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This post contains spoilers for the season finale of This is Us
Have you had time to exhale, my fellow This is Us fans? Tuesday night’s season two finale focused on the wedding of Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Toby (Chris Sullivan). In honor of her late father Jack, Kate held the wedding at the family’s cabin in the woods. She enlisted Kevin and Randall as the wedding planners (side note: if I ever get married, I need these two to plan my big day). Of course, being This is Us, there had to be some pathos. Toby forgot to pack Kate’s “something old”, Jack’s Daytona Beach t-shirt, which sends her off on a wild goose chase to find a replacement – and I’m sure I’m not the only one who thought she may have gotten cold feet and wouldn’t be returning to take Toby’s hand.
This particular theory was bolstered by the fact that Toby wasn’t in Kate’s dreams of Jack and Rebecca celebrating their “what could have been” 40th wedding anniversary. Yes, for those of you who thought the silver fox incarnation of Milo Ventimiglia’s character was a dream, you win a kewpie doll (I called it too). Fortunately, the two get married and I only cried a little.
As far as our favorite Pearsons – Randall and Beth – they’re having a hard time with Deja, who has changed since her mother decided to let go of her parental rights. She’s moody and sullen and, at the end of the episode, shatters Randall’s car windshield with a baseball bat.
The episode wrapped up with a series of flash forwards. In two taking place in about a year, Kevin is traveling to Vietnam with Beth’s cousin Zoe, whom he met at the wedding and apparently is seeing. In the second, Kate is caring for a depressed, bed-bound Toby. The last flash forward raised the most questions. In it we see old Randall and adult Tess talking about seeing “her.” Tess said she wasn’t ready and Randall said he wasn’t either. FIN. What the what? Who is she? I NEED TO KNOW. If something is wrong with Beth or that marriage, I will quit this show. I mean it.
The episode was a rating success, achieving a 17% spike in viewership among the valuable adults 18-49 demographic and earning the show its best ratings since November. The prospect of a happier episode, after the tragic death of Jack that weighed heavily on this season could have been part of the reason.
Show co-runner Elizabeth Berger acknowledged the more upbeat tone of the finale. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she said “we knew that we wanted the end of the season to be a little lighter and to end with that breath for the family.” She said ending with the wedding was “a very conscious decision” and added, “Everyone has been through enough — our viewers, our characters — and it was time to let everyone have a bit of a catharsis.”
As for the upcoming third season, Elizabeth told EW that, although she “really wants our fans to relax over the summer… they’ve been through a lot,” there are still so many questions to ponder over the break. But fear not, Jack isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Says Elizabeth, “I hope people will be excited to see chapters of Jack’s life explored that we have not yet seen. There’s still so much about him that we don’t know — that his kids don’t know, that his wife doesn’t know — that I think it’s going to be really exciting to see him in completely new situations.”
And if you’re hoping for some scoop on the Randall and Beth storyline in season three, look elsewhere. When asked what Randall and Tess couldn’t face in that flash forward, Elizabeth said, “I cannot even reveal if it was a fight they were speaking about. I don’t want to say anything about it, because I think we’re going to a really interesting and surprising place… Anything is possible.” One thing that probably isn’t the case is a conscious uncoupling of the show’s favorite couple. Elizabeth said that if that occurred, “the fans definitely would revolt.” She added that “Even we revolt amongst our writer selves whenever we talk about them even having a fight. We always have different degrees of what we can handle internally. So I think everyone loves to just see them thriving and functioning.” Don’t forget those words when writing season three, Elizabeth. I’m holding you to them.
So what’s next for our newlywed Pearson? When Chrissy Metz was asked by Vulture if she was excited for season three, she said, “I am! I only know a bit about what might be potentially happening. But I’m like, can Kate and Toby go to Hawaii on their honeymoon? Can we pitch that to somebody? Can we make a little field trip? I think that would be fun to see.” After all of the drama this season, I needed that laugh. Thanks, Chrissy. I hope the producers send you and Chris somewhere relaxing… before all hell breaks loose. See you all in the fall!
Season 2 is done already?! We hope you loved watching as much as we loved sharing it! Lets do it all again next season 💜. #ThisIsUs pic.twitter.com/fE8Kv9NM38
— Susan Kelechi Watson (@skelechiwatson) March 14, 2018
Just one more thing… THANK YOU. #ThisIsUs pic.twitter.com/XAFuboQxSr
— Sterling K Brown (@SterlingKBrown) March 14, 2018
Photos: Getty Images, WENN.com
Great show, great season. Of course I got weepy watching the finale, but at least there weren’t any moments that called for the ugly-cries. Looking forward to next season and further exploring everyone’s stories, especially an apparent Kevin/Zoe romance (as new as her character is, and as brief as her presence was in the finale I’m kinda here for it). Guess I’m gonna have to sustain myself on rewatching seasons 1 & 2 until the new season rolls around.
I almost made it without crying, but the “you’re not in my way, you ARE my way” had me balling like a baby.
Me too!!!
