Since the fall of 2016, This Is Us has remained the top entertainment broadcast every season. Before then, the trailer was a pretty big sensation across the internet. For around 18 Tuesdays of every single year, viewers spent an hour of their Tuesday nights comforted by the adventures of the Pearson Family. Now 106 episodes later, This Is Us is over.
In the series finale, the show did what it does best. It showed that these moments and events that happen to us, whether it’s at 5, 13, or 65, continue to shape us much, much later in life. We might not think about those moments impacting us or even specifically remember them happening, but they still find a way to turn us into who we are.
Every single piece of this show, from the beginning until the end, seems deliberate and incredibly well-crafted. From the scripts, shots, acting, set design, music placements, and more, the show doesn’t miss any department. It’s a simple reminder that little things aren’t little, and they usually end up turning into very big things. For example, Rebecca picking up a game of pin the tail on the donkey one day at the store because the children on the box looked like hers might not seem that important, but it ended up becoming a family keepsake/tradition. Even in the finale, the family is shown playing the game at her own funeral, just one of the many full-circle moments tied into the show.
Another crucial building block of the show that comes full circle is the way that people can live on even after their death. Jack lives on through his three children, Rebecca and Miguel, the entire show. Whether it’s in their love for football, who they want to be in life, their child’s name, or how they love, he shines through each of them. This is also touched on in the finale through William, Randall’s birth father. Deja, Randall’s adopted daughter who never met William, named her child after him. She decides to do this because even if she never actually met him, she knew him through Randall.
This Is Us, in its simplest form, is relatable. Whether people find themselves connecting to Randall, Kevin, Kate, Jack, Rebecca, Beth, any other character, or maybe even multiple characters at once, it’s a show that almost anyone can see themselves in at one point or another. It’s opened the door for many conversations and will only continue to do so, thanks to the modern-age streaming era. While many claim the show was too sentimental at times, it remained true to life and the way people feel about it all, whether they voice those feelings out loud or not.
All in all, This Is Us is an irreplaceable show. Regardless of how hard you look or try, no other show will feel quite like this one did, but that’s also what makes it special. Much like William said, “The way I see it, if something makes you sad when it ends, it must have been pretty wonderful when it was happening.” And simply put, that’s what This Is Us was, wonderful.
