Grab the tissues, because the most recent episode of This Is Us is one of the show’s most emotional installations we’ve seen in a while.
Last week on This Is Us, everyone was having relationship problems, but in the flashbacks of the Pearson family, Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) got news that his mom, Marilyn (Laura Niemi), died.
This week, Jack gets the spotlight, as he travels to Ohio to take care of his mother’s funeral arrangements. He meets up with his cousin Debbie (Camryn Manheim) and finds out his mother had a whole life that he didn’t know anything about, seeing as she only made one trip to see him and he only really talked about his own life during their weekly Sunday calls.
As Jack is learning more about his mother, he realizes what a blessing it is for them to have both made the lives they did. Jack is with Rebecca (Mandy Moore) and the kids, and Marilyn is with her boyfriend Mike (Jim Cody Williams), Debbie and her town of friends.
Jack eulogizes his mother, and is extremely heartbroken over her passing. The audience really gets some much-needed Jack screen-time, and we really get to see Ventimiglia’s range of emotions. From his happiness with being with his family, to his anger talking with his dad or his grief eulogizing his mother, Ventimiglia once again proves why he’s an incredible actor, and why he’s the best character on the show.
There were some A+ cinematography moments that are positively haunting throughout this episode.
First, the flashbacks Jack has to when he was a young child and sledding, are so riddled with tension and a desperate attempt for a child to have fun that it’s heartbreaking. Not only is it beautifully shot and edited, but it gave more context about the nature of Jack and his mother trying to survive in their abusive household and finding that love and camaraderie with each other.
Second, the funeral scene heavily contrasts the usual color correction of the flashbacks in the show. Typically, the present-day scenes are presented with a normal looking color scheme, whereas the flashbacks with Jack and Rebecca showing the idyllic childhood, even through the bad times, are filtered with warm tones and slightly hazy overlays. However, most of this episode, and especially the funeral scene, shows no sign of that warmth and haze. There’s only brutal grays and harsh focus on Jack’s emotional grief, which is plastered all over his face.
Third, the scene where the kids are bonding with Debbie and Mike while ice skating on the pond is touching and reflection-inducing. It’s so beautifully executed with the nostalgia of being a kid while perfectly showing the delicacy of life itself – we’re all on thin ice, so we can make the most of it and have fun while we’re skating, but remember how delicate it is.
Finally, at the end of the episode where Jack makes the family tomato soup and hot dogs, just like his mom used to make him. The scene is juxtaposed with young Jack enjoying the same dish from his mother, another heartbreaking story of finding happiness within abusive terror. Seeing the two scenes mixed together is overwhelmingly heartbreaking, but excellently done.
This entire episode had some of the best cinematography the show has seen, making the emotional storyline all the more bittersweet.
This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on NBC.
