This Is Us Season 6 Episode 18 Review: Us
Jack Ori
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You might be disappointed if you were expecting a big, dramatic wrap-up.
This Is Us was never that kind of show, and it ended its six-year run as quietly as anything else.
This Is Us Season 6 Episode 18 featured the end of each of the Big Three's stories -- for now -- and a beautiful affirmation of their family bond.
The final scene of the Big Three, now senior citizens mourning their mom's death, wrapped everything up perfectly.
They shared their sadness over Rebecca's death, agreed to honor her memory by living their lives fully, and vowed to stay close to each other.
Hey Kate, if you drift, we'll drift with you.
Kevin
You couldn't ask for a better send-off than that.
This Is Us has been Rebecca's journey throughout the years, but it's also been her children's.
Every one of the Pearsons fell apart in a different way after Jack's death, and both as children and adults, the Big Three bickered and fought as much as they came together.
But now, after Rebecca's long, happy life has drawn to a close and they have to figure out who they are outside of being her children, the Big Three are strong, independent adults who love each other and plan to stay close forever.
How perfect was that?
There were also a few loose ends that were tied up at Rebecca's funeral.
Randall discovered that he was going to be a grandfather and that Deja will name the baby after William. His sheer joy at learning there would finally be a boy in his immediate family was one of the finale's best moments.
Randall's story has always been about having two families and two identities to navigate.
He struggled with being the adopted Black child of White parents throughout his life, and now he has two families: the one he grew up with and the one he created with Beth.
Unlike Randall, his grandson will grow up knowing who he is and where he came from. Randall will tell him lots of stories about the great-grandparents little William never knew, all of them. William and Miguel and Jack and Rebecca.
Deja learning her baby's sex on the day of the funeral continued the circle of life theme from This Is Us Season 6 Episode 17. Randall went from depression to joy and back again when she shared the news with him.
I barely slept last night and I worked so hard on the eulogy only to not remember a single word of what I said. A depressing thought for a depressing day. It all seems so pointless. I spent my whole childhood worrying about losing her, and the whole last decade abjectly terrified that I would, and now she's gone. And yet the birds are chirping, and I'm aware that I'm hungry, and five minutes ago I thought about work. It all seems so pointless.
Randall
Randall and Rebecca shared the regret that comes with always living in fear of loss. For Randall, he spent most of his life fearing he'd lose Rebecca -- something that would happen someday no matter what.
That's part of why he felt like everything was pointless. All that time he spent worrying had made no difference.
His monologue about how life was going on despite this great loss captured perfectly what it's like when someone you love dies. The world is still the same, except it isn't, and it's hard to understand how everyone else is living their life when this significant loss weighs you down.
Thank goodness he had Deja to give him some good news and help him see that life goes on for him, too, not just for everyone else.
Nicky's short speech to Kevin was also a beautiful wrap-up.
You know, before you came knocking on my trailer door, I had it pretty good. I didn't care about anything. And the upside of not caring about anything is you don't care when it's gone. You know, your mother and father would be so ashamed if they knew what you did to a sweet, sensitive man. You f-'d up my life, kid.
Nicky
Kevin had already grown from the self-centered kid he once was to being a compassionate, big-hearted man who positively impacted other people.
That growth started when he implored Miguel's son to visit his father before it was too late, and it continued throughout the rest of This Is Us Season 6.
And Nicky's words demonstrated that Kevin had changed him along the way. It was typical Nicky, sarcastic but with a heart underneath. Nicky is undoubtedly glad that Kevin awoke him from the type of slumber that made him not care about anyone or anything, no matter what he says.
As for Kate, I'm glad she's going to continue pursuing her passion for teaching music to visually impaired children and that she's taken Rebecca's words about living big to heart.
Kate's always been so insecure and afraid, and she's grown past that, starting with when she decided to stay in Los Angeles and eventually to end her marriage. What a beautiful ending to her story!
I'm also glad that Kate and Toby were able to talk as friends and that Toby could support her during the funeral.
Kate was right when she said that her story with Toby didn't end when they got divorced. He knows her better than anyone, and they can be the best of friends now that time has passed and they're no longer living together.
Philip was oddly absent, but presumably, he was with the kids during the funeral.
The past story, if you could call it that, was simply a day in the life with the Big Three. It worked well juxtaposed with the funeral scenes half a century later.
That day was supposedly one of the days where nothing was going on that Rebecca didn't want to lose her memories of, but it was also the day she and Jack realized the kids were growing up.
That made it an important day.
When the world puts something this obvious in front of you, you don't walk away from it. You could be missing out on something very important.
Rebecca
Since Rebecca got sick, the twin themes of living in the moment and fully living have been paramount in this series.
Rebecca was willing to risk everything for her great love with Jack and later risked her children's wrath by remarrying Miguel.
At the same time, she was a sentimentalist who felt sad when the kids started to grow up and didn't need her as much, and she struggled her whole life with anxiety about loss.
The series ended with her learning that not even death -- the ultimate loss -- was something to fear and with her children discovering that they could carry on the legacy she'd given them of being strong, brave, and close with one another.
It was an amazingly satisfying ending, even though I wish This Is Us could go on for at least another ten seasons.
Your turn, This Is Us fanatics. Hit that big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know what you thought about how the series wrapped up.
The Pearsons' journey is over, but you can always watch This Is Us online right here on TV Fanatic whenever you want to relive it.
Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on X.
