged her to use. 

Beth finds a private room and dances. An instructor walks in and tells Beth she's too good to be in a beginners class. Beth tells her she actually wants to teach. 

Show:
This Is Us
Season:
Episode Number:
13
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This Is Us Season 3 Episode 13 Quotes

Carol: Time for bed young lady, you've been watching TV for hours now.
Zoe: It's not even that late...chill.
Carol: You did not just tell me to chill child!
Abe: That girl is giving your mother a run for her money.

Abe: My baby girl, 18 months old before you started walking.
Beth: I know dad.
Abe: And your mother was scared to death! She took you to all kinds of doctors, wanted to find out what was wrong with you, but nobody could tell her anything. And then one day, we were all in Kington and Uncle Clem put on some Burning Spear, you know the song?
Beth: Dread River.
Abe: That song started playing and it felt like it just picked you right off the ground because you stood and danced straight over to me. Your mother would never admit it now but she sobbed. We were so happy. Our little island girl would dance before she walked. That's who you are. Never forget, baby girl.