Also in “Family Meeting,“ we get our first look at the dynamic between the Big Three’s spouses, as Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson), Sophie (Alexandra Breckenridge), and Philip (Chris Geere) retreat to the Pearson family cabin together while the siblings hash out the next few years of their lives. If you’re a close watcher of This Is Us, the resolution that the Big Three reaches by the end of “Family Meeting” was actually revealed several seasons ago. But whether or not you already know how their discussion is going to end, it’s still interesting to see how they got there. Here’s everything we learned in Episode 16 of Season 6 of This Is Us, “Family Meeting.”
What happens to Rebecca after Miguel’s death?
A week after Miguel’s death, Rebecca wakes up distraught, not remembering that Miguel has died. She doesn’t remember her nurse, Laila (Danielle Larracuente), but fortunately, all of her children are there, and they work together to calm their mother down and get her back to bed. The next morning, the spouses of the Big Three head into town for a bagel run while the siblings mainline coffee. They know they all have to return to their lives soon: Kevin (Justin Hartley) is getting ready to film the series finale of The Manny, and Kate needs to get back to work and resume her parenting responsibilities (her kids have been staying with Toby and Laura). But while Randall (Sterling K. Brown) surely has senatorial duties to return to, his priority is figuring out a plan for their mother, saying it’s time for a family meeting. Kevin points out that the plan was supposed to be the house he built for Rebecca and Laila, her full-time nurse, but Randall doesn’t think that’s enough anymore now that Miguel is gone. Kevin looks to Kate for backup, but she just echoes to Randall that it’s time for a family meeting. Sitting down at the table together, Randall immediately proposes that Rebecca move to Philadelphia with him. Kevin is adamantly opposed to that idea, arguing that Randall is in D.C. for work at least three days a week, and that moving Rebecca out of the house Kevin built for her goes completely against her explicit wishes about where she wanted to live. Kevin knows he wasn’t an easy kid for her to raise, but he’s determined to abide by her wishes now, saying that building that house was the one good thing he’s done for her in his life. As the brothers fight, with Randall insisting he knows what’s best for Rebecca and Kevin remaining adamant that they need to honor her wishes no matter how difficult it is, Kate mostly just listens, aware that she is the one who will ultimately have to make the call. Unable to come to an agreement, Kate steps away to take Rebecca for a walk, and as her brothers watch them go, Randall tells Kevin that Rebecca is no longer the woman they remember as their mother. He believes that although she tried to plan for every contingency, she could never have foreseen how it would feel to be in the situation they’re now in. He’s sure that his plan is the correct one, and promises Kevin that his mind will not change. Pulling Beth aside to bring her up to speed on his plans, Randall tells her that he doesn’t see another option since he believes Kate is in over her head and Kevin is unreliable. But instead of jumping on board, Beth gives her husband a much-needed reality check, telling him that the mental images he holds of his siblings are of people that no longer exist. As if to prove the point, Kate hauls both of her brothers back into the house to continue their discussion. After reminding them that she will be the ultimate decision-maker, since that was the role their mother appointed her to do, she calls them both out for being unable or unwilling to really see their mother as she is now. Randall, she says, won’t make eye contact anymore, while Kevin is barely willing to touch her. Kate gets it, since seeing her in her current state is very difficult, but she knows it’s necessary if they’re going to move forward. Bringing them into Rebecca’s room, Kate tasks Randall with brushing their mother’s hair, and Kevin with spreading lotion onto her dry hands. The next morning, over a breakfast of leftover Chinese food with their spouses, along with Madison (Caitlin Thompson) and Elijah (Adam Korson), and Nicky (Griffin Dunne) and Edie (Vanessa Bell Calloway), Kate informs the family of her decision. Philadelphia, she tells Randall, is not an option. It would involve Randall pulling back on his work, and that was exactly what Rebecca didn’t want. But she also can’t leave Rebecca all alone in the house that Kevin built for her without any family. So she has decided that she and Philip will move Rebecca to L.A., although they haven’t yet decided whether she will live with them or in a separate nursing home or assisted living facility. After taking a second to digest what Kate said, Kevin asks if he can offer up another idea: he and Sophie will move into the house to live with Rebecca. It’s not a sacrifice for them, he insists: Sophie doesn’t like L.A., The Manny is almost finished shooting, and Big Three Homes is already based on the East coast. Kate still can’t stomach the idea of Kevin having to move away from his children, but then Madison reveals that she and Elijah also plan on moving. Elijah works remotely and his whole family is in New Jersey, and Kevin was really the only thing keeping their family in L.A. in the first place. Plus, Nicky reminds everyone, he and Edie also live close by and can help out. In the face of this new information, Kate agrees that this is the best option for Rebecca, and signs off on Kevin’s plan, which savvy viewers will recall was set up back in the Season 3 finale, when Toby (Chris Sullivan) remarked that “Kevin’s house is huge.” Even Randall shakes his brother’s hand, thanking him for providing a solution to what had seemed like an unsolvable problem. “Maybe this is the reason,” Kate muses to her brothers, “why there are three of us.” In the closing minutes of the episode, we see what Rebecca’s new normal looks like, as Kevin helps her get her shoes on and takes her for a walk while Sophie waves goodbye from the living room, Madison and Elijah play with the kids outside, and Nicky and Edie stop by to say hello. Randall and Kate come to visit whenever they can, and together, the siblings take over the tasks Rebecca used to perform for them, tying her shoes, reading her books, feeding her dinner, and tucking her into bed. Eventually, the episode catches up to the flash-forwards we’ve been seeing for several seasons now, with a graying Kevin calling Randall after putting Rebecca to bed and telling him it’s time for him to bring his family to the house. Rebecca doesn’t have much longer.
