*Here is your warning that this post contains spoilers about the This Is Us season 5 finale*
A bit about This Is Us:
Before I dive into the episode, I wanted to give those who have not seen the show a quick synopsis. This Is Us is a drama series on NBC that follows the lives and families of Rebecca and Jack Pearson, and their three children. What makes this show so unique, is that it follows this family throughout several different time frames.
To make things a bit easier for newer fans, I am going to provide a family tree to reference as you read this post.
A bit about Season 5, episode 16: “The Adirondacks”:
In this episode—the season 5 finale, the Pearson family gathered for Kevin (Justin Hartley) and Madison’s (Caitlin Thompson) wedding. Last season, Kevin’s character hooked up with his sister Kate’s best-friend, Madison, who ended up becoming pregnant with twins. During the pregnancy, Kevin proposed to Madison and now—a few months after the birth of the twins, the wedding was finally happening—or so we thought.
My Favorite Scene:
Spoiler Alert: The wedding did not end up happening, which brings me to my favorite scene. A few minutes before she was meant to walk down the aisle, Madison finds Kevin and asks him if he is in love with her. If you have been a fan of the show since season one, you kind of saw this coming. Though Kevin and Madison have a nice relationship and have made a great family, the chemistry just wasn’t there. Not like the chemistry Kevin has had with former love interests on the show. As heartbreaking as it was to see Madison ask Kevin and see him struggle for an answer, I couldn’t look away because the scene was so good. Kevin and Madison have been lying to themselves, and each other, because they wanted so desperately for their family to work, but the romantic love was not there. Madison had a rough childhood and struggles to feel worthy of love. My absolute favorite moment was when Madison told Kevin that being with him the past few months and witnessing the love in his family, made her realize that she is worthy of love and deserves to marry someone who is actually in love with her and not just the idea of her. It was everything: sad, happy, and beautiful—truly made me feel all the things.
Episode Fun Fact:
One cool fact that I recently learned is that Caitlin Thompson, the actress who plays Madison, is married to Dan Fogelman (the creator of This Is Us) in real life.
Another interesting fact is that next season (season 6), will be the shows final season. Creator Dan Fogelman recently announced this and has also said that he knows (and has known for quite some time) exactly how he plans to end the show. In fact, some of the series’ final scenes have already been filmed.
Best Music Moment:
As mentioned in my previous post, I am a HUGE sucker for a great scene made better by an awesome song. It is so easy to do this, yet I find that so many shows mess it up. One of my biggest television pet peeves is when a scene is great, but the song playing sucks/does not add anything to the scene. I also hate the reverse: when an amazing song is playing for a blah scene—such a waste! The final scene of this episode got everything right: amazing scene (revealed a MAJOR plot twist) + super cool song = perfection. The song that played in the final scene of the episode was “Way Down We Go” by KALEO.
Everything Mentioned:
My favorite scene: Madison calls off the wedding:
Creator Dan Fogelman discusses season finale:
Best Music Moment: Last scene of the episode: Episode available on Hulu
Song: “Way Down We Go” by KALEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RUAFt-rIHw
Alayna Elyse Media 