"This Is Us" Series Unexpected Season One Finale
Over the course of six months, the new NBC series This Is Us has captivated audience’s hearts. The series tells the beautiful story that revolves around six individuals and how their lives connect as one family.
It is no surprise that the series was nominated for several awards, including screen actors guild awards and golden globe awards for best television series and best performances by an actress; This is Us has also won awards for the series’ overall quality from the People’s Choice Awards, the Writers Guild of America, the AFI awards, and more.
(Spoilers) As I sat down to watch the season one finale last week on March 14th, emotions were high. The previous episode had left off with the family patriarch, Jack Pearson, driving drunk on his way to make amends with his wife Rebecca. As most long-term audience members of This Is Us know, Jack faces an early death. His children are in their teens/early 20s when his passing occurs. But the "how" is still uncertain. Many expected this to be it, the big reveal of how Jack dies and the story behind his death.
Yet, pleasantly, the season finale of This Is Us did not end with a sorrow tone. Instead, there is hope and the promise of a future. These goals are not only shown through Jack and Rebecca, but a new possible life-altering avenue for Randall too. Randall proposes that he and his wife adopt a baby.
This decision allows the story to come full circle in a way. Randall's choice to adopt a child shows his understanding and appreciation for his parents on a new level. Randall realizes that although Rebecca didn’t make the best decisions when it came to Randall’s birth parents, she was always there for him 110%, and he believes that Rebecca did what she thought was best for Randall growing up. Although Randall didn’t get much time with his birth father, he understands how loved he was by William, Jack, and Rebecca. Randall, in turn, wants to give that same powerful love that he had with Jack and Rebecca to another child.
As for Jack and Rebecca, despite their hostile words exchanged with one another, they didn’t simply apologize. Although both felt guilt at the way the expressed their feelings, they both meant what they said. Rebecca even states this truth directly. Rebecca has sacrificed having something of her own, and her opportunity to have her “big break” as a singer was ruined by Jack who showed up drunk. She depicts herself as a house wife and a mother of teenage children who don’t need her anymore. Yet, Jack has visibly made sacrifices too; such as, asking his drunk abusive father for money, so Jack and Rebecca didn't have to move in with Rebecca's parents. But at the end of the day, Jack is fighting for his marriage with Rebecca. He is showing the lengths of his love for her, and that this is only the beginning of their story.
It is in this episode that we discover how Jack and Rebecca meet. It is a joyful revelation, rather than one filled with tragedy and pain. We, the audience, see how Rebecca saved Jack from acting out a really stupid plan; a plan that could have altered the course of his life and ruined his future. Rebecca was Jack’s “big break.”
Although many were anticipating the season finale to reveal the truth about Jack’s death, this episode gave audiences so much more in such a positive, uplifting way. It gives these characters time: time to mend, time to heal, and time to continue to build a life together with the ones that they love. The This Is Us season finale continues to tell the story of the Pearson family and their journey together.
"This Is Us" Premiere Review (WARNING: Spoilers)
The television series This Is Us, shows 4 individuals that are born on the same day, celebrating their 36th birthdays. The story starts out and centers around 5 individuals: Jack, Rebecca, Kate, Kevin, and Randall.
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A couple of these individual's lives intersect directly with each other at first glance. Although they are all at the same age, they are facing different battles at 36. Jack and Rebecca are a married couple that are expecting triplets. Kate is an assistant and is struggling with food while attending an overweight support group. Kate’s brother, Kevin, is at a crossroads in his career; he doesn’t feel his current role as an actor is filling up to his career potential. Randall has established a family of his own, with a wife, 2 daughters, and adoptive parents. Yet, he feels he needs to find where he came from and is searching for his birth father.
All of these lives that are seemingly interconnected stories comes together in the end. It is revealed to the audience that they all belong to one family; Jack and Rebecca are the parents, Kate and Kevin are their biological children that survived the pregnancy, and Randall is the third adopted child.
Towards the end of the episode, when Kate is making this revelation, she repeats a quote from her father. “Do you remember what dad would say when ever something crappy happened to us?” Kate asked Kevin. There is emphasis here on the word US, both as triplets and as a family as a whole.
During the flashback to 1979, the delivery doctor breaks the news to Jack about his and Rebecca’s third child. But the doctor also shines profound light on the situation, based on his own past experiences. “There’s no lemons so sour that you can’t make something resembling lemonade,” the doctor says. This not only sets a hopeful tone. It also allows the character facing the situation to visualize this concept through the actions that they take. An example of this is shown through Jack and Rebecca by taking home 3 children that day. This goes back to what the doctor said when he first told Jack that only 2 children survived. “If you can take the sourest lemon that life has to offer and turn it into lemonade; then you will still be taking three babies home from this hospital. Maybe not the way you planned,” the doctor says.
Jack and Rebecca accept their role of being parents of three children. Even if the situation isn't what they anticipated. This action proves that family is stronger than biology. Family is support and unconditional love for one another. Interconnecting stories of “strangers” connects into a single family dynamic, with various character arcs and paths running through them. This provides room for the story to open up. It also allows us to see these individuals in a new light. It allows the audience to see the connection the characters have with one another in the past, present, and future settings. This is life.