This Is Us was a "sensational schmaltzfest" that viewers needed

[TMC]

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-r...-we-all-needed

"It’s over. After 106 episodes of emotional evisceration, This Is Us ... has called time," says Rebecca Nicholson. "And like Randall at his mother’s funeral, I want to find the right thing to say. Every week without fail, this heartstring-yanking family saga about the big three – the triplets Kate, Kevin and Randall Pearson – made millions weep, myself included. It has been a six-year emotional juggernaut, a guilty pleasure to watch while sobbing into the sofa. It was comfort TV at its cosiest: a winning combination of twists and misdirection that kept you hooked and blindsided, with fantastic, fleshed-out characters delivering endless hokey speeches (Randall, you are the king!). It may have been a shameless schmaltzfest, but how we needed the release of a show as huge, messy and delectable as life itself."

ALSO:

• This Is Us' series finale was one of its best-ever episodes thanks to avoiding any huge dramatic turn: "I trash a lot of bad shows that I don’t actually like (Fear the Walking Dead, Manifest, Riverdale), but I’ll say this about This Is Us: I may give it a lot of s***, but I genuinely like this big, dumb, sappy melodrama," says Dustin Rowles. "The series has gotten a lot of guff for six years because it can be treacly and sentimental, but to its credit, it does not try to be anything else. It does not pretend to be prestige television. It doesn’t aim to be any more than a heartwarming series about a loving family trying to figure out how to be the best parents, spouses, and children they can be. It’s a show that regularly makes its viewers cry, but if that is the goal of This Is Us — to fill viewers with so many warm fuzzies that it leaks out of their eyes — consider how incredibly successful it has been. Six years after it premiered, This Is Us still has enough left in the tank to kick us in the feels on the regular."
• While the penultimate episode was a wrecking ball of grief, This Is Us' finale helped characters and viewers alike pick up the pieces and move forward: "In its final hour, the show reminded us of the importance of having people to lean on — family and friends with whom you can share love, pain, anger, mess, and joy," says Nicole Gallucci. "It showcased the immense legacy a single human leaves behind after parting from this Earth. And it proved an easily forgotten truth: Even when it all feels pointless, a piece of very good news on a very bad day can give you purpose again. The finale was simple but effective; by peeking into the past it brought everything full circle."
• This Is Us' series finale worked because it ditched its "Twist Is Us" moniker: "What always worked best about the expansive family drama were direct moments of vulnerability. Randall’s anxiety attacks over self-imposed pressures," says Ben Travers. "Rebecca’s mid-motherhood pursuit of a singing career. Jack’s low-key heroism, like whenever the Pearson patriarch plagued with daddy issues stands up to dismissive father figures, or when the modest everyman has to summon the right words of encouragement for his kids."
• Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia break down the final Jack and Rebecca scene
• Creator Dan Fogelman addresses two plot threads This Is Us never resolved