NBC’s This is Us has perfected the art of making their audience cry every single week without fail, and while that is a bit emotionally exhausting for us devoted fans, we wouldn’t have it any other way. We’ve come to love each member of the Pearson clan and we desperately want the best for them, but it just seems like they really can’t catch a break. The past two episodes, along with next week’s installment, have been a part of a series titled “A Hell of a Week.” Similarly to the trilogy in an earlier season of the show, this trio of episodes allows one of the Big Three and all of their woes to be the focus of the show. Though the recent episodes have answered some of our burning questions, just like any good serialized drama does, This is Us has left us wondering about all that is yet to come. Here are some of the questions for the creators of This is Us that we can’t wait to get answered:
- Kevin and Sophie are endgame, right?
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You can’t tell me that isn’t the look of true love. Come on, look at Kevin’s face. It’s always been her. Please, Dan Fogelman, tell us that this is your plan. Dear writers’ room, please don’t let us down on this one. And while we’re talking about it, never settle for someone who doesn’t look at you the way Kevin looks at Sophie. Find yourself a Pearson kind of guy.
- Kate goes to the retreat WITHOUT Toby. This is bad. A sibling trip to the cabin will fix everything, right?
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Things with Kate and Toby haven’t been great in a while. They’ve fought it out so many times, but will his absence from this retreat be the last straw? In an attempt to help Toby and baby Jack connect, Kate booked a retreat with other families who have children who also live with blindness. It seems like a really bad sign that he didn’t attend. We hope a trip with her brothers will be just what she needs to figure things out. We do suspect from the flash forward scenes that Kate and Toby do get a divorce sometime in the future, but we still hope they can work things out.
- Kevin is still Randall’s go-to-guy, and our hearts are so warm. What happens between now and the not-so-distant future in which the two brothers aren’t even on speaking terms?
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Kevin and Randall have had their ups and downs, but Kevin has been and continues to be the guy that Randall can rely on when his anxiety gets to be too much. While we all know that he should definitely see a therapist and not put all of his feelings on his brother, we are glad that Randall has someone that he will be honest with. And there’s no question that Kevin got his dad’s genes that want to help everyone all the time. Their seemingly inseparable bond at this point in the show has us all wondering what could go so wrong in the next few months that causes them to completely ignore one another. Whatever it is, I hope they can work it out ASAP. Life’s too short to fight with family.
- Why is Jack trying to watch “The Shining” on a random week night with three restless toddlers? It’s just clearly not meant to be, bud.
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First of all, this new aspect of Jack’s personality that he enjoys casually watching scary Stephen King movies by himself is a lot to take in. I didn’t really see him as a creepy movie kind of guy, but I guess we would all love an opportunity to hide from one Jack in the muscular arms of another Jack.
- Who is having Kevin’s baby? How long will we have to wait to see him hold his child? We all need to emotionally prepare.
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Please tell us the answer to this question is Sophie and not Madison. Either way, we just want Kevin to be happy. He wants to be a dad so desperately, and the few scenes we have of him holding baby Jack are few and far between. We want more Kevin holding baby content. All the times he has given Tess sweet uncle advice prove that he is going to be such a good dad. One that Jack would be extremely proud of.
- What did creepy Mark do to Kate? Why do we sorta want to see Randall and Kevin beat him up?
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This has been our question ever since they introduced his character at the beginning of season 4. At first we thought, “okay here’s this guy that likes music, and Kate deserves some happiness right now. She’s been through enough.” And then it became constant phone arguments and not eating meals when he was around and our protective instincts came out. We don’t know what this man did, but we know we don’t like him. I just hope they give her brothers a chance to teach him a lesson like Jack definitely would if he was still around.
- How is Kevin going to get that emerald ring? How long will we have to wait until Sophie breaks off her engagement to what’s-his-name?
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We know that we wouldn’t have been introduced to the emerald ring if Kevin wasn’t going to get it, but how long will we have to wait until those two get married…AGAIN? Claire would want Kevin to have it; he has earned it now. Sophie is clearly feeling a bit uncertain about her current relationship after seeing Kevin at the funeral. Maybe finally watching the end of Good Will Hunting gave her a little perspective to end things with Graham or Gramps or what’s his name, again? Sorry, just kidding, he’s probably a great guy, but he sure isn’t Kevin Pearson.
- Why did the writers make us have to hate Toby? When did our favorite goofy guy change so much?
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Toby used to be a fan favorite. He knew how to lighten the mood with a joke at just the right moment, and he made Kate happy and got along with her brothers. He was attentive and excited to start a family. Now, he is absent and distracted. He never makes jokes anymore, and with every passing rude remark, we’re starting to forget why we ever liked him in the first place. Don’t get us wrong, we understand Toby wanting to start exercising after his heart attack and we’re rooting for this team to stay together, but things are looking a bit grim at the moment.
- Will anyone ever love someone else as much as Jack Pearson loved Rebecca Pearson?
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No.
- Young Beth and Randall are the absolute cutest. Will I ever get over it?
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Beth has always been Randall’s rock. Everyone needs a Beth Pearson — someone who keeps it real and tells you that you’re okay before you even know it for yourself. The storytelling and editing skills of This is Us never ceases to amaze me, but I especially loved the adjacent scenes of college-aged Beth joking that her roommates are referring to her as “Mrs. Pearson” because of how much time she is spending with Randall, followed by the scene of present day Beth answering the phone as “Mrs. Pearson.” We simply refuse to get over how cute they are, sorry not sorry.
- When will Randall realize that it is perfectly okay to go to therapy? This talk with Darnell was so pure, but he is still being stubborn!
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We loved this talk about the stigma behind going to therapy, but we just can’t tell if it got through to Randall. Yes, running is a good coping strategy, but it can’t be the only one. Randall’s life is complicated, and he feels responsible for like 7 different people all the time. That takes a toll on a person. We love this man, and we really hope that heeds the advice of Beth, Darnell, and literally everyone else when we say, “go to therapy, it’s totally okay!”
- Kevin and Sophie have really been coming up with alternate endings of “Good Will Hunting” for 15 years?
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This question comes up with a lot of follow up questions like “who in the writers’ room has a deep love for Good Will Hunting?” and “Does the ending of the movie seem somewhat less significant now that we know 15 years worth of other options?” All I know is that Kevin has been sentimental since he was a teenager, and we love it. He also has never wanted to disappoint Sophie, and nothing about that has changed. Revisiting the camp site of that dreadful night was a tear-jerking situation for us all as we cringed at the remembrance. Kevin recalled it as the place where his childhood ended, due to the life-altering news he received that night, but look how far he has come. The self-loading and broken Kevin that we once new has glued the pieces back together again and healed in the best way that he can, to the point of being ready to be the Jack of his own story. We couldn’t be more proud.
- I think I love Sophie’s mom, but if they were trying to get us to be angry with Rebecca for not watching Kevin’s TV premiere? I’m sorry, but that woman is going through a lot.
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Listen, we understand that Kevin was upset that his own mom didn’t watch his grand television premiere and adored Sophie’s mom all the more for being a devoted fan, but I refuse to shame Rebecca for some supposed “mom fail” over an episode of Days of Our Lives. He told her that his line was cut, she clearly felt terrible about it, and I’m sorry but she’s kind of going through a lot right now, okay? We love that Kevin had a Claire in his life to encourage him into his career, but Rebecca is doing her best.
- Are they really going to make Rebecca Pearson forget that she lived a love story “for the ages?”
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This is just next level cruel. Jack and Rebecca loved each other with a love so fierce it can’t be recreated (no matter how hard Miguel might try). A lot of the show’s storyline is following Rebecca’s illness and all that comes with such a horrible situation, but having Jack literally say “I love you Rebecca Malone, and don’t you ever forget it” was really twisting the knife.
- Will the Pearsons ever catch a break?
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We really hope so, but at this point it seems highly unlikely. The show chugs along on the plot of another great Pearson family mishap or tragedy. But the good always comes with the bad, and they’ve definitely had their fair share of “life is good” moments that keep us pulled in to go through all the crappy stuff with them.
Hopefully some of these nail-biting questions will be answered in the coming weeks, but we know good and well that This is Us likes to keep us guessing. Tune into NBC on Tuesday nights at 9 if you need a good laugh, cry, or new celebrity crush.