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Why Mandy Moore was triggered by a This Is Us season 2 storyline

By Reed Gaudens

HOLLYWOOD, CA - AUGUST 14: Mandy Moore attends FYC Panel Event for 20th Century Fox and NBC's 'This Is Us' at Paramount Studios on August 14, 2017 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
HOLLYWOOD, CA - AUGUST 14: Mandy Moore attends FYC Panel Event for 20th Century Fox and NBC's 'This Is Us' at Paramount Studios on August 14, 2017 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images) /
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Are we in for an avalanche of tears in Season 2? According to This Is Us star Mandy Moore, the triggers arrive earlier than ever.

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Batten down the hatches, This Is Us fans! You know a storyline will wash over us like a tidal wave of emotion when series star and noted lightweight Mandy Moore (no shade to our queen) has already shed a few tears over an upcoming storyline. And when Moore hit the red carpet for the show’s Emmys FYC panel, she teased an early “trigger” that’s hitting close to home.

By and large, this isn’t news to loyal This Is Us viewers. We’re prepared for any and all emotion, however the series may serve it up. But in Season 2, the Pearson clan won’t be going home — they’re going big and digging deeper. In the first season, a fair amount of world building and getting to know the characters kept the series from delving into the meatier complexities of the Pearson family. Decades-developed behavioral patterns and rocky parental relationships were merely touched upon in the freshman run. But Mandy Moore’s latest hint at the feels to come confirm the best case scenario: We’re diving in. And a particular arc about mothers and daughters struck a chord with Mama Pearson.

Without question, the mother-daughter storyline leaving Moore with emotional aftershocks revolves around Rebecca and Kate, who maintain a tense relationship in present day. While we’re no exactly sure what the pair will be facing in Season 2, the story resonated with the actress. As Mandy Moore spilled to Extra:

"“There was a trigger in, like, the second episode for me around mothers and daughters that I was like, ‘Whoa! I have some issues with my mom that I clearly have to work out.’ Because this is really hitting a nerve with me.”"

Could this nerve be bigger than Rebecca and Kate? Even though their strain evolved over time because of fundamental disparities, the series could ultimately be going for the emotional jugular with Beth and her daughters. With Beth and Randall mulling over an adoption, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Tess and Annie could feel as though they are losing their mother’s love.

https://www.facebook.com/extra/videos/10155054939004755/

Next: Mandy Moore's 10 most underrated deep cuts

Of course, there’s the possibility of a walloping one-two punch. Kate and Rebecca’s differences deserve to be healed, and Beth needs bigger stories. Regardless of whether This Is Us explores Beth’s relationship with her young daughters or repairs the cracks in Rebecca and Kate’s, we will all be sobbing messes reaching for the phone to call our mothers. And should Rebecca and Kate turn to a duet musical performance to return to harmony, forget it. We’re all goners.

What do you think Season 2 has up its sleeve? Let us know in the comments, and keep the conversation going on Twitter!

This Is Us returns for Season 2 on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 9/8c on NBC.

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