I really liked that they didn’t wrap Deja’s storyline in a pretty bow. it’s a complicated relationship and I want them to show all facets of it.
I would be surprised if Deja’s story like Kate’s issues with her mom are never resolved.
Always lingering in the background.
Zoe and Kevin make a stunning couple.
I love this show – acting and writing — but “upbeat ending?”
Deja is justifiably seriously troubled — to the extent that she takes a bat to Randall’s windshield.
Toby is going to be so clinically depressed that he’ll be on meds and unable to get out of bed or even respond to Kate and the world around him.
Kevin will have a shot at another wonderful, interesting woman in Zoe — but the relationship will continue to be overshadowed by the ghost of his father, for whom he’ll travel to Vietnam to try and recapture another piece of Jack’s past.
Randall’s request that his daughter “see her” — does he mean Beth, does he mean Deja, does he mean his other daughter? Does he mean another female in the extended family? We don’t know but given the reaction, things are not going to be happiness and light in Randall’s branch of the family.
I also feel sorry for Rebecca’s second husband who is a cipher to the Pearson family. Not merely as a stepfather but also as a husband. We’ve never seen one moment in that marriage that isn’t about Jack and what a great guy he was. And yes, Jack was a great guy. But we’ve seen not one scene that establishes their marriage, their traditions. All we’ve seen is him patiently smile as Rebecca annually makes Jack’s favorite lasagna, re-lives other Pearson family traditions and deals with her and her children’s unshaken sense of loss.
Of course that love and loss is understandable and real part of their lives. (I say this as a daughter whose beloved father died decades ago…)
But she did marry this man and neither his wife nor his stepchildren have any connection to him beyond the extent that he’s yet another link to their deceased father. He clearly had no role in the wedding whatsoever.
Compelling television that I’ll definitely continue watching. But anything but “upbeat.”
Re: what you said about Randall’s future storyline. My initial response for some reason was “omg Deja killed Beth,” but clearly I was playing the same “game” Randall and Kevin played in the car!
I’m actually wondering if Rebecca is sick and/or dying in the future. She would be an age in which it would be conceivable. But several people on Twitter pointed out he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring in that scene and that’s what concerns me most!
Crap I didn’t notice the missing wedding ring! Damn damn damn. I thought maybe it was Deja in jail, or Beth is dead, but Rebecca sick or dying is a good theory too.
I didn’t notice the missing wedding band either-wondering too if Deja acted violently to Beth,or did something worse,or did Deja cause friction in the marriage of Randall and Beth,and did they separate for a time because one of them wanted Deja in their family and the other couldn’t handle it?This future glimpse makes me uneasy ….
I wondered the same thing based on their “game” in this episode. Does Deja end up killing Beth at some point in the future and she’s in jail?
I agree. I am also happy to stop with the ‘ I am not over my father’s death’ storyline. It was getting a bit tedious especially with Kate. I am actually looking forward for her to be the stronger one in her relationship.
I suppose we are going to meet Jack’s brother in Vietnam?
Didn’t Jack’s brother die? Like I said down thread, I think Jack has a child in Vietnam after meeting a woman during his time there. Why else would Kevin fly all the way there?
I am loving the banter among the older Pearson kids. (I refuse to call them Big Three.)
My dad died in a car accident 12yrs ago and it seems like yesterday. He to was a great dad and I miss him everyday and I see a lot of Jack in my dad by watching this show I’ve discovered I to have some issues with coping that I relate to the characters. During the academy awards we would call each other and try and guess who would win so every year during oscars i am not to be disturbed. If I find come across something new regarding history its hard not to pick up the phone and call my dad because that’s what we would do, he loved history and new a lot about it as well so we would compare notes. Sometimes when someone dies especially if they were a significant part of your life its hard to let go or want to let go. This is Us is not only a food show but in some ways its my therapy.
I’m so sorry for your loss. I also lost my dad 9 years ago. It’s so hard to go from seeing someone every single day of your life to them just all of a sudden being gone…knowing you will never see them again. The grief never stops. I cry during every episode of this show because it hits home on so many levels.
I think Toby’s mom or dad dies which sends him into a deep depression. He might have stopped talking to them after the wedding since they don’t like Kate and now he’s feeling some guilt. I think Kevin goes to Vietnam because maybe Jack dated a woman while there and had a child whom Kevin wants to meet? With the future of Randall and Tess, it could be a number of things…could be Beth died and they are going to her grave site, or maybe it’s Rebecca who is dying and they are going to see her…though at that point she would be very old.
I went through the whole depressed husband thing and it almost killed me. It was obviously longer than just, “honey, the doctor has meds for you.” I am not going to he able to watch Katobey go through this. I’m so mad at the writers!
I think the “I’m not ready to see her” comment is about Deja– either in jail or mental health facility.
I’ve tried and I just cant do it. The drama gives me a headache, you cant escape it-one scene after the next. Sadness, depression and tragedy at every turn. It’s like watching purgatory or nightmarish karmic lessons. I change the station and welcome in the light. It’s nice to have a show with a diverse cast.