Spoiler alert! This story discusses This Is Us’ Season 6 episode, “Our Little Island Girl: Part 2.”
It’s an emotional time for fans of This Is Us, as creator Dan Fogelman and company march us through the final chapter of the Pearson family saga. It’s not an easy road for the actors, either, as Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore said they were “incredibly devastated” to learn how to show ends, and Sterling K. Brown predicted that he’ll be ugly crying. Consider, then, the emotional journey of Susan Kelechi Watson, who plays Beth Pearson. Not only is she saying goodbye to her character, but she actually co-wrote Beth’s final big episode, called “Our Little Island Girl: Part 2.”
Susan Kelechi Watson is always great as Beth, full stop. These last two episodes — including the pre-Olympics’ “Heart and Soul” — have seen her absolutely on fire. “Our Little Island Girl: Part 2” showed how Beth came to run her successful dance studio, through the story of her student Stacey (Jazlyn Martin). Beth gave Stacey the support Beth hadn’t gotten as a dancer, leading to success for Stacey and healing for the dance teacher.
Susan Kelechi Watson co-wrote the episode with Eboni Freeman, and Watson spoke with EW about what it meant to write the words that would be the final chapter for her character.
I was writing her monologue and it was emotional to write it because I knew that this was it for her storyline. And it was wrapping that up. It was the moment of really being emotional, but really being grateful that I got a chance to be a part of that — not just as the actor, but as the writer and being able to contribute to how this moment was going to really happen. It was really a beautiful time. It was emotional, but it felt like a real full-circle moment.
It seems like such a profound thing. Not only has Susan Kelechi Watson brought that character to life in front of the camera, but in the end she got to be the one to put the words in Beth’s mouth. This episode was a continuation of Season 3’s “Our Little Island Girl,” where Beth’s healing journey started when she confronted her mother for taking away her dream of dancing.
The most recent episode showed her not only being able to confront the teacher who discarded her (Vincent, played by Goran Visnjic), but also getting to prove how she will change the world of dance, not on stage but from the wings. Randall took a backseat to his wife in this episode, but delivered a beautiful line as Beth sat on stage with Stacey after the dancer fell in the middle of a performance. Speaking to Annie, Tess and Deja, Randall said:
You’re gonna forget a lot of things about these years. But look at your mother right now, and remember this. Don’t you ever forget how incredible that woman is.
We all know that Beth and Randall are one of TV’s greatest couples ever, but I don’t mind that they keep reminding us every week. I'll enjoy it while I can as This Is Us slowly runs out of episodes!
This Is Us will not air next week because of the State of the Union, but when it returns March 8, it’ll be a famous Pearson Thanksgiving episode, so grab your pilgrim hat and Police Academy 3 DVD, and tune in at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. In the meantime, check out our 2022 TV Schedule to see what other new and returning shows are starting soon.
