Whether you consider This Is Us a deeply moving drama, a cheesy, schlocky soap, or an entertaining mix of both, it’s hard to deny just how big an influence the NBC series has had on pop culture since its debut in 2016. From the career revivals of Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia to the surge in similarly serious ensemble series like A Million Little Things and Little Fires Everywhere to the sheer number of awards bestowed on breakout star Sterling K. Brown, the impact of This Is Us has been substantial. And as the show enters its sixth and final season tonight, the pressure on its cast and crew to solidify that legacy is higher than ever.
What those 16 episodes will contain is of course a mystery, but knowing This Is Us, it’s safe to assume there’ll be plenty of twists and turns — plus probably a whole lot of shirtless Justin Hartley thrown in for good measure. As it’s the show’s last season, prepare for some serious time jumps and cliffhangers, too, although hopefully at least a handful of the many various plot threads left hanging at the end of last year (Who is Kevin dating? What’s Rebecca’s health deal? Is Kate getting married again?!) will get wrapped up before long.
If you need your memory refreshed before season six arrives or if you’ve never watched the show before but feel like tuning in this time around to see what chaos awaits in the final episodes, we’ve rounded up the 18 most essential This Is Us episodes. Keep in mind that these aren’t necessarily the best hours of the series or the wildest but the episodes that most encapsulate the high drama, emotional heft, and “holy crapâ€â€“ism at its core.
“Pilot†(Season 1, Episode 1)
It is impossible to talk about This Is Us without mentioning the pilot, a whammy of an hour that introduces the show’s large cast of characters and features the first of its many, many surprise endings. When it’s revealed in the episode’s last minutes that Rebecca (Moore) and Jack (Ventimiglia) have lost a triplet only to adopt an abandoned newborn at the hospital and complete the origin story of the Big Three, it’s the perfect combination of “Wait, really?!†and “Oh wait, there were clues all along …â€
“The Pool†(Season 1, Episode 4)
The first of many This Is Us episodes to tackle race head-on, “The Pool†gets into the complications of white parents raising a Black child, especially in the ’80s. It’s not the show’s best attempt at discussing the nuanced matter (those would come much later on), but it’s still a moving, thought-provoking hour that sets up some of the series’s most long-lasting conflicts.
“Memphis†(Season 1, Episode 16)
Ah, the William episode. One of This Is Us’s finest early offerings, “Memphis†focuses solely on Randall’s (Sterling K. Brown) burgeoning relationship with his biological father (Ron Cephas Jones) as the duo visit William’s hometown of Memphis. It’s an intimate, highly effective hour featuring A+ performances from its central duo and a heartbreaker of an ending.
“Number Three†(Season 2, Episode 10)
The third in a trio of season-two installments spotlighting pivotal moments in each of the triplets’ lives, “Number Three†is notable for the insight it provides not just into its subject, Randall, but his complicated, often fraught bonds with the primary men in his life, Jack and Kevin (Hartley). The flashbacks are revealing, yet it’s the present-day scenes, in which Randall channels his late father’s wisdom in dealing with potential foster daughter Deja (Lyric Ross) and an alcoholic Kevin, that hint at the Randall fans would come to know so well.
“Super Bowl Sunday†(Season 2, Episode 14)
Oh, boy. Even if you’ve never watched a minute of the show, you definitely know “Super Bowl Sunday,†in which the mystery of Jack’s death is finally revealed through a gut punch of a twist — he survives a house fire after guiding Rebecca, the kids, and the dog to safety, only to die from cardiac arrest caused by smoke inhalation. There’s a reason this episode was the most-watched hour of a TV drama since House’s own Super Bowl installment in 2008; it’s truly iconic.
“This Big, Amazing, Beautiful Life†(Season 2, Episode 17)
One of the best decisions This Is Us’s writers ever made was to bring in the character of Deja, a quiet, wise-beyond-her-years teenage girl who becomes part of Randall and Beth’s lives. In this season-two installment, we learn how Deja’s chaotic, often traumatic upbringing made her who she is, giving a valuable window into one of the show’s most interesting and complicated figures.
“Vietnam†(Season 3, Episode 4)
The other best character to ever join the This Is Us crew? Nicky (Griffin Dunne), the hardened, lonely veteran who was presumed dead after Vietnam only to stun everyone with his reappearance. This episode is the first to provide detail into what happened to Nicky and Jack in the war and sets the stage for many more surprises involving the duo to follow.
“Our Little Island Girl†(Season 3, Episode 13)
Although Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) gets a fair amount of screen time during the series’s first few seasons, it’s not until “Our Little Island Girl†that the dancer gets to take center stage, literally and figuratively. It’s hugely fascinating to witness, over several decades, her ballet dreams take shape, get crushed, and eventually re-form with the help of Randall and her mother (Phylicia Rashad).
“The Waiting Room†(Season 3, Episode 15)
At last, a Kate episode worth writing about. The only female member of the Big Three, Kate (Chrissy Metz) historically had the least interesting storylines on the show, but that changed with “The Waiting Room.†In this installment, she gives birth to Jack, her son with Toby (Chris Sullivan), only to learn that he’s on a ventilator and might have disabilities if he survives. It’s a moving episode that finally gives Kate (and Metz) something real to work with.
“Her†(Season 3, Episode 18)
“Her†isn’t the first This Is Us episode with a jaw-dropping flash-forward, but it’s certainly the most memorable. Toward the end of this season three finale, we see several, much-older Pearsons gather at Kevin’s home to visit a sick, potentially dying Rebecca, raising big questions that wouldn’t be answered for a while longer — and some that still haven’t been.
“Strangers†(Season 4, Episode 1)
As expected, the premiere of season four doesn’t resolve any of those lingering questions but instead takes a serious swerve by dropping in several new characters, including Malik (Asante Blackk) and Kate and Toby’s now-adult son, Jack (Blake Stadnik), over various timelines. Bringing in new blood was a smart move for the show, acting as a reminder that This Is Us can be many things, but never predictable.
“So Long, Marianne†(Season 4, Episode 9)
This Is Us’s Thanksgiving episodes are always biggies, and “So Long, Marianne†is no exception. While both the Nicky and Deja storylines are compelling, it’s Rebecca’s forgetful trip to the movies that steals the show — especially when we learn at the very end that the scene actually takes place a year later during a time in which Kevin has a pregnant fiancée (?!) and is estranged from Randall (?!?!).
“A Hell of a Week: Part One†(Season 4, Episode 11)
In the first hour of this three-part saga, Randall’s debilitating anxiety — which has previously been hinted at but not shown in full — comes to a frightening head, thanks to a home invasion and resulting nightmares. When he collapses in tears on the floor and calls Kevin for help, it’s a major, important breakthrough for the typically stoic character.
“The Cabin†(Season 4, Episode 14)
So much happens in this episode! Back in the ’90s, a teenage Kate has a terrible weekend in the family cabin with her abusive boyfriend, while in the present, Kevin learns about Rebecca’s Alzheimer’s and the whole gang digs up the time capsule Rebecca and Jack buried years earlier. It’s all very emotional and very This Is Us.
“Forty†(Season 5, Episode 1)
Another drama-filled season premiere, the two-hour “Forty†sheds light on William’s struggles and Randall’s birth, Rebecca’s deteriorating health, Kevin and Madison’s (Caitlin Thompson) baby-filled future, and Randall’s relationship with his white family — all while the pandemic rages and the Pearsons enter quarantine. What a doozy!
“Birth Mother†(Season 5, Episode 6)
If many of the episodes on this list are Randall-centric, it’s only because the character has consistently been given the most to do and Brown’s stellar work makes it endlessly watchable. In “Birth Mother,†Randall and Beth head to New Orleans to meet the Vietnamese man who loved his birth mother, and the events provide the most anxiety-ridden Pearson with the cathartic release he’s badly needed.
“In The Room†(Season 5, Episode 8)
Introducing the new Big Three! With the arrival of Kevin and Madison’s twins as well as Kate and Toby’s daughter via surrogate, a new generation of “triplets†is born, sweetly paving the way for the show’s future.
“The Adirondacks†(Season 5, Episode 16)
The last episode of This Is Us before the new season arrives, “The Adirondacks†marks some crucial changes for the Pearsons & Co. Sure, Kevin and Madison calling off their wedding is a big deal, but it’s not nearly as intriguing as Kate and Toby’s marriage continuing to dissolve, Kevin taking on Jack’s house-construction project, and of course that five-year flash-forward, in which Kate’s marrying Phillip (Chris Geere), Nicky is already married to someone, Randall’s political star has skyrocketed, and Kevin is dating … someone. Will the season-six premiere resolve some of those mysteries? Eh, probably not — this is This Is Us after all, and the show loves nothing more than to keep us guessing as long as possible.