Aurora Starchild
The May 17 episode of This Is Us leaves a lot of fans in tears and feeling a sense of loss with Rebecca’s death. But Mandy Moore and the show’s creator, Dan Fogelman, want us to keep an open mind.
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Rebecca, played by Moore, is struggling with Alzheimer’s and on her death bed. Viewers are brought into the depths of her mind, portrayed as a train ride. Hence the episode’s title, “The Train.” It’s not the finale. The season—and series— finale is supposed to bring meaning and closure to “The Train.”
Fogelman tells Entertainment Weekly, “People can expect a literal ride… I think that it is going to make people cry and be sad and all the things that people attribute to the show. But I do think there’s something that will speak to people who have experienced this stuff, which is most of us. And after some time of reflection — and after our finale — it may actually make people feel really good about some stuff they didn’t think they’d feel good about. That’s my hope.”
Moore opens up to Entertainment Weekly as well.
“I would encourage people to come in with an open mind [about Rebecca’s fate], and I’m sure they know where this is heading, but I think it’s surprising. I imagine that this is [a] very real way for some people to imagine the end of their life.”
The train ride shows Rebecca reunited with Jack after being guided by William through her life’s end. It’s an interesting juxtaposition as the train is speeding. It brings a surrealistic pace to the human interactions inside the train.
Moore reveals to Variety that she hopes that people will recognize the humanness of Rebecca’s condition.
On death and the fear that we can feel about it, Moore reassures us of the following:
“It’s happening to all of us at all times. I know it’s a scary concept and I know we celebrate youth in our culture, but it’s an important conversation to have and done so well with our show… I love that our show continues to humanize and show this is still the same woman and she deserves to be celebrated and loved in the same way, even if maybe she’s not seemingly the same mother you have known your whole life.”
Fogelman reiterates to Variety that the finale has something special in store. He wants us to know that there is much more to Rebecca’s death than loss.
“It felt important to me to go out making the show about how the human condition and the human spirit kind of endures and moves forward, rather than just a moment that would have everybody hysterically crying because somebody passes at the end.”
If you’re feeling a sense of loss, remember that life goes on. And stay tuned for the series finale of This Is Us: “The Big Three,” airing May 24.
