This Is Us producers say fans should brace for heartbreak with Kevin
By Josh Hill
This Is Us focused heavily on Kevin in last night’s episode, but it sounds like there’s a lot of heartbreak left to come.
Over the course of This Is Us, we’ve seen glimpses into who Kevin Pearson is as an adult, but we haven’t yet been able to dig too deep into his psyche. There are parallels between Jack and Kevin that continue to come up, with the episode Deja Vu being perhaps the dees cut we’ve seen.
Juxtaposed against the backstory of Jack going to AA in order deal with his drinking problem, we see Kevin bottling up when it comes to dealing with his father’s death. This happens most obviously when Sylvester Stallone brings up Jack’s death on the set of Kevin’s movie and throws him off during a scene they have to shoot. Kevin blames Kate for blabbing about Jack’s death to a (sorta?) stranger and thus pushes downs and deflects his feelings.
Kevin eventually admits that he has a problem with talking about Jack’s death, which is the first step in getting help. But his journey is far from over and the worst seems yet to come.
Elizabeth Berger told EW that fans should be prepared for Kevin to go through some stuff that won’t be easy.
"They should brace for Justin to give a heartbreakingly beautiful, nuanced performance. You got to see a hint of just how many layers are within Kevin last season, and you’re going to get even more this season. He’s giving an extraordinary performance with some tricky stuff."
One shot of the episode was absolutely soul-crushing, and it could highlight how devastating it will be when Kevin learns about Jack’s death. It’s a quick cut, but we see Kate coming up on Kevin’s car in what are the final moments of Kevin’s life before it all changes knowing his father is dead.
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We’re going to get that scene at some point this season, but the hardest part will be watching adult Kevin try to come to grips with something he’s bottled up for all his life. The only question is will it be too late or will Jack’s fear of having his children become “cavemen” come true?