Just when we thought we were in the emotional clear on tonight's This Is Us—Kate and Toby happily married, Deja finally assimilating into the Pearson family, Kate and Rebecca fully bonding—an unexpected peek into the future sent us reeling.
The episode's final scene delivered gut punch after gut punch, as Randall's moving toast to Kate and Toby—"It's taken me 37 years to accept the fact that there's absolutely zero point in trying to control the future, because nobody knows where we'll be"—cut to glimpses of one year—and two decades—into the Pearson's future. Kevin's dating Beth's cousin, Zoe, and they seem madly in love—so much so that they're traveling to Vietnam together, to learn more about Jack's time during the war. Meanwhile, Toby is dealing with another bout of depression, and Kate's trying to make sure he gets the assistance and medication he needs. Finally (and perhaps, most painfully) we get another look at Tess and Randall, 13 years in the future, as they grapple with a painful (still unknown to us) reality.
Here, we're breaking down what those cryptic moments could mean for Season 3 of This Is Us—as well as a few more predictions for when the show returns in the fall.
1) We'll finally learn more about Jack's life before Rebecca—and meet his mysterious brother.
This season of This Is Us teased Jack's largely-unknown history, with a brief look at his younger brother and a photograph of his time in the army. That moment on the airplane in the Season 2 finale means Kevin is curious enough about his father to travel halfway around the world looking for clues about his past. And since Jack's brother also served, it's likely we'll see flashbacks to the two interacting.
2) Deja becomes a member of the Pearson family.
This one seems obvious. Despite Deja's final act of the season—smashing her foster parents' car with a baseball bat—it's clear she's not going anywhere. Earlier in the episode, Beth explains to Zoe that Deja's mom wants to give up her parental rights so the Pearsons can adopt Deja. Even with their foster daughter acting out, there's no way Beth and Randall would turn her away. Unless something changes with Shauna in Season 3, it's likely Deja will officially, legally become a Pearson.
3) We meet more of Beth's family.
The season finale really pushed us to think Kevin and Madison would hook up (especially because she looks exactly like his ex, Sophie), but the final scene showed him very much in love with Zoe, Beth's gorgeous photographer cousin, as the two traveled together to Vietnam. In addition to setting up Kevin and Zoe for an adorable romance, this moment also provides a great opportunity to introduce Beth's family—especially her mom, who raised Zoe, and Beth's three sisters.
4) We're probably going to have to deal with another devastating death.
As we saw in an earlier scene this season, Tess becomes a social worker in the future. In tonight's scary final scene, we watch Randall, 13 years into the future, tell her, "It's time to go see her, Tess." She ominously replies, "I'm not ready," and Randall responds, "Me neither."
This scene is truly terrifying, because it teases something devastating for the Pearsons. At first, it seems like they're referring to Beth—is she sick or dead?—but that seems too obvious. Regardless, it feels likely that someone very close to Randall and Tess is either dead or close to it—but frankly, we're not sure we can take anymore heartbreak for the Pearsons.
5) Kate helps Toby through his battle with depression.
In the finale, Toby discussed his past bout of depression with his parents, who worried Kate's own issues would trigger a breakdown for Toby. One year in the future, we saw Kate tending to Toby as he lies in bed; she explains that the doctor wants to adjust his medication. He's clearly suffering, but Kate seems more than willing to take care of him. It doesn't seem like Toby's illness will come between him and Kate; instead, it feels like it might help them grow closer. But what does this mean for their plans to start a family? If Kate gets pregnant again, that could make things difficult.
6) The Big Three finally welcome Miguel as a member of the family—and we see the history of his relationship with Rebecca.
In the finale, Miguel hinted to Rebecca that her children doesn't like him—and Rebecca seemed genuinely shocked. She brushed off his comments, but this moment feels like the beginning of an important segment in their relationship. Now that Kate and Rebecca have made amends, it look like the show will start to focus on Rebecca's relationship (and past) with her second husband. And since the Big Three are finally starting to heal from Jack's death, maybe they'll finally work to form some semblance of a relationship with their stepfather.
