This is Us Season 6 Episode 16 review: It’s time for the Big Three to step up and do what’s best for Rebecca

3.5/5

Story: It’s been a week since Miguel (Jon Huertas), passed away, but owing to her declining mental faculties, Rebecca (Mandy Moore) doesn’t remember that he’s not around anymore. This also means that the Big Three can’t just up and leave her in the care of a nurse and visit occasionally as they used to earlier. Rebecca needs a routine and in the presence of loved ones. Rebecca trusted Kate (Chrissy Metz) to take decisions on her behalf, in case Miguel does not outlive her and it’s come to that. Randall (Sterling K Brown) wants to take his mom back home with him to Philadelphia, which Kevin (Justin Hartley) doesn’t agree to. There’s a reason he built the cabin for his mother and she does not deserve to be uprooted now. But Kevin’s still got to finish The Manny and Kate can’t relocate either. So, what’s going to happen to Rebecca?

Review: This is Us – The Final Chapter is nearing its last pages (episodes) and the showrunners are making sure that we not only remember every moment spent with the Pearson family over the past few years, but that it also stays with us.

Rebecca, who’s been the shining beacon of the Pearson family, has been on the decline for a while; but it’s now become painfully obvious to the Big Three that there’s no coming back for from this. Her mental faculties are diminishing fast and while it is in her best interest to have a set routine, like it was with Miguel in the cabin, the Big Three can’t be with her long-term, not just yet. They all have their own responsibilities to take care of, but they also realize that Rebecca has to be their priority, as their token of appreciation for her years of tirelessly toiling away as their mother, both while Jack was around and after his demise. They owe it to her to take care of her, but who will that be? The question, though, is how will they make it happen without disrupting their own lives. It’s time for a big decision and that calls for a family meeting with the Big Three.

It doesn’t matter whether she’s playing a newly-married Rebecca, a hassled mother of three young ones, a contend grandmother, or a now hollow shell of Rebecca, Mandy Moore has always been at the top of her game. Yes, there are a lot of prosthetics involved in getting her to look a certain way, but there’s no denying the effort that goes into even looking vacantly into the distance and or appearing to regain some semblance of normalcy, even if only momentarily. Moore’s representation of Rebecca has been nothing short of phenomenal, giving the character a great sense of dignity.

This episode was also testimony why no one could do a better job at playing Beth than Susan Kelechi Watson. Although Kevin’s now back with his childhood sweetheart Sofie, Beth has spent most of her life with the Pearsons and knows them and all the drama that comes with their territory better than anyone else. It’s quite refreshing how she sums up the family dynamics of the Pearsons.

Verdict: It’s painful to lose a parent and more so when he/she is withering away bit by bit. This is Us brings up the pertinent question that when your parent(s) grows old and becomes like an infant who needs constant care, can you step up and be there for him/her? As easy as it may seem to get hired help or put him/her in a facility for the aged, there is no denying the moral duty a child has to a parent. It’s a truth that lies heavy on many of us, living far away from aged near-and-dear ones, in our pursuit of a better tomorrow. Perhaps it’s time for us to re-evaluate our priorities and give our parents their due.