'This Is Us' Series Finale Review: NBC series closes circle of life with soul-stirring episode
As soon as the final episode of ‘This Is Us’ Season 6 starts, Randall Pearson (Sterling K Brown) says: “I’m okay. I’m appropriately sad, and I’m appropriately anxious about this eulogy”. That’s exactly how I am feeling while writing this piece about the NBC show. There are not doubts that the series has been an integral part of our lives, but it was really important for the makers to end it on a satisfying note and they did exactly that.
Last week was really heavy. We said goodbye to Rebecca Pearson (Mandy Moore) in an emotional penultimate episode that made us cry all night long. Despite all the crying, the penultimate episode was the perfect example of epic storytelling. However, the season’s finale was more of a balanced version of mundane and the meaningful. The episode starts with a flashback scene where we the Pearson family spending a whole day together. Kevin (Justin Hartley) and Randall are going through a rough patch while Kate is living in the moment.
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In one of the adorable scenes where Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) is teaching Kevin and Randall how to shave, he tells them that life is all about collecting little things and hold onto them as long as you can. As the episode progresses, you realize that the aforementioned lines by Jack fuels the finale and that’s why it was so special. After last week’s episode, I was a bit nervous about what the makers are going to do with the finale and hoped that they don’t go out of the way to bring us something that we didn’t expect. Luckily, the makers and the writers decided to keep it simple. Over the years, this simplicity has become the show’s USP and it was befitting that they went back to basics for the finale.
The flashback scenes have always been a treat to watch and it was no different this time around as well. The Pearson family spending the entire Saturday with each other and cherishing life is something that we can see all day long. If the entire episode was based on that one day, I still would have been so happy.
If you are one of those who needed a big dramatic ending, then you might be a little disappointed. But ask yourselves, was ‘This Is Us’ ever like that? No, and it’s befitting that it ended so quietly. It gave you hope that the Big Three will hold their hands forever and the Pearson clan will remain together in the future.
The most heart-touching moment came when William, Randall’s dad, met his grandchildren for the first time and said the relationship between a grandparent and grandchild is so unique. Even though he won’t be a part of their stories for long, they can’t just stop loving them. Isn’t this the reality? Grandparents love their grandchildren more than their own kids. There is a special bond between them, a bond that has no boundaries and is only based on one thing: love.
The series came to an end with a beautiful reaffirmation that Big Three are going to be together for the rest of their lives. They will honor their mother’s last wish by living fearlessly and made promises that they will never drift away. Everything was wrapped up perfectly.
‘This Is Us’ will continue to remain one of the greatest TV shows of this generation and even though, the show could have run for more seasons, it was an extraordinarily satisfying ending to the Pearson saga.
Goodbye, the Pearsons and thank you so much for everything that you have given us.