'This Is Us' Season 2 Finale 'The Wedding' Review: What Is and What Should've Been

The Pearsons have finally come to peace with Jack’s memory. And after almost two seasons of the mystery of Jack’s (Milo Ventimiglia) death, the show, the world, and the characters needed this kind of closure. “This Is Us” is ready to move on. In a smooth plain after the bumpy ride of the previous episodes, “This Is Us” combined the hopes of the past, the dreams of the present, and the darkness of the future.

Crossing the Bridge

The finale of the second season of “This Is Us” has gone way over and beyond with its game with time. The product of this magic is the intimacy. How they arranged Kate’s (Chrissy Metz) quick but meaningful flashbacks of her dad almost make you feel like you’re Kate. Chronological order? Scratch that. It seems that the showrunners decided to go full-on real time. “This Is Us” is known to pull and sometimes snip heartstrings. But, when the show makes you feel like you’re living in the character’s heart, it’ll rip those heartstrings.

All throughout the finale, each character stayed true to the show’s signature of tying back the present to the past and looping it to the future. This time, it was only Kate who was going through literal flashbacks. But Kevin (Justin Hartley), Randall (Sterling K. Brown), and Rebecca (Mandy Moore) were resonating their pasts.
Kevin and Randall spilled out the nasty what-ifs that could happen to Kate if they didn’t find her when she went MIA a few hours before her wedding. In so doing, the brothers took an indirect trip down memory lane that built up the guilt. Rebecca kept referencing the past as she tiptoed around her daughter, afraid of getting in her way. All three of them, however, got through that little bump with a bit of honesty and a lot more comedy. It’s a huge reminder how well “This Is Us” has set its foundation. It has molded strong characters and enormous prospects for future seasons.
Opposite to the show’s most prominent style, the finale of “This Is Us” took a little chunk of it’s time to show what to expect. The present ended on a happy note, but the future lies darker than ever. Who wasn’t shocked upon seeing the future Toby sick in bed? Who wasn’t a little bit disturbed over older Randall and older Tess talking about seeing a certain ‘her’ with such misery? And lastly, Kevin is headed to Vietnam,  supposedly trying to solve the mystery of his long-lost uncle. He was with a new girl but, is this going to stick?
The vague foreshadowing guarantees a lot more to expect in the next season. But, it makes you wonder—way ahead of time—how this phenomenal show would end.

Before anyone gets ahead of themselves, another thing that serves “This Is Us” a massive pat on the back is the dream vision that’s thrown into the jumble of the show’s time travel. It’s the what should’ve been. And it’s probably the best thing thrown in there. If not for the foreshadowing, it would’ve been a pretty good bow on top for the show. The vision of an older and living Jack renewing his vows with Rebecca and dancing with his daughter could have been a stinger. However, the evolution of the finale has made it into the hope of dark times.
Again, “This Is Us” is ready to move on. If the show continues with its unique structure and outstanding storyline, crossing the bridge again and again with our eyes wide open is all worth it.