by Aaron Schweitzer, Editor
For its first few seasons, This Is Us was must-see television. I really looked forward to late Tuesday nights where I would watch the show with a box of tissues and just let me emotions run rampant. As the show went on, however, it seemed like it was turning from excellent to above average. The peak of This Is Us’ run was the episode that aired after the Super Bowl, and we finally got to see how Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) died. After that, the show kind of felt aimless for a while. We had spent nearly two seasons following this family’s life, which seems to revolve around one day, then we see it and we’re left wondering what’s next. for the first time. While the show definitely has its moments, it never seems to really reach that level of incredible again. We quickly realize that the next big moment, and what will likely be the finale, is the death of the mom, Rebecca (Mandy Moore). But as it got closer and closer, it just never reached the same level the show started out on.
My biggest complaint with this season, as is I think is the same for many fans of the show, is that it all feels rushed. I might even push that a bit farther to say it somehow feels too rushed, as well as too slow. The final season tries to untangle a web that it so intricately tangled the last five years, yet still chooses to include entirely new elements to the situation as well. For example, Kevin’s (Justin Hartley) story is its own thing, and when it doesn’t work out with Madison (Caitlin Thompson), that’s really all we need to know. We don’t need to spend so much time with Elijah (Adam Korson), an entirely new character, as well. There just seems to be so much wasted time on stuff that doesn’t matter all that much, and then the things that do matter don’t get enough time devoted to it.
The biggest letdown of the season is Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Toby’s (Chris Sullivan) divorce. Teased at the end of the last season, I thought for sure there had to be some kind of “gotcha” moment that the show is so good at pulling off. Maybe Kate and Toby renew their vows, or they got divorced, but are getting re-married. But the show stuck to its guns for the first time, and it really didn’t pay off. It really comes down to two reasons why: one, I’m 100% Team Toby and two, we don’t get a chance to know Kate’s new husband.
Kate and Toby’s eventual divorce is so prolonged and builds some genuine human relationship tension, but when it all comes to a head, I was absolutely not on Kate’s side, which is a problem because Kate is one of the biggest protagonists of the show! There’s even a moment where Toby is finally saying all the things that I’ve been internalizing over the last five years, and he is written off by Randall (Sterling K. Brown) and Kevin who step in. It was infuriating to watch and made me not want to root for a character who has a lot of pull in the remaining episodes. What is even worse is I think the show wants me to be on Kate’s side, as opposed to rooting against her. The second part is we don’t get to know Philip (Chris Geere) because there is so much time spent building up Kate and Toby over the series, and at the end, they’re like, “SIKE!” and it really didn’t pay off — so now we’re left with one of the main characters married to someone we barely met, who might as well be a cardboard cutout.
Since that took up a bulk of this review, I’ll move quickly on the rest of the character arcs this show handled in its’ final season. And let’s start with Kevin. I have been team Kevin and Sophie (Alexandra Breckenridge) ever since that heartwarming episode where we find out that Kevin has had a crush on Sophie since they were kids. I argued with a friend that they should be together on and off for a few years, and we agreed that Sophie was good for Kevin, but Kevin was no good for Sophie, so she ultimately didn’t want it to happen. The show made genuine strides this season to show Kevin finally growing up and finally worthy of Sophie with a genuinely terrific moment in the episode with Kate’s wedding. I really liked everything done with Kevin this season — I just wish we didn’t have to stick around with Madison for so long.
Randall and Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) continue to be GOALS. Specifically Beth, who was by far the best character this season. Randall continues to whine too much, and Beth is always there to put him in his place or to leave and already know exactly how it is going to work out, but without all the hair-pulling dramatic arguments to suffer through. I didn’t care about Randall’s career at all this season, which was shocking considering they tease a huge political career leap in the finale. Either way, Brown continues to be the best actor in this series, and he deserves whatever role he wants next.
Uncle Nicky (Griffin Dunne) is part of the family now, but he doesn’t feel like it. He gets married to a person we know approximately two things about. That’s about it.
The series seemed to be leading to a big moment with Becca, but it continued to feature her less and less. There are some wonderful moments portrayed by Moore, and some real honest conversations for her to have and to lead, but with her condition, it kind of forces that character to be less and less involved. The train episode was delightful and honestly should have been the finale.
But before we get to the finale, we have to mention Miguel (Jon Huertas). In season one, we wanted to hate him because he isn’t Jack, but we have grown to love him, and there was significant progress done with his character this season. The episode dedicated to him was by far the best this season, but it just left an empty hole for the rest of the season, especially when he has the equivalent of a cameo in the train episode, even though he spent just as much time with Rebecca as Jack did. Not to mention that he isn’t even referenced to in the finale. Huertas gives a great performance, and the show does his character dirty after his death.
Finally, let’s talk about the finale. I legitimately thought that the end of this series would be Rebecca taking her last breath, because that would be perfect. Life continues to go on, but this show has always been about this core family, and with the patriarch and matriarch gone, it feels like this story reaches its natural conclusion. But the show ends with an episode after her death featuring her funeral and a flashback to the past with the kids having a free Saturday. The episode was fine, but far from great. And while I admire Dan Fogelman’s bravery in telling a simple, sweet story to end a complex epic one, it left me entirely underwhelmed.
In my mind, the train episode is the finale of this show in the same way that Scrubs season eight is the end of that show and that The Last Jedi is the end of the Skywalker Saga. Because when the show could have gone down as one of the best of all time, it whimpers along with a hurt leg for most of the season and then falls completely flat on the last episode. The best way to describe this season is, disappointing. There is a lot to like here, but there are way too many missteps for me to ignore. If you have never seen the show as a whole, I would still recommend, especially if you watch it with your partner, but just don’t get your hopes up too much for the end.
Score: 6/10
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