Stop it. I’m not crying. You’re crying. How does THIS IS US make me cry every time?Â
This week’s episode combines two very different “life-changing” road trips in a stroke of genius. One with the always funny Nicky (Griffin Dunne) in the backseat, and Miguel (Jon Huertas), and Rebecca (Mandy Moore) in the front. This road trip is all about old and lost love. But even more poignant, it’s about growing old. Rebecca hauntingly ponders, “What will my very last memory be before my candle goes out.” At a certain age, we think that we will stop sweating the small stuff because bigger things happen, but that’s not the case. Watching the older couples talk about life, death, love, and the “small stuff” is THIS IS US at its most authentic.
Elsewhere, Deja (Lyric Ross) is on a road trip to Harvard, visiting her boyfriend, Malik (Asante Blackk). The theme here is, “Young love is wonderful. It changes you.” The parallels between this young love and the older couples are cut together in such a way that it had me feel a sense of happy/sad. I am happy that I have someone to grow old with and sad that it will one day be hard. And just like Miguel, I’m up for the challenge.Â
ONE GIANT LEAP was an “incandescent” edition of THIS IS US. The characters have a journey ahead of them in the final season, and I do not doubt that creator Dan Fogelman is up to the task. I just hope this season doesn’t go by “faster than you think” it will.
Episode two is available on NBC and Peacock.
