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Watching the ‘This is Us’ Series Finale Was Like Attending a Family Funeral
Could its metaphors have been intentional? Reminding us that this is, indeed, our final goodbye?
For the past six years, us fans of NBC’s This is Us have been captivated by the familial journey of the Pearsons. In 1980, Jack and Rebecca (portrayed by Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore) are pregnant with fraternal triplets. Rebecca gives birth to two of them: a boy whom they name Kevin and a girl whom they name Kate. However, they are devastated when their third triplet is stillborn.
Simultaneously, a newborn boy is abandoned in front of a firehouse by his father, William (Ron Cephas Jones). After this baby is brought to the hospital, Rebecca and Jack decide to adopt him and name him Randall. Since Randall is Black, his transracial adoption by a White family is a dynamic that powerfully shapes him throughout his life.
This is Us proceeds to follow the Pearson family across multiple timelines. Beginning in 2016, we are introduced to the adult versions of Kevin (Justin Hartley), Kate (Chrissy Metz), and Randall (Sterling K. Brown).
Spoilers ahead, if you haven’t watched this series in its entirety…
