This is Us season 6 episode 4: Jack’s mom and how the simple things stick

This Is Us spoilers ahead if you are not caught up!

Picking up from last week’s This Is Us somber cliffhanger (what else did you expect?), Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) prepares both his travel and emotional baggage for the funeral of his mother. A four-hour drive to Ohio through a less than inviting blizzard with triplets sways Jack to make the journey solo.

His time alone on the road triggers the memory of him assisting his Mom, Marilyn (Laura Niemi), in relocating away from Jack’s  alcohol induced abusive father. After an awkward reconnection with cousin Debbie, whom Marilyn had been staying with these past 13 years, Jack begins to fill in the blanks of his mother’s life. Empty spaces existing due to his professional and parental obligations that kept him from spending quality time with and understanding Marilyn.

Spaces from