This Is Us Series Finale Review: Us (Season 6 Episode 18)
Sometimes all that matters, all that has to matter is family.
This Is Us Season 6 Episode 18, “Us,” proves as much, choosing not to be a bombshell finale but a balm of comfort television when we need it most.
To make the best lemonade, you have to embrace the sourest of lemons, and that’s precisely what this ending does. This Is Us sets aside ambitions of creating a shell-shocking, spin-off-selling finale to focus on the Pearsons’ painfully human existence.
This series could not have given us a more mediocre finale with tediously pacing and a complete lack of conflict. If someone were to ask, “Hey, what happened on This Is Us last night?” you would have to say, “Nothing.”
Indeed, This Is Us delivers an incredibly subdued, irritatingly mundane finale that revels in a day of nothing, and damn if it’s not somehow everything.
It would be easy to demand more, expect more fanfare and explosive plot twists. But this drama, at its core, has never been that kind of show. It’s always thrived best in those purposeless episodes there simply to exist and drop some philosophical wisdom.
You know, those hidden gem episodes that quietly and unceremoniously take our breath away with their simplicity.
It’s ballsy for this finale to cater to that framework rather than something more shocking. And yet there is something about a lazy Sunday in the warm embrace of Rebecca and Jack Pearson that still leaves us speechless everytime.
The Little Moments Matter
“Us” is all about the memories we make along the way. It’s a stern reminder to live in the moment and collect those moments as you can because we’re desperately trying to get back to them before we know it.
This episode executes that cheesy philosophy by giving us the Pearsons’ final scenes in small, gratifying pieces.
Nicky refers to Kevin as a dick for pulling him out of that RV and making him care about this family. Beth hilariously predicts her husband will spiral into a Miquel obsession. Toby and Kate share one last laugh. And Randall screams hallelujah as Deja lifts the all-daughters curse.
Little moments, every one of them, but each leaves us with a unique piece of This Is Us lore that stands to be something much more poignant.
The grand finale as our three siblings sit shoulder to shoulder roasting each other is well earned, their choked rendition of the iconic Big Three chant completely uncalled for.
Living in the Past
Most of the episode is spent in the past as Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia wrap us in a warm family embrace of four square and pin the tail on the donkey.
The two anchors of this series carry us through sweet montages as Kevin and Randall learn to shave with their dad, and Jack declares Rebecca a twelve on the wife scale as she gives him a ten because she refuses to break the rules of the scale.
Jack delivers some truly epic bouts of wisdom. For instance, when he draws attention to Kate’s willingness to live in the moment and the fact that the very moments we can’t wait to grow out of as a child are the ones we will miss desperately.
These flashback scenes stand as a sense of whimsical euphoria, soothing and beautiful in their own ways.
I cannot help but look back on them as the fondest part of This Is Us and Jack and Rebecca Pearson as their trusted caretakers.
This Is… Not the End
That’s not to say This Is Us lets this fleeting final hour pass without one last surprise.
Randall acknowledges that Rebecca squeezed his hand before passing away. And through a series of heartwrenching, rich dialogue exchanges between Rebecca and Jack, we learn that death in the world of This Is Us has never been final.
Yes, Jack Pearson has stayed with us long after his death, thanks to this show’s clever time-hopping format, but it turns out he’s been with us nonetheless. In this perfect world of family-driven storytelling, those that die continue to watch over their loved ones.
If there was ever a time we needed to find comfort in death, it is now. This Is Us recognizes that when Rebecca mentions there’s so much left to do and Jack assures her they will be there for every moment.
An afterlife where Rebecca and Jack can live at peace watching over the Big Three. It may sound too good to be true, but sometimes you just have to suspend belief and bask in the comfort this gesture rewards us.
An Unforgettable Family
This show will be remembered as a trailblazing beast and network television’s most devastating drama in a sea of reboots and unoriginality. It was, after all, the only show that made the world tune in to football on a Sunday to watch a man die.
Regardless of how you remember This Is Us, this somber swan song leaves its legacy in peace.
From great love stories to Black excellence to unnerving sibling dynamics, the series meets its end with the same suave storytelling that greeted us all those years ago.
As Rebecca says, “When the world puts something so obvious in front of you, you don’t just walk away.” We can rest easy knowing that the tear-jerking drama series we fell for all those years ago went out in a worthy blaze of tissue-blowing glory.
It’s been an honor to have you break our hearts, This Is Us. Thank you.
—
What did you think of the series finale of This Is Us? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Critic Rating:
User Rating:
Follow us on Twitter and on 
Instagram!
Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!
Alicia Gilstorf
Alicia is a writer from Canada. She credits her passion for TV and film to superheroes, workplace comedies, cheesy holiday movies, and coming-of-age stories. Keep a lookout for her coverage of Ghosts.