Warning - Contains Spoilers for This is Us Season 6.
With This is Us viewers may have noticed a sharp change in tone for the long-time NBC hit series in This Is Us season 6 episode 13, entitled "The Day of the Wedding," indicating a possible twist that may change the entire focus of the show. The family drama, set to end with the This is Us season 6 finale on May 24, has depicted more than four decades in the life of the Pearson family. With multiple storylines still left to wrap up, This is Us has its work cut out for it, and the remaining episodes of season 6 are likely to be heavy hitters.
This is Us tells the story of the Pearson family across 6 seasons and has focused on the Pearson's trio of children, "The Big Three" - Kevin, Kate, and Randall. This is Us has tackled the real-life issues of mental health, adoption, addiction, child and pregnancy loss, disordered eating, LGBTQ+ acceptance, and race, all colored by grief, trauma, joy, and hope, while giving viewers memorable and relatable characters. In This Is Us season 6, episode 13, "The Day of the Wedding" featured a seemingly disconnected flashback that focused on an unflattering haircut that Rebecca had gotten when the kids were young - which had never featured in any flashback prior. By contrast, the wedding and love story surrounding Kate and Phillip has gotten almost no airtime despite the multiple seasons dedicated to Kate's relationship with Toby, who she divorced in episode 12, only to marry another man the following episode.
This might have appeared disjointed to some viewers, however, after This Is Us season 6, episode 13, it now seems possible that viewers have been watching the rose-colored memories of a foreshadowed Rebecca as she lays on her deathbed, all along. This is Us has centered The Big Three at the heart of the series, but "The Day of the Wedding," an episode that encompassed the wedding of Kate and Phillip, didn't focus on Kate at all. In fact, the episode positioned Rebecca and her deteriorating memory front and center. The cause of this rushed storytelling may be entirely intentional and serve as a signifier that the story is simply playing inside Rebecca's own mind. This means that as Rebecca's ability to remember specific events and situations declines, so does the storytelling on This is Us. And if that is the case, then it indicates that the entirety of the series may have taken place inside Rebecca's memory. This theory could explain why Jack Pearson has been treated so heroically, despite his many flaws. It would also explain the entire format of the show. If the entire series has been a memory that Rebecca has been reliving as she nears death, then the flashbacks of a mother - the dearest memories of quiet moments with her children, and the loves of her life - take on a beautiful, bittersweet hue.
There is a less charitable reading of the This Is Us season 6 storylines and the show's disparate means of storytelling that have been embraced ahead of the finale of the Pearson family's story. Viewers might be inclined to think that This Is Us simply had too many storylines that had been dangled before viewers, and the writers must now cram resolutions into the final handful of episodes. However, that seems unlikely since This is Us has been plotted seamlessly from the start, with hints of storylines to come in late seasons appearing as early as the pilot, and flash-forward scenes guiding viewers to Rebecca's deathbed since season 2.
This is Us has woven an intricate tapestry out of the Pearsons' family life, and whatever the finale brings, it has been an enjoyable tale for viewers. No matter how the series wraps up, Jack, Rebecca, and The Big Three will have left a lasting impression. However, if This is Us does reveal that the entire storyline has occurred inside Rebecca's failing memory, the ending will be all the more emotional as viewers realize that every story arc and plot twist was colored by a mother's love, which was fighting against the invisible enemy of time and disease to be remembered.