This Is Us Season 4 Review

Major Spoilers are included in this season review. Please read with caution.

With This Is Us season 5 coming out on October 27, 2020, I thought I’d gather my thoughts on what happened during season 4 to help us prepare for the series’ grand return.

This Is Us is about the lives and families of two parents—Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) and Rebecca Pearson (Mandy Moore)—and their three children—Kevin (Justin Hartley), Kate (Chrissy Metz), and Randall (Sterling K. Brown)—in several different time frames. The storylines unfolding across different places in time was consistently great over the years, with the first two seasons delivering on so much payoff. Season 3, on the other hand, felt disjointed and overstuffed regarding Jack’s Vietnam background, Randall’s political campaign, and the “will they / won’t they” with his wife Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson).

The season 4 premiere had echoes of the series’ pilot, with new characters being introduced and having their stories entangled with the Pearson family. The twist at the end with this premiere set the foundation for the rest of the season, and season 4 also expanded upon the “Her” twist introduced in season 3’s finale—albeit gradually with explosive repercussions.

Kate’s storyline had the weakest connection to her mother Rebecca’s diagnosis, but the exploration of a traumatic event in her past and her present insecurity with husband Toby (Chris Sullivan) was profound and well-written. How they handled the news of their infant son Jack being blind—and adjusting their lives to meet his needs—was portrayed realistically too.

The bigger storylines were reserved for Randall and Kevin, where their brotherly relationship was put to the test throughout this season when it came to their mother. The first half of the season had Kevin bond with his Uncle Nicky—Jack’s brother—while trying to figure out his life’s purpose, while Randall begins to unravel due to his anxiety and inability to stop controlling everything—he also finally went to therapy.

The season 4 finale had Randall and Kevin deliver a devastating argument over how to help their mother Rebecca—an argument that rocked the foundation set at the start of the season. While the raw argument scene was hard to stomach, the season did bring all the main storylines together organically—which fueled the flames already festering underneath Randall and Kevin.

The season 4 finale also set-up an interesting season 5, and it took a step closer to the flashforward introduced at the end of season 3 where everyone—in their old age—gathers together at Rebecca’s bedside. With the series already confirmed for a season 6—the final season to complete the overall story—I believe season 5 will be moving fast and heavy with their upcoming storylines. There were moments—especially season 3—where This Is Us dragged on, so hopefully season 5 doesn’t repeat any old mistakes.

I will be writing weekly episode reviews once the two-hour season 5 premiere drops on October 27, 2020. I’m so excited to watch This Is Us every week and cry to whatever happens. Thanks for reading this season 4 review, everyone! I’ll see y’all in a few weeks!