Wrapping up its final season this year, the plotlines of NBC's family drama This Is Us will come to a dramatic conclusion as viewers find out what will happen with Rebecca's Alzheimer's, Jack's relationship with his mother, Kate's marriage, and more.
The drama series does a wonderful job weaving together stories from people across the world, showcasing some of their worst and some of their best decisions. From secrets to betrayal, selfishness, manipulation, and more, many regrettable choices have been made by the characters of This Is Us throughout the show.
Madison's Decision To Get Engaged To Kevin
After having two twin babies, it appears as though Madison and Kevin will become a happy couple, something both of them seem to struggle with throughout the series. That is until the day of their wedding when Madison calls the whole thing off.
While it's true that Madison made the right decision not to get married to Kevin, the reality is, the couple should never have gotten engaged at all. Though the two will be raising children together, it is clear that the couple isn't truly in love. Now, the Pearsons are left with another upsetting end to a relationship that will need lots of rebuilding in episodes to come.
Toby's Decision To Accept A Job In San Francisco
Since the very beginning of season 1, fans have loved watching the unique romance blossom between Kate Pearson and Toby Damon. As the couple grows over the years, though, so do tensions between the two.
Toby decides in Season 5 Episode 15 that he is sick of being a stay-at-home dad, so he accepts a new job in San Francisco, causing his already-tense marriage to become long-distance. This inevitably leads to the downfall of one of the most beautiful romantic relationships in the entire series. This is even more devastating considering how far the couple has come over the years.
Beth's Blaming Of Randall For His Anxiety
Randall, an extreme example of an overachiever, and Beth, a strong-willed, individualistic woman, experience a lot of struggles with balance in the show's third season.
Beth decides she has had enough of Randall's big aspirations, aka his decision to accept a role as a city councilman in Philadelphia. Instead of having a respectful conversation, Beth hurls insults at Randall and tells him she never feels as though she gets to follow her own dreams. When Randall argues against this, Beth brings up Randall's experiences with anxiety, claiming that his mental health is too high maintenance for her to ever follow her own aspirations. That's a pretty terrible thing to say. Luckily, the two work it out, but that doesn't mean this toxic, hurtful argument couldn't have had disastrous consequences.
Miguel's Decision To Marry Rebecca
Controversial from the get-go, Miguel's decision to marry Rebecca seems to reopen many wounds for the Pearson "big three."
Sure, Miguel is a great guy, always there for Rebecca as she grows old in addition to having enormous patience when it comes to the Pearson kids' hostility. However, that doesn't mean marrying Rebecca was the right decision. Now, the three young Pearsons will always be reminded that their father is gone and their mother is married to his best friend, not him.
Kate's Decision To Date Marc
Kate Pearson is no doubt one of the show's most beloved characters, and it isn't a surprise why. Her struggles with not feeling talented enough and not feeling pretty enough are sentiments that everyone has gone through at some point in their lives.
It's clear that Kate makes a poor decision to date Marc - a man who quickly becomes abusive. Everyone knows he is wrong for her, but it's also easy to sympathize with her. She falls for him, and in many ways, she needs his attention to compensate for her self-doubt. Getting into an abusive relationship is, however, something that may have been Kate's worst decision, but is something she is not to blame for - that rests squarely on Marc, along with the trauma that Kate is left with at the end.
Nicky's Decision To Serve In The Vietnam War
Though many young men had limited control over whether they would serve in the Vietnam War, This Is Us character Nicky chooses to go along with the draft instead of running off to Canada when he had the option in Season 3.
Nicky's soft heart quickly becomes hardened as he witnesses some of the terrors of war, leading him to inadvertently cause the death of a young Vietnamese boy, an event that would cause decades of pain and hurt not just for Nicky, but also for Jack, who thought the act was committed on purpose. One of the saddest storylines in This Is Us, which is saying a lot, is the fact that Nicky spends decades wishing he could go back and change that day, or at the very least, tell Jack it was an accident.
Rebecca's Decision To Keep William From Randall
Viewers often see Rebecca Pearson as an incredibly loving and nurturing mother. However, that certainly doesn't mean she never makes mistakes.
In the show's eighth episode of its first season, tempers rise when Randall discovers that Rebecca has been in with his biological father William all along. It all comes out during the family's Thanksgiving celebration, where the truth is laid out for all to hear, and Randall is justifiably shocked, hurt, and furious. Viewers' hearts nearly crumble as they watch a speechless Randall fight an internal battle between loving his mother yet still hating what she did. This Is Us ends up adding to the already large pile of trauma Randall experiences as a result of his adoption story.
Kevin's Decision To Cheat On Sophie
Though not an overly large plot point, Kevin's decision to cheat on his now ex-wife, Sophie, has long-lasting effects on the famous Pearson son. Instead of having a fulfilling marriage with the woman he's loved since grade school, Kevin gets caught up in a life of fame hindered by the lingering tragedy of his father's death as well as his own struggles with substance abuse.
While Kevin makes some seriously questionable decisions throughout the series, this small plot point is surprisingly one of the most influential. The romance doesn't work out, even after several tries to fix it, and Kevin feels as though he will never have a happy relationship.
Randall's Decision To Enroll Rebecca In The Clinical Trial
One of the many devastating plot lines in This Is Us comes midway through the show's storyline as fans see Rebecca Pearson's mental well-being begin to fade. As viewers come to find out, Rebecca is now living with Alzheimer's Disease.
Rebecca, being the open-minded and strong person that she is, decides she wants to make the most of her time left on earth; she wants to spend as much of it as she can with her family and not at a clinical trial that Randall is pushing for. When Randall decides his view is more important, the Pearson brothers unleash some of their most hurtful comments at each other. Kevin says that the worst day of his life was when his parents adopted Randall while the latter tells Kevin that their father died ashamed of him. Rather than repairing an already tumultuous relationship, this fight brings out the worst in the two This Is Us characters, who soon come to regret their extremely hurtful comments and wish the whole thing never happened.
Jack's Decision To Go Back Inside The House
While it may seem obvious, the hands-down worst decision made by one of television's favorite dads was to go back inside a burning building to rescue a dog and some family mementos, leading to his tragic death.
Jack's decision to go back inside a burning building is without a doubt because of his hero complex. Growing up with a father who has alcoholism and rarely acts proud of his son, Jack always feels the need to be the best at everything. This includes running back inside a burning building to save a pet. In trying to be the hero once again, Jack causes one of the most extreme forms of trauma to plague his surviving family for decades to come.