I’m a pretty emotional person, which means I cry a lot when it comes to This Is Us, the popular NBC drama that has been airing since in 2016. As someone who's watched this show from the very beginning, I have to say that I am very sad it will be coming to an end soon.
While there have been plenty of mysteries on This Is Us, one thing that was never a mystery was the love that Jack and Rebecca shared, a love that we see straight out of the gate in the first episode. While I personally have always loved Randall and Beth, no one can quite beat Jack and Rebecca.
From their moments of pure love and adoration to their rough times, and all the way until the very bitter end, these are some of my favorite Jack and Rebecca moments from This Is Us that truly makes them marriage goals.
When Jack And Rebecca Tag Team To Save Their Kids’ Day At The Pool (Season 1, “The Pool”)
Hands down, even to this day, “The Pool” from Season 1 is one of my favorite episodes of This Is Us for many reasons, namely because Jack and Rebecca somehow find a way to make the day enjoyable. Every one of the kids is dealing with their own issues. Randall is trying to make friends and failing, Kevin is feeling lonely, and Kate is abandoned by her friends due to her weight.
Seeing that the day was slowly being ruined, Jack and Rebecca do their best to try and save it, going after their respective children to try and figure out how to make it better. Together, they find different ways to make their days better, which culminates in them taking a big family nap together. It’s so sweet and shows just how far they are willing to go to make sure their kids feel included.
When Jack And Rebecca Make The Best Out Of Their Disastrous “Perfect” Dinner (Season 4, “Storybook Love”)
Something I love about the This Is Us Season 4 episode, "Storybook Love," is the lesson that comes from it. After Rebecca gets pregnant with the Big Three and she and Jack buy a new home, she is obsessed with the idea of trying to make this perfect meal in order for her and Jack to properly begin their lives as a couple. But, mistake after mistake leads to their dinner being ruined, which results in them getting pizza.
What I love about this is that even though their dinner went wrong, they accepted what happened and embraced the past, moving on and looking forward to the future because if they kept focusing on what went wrong, they could never move ahead. It’s even more prominent when it's mirrored with a dinner that is done post-Jack’s death, and the dinner turns out the same: Pizza.
Where Rebecca Still Put On Her Little Dance For Jack (Despite Being Nine Months Pregnant - With Triplets) (Season 1, “Pilot”)
One of the opening moments of the show that won me over. How can you not love this scene in the pilot? First off, Mandy Moore is incredible and her smile is contagious and her chemistry with Milo Ventimiglia is utter perfection. But, what really makes this scene is that no matter what, she does this dance for Jack with a smile, the one she always does every year, but now, she’s very pregnant.
The moment is made even better when Rebecca’s water actually breaks and they have to rush to the hospital, starting off this show that we all love so much. It makes me wonder how they’re going to end This Is Us after starting it off with such a lively moment between these two.
And When Jack Is There For Rebecca, Through Thick And Thin, When She’s Delivering Their Children (Season 1, “Pilot”)
I mean, I have to put this in. While it’s pretty straightforward that a guy should be with his wife when she's giving birth, Jack takes it to a whole new level with the amount of support that he provides during the pilot in This Is Us. From some of his first scenes, we see how much he loves and cares for his wife and wants her to be okay, but only then afterwards do we see how much he is willing to do to make her happy.
When they lose one of their babies, he is there for her through thick and thin, holding her, trying to ease her pain, knowing there isn’t a good way to do so. All he can do is help her through it and help her heal - and soon, they find little Randall. It also helps that Milo Ventimiglia’s acting in the first episode is just spot-on, and it makes me excited for whatever big TV project Ventimiglia has coming next.
When Jack And Rebecca Find A Way To Save Thanksgiving (Season 1, “Pilgrim Rick”)
Thanksgiving is always something that television shows or specials like to celebrate, from the craziness of Friends’ Thanksgiving episodes to just watching Charlie Brown and their Thanksgiving specials, but for me, there’s nothing quite like “Pilgrim Rick” from This Is Us, and how Jack and Rebecca tried to make this Thanksgiving for their family just a little bit better.
In this Season 1 episode, horrible moments happen continuously, creating stress and mayhem for the Pearsons, ending with their car getting a flat tire and them having to take shelter in a sketchy rest area. But, in order to try and lighten the mood after a horrendous day, Jack takes the Pilgrim Rick hat from the front desk and starts to tell goofy stories in order to brighten the day, ending the night with everyone saying what they are thankful for.
It was the beginning of a Pearson family holiday tradition, one that makes me want to roast hotdogs on a furnace and wear that Pilgrim Hat.
When Rebecca Reassures Jack That Their Family Will “Endure” Despite Their Children’s Lives Changing (Season 5, “In The Room”)
In the Season 5 episode of This Is Us, “In The Room,” Jack and Rebecca were planning on having a getaway with the kids to their cabin, but it instead turns out to be a two-person trip, as their eighth-graders don’t want to come with them. Jack, being the man he is, frets that he is losing his children and that they’ll never be the same again or be as close.
Jack feels that they are running out of time, and he thinks that because he and Rebecca left their homes and never spoke to their parents again, the same thing would happen with their children.
Rebecca is actually the one to reassure Jack this time around, that their family is not like that and they have been great parents, and, using an old painting that now just looks like blotches that the kids one did, she says that the handprints from their lives are blended, and that they will always be together. That they would endure any changes that came their way as a family. Honestly, that’s something that I always love to hear, because these two are truly the backbone of the Pearsons and are such a great pair.
When Jack Tells Rebecca She’s The Family’s Engine (Season 3, “Her”)
Last but not least, we have the Season 3 episode, “Her.” In This Is Us, it’s often talked about how great of a husband and father Jack was, and while I do agree with that whole-heartedly, I can’t help but also point out that Rebecca is a queen and she really is also a great mother. And Jack says that, too.
In “Her,” Rebecca gets into a car crash and is hospitalized, and while in the hospital, Jack reveals to her that he truly does look at her as the family’s “engine,” the person who keeps their lives together whom they need in order to push forward. It’s a sweet moment, considering that this show is always so focused on showing the story of Jack, that we never quite get to see Rebecca get the praise she deserves, and it’s beautiful. Rebecca’s story has always been so emotional, and I, for one, can’t wait to see how they end it.
This Is Us has truly been a staple of my young adult years, and so has the relationship between Jack and Rebecca. Honestly, even when This Is Us comes to a close, I don’t think there will ever be another TV couple quite like these two.
