by The Cowl Editor on March 2, 2017
Arts & Entertainment
By Elizabeth Jancsy `18
A&E Staff
One of the most talked about shows this season is slowly coming to a close, as fans brace themselves for the upcoming season finale of This Is Us on NBC. The network’s newest hit has taken its fans on an emotional roller coaster every Tuesday night, and now, with the season finale on the horizon, many are wondering what will finally be revealed before the end of the first season.
The show deals with a non-linear timeline, jumping from the current-day lives of siblings Kate, Randall, and Kevin Pearson, to the lives of their parents Jack and Rebecca Pearson in the ’80s. This set-up allows for viewers to enjoy many different story lines, and also cry at least once for every single character on the show.
One of the first big questions viewers are dying to know the answer to is what will become of the different couples on the show. In the current day timeline, Kate is engaged to Toby, a man who struggles with his weight like Kate, but looks at life a little bit more optimistically than she does.
Oftentimes in the season, viewers see these two lovebirds get into heated arguments, but one has to believe that it is Toby’s charm that Kate loves, and Kate’s willingness to open up that keeps Toby around. Dan Fogelman, the creator of the show, told The Hollywood Reporter, “It’s all part of the bigger story of Kate and Toby’s relationship. It’s a lovely and often romantic-comedy-esque relationship between them. Decisions got made really quickly, and they’re very up and down. They continue to be struck by these obstacles that force their relationship to either move too slowly or too quickly.”
One can never be too sure though, as things could really shake up in the last two episodes, and Kate could be saying goodbye to her one true love just like Kevin did with his ex-wife.
What felt like halfway through the season, the sweet talking, ladies’ man Kevin, revealed he has an ex-wife who he is still in love with. Viewers are no strangers to Kevin’s intimate life, as he has bounced around from artist to artist in his new home of New York City. What viewers were not expecting though, is that deep down Kevin was grieving the end of his relationship with his ex-wife who he cheated on and left for fame when he set out to become an actor. Hearing this, one may think that this relationship must be over, but writers may have viewers fooled, for it seems Kevin could be getting a second chance at love.
Of course, anyone who watches this show knows that the biggest question that needs answering is how the father, Jack, dies. Around the third episode it was revealed that Jack was dead, when Kate addressed it in the current day. Since then, each episode hints at how Jack passed away. Jumping back and forth between the current day and the ’80s, viewers learn he died very young, while Kate, Randall, and Kevin were still in high school, and that Kate still grieves his loss.
Justin Hartley, the actor who plays Kevin Pearson, spoke to US Weekly about the passing of Jack. “You’ll never guess it. It’s unexpected and it’s extremely heartbreaking and sad and deep and moving and, ugh, it’s painful. It’s painful. It’ll stay with you.” Fans everywhere have speculated about how the writers will create the demise of one of the most beloved characters on the show, but viewers are also wondering where does the show go from here?
Following the non-linear timeline is fascinating and interesting when viewers are learning and discovering things about these characters for the first time, but what happens when the viewers finally see how one of them passes away? Fans worry that the presence of Jack will no longer serve a purpose to the show, as viewers will know the fall of the heroic dad. How much of the past can be told about Jack before there is nothing left to share?
NBC has confirmed that the actor who plays Jack, Milo Ventimiglia, has already signed on for another two years of the show, meaning viewers will not have to say goodbye to Jack for now. But only time will tell how long viewers stay stuck in the past with Jack before the past simply just gets old.