The fourth season of “This Is Us” wrapped up Tuesday with an explosive finale that was heavy on conflict and introduced new members of the Pearson family in future sequences.
Fans have known for months that Kevin and Randall stopped speaking and now they know why. Their fragile relationship cracked completely after Rebecca revealed she had changed her mind and would go to St. Louis for the clinical trial to help her Alzheimer’s.
Randall eventually admitted to Kevin that he persuaded her to change her mind, leading to a heated argument where Kevin blamed Randall for Jack’s death, but Randall fired back with some harsh words.
“He died ashamed of you,” he said.
Kevin had some cruel words of his own, though.
“I used to think the worst thing that happened to me was the day that Dad died,” he said. “It’s the day they brought you home. Hand to God, Randall, the worst thing that ever happened to me was the day they brought you home.”
“This is Cain and Abel type stuff for these two, this is a fight that goes towards literally their inception,” “This Is Us” creator Dan Fogelman told People.
Justin Hartley, who plays Kevin, said the fight was as brutal as could be.
“I envisioned it like when you’re wielding a knife on someone and you can either stab them — like a violent stab, like a horror film — or you can just take the knife and slowly let it just go into the gut and just turn it really slowly,” he told Entertainment Weekly.
The argument came right as Madison showed up to tell Kevin she was pregnant. After Randall left, Kevin turned his attention to her and declared he was all in to help her with the child. She then dropped a second bombshell when she revealed she was carrying twins.
The episode ended with a look at the future with the family gathered around Rebecca, who appeared close to dying. Kevin walked in and didn’t speak with Randall, although he gave Nicky — wearing a wedding ring — a hug.
Kevin’s kids — a boy and a girl — also walked into the room and Kevin, who was wearing a wedding band of his own (is he married to Madison?), went to the foot of Rebecca’s bed, putting his hand on Randall's shoulder, indicating that maybe they were able to put their rift behind them. Does this mean they work through their differences?
“I actually talked to Fogelman about how to answer this question, and the company line is, “That will be illuminated over the next two seasons of 'This Is Us,’” Sterling K. Brown, who plays Randall, told Entertainment Weekly.
Kevin's twins were not the only addition to the expanding Pearson clan.
Kate and Toby agreed they wanted another baby, deciding to adopt since giving birth posed too many risks for Kate. We then saw in a series of flash-forward sequences a woman named Hailey who worked in an art gallery and appeared hung up on a one-night stand with a movie star, rushing to the hospital to be with adult Jack as he and his wife welcomed a baby daughter. Jack introduced her to a hospital worker as his sister. Interestingly, neither Kate nor Toby was on hand, leading to speculation about what happened to them.
So, what can viewers expect from all these new characters? Well, there's a chance they become a bigger part of the Pearson universe.
“Our hope is to continue to make people invested in the future storylines by getting to those characters slowly, as we’ve done, so that by the time we’re really landing to full stories with them, if we do, you feel that great investment,” Fogelman told People.