How are things with Kate and Toby?
In the midst of the tense deliberations between the Big Three, “Family Meeting” gives us a surprising look at the new dynamic between a now divorced (but still co-parenting) Kate and Toby when Kate calls her ex-husband to check in on their kids. After getting the update, Kate brings Toby up to speed on the conflict at the house. When he hears about the strong opinions held by her brothers, Toby (who, we’ll recall, was there when Rebecca informed her children of their roles for the remainder of her life) reminds her that it’s ultimately her decision. Yet Kate can’t figure out what she thinks is the right thing to do, believing both of her brothers make good points. After asking “permission to overstep,” Toby tells Kate that she’s “a baller,” reminding Kate of all her accomplishments—including designing an arts curriculum for the state of California—but tells her that she tends to lose her confidence and certainty around her brothers. “Your mom chose you for a reason, Kate,” he reminds her. When Kate thanks him for the advice, he can’t help but joke, “Should we get back together?” To which Kate immediately bids him goodnight. They may no longer be a couple, but it is nice to see Kate and Toby back in a place where they can talk honestly to one another and make jokes, rather than the tense, humorless exchanges they’ve shared for most of the season.
How do Philip and Sophie fit into the family?
Meanwhile, after one look at the Big Three upon returning from their coffee run, Beth ushers the other Pearson spouses right back out of the house, away from all the somber Pearson Family Drama energy. They decide to pass the day at the family cabin, where Sophie gets nostalgic walking down memory lane. As the newest addition to the Pearson family dynamic, Philip wonders if maybe they should return to the house to help, but Beth assures him that there is no helping the Big Three when it comes to matters like this. Years of experience have taught her that the best thing to do is give them space to hash out their issues. Beth knows that Randall is going to want to move Rebecca in with them, which Sophie anticipates will trigger Kevin’s inferiority complex and the Pearson brothers’ ongoing “who is the better man pissing contest.” Proving they know their husbands inside and out, Beth and Sophie then begin role-playing the brothers’ pretend battle, with an eerie amount of accuracy. “Kate’s there; it’s going to be fine,” an optimistic Philip says, to which his sisters-in-law merely exchange a knowing look.
What’s next on This Is Us?
With “Family Meeting“ ending with Kevin‘s phone call to Randall, telling him that it’s time for the family to come say goodbye to Rebecca, it appears that the end is finally upon us, too. Next week’s episode, titled “The Train,“ appears that it will center around the moment we’ve all been anticipating and dreading since we first saw Nikki sitting by Rebecca’s bedside back in Season 3: the death of Rebecca Pearson. The synopsis reads, “The Pearsons gather around Rebecca’s bedside,” which is of course what we’ve seen playing out in short flashforwards for several seasons now. Since we will presumably be spending all of “The Train” in that flashforward timeline, we may finally get some answers to some long-simmering questions, such as the identity of the father of Déjà’s baby, why Toby isn’t wearing his wedding ring, and where Kate is. And if, as we expect, Rebecca does pass away by the end of the episode, we also expect a lot of Rebecca-centric flashbacks, reminding us of the vibrant woman she was for one last time before she’s gone. Only two more episodes left before This Is Us takes its final bow!Here’s everything we know so far about what is sure to be an emotional series finale.
