The season finale of This Is Us aired tonight, giving us a whole new look at Rebecca (Mandy Moore) and Jack (Milo Ventimiglia).
If you have yet to watch this episode, please be aware there are spoilers below.
The show picks up from last week as we see Jack driving to Rebecca’s show, drinking beer as he’s driving. He gets to the show, drinking at the bar more before going to find Rebecca. When looking for Rebecca, Jack finds Ben, who Rebecca is on tour with. Ben lets it slip that he tried to make a move on Rebecca, which causes a drunken Jack to punch Ben as Rebecca walks in on it. Rebecca ends up quitting the band, having to drive a drunk Jack home. Once they return home, we see one of the biggest arguments we’ve ever seen the couple have, and Milo and Mandy really shined here. The next morning, the two talk and Rebecca thinks it’s a good idea for Jack to stay with Miguel. As Jack gets ready to leave, he tells Rebecca all of the things he loves about her, and how their love story is “just getting started.”
We also get flashbacks of a younger Jack and Rebecca; Jack’s fixing a car for a sweet woman who wants to set him up with her friend’s granddaughter. Rebecca is seen with two of her friends, where she talks about her grandmother’s friends wanting to set her up. She wants to focus on her singing career, but gets a rejection letter from a record label. She then calls her grandmother’s friend, asking about the set up. We see Jack get a phone call about the date as well, leading audiences to believe this is how they met.
As the episode goes on, we see that Jack wasn’t the blind date, but rather a guy named Ethan shows up. Rebecca leaves the blind date, stating that she had to sing.
It’s also revealed that a younger Jack was gambling and playing cards, but left after winning the first hand which resulted in him being beaten up. We see Jack planning to rob a bar but as he goes to the register he’s distracted by Rebecca, who is singing on stage.
For an episode that was centered around Jack and Rebecca, it’s clear why these two were chosen to be the main characters. Their chemistry is electric, their acting and emotions draw you in, and you can’t help but relate to the two of them. They’re strong actors and they were perfectly cast in these roles. I can’t say enough about how wonderful Mandy and Milo are here.
We also get a glimpse at Kate, Kevin and Randall at the very end; Kate is back in Los Angeles and stating she wants to sing after seeing a picture of Rebecca singing, Kevin is going off to meet a director and Randall tells Beth he wants to adopt a child.
Leading into the finale, the biggest question was if the audience would learn how Jack died. While we didn’t learn that this episode, we got a good look into Rebecca and Jack’s relationship, seeing sides of the two we haven’t seen before.
This episode just ended and we already can’t wait for the next season.
Let us know your thoughts on the finale in the comments!