After “The Train,” only the series finale is left, wrapping up the multigenerational family story that has captivated, intrigued, and moved us throughout the last few years. As the Big Three and their families try to work through their complicated feelings about how to bid farewell to Rebecca, viewers are going through a similar journey with the series, wondering how to say goodbye to these characters we’ve grown to love. If the promo for “The Train” is any indication, those goodbyes won’t be easy, but will still be very special, infused with the same care and love we’ve come to expect from the series. Here’s what we have to look forward to (and dread) in Season 6, Episode 17 of This Is Us, “The Train.”
Is there a promo for Season 6 Episode 17 of This Is Us?
“Things are happening quickly now,” Rebecca’s nurse Laila (Danielle Larracuente) tells Kevin (Justin Hartley) and Randall (Sterling K. Brown) at the opening of the promo for “The Train,” after we see an image of an elderly Rebecca lying in her bed. “I don’t see her making it through the night. I think it’s time to start saying goodbyes.” “So much of being a mom, we imitate what we think a mom should be,” Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) muses in a voiceover as we see the Pearson clan gathered somberly in the house Kevin and Sophie (Alexandra Breckenridge) share with Rebecca, awaiting the end. In the living room, we can spot Kevin, Sophie, and Kevin’s twins (along with a woman who appears to be Madison (Caitlin Thompson) from the back, although it’s hard to be sure); Randall, Beth, and their three girls; Toby (Chris Sullivan) and his two kids; Nicky (Griffin Dunne) and Edie (Vanessa Bell Calloway); and Philip (Chris Geere). “All these years, I was doing my best impression of you,” Beth tearfully tells Rebecca (we assume; the person she’s talking to is out of frame, but that feels like the only logical option). “I don’t know what I want to say to her,” Randall tells Beth. “I want to get it right.” “You will,” she assures her perfectionist husband. “You always do.” The closing shot of the promo sees Randall and Kevin sharing a brotherly moment by their mother’s bedside, with Kevin affectionately putting his hand on Randall’s shoulder. Notably absent, still, is Kate (Chrissy Metz), who we desperately hope is not going to miss her mother’s death. Since we know Kate is alive and still married to Philip at this time, we can only assume that either she’s been held up due to circumstances beyond her control (traffic? Flight delay?) or that she’s at the house and has been left out of the promo intentionally, possibly for spoiler reasons (although what those might be, we can’t even begin to guess). Whatever the reason, we’d be lying if we said we weren’t anxious to know where Kate has been in the flash-forwards all this time.
What happened on Season 6 Episode 16 of This Is Us?
Episode 16 of This Is Us, titled “Family Meeting,“ finally filled in the gaps between what we had been referring to as the present-day timeline and the flashforward timeline, covering the years between Miguel‘s (Jon Huertas) death and all of the Pearsons coming together to bid farewell to Rebecca, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. A week after Miguel‘s death, Randall, Kate, and Kevin are still at their mother’s house along with their spouses in order to try to help Rebecca adjust to her new life without her husband. Unfortunately, by this point, Rebecca‘s disease has progressed enough that she can’t remember what happened to Miguel, and she becomes distraught every time she notices he’s missing. Realizing that their mother will need a tremendous amount of care, the Big Three were initially at odds about what to do, with Randall wanting to move Rebecca into his home in Philadelphia, Kevin believing she should stay put, and Kate undecided in the middle. The three spent the majority of the episode facing off as Kevin and Randall each argued the merits of their respective cases and Kate listened, knowing that ultimately, it was up to her. By the end of the episode, she had made her decision, which turned out to be neither of her brothers’ proposals. Rather, Kate told the family that she and Philip would be moving Rebecca to LA to live either with or near them, so that she could always have family nearby. However, while he agreed to abide by Kate’s ultimate decision, Kevin threw out a last-minute alternative, proposing that he and Sophie move into the house with Rebecca, with Madison, Elijah (Adam Korson), and their kids (including Kevin and Madison’s twins) also making the cross-country move so that the twins could still live near both of their parents. Presented with the option to keep Rebecca in the house that she loved while still having family around her, Kate and Randall agreed that this was the best decision. Without any further ado, Kevin and Sophie moved in. The end of the episode was a montage featuring the years between that decision being made, and Kevin’s call to Randall (making us wonder, again, what’s up with Kate?) right before what we have been seeing is flashforwards, telling him that it’s time to come home to say goodbye to their mother.
Are there any spoilers for Season 6 Episode 17 of This Is Us?
With only two episodes of the series left, no one involved with This Is Us seems particularly inclined to spill any major spoilers, which seems reasonable for a show that has always prided itself on its closely held secrets and surprising twists. Still, the executive producers have given us a couple small hints about what to expect. Regarding Kate’s pronounced absence in the flashforwards and the promo, EP Isaac Aptaker told EW, “That will all be addressed in the next episode, immediately.” EP Elizabeth Berger elaborated, saying, “We’ve been very purposeful on showing who has already arrived to the house in flashes that we’ve shown so far. So if we haven’t shown someone, that probably means that there’s a story to be told. And we will be telling it over the next two episodes.” That means that wherever Kate is, it’s probably not just offscreen; there’s a story-related reason for her absence which we will learn about early on in “The Train.” As for the title, we wonder if it has to do with Rebecca’s caboose memory in the season premiere, when it became clear to her that her memories really were fading. One final tantalizing tease that Berger and Aptaker left us with for “The Train:” “There might be some really exciting cameos in it that people will find satisfying and exciting,” Berger said, with Aptaker adding, “If they don’t, they don’t like the show.” Does this mean that Jack (Milo Ventimiglia), Miguel, or maybe even William (Ron Cephas Jones) may show up to usher Rebecca into the great beyond? Or does This is Us have some even wilder surprises up its sleeve? We’re prepared for just about anything—except, of course, to say goodbye. The end is upon us! Here’s everything we know about the series finale of This Is Us.
