Skip to main content

In NBC’s This Is Us Season 6, Mandy Moore’s performance of Rebecca’s peaceful death made us all cry, but Justin Hartley felt it even more. He was there, portraying her son, Kevin Pearson, who has finally “become a complete person.” Hartley recently spoke about how it felt to watch Moore play elderly Rebecca Pearson “slipping away.”

In ‘This Is Us’ Season 6 Episode 17, Mandy Moore portrayed Rebecca Pearson’s death

Viewers needed an entire box of tissues for This Is Us Season 6 Episode 17. While her family said goodbye to her in the home Kevin Pearson built her, Rebecca walked through a train of people close to her. Randall’s (Sterling K. Brown) biological father, William Hill (Ron Cephas Jones), guided Rebecca from one car to the next while photos and memorabilia decorated the tables. 

At one point, Rebecca spoke with Dr. K (Gerald McRaney), and he told her that she deserved a rest. After all of the hardship she went through, she had a beautiful life. Although she was young Rebecca on the train, her children and grandchildren spoke to an elderly, frail Rebecca in real life. Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson), Toby (Chris Sullivan), Sophie (Alexandra Breckenridge), and Annie (Faithe Herman) all share heartfelt goodbyes with Rebecca. 

Finally, Kate Pearson (Chrissy Metz) arrives from London the next day to see her mother one last time in the pentultimate episode of This Is Us Season 6. Fan theories were all wrong about why Kate was missing from the flashforwards. Shortly after, Rebecca finally allows herself to rest while surrounded by The Big Three — Kate, Kevin, and Randall.  

'This Is Us' Season 6 Justin Hartley as Kevin Pearson looking at Mandy Moore as Rebecca Pearson
‘This Is Us’: Justin Hartley as Kevin, Mandy Moore as Rebecca | Ron Batzdorff/NBC

Justin Hartley described watching Mandy Moore’ slipping away’ in ‘This Is Us’

As hard as it was for viewers to watch Rebecca die in season 6, it was challenging for the This Is Us cast, who have come to know and love each other. Justin Hartley described Mandy Moore’s performance as “odd,” although he believes “she really nailed it.” 

“It’s a little odd, in a way, because she’s slipping away,” Hartley told The Hollywood Reporter. “We know Mandy how we know Mandy, and then almost all of a sudden, in those scenes, it was kind of like she wasn’t there. She was kind of locked in and slipping away. You’re working with her, but she’s not really there. She’s slipping in and out. It seemed really difficult for her, but she really nailed it.”

Moore transformed so deeply into her character that Hartley felt she had wholly slipped away in those final scenes and episodes.

'This Is Us' Justin Hartley as Kevin walking with Mandy Moore as Rebecca
‘This Is Us’: Justin Hartley as Kevin and Mandy Moore as Rebecca | Ron Batzdorff/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images

‘This Is Us’ Season 6 Finale continues 10-12 years after Rebecca Pearson’s death

The writers and cast of This Is Us all agreed that the show couldn’t end with Rebecca Pearson’s death in season 6. Hartley revealed how important it was to see what happened after her death in the same interview. The writers detail how all of her kids have grown and what they have achieved 10 to 12 years in the future after Rebecca’s death.

“I thought we did a good job of not ending the show on such a sad note,” Hartley explained of the This Is Us Season 6 finale script. “Because it’s like, are we going to end the show with her death? But that’s not really what the ending was. I thought it was not about what’s happening now, necessarily, but what’s in store for the future. Where these three are going and the tools that they have to help them navigate throughout all for the trials and tribulations that might come their way.”

This Is Us Season 6 concludes on May 24, 2022. All six seasons of This Is Us are currently available for streaming on Hulu.

Best in Entertainment