Four episodes remain for NBC’s emotional family drama This Is Us, and as creator Dan Fogelman works to wrap up all the plot points that he’s planted throughout the six seasons, members of the cast keep giving fans little hints of what’s left to come. Milo Ventimiglia said he was “incredibly devastated” when he learned how the series would end, while Mandy Moore said she threw up after reading the second-to-last script. Sterling K. Brown predicted ugly crying, and he actually followed through with a tearful plea for Moore to win an Emmy. The latest to cough up some intriguing details was Chris Geere, who spoke perhaps too openly about This Is Us’ final scene.
Chris Geere is still a relative newcomer to the Pearson collective, as he plays Kate’s second husband Phillip. Along with Chrissy Metz and Chris Sullivan, Geere has been a key factor in the gut-wrenching ride through time as viewers witnessed the end of Kate and Toby’s marriage and how she came to fall in love again with the music teacher at her son Jack’s school. Geere talked to NBC Insider about the final episodes, and he provided what is possibly a spoilery detail about the NBC drama's last scene:
We just got our schedule for the end, and the last day will be everyone in the last scene. So, I think that's gonna be quite an emotional day. I’ve taken on the task of looking after Chrissy, as Phillip is looking after Kate. I can see that the emotion is very present in all of them.
Really, Chris Geere’s “spoiler” just leads to more questions. With the timeline-jumping nature of the show, how is it possible to get everyone into the same scene? With Jack Pearson having died when the Big Three were teenagers, he rarely shows up in the current and future timelines. It does happen, to be sure, including in “Day of the Wedding,” when Rebecca kept confusing Kevin for Jack as she struggled with her worsening Alzheimer’s. Geere also didn’t specify when the last scene takes place, so that makes it even harder to speculate what that sequence could entail. He may also have been using the term "everyone" loosely, but I'm inclined to believe he wasn't.
Will it be like Six Feet Under — arguably the greatest series finale of all time — and provide additional context for what happens outside of the show's narrative? Will it be like Lost’s still-confusing final episode, which had its own spin on characters all coming together? My excitement to find out is equal to my anguish that This Is Us is really coming to an end.
It's a sweet sentiment that Chris Geere wants to take care of Chrissy Metz just as his character would support his wife, and it reminds me of the series’ ultimate couple Jack and Rebecca (who are totally marriage goals), and the way Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore exchanged vows ahead of playing husband and wife on the show. With Geere being so in tune with Metz’s feelings, what did he have to say about the penultimate episode, whose script caused Metz to not be able to catch her breath? The actor said:
I can say Episode 17, the fans are just gonna go crazy. It’s one of the sweetest, saddest episodes of TV I’ve ever done — so much so, people are genuinely crying their eyes out during various takes. It's somber, but there's so much gratitude on set at the moment. Everyone’s really aware of where we’re at in terms of nearing the end. It’s just a wonderful energy, and there’s a lot of scenes with all of us together, which I think has been really nice.
I think it’s safe to say This Is Us isn’t going to let up on the intensity in its final episodes. Stock up on your tissues, because the drama returns Tuesday, May 3, at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. With This Is Us coming to an end, be sure to check out our 2022 TV Schedule to see what shows could help to fill the void.
