This Is Us (4×16) New York, New York, New York Review

For our review of the last episode of This Is Us, click here.

Synopsis: The Pearsons visit New York City. (IMDb)

This Is Us dives right into the emotional, gut-wrenching storyline that is Rebecca’s deteriorating memory. It breaks my heart that we know where she will eventually end up, but it’s also tougher to see the journey she’s taking to get there.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom as Randall, Kevin, and Rebecca head to New York City to attend Kevin’s premiere. He’s got a whole thing planned for mommy dearest, and it’s absolutely adorable. It is interesting to see how young Kevin has transformed into the present Kevin, and how he’s always respected Rebecca’s space. Randall, on the other hand, has always been a worrywart when it comes to his mother. Since they were kids, he’s always worried about her, to the point where he gets incredibly anxious about it.

The repercussions of that can clearly be seen as he decides to ask Rebecca to join a clinical trial that may help her cognitive impairment. Kevin wanted Rebecca to enjoy one night, but Randall decided to ask her anyway after she forgot what hotel they were staying at. I actually side with Randall on this one because it came up at an opportune time, however, he should not force her to do it now that she has decided against it.

The flashbacks of the episode show us the Pearson family going on a 24-hour trip to New York City. Everyone has picked one thing they want to do or see, Rebecca’s being going to the MET museum to look at a painting she loved as a kid. This painting holds a lot of meaning for Rebecca, and in the present, it’s where she goes after Randall and Kevin overwhelm her with talks of the trial and whether or not she should do it. Why is she so attached to this painting?

Well, as a kid, she saw a woman staring at it for hours, and Rebecca always wondered how and why the woman was able to do so. All she did know is that once she grew up, she wanted to do the same thing. She only did it one other time after Jack died and she came to the city to watch Kevin’s acting showcase. But it’s something she always said “next time” to, and with her health declining, that is not something she wants to do anymore. It’s all about doing it now! Who knows what will happen with Randall and Kevin, but it definitely seems like we’re inching closer to the flash-forward we saw in which Kevin mentions that they don’t talk to Randall anymore. The conversations from this week’s episode were already heavy, it’s unclear how much worse it is going to get. In fact, this reviewer would rather not think about it.

The episode ends with Randall confessing that he thinks about what life would be like if Jack would have survived. And that is exactly what next week’s episode is all about. The classic “what-if” episode filled with all the important Pearson family moments that happened after Jack’s death!

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