‘This Is Us’ Fans Demand No ‘Cheap Gimmicks’ During Finale Episode
With only five episodes left of This Is Us‘ sixth and final season, viewers appear to both anticipate and fear the series finale. While series creator Dan Fogelman reportedly feels “very confident” that he stuck the landing, viewers may believe otherwise. The many red herrings utilized throughout This Is Us season 6 have led fans to demand no “cheap gimmicks” when the series takes its final bow on May 24, 2022.
‘This Is Us’ showrunner Dan Fogelman confirmed he’s written the last two episodes
In early April, Fogelman confirmed he had written the last two episodes of the series during the show’s PaleyFest panel.
Today reported Fogelman took the stage alongside This Is Us stars Mandy Moore (Rebecca), Sterling K. Brown (Randall), Milo Ventimiglia (Jack), Chrissy Metz (Kate), Justin Hartley (Kevin), Chris Sullivan (Toby), Susan Kelechi Watson (Beth), and Jon Huertas (Miguel).
There he shared that he had just completed the final script, effectively ending the stories of the Pearson family.
He told the attendees that he completed the script after taking a brief hiatus. “It’s funny because I’ve been away for the last week. So, I just literally finished writing the final,” he shared.
Ventimiglia added, “We all got a text from Dan last night saying, ‘Guys, I just finished it.’”
Fogelman confirmed that the final scene is what he envisioned when he created the show eight years prior.
‘This Is Us’ viewers raised their voices regarding the show’s finale episode
In a Reddit post titled “Ending Theory,” fans raised their voices regarding the finale episode.
They hoped the ending wouldn’t fall flat after six years of anticipation about how the family drama would end.
The original poster wrote that they hoped the show would not use some far-fetched dream sequence that would “cheapen” all the writer’s hard work for six seasons.
“I don’t think there’ll be any dramatic end,” they theorized. “I think everyone will be there as Rebecca (Mandy Moore) dies, they’ll all cry, maybe go in one by one beforehand and say their goodbyes and how much she means to them, then after it’ll show them at the funeral, and then just getting on with their lives. People live, people die, parents love their kids, then their kids grow up and become those parents, and it continues on and on. This show has never needed cheap gimmicks. It’s amazing just for being raw and real and provoking emotions that we’ve all felt. I’d love it to end on that too.”
“I think it will be a past and future montage. Get in all the non-baby actors who played the Big 3 (plus young Beth and maybe young Sophie – if her presence makes sense),” wrote a second follower.
“Like the ending of HBO’s Six Feet Under. It was perfect,” penned a third Reddit user. “That was the single greatest moment in television finale history. I still get chills thinking about the entire series and how it wrapped up perfectly.”
“I’ve also heard one that theorizes that Kevin sold a script of their lives to a TV network, and we’ve been watching a television show based on his script. Sort of like the ending of Dawsons Creek” shared the fourth fan.
How many episodes remain of ‘This Is Us’?
There are only five episodes left of the sixth and final season.
The series will debut its newest episode, “The Night Before the Wedding,” on April 26.
A synopsis for the episode states, “the night before Kate’s wedding, Kevin’s love life takes an unexpected turn.”
This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST on NBC.
