Five pounds of shrimp later,This Is Usdelivered yet another Pearson family Thanksgiving with major plot twists.
As fans are left with more loose ends and unanswered questions, showrunner and creator Dan Fogelman tells PEOPLE what’s to come with each character and previews the special individualized episodes in the back half of the season.
Ron Batzdorff/NBC (2); Mitchell Haddad/NBC; Ron Batzdorff/NBC (2)
Rebecca Pearson (Mandy Moore)
As much as Randall is worried about his mom’s memory loss in the present day, Fogelman warns viewers to be concerned.
“I think you would be made of stone if you weren’t a little concerned after watching the episode. There’s a lot going on here, obviously, it’s concerning,” he says. “We’re at the early, early stages of something going on. Beyond all of the concern for the character herself, it would be correct to have concern for the entire family right now. We’ve been born with this family, in terms of how they started as children with what place Rebecca holds for them. They’ve lost a parent, Randall’s lost two [fathers] so you can imagine the ramifications for Rebecca as an individual, there are also obviously ramifications for the entire family.”
Fogelman explains Rebecca’s shift in her mental wellbeing has “always been part of the series’ plan,” callingThis Is Usas a show that “plays in time and memory so this was always part of the plan of where we were going to go.”
Raving about Moore and her performance, Fogelman adds: “It’s always been part of our plan where this storyline will go but what can’t be part of your plan was how extraordinary Mandy was going to be in all of this. It’s not spoken about how extraordinary she is doing on this show right now, which is playing multiple versions and timelines of the same character so seamlessly that your heart is breaking for [Rebecca] on-screen. I’m very excited for people to see what comes next and what she’s doing as an actor.”
Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia)
When discussing Rebecca overall, a major part of her story is her late husband and love of her life, Jack. “We’re going to continue to see their backstory but not because anything involving her memory. The direction we’re going in, we’re trying to go responsibly and we’ve been very careful to ensure that,” Fogelman says of her memories with Jack.
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Kevin Pearson
Asked if they’re not on speaking terms due to Randall keeping mom Rebecca’s memory loss a secret early on, Fogelman teases that the theory is “definitely a possibility of the right area.”
“The primal wounds with our immediate family and siblings just don’t go away through a pocket of time. Randall and Kevin have been bickering for the past year or two. These are two children who were the exact same age and grew up in the same house, they’re both alpha males competing for their mother and father’s attention,” he explains. “One of them was the do-gooder who could do no wrong and the other was kind of the charmer and someone to worry about a little bit. When suddenly something is going on with the lone remaining parent with whom they both have issues — and one of them has kept a secret and there are other things coming into play — it would probably be not inconceivable that it could a cause of they’re not speaking a year from now.”
In the romance department, audiences will be kept guessing who the identity of Kevin’s fiancée is (Cassidy? Zoey? Someone new?).
So will we see more ofJennifer Morrison’s Cassidythis season? “It’s quite possible,” he says. “What I can say is that already Cassidy has served an incredibly important role for him in terms of this rehabilitation and this family formed in Bradford.”
Fogelman foreshadows that Kevin’s change after moving next door to Uncle Nicky and making strong bonds in Bradford is “kind of the launching pad for the rest of his life” and a “chapter in Kevin’s life he will look back on and maybe consider a turning point.”
Ron Batzdorff/NBC
Randall Pearson
On the flip side, Kevin’s conflict with Randall may be coinciding with an intense time for the councilman.
“Randall is a giant back half of this season coming up with a couple of specialized episodes that really get inside of him in terms of what’s going on in his wiring and what’s going on in his mind. Sterling was just in the writer’s room and we’re doing this special episode towards the end of the season,” Fogelman says.
“This is a character who was left for adoption as a child which immediately creates some identity issues. He lost his father at a very formative age and then, upon finally reuniting with his birth father, lost his second father [William],” he recalls. “He’s a guy who tries to keep control and for a guy who tries to please and be everything to everybody. He’s so decent and good, but constantly having questions about his identity. You can imagine the pressure and toll it can take.”
As far as more R&R time to come, the mother-son pair’s secret pact about Rebecca’s memory loss may complicate their familial relationships. “There’s a lot going on,” Fogelman teases.
Kate Pearson
As for weight loss becoming a contributing factor in their relationship, Fogelman explains “it’s also a lot about secrets being kept and community being formed.”
“We’ve covered [weight loss] quite a lot and it’s an identifiable quality when partners are changing whether it’s physically or emotionally and you feel like you’re not. It was never just about the weight loss for her and for them,” he shares. “The feeling of when not just one person is losing weight and you’re not but also simultaneously it’s accomplishing a shared goal at the exact moment where it was hardest for you to do it. That’s not just about weight but it’s also about psychology and the psychology of a relationship.”
Another man to be learned about is Kate’s boyfriend Marc from her past.
“It’s a big part of our back half of the season. In the beginning of the rest of the season, we’re going into these individualized episodes with the Big Three that are interconnected in time and everyone gets their own focused episode,” Fogelman shares. “Marc plays a very big part in the culmination of it all. A lot of answers will be caught in there as to what formed Kate in this stage of her life. This vulnerable young woman who lost the most important person in her life and then finally pulling herself back on to her feet. The first relationship became this guy who there is something other about, that could be a backburner for this young woman. What this is and how it affected her is definitely something we’re heading into.”
Nicky Pearson
Uncle Nicky is here to stay with the Pearson family, though he may return to Bradford without Kevin. And we may learn more about the Pearson brothers’ bond juxtaposed with the conflicts of what Kevin and Randall will go through.
“We’ve seen a lot of stuff that would involve Milo and Michael on camera already but obviously the second you see those two together as younger men there’s something instantly impactful about them, especially considering that we’re going into brother territory with Randall and Kevin,” Fogelman says. “It’s definitely something we want to return to.”
Though we learned more about Nicky’s past, specifically his ex-girlfriend Sally, that romance won’t be featured this season. “We want to very much. We don’t quite have plans for her yet for this season. But it’s something we’re all very interested in,” he shares.
Season 4 will return with new episodes in January.
This Is Usairs Tuesdays (9 p.m. ET) on NBC.
source: people.com
