Season six, episode four of This Is Us was one of the most emotional episodes to date due to Jack’s eulogy for his mother, Marilynn, after her unexpected passing.
Overview
This Is Us is the NBC original hit family drama series that has been one of the channel’s flagship shows since its premiere in 2016.
In May 2021, the series confirmed that the upcoming sixth season, at the time, would mark the season finale of the tear-jerking drama series.
One of the most emotional episodes from season six, arguably has to be episode four, titled Don’t Let Me Keep You.
The emotional episode saw the closure of Jack’s relationship with his mother, who, despite their closeness during his childhood, he had not seen in 13 years, resulting in a touching eulogy at her funeral.
What is This Is Us?
This Is Us is the NBC original drama series which first premiered on the channel in 2016. The popular series was created by the acclaimed producer, Dan Fogelman, and has won four Primetime Emmy awards throughout its five seasons.
The premise of the series is, “A heart-warming and emotional story about a unique set of triplets, their struggles and their wonderful parents.”
The series is considered to have broken a television convention by telling its entire story through a series of flashbacks, flashforwards and also focusing on the Pearson family in real time.
The only other show in recent history that has had a successful run using this storytelling motif was How I Met Your Mother, which, at the time, was regarded as an anomaly.
This Is Us: A look at Jack’s emotional eulogy
Season six of This Is Us began airing in January 2022, and as promised, was filled with many tear-jerking moments.
Episode four titled Don’t Let Me Keep You, is considered Jack Pearson’s big episode of this season. This episode saw the closure of Jack and his mother, Marilynn’s storyline, as he travels to Ohio to bury her after not seeing her in 13 years.
In previous seasons, we watched as Jack got his mother out of her abusive relationship with his father. Moreover, we saw how close their relationship was.
In this episode, we learn what happened after Jack freed his mother. After a brief stint of staying with him and Rebecca, Jack decided to move Marilynn to Ohio, as she was still scared of being in the same vicinity as her ex.
Therefore, Marilynn moved to Ohio to live with her cousin Deb. As time passed, Jack focused on his life, with the only evidence of their relationship being their routine Sunday phone calls.
While Jack treated them as tedious due to his growing family demands, for Marilynn, they were a lifeline. This gave way to an emotional eulogy at Marilynn’s funeral service.
What was Jack’s eulogy on This Is Us?
Jack went to Ohio, after deciding to take the trip alone to arrange his mother’s funeral, and arrived only to find the ire of Aunty Deb not visiting his mother for 13 years. Moreover, Jack learned more about his mother’s life after getting to Ohio.
He realised how he found love and happiness outside of their shared trauma from living in the same abuse-filled house, but he also realised how much of his mother’s new life he missed out on.
After initially having writer’s block, he finally delivers an impromptu eulogy from his heart.
The eulogy ultimately highlights how, in trying to forget traumatic events, one sometimes forgets the good that was there too, like his mother, in his case.
Milo Ventimiglia on Jack’s emotional eulogy
Milo Ventimiglia, who is the actor that plays Jack Pearson, had an interview with Entertainment Weekly after the episode aired.
He spoke about shooting the episode and the emotional scene. He described shooting the eulogy scene as “a wonderful, horrible experience,” explaining:
“It’s one thing when you’re playing a pretty emotional character, and you’re conditioned for it, and you can sink into that and settle into those emotions quickly. But when you’re out of practice of it and you’re playing the rock — not Dwayne Johnson, but the foundation of a family, the stone of the family — it’s terrifying to think that you’ve got to go to that place.”
When is This Is Us set to end?
This Is Us’ series finale episode was shared even before the airing of the sixth season. It was shared in May 2021, along with the confirmation that the sixth season would be the last.
The series finale episode is said to air on Tuesday, 24 May 2022. To date, 10 episodes of the season have aired. The last episode will be the eighteenth of season six.
Final thoughts
This Is Us is set to conclude its successful six-season run on Tuesday, 24 May 2022. However, the last season has had some of the most emotional episodes and scenes of the entire series, with more to come as the show counts down to its final episode.
Episode four of season six saw the show conclude the storyline of Jack’s stringent relationship with his mother, Marilynn.
The result is an emotional eulogy on how blocking traumatic experiences from your psyche also impacts the good memories of that time, which is what happened to his relationship with his mother, resulting in him not seeing her for 13 years until she had passed.