It’s time for Katoby’s wedding and the whole Pearson family is pitching in to make it perfect. The wedding is being held at the family cabin and the day before the wedding begins with Kate surprising Toby with a bowtie worn by Lesli Neilson in one of he Naked Gun films. She also thanks him for complying with all of her demands; e.g. having Jack’s urn next to the sign in book and using Jack’s old shirt for her something old.
Kevin and Randall made the most precious wedding coordinators I’ve ever seen as they do everything they can to make Kate’s wedding day special. As if that’s not enough pressure, Randall and Beth are also dealing with a disgruntled Deja. Ever since Deja’s mom gave up her parental rights Deja has had a chip on her shoulder toward Randall and Beth. Beth and Randall hope that she’ll snap out of it during the weekend.
At the cabin, we meet Beth’s younger cousin Zoe for the first time. Although they’re actually cousins Beth’s parents raised Zoe so she and Beth consider themselves sisters. Zoe makes a point to talk to Deja because she understands what she’s going through. She seems to get through to her when she tells her a story about being an angry teen once herself. Deja actually seems to be a little happier and even puts on a dress for the wedding, something Beth and Randall weren’t sure she would do.
Problems arise when Kate can’t find her dad’s shirt for her something old. Randall and Kevin begin damage control when Toby reveals he accidentally forgot to pack it. My question is why was this Toby’s responsibility to begin with? The Pearson bros go on a search around the cabin to find items that could be sentimental enough to to be Kate’s something borrowed but they fall short of finding something.
On the morning of the wedding, Kate decides to buy ice cream from the shop she used to go to with Jack to serve at the wedding as her something old. However, she’s disappointed to learn that the shop has been bought out and no longer serves her favorite flavor.
As it looms closer to the start time of the wedding Rebecca calls Kate to see where she is. Kate tells Rebecca about a dream she keeps having. The whole family is at the cabin for a wedding, but it’s not Kate and Toby’s, it’s Jack and Rebecca’s renewal of their vows for their 40th anniversary. Rebecca mentions Toby and Kate recalls that Toby wasn’t in the dream and then worries about what that could mean.
She ends up going to a park and releasing Jack’s ashes and telling him goodbye. It was a beautiful moment where she was trying to not hold on so tight to the past and move on to her future with Toby. Kevin and Randall find Kate at the park and they head back to the cabin.
We also met Toby’s parents for the first time and they did not make the best first impression. They decided that Toby’s wedding day is the perfect time to tell him he shouldn’t marry Kate. They are concerned about how much he goes out of his way to please her and keep her stable and they don’t think it’s healthy. Tony explains that he’s the unbalanced one. He also tells them they can either support his decision to marry Kate, or leave. Thankfully they decide to keep their mouths shut and stay and Tony and Kate get married in a beautiful outdoor ceremony.
I wasn’t initially excited about the finale or invested too much in whether Kate and Toby would go through with the wedding because I figured they would. But I ended up loving this finale. We’ve gone through so much hype surrounding Jack’s death this season that it was nice to have a finale that wasn’t too suspenseful and didn’t end on a cliffhanger.
Of course, there are unanswered questions. They gave us a glimpse of the future including events that occur a year from now as well as another look at adult Tess and Randall.
In the flash-forward of next year, we see that Kevin is dating Beth’s sister Zoe and they are flying to Vietnam. Kevin holds a photo of Jack and and his brother in the army. Also, we see an image of Toby in bed as Kate checks on him and tells him the doctor is going to change up his medications, leading us to believe that Toby is battling depression again.
During the wedding reception someone told Deja she looked just like her father, Randall. She then went outside and started smashing Beth and Randall’s car with a baseball bat. We then see adult Tess and Randall talking about not being ready to visit someone. We are left to assume that the someone is Deja.
This Is Us will return to NBC in the fall.
