The beginning of the end is near! In just a few short days, This Is Us’ sixth season will premiere on NBC, and fans will begin to say goodbye to the Pearson family, whom we’ve watched grow from childhood to old age (in nonlinear fashion) over the span of six years. But before we shed our final tears, showrunner Dan Fogelman has a lot of work to do, as he’s been laying down various mysteries for the previous five seasons. The time for answers has come, and answers we will get!
The whole show seems to be leading up to a 2034 timeline, where the Big Three, their spouses and children are gathering at the huge, gorgeous house that Kevin built to fulfill his father’s dream. Pearson matriarch Rebecca appears to be dying, and while we’ve checked off a good number of the family members — Randall’s whole family is there, Kevin and his kids, Toby and Nicky — we’re still on the lookout for a few others. That’s not even mentioning the Kate bombshell that was dropped in the Season 5 finale. So let’s take a look at the biggest mysteries we're still curious about going into the Season 6 premiere.
Who Is Kevin’s Wife?
In the 2034 flash forward, Kevin and his twins are there with Rebecca, and Kevin is wearing a wedding band, but his wife remains unknown. While we all expected Kevin to marry the twins’ mother Madison at the end of Season 5, we were shocked to find out that we'd jumped five years into the future for Kate and Phillip's wedding, and what we thought were Kevin’s vows were actually from his speech as the officiant.
In the current timeline, Kevin and Madison did not go through with their wedding, but did they ever work things out? They clearly still had a good relationship in the future, but was it romantic in nature or just good co-parenting? Did Kevin get back together with first wife and childhood love Sophie? They did always seem pretty end game, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see her again.
How Do Kate And Phillip Get Together?
This was a big Season 5 shocker. Kate and Phillip didn’t get off to a great start teaching together, and even though that situation improved when Phillip saw how good Kate was with the students, I’d describe their early relationship as “tolerant.” Factor in that Kate and Toby are still freaking married in the current timeline and seemed to be working through their issues in the Season 5 finale — just moments before we jumped five years into the future to see Kate in a wedding dress and Phillip calling himself Kevin’s future brother-in-law. How. Did. We. Get. Here?
Where Is Kate In 2034?
Randall convinced Toby to gather with them at Kevin’s house in 2034 because “she would want you here.” But is “she” Rebecca or Kate? Toby (sans wedding band) said he talked to his son Jack, and “they” are on their way. This could be Jack and his sister Hailey, or Jack and his wife and child. It’s possible that Kate is with one of her kids — or with Phillip, of course — but we haven’t heard anyone ask, “When is Kate getting here?” which is concerning in a show that devastates us at every juncture.
Is Malik The Father Of Deja’s Baby?
The Pearson family tree is growing! We got a pretty solid look at Randall’s daughters in one flash-forward, where we learn that Deja is pregnant, but hasn’t shared that news with anyone except her sister Annie. Did Deja and Malik go the distance? The teenagers saw some bumps in the road in Season 5, with the mother of Malik’s child wanting to be more involved in Janelle’s life, but both Malik and Deja are mature for their age because of their life experiences, so it’s possible they’re still going strong. Any way it goes, if we’re considering a This Is Us spinoff, Randall’s daughters are where it’s at.
Where Is Miguel?
The final season of This Is Us is going to provide fans with "one of the saddest moments" when it delves into why Rebecca and Miguel lost touch after Jack's death, and that's before they reunited and eventually married each other. So while we know Miguel will play a key role in Season 6, we’re a little concerned that he’s not the one at Rebecca’s bedside in 2034. Mandy Moore added fuel to the fire of concern with comments to EW that made it sound like something dire could happen. We wouldn’t be talking about the possibility of something happening to Miguel if nothing were going to happen, would we? There’s a long-held fan theory about why Jack’s brother Nicky is the one sitting with Rebecca in the future timeline, which leads us to our next mystery.
Who Is Nicky Married To?
Nicky is shown in the 2034 timeline wearing a wedding band, so is it possible that Miguel dies and Nicky marries Rebecca? In her declining health, does she mistake Nicky for his brother? This theory is pretty disturbing to me, so I’m hoping Nicky’s love life goes in another direction. In Season 5, we saw Nicky making an attempt to reconnect with Sally, “the one who got away” when he was younger. Maybe we'll see Sally popping up in Season 6, or maybe Nicky is married to someone we haven’t even met yet.
Why Is Randall A Rising Star?
At the end of Season 5, when Kevin is getting ready to officiate Kate and Phillip’s wedding, we see a magazine on the dresser opened to a cover story about “Rising Star” Randall Pearson. No longer just the stripping councilman, are we, Randall? So where have Randall’s political aspirations taken him? Governor? Senator? President?! Whatever the office, he’d have my vote.
Who’s In The White Car?
It’s the most mysterious of mysteries and could be answered by pretty much any of the above questions. Randall tells Deja, “Look who’s here,” as a white car pulls up to Kevin's house in the future timeline, but its occupants are left unknown. Is it Madison or Sophie? Is it Kate and Phillip, or Jack and Hailey? Nicky’s wife, maybe? Malik and Janelle? Gosh this show loves to stress us out. For all we know, we haven’t even met the mystery driver yet.
We’re about to get the answers to all of these questions, and probably more, as I don’t think now is when This Is Us is going to break form and stop shocking us with its twists and turns. The final season premieres at 9 p.m. ET, Tuesday, January 4, on NBC. Be sure to check out our 2022 TV Schedule to see what other shows will be debuting as the Pearsons' final season gets underway.
