Don’t Let Me Keep You
In the opening scene of Episode 4 of This Is Us Season 6, Jack is packing for his Mum’s funeral. It’s a surreal experience for him, as he makes sure he has a black suit ready. With bad weather blowing in and the blizzard getting worse, Rebecca is worried about Jack traveling. But travel he does. The opening scene of Episode 4 of This Is Us Season 6 sees Jack packing for his Mum’s funeral. It’s a surreal experience for him, as he makes sure he has a black suit ready. With bad weather blowing in and the blizzard getting worse, Rebecca is worried about Jack traveling. But travel he does, even though it means braving the elements. ..
When Jack arrives at the funeral, Cousin Debbie is there to give him a rather frosty entrance. Everything for the funeral has already been sorted out, but she does leave Jack with the task of writing the eulogy.
It soon becomes apparent though that Jack didn’t know his mother very well. She has a boyfriend called Mike and he has a cat too. Mike admits he’s nervous, given Marilyn spoke about him and Rebecca a lot.
Mike and Marilyn started dating at a diner. It seems like fate, given they both had the same favourite table and got talking that way. The conversation between Mike and Jack soon turns to Stanley, as Jack admits that his mum was always on high alert around him, making it difficult to recollect when she was happy and laughing.
“You’re a hero, Jack. You got her out of that house.” Mike reminds him. While that may be true, it’s clear that Jack doesn’t feel that way. Life continues on and as the years have ticked by, Jack begins to reflect on all those little dismissive moments on the phone- the rushed chats, the distracted nothing-talk. So how does one write a eulogy for a woman whom he didn’t really know? ..
Jack blames Stanley for hanging over her like a dark cloud and eventually decides to call him. Jack has been feeling down about his relationship with Marilyn and after talking to Mike, he realizes that Stanley had a lot of influence over her. After seeing this side of his mother, Jack is worried that Stanley will come to the funeral and cause more problems. Jack warns Stanley not to come but the old man just grits his teeth and says he’ll do what he wants. ..
On the big day, Jack finally stands up to give the eulogy. Just before diving in, Rebecca shows up with the kids. And more tellingly than that, Stanley doesn’t. This gives Jack the courage to speak openly, mentioning how he has a new home now and Marilyn did too thanks to Mike and Debbie. ..
After the service, these two worlds collide and join as one. Jack and Rebecca take the kids ice skating, courtesy of the skates Marilyn bought for the kids all those years ago. It’s a beautiful way to celebrate her life, and as the gang return home they eat hotdogs and soup. This was a meal that Marilyn made for Jack as a child. And then it hits him. “I don’t have a mum anymore.” Jack says, sobbing on Rebecca’s shoulder.
The Episode Review
This week’s episode of Us is focused on Jack, who is grieving the loss of his mother. There is an undercurrent of abuse tackled here, and more specifically the after-effects of coming from an abusive home. This is something we don’t see too often in media, at least not from western entertainment anyway (Korean dramas have some pretty strong themes around this). The episode is explored beautifully here.
The episode is well-done in that it shows how two worlds are being joined and how Jack, who was thought to be a perfect family man, has a different side. After the incident with Nicky, he’s shown to be more carefree and distant from his mother and father. This makes for an interesting perspective on him and his character.
This final season is going to be very important for the characters and the story. We’re going to be exploring themes of loss and death, and it makes sense to do that with this episode.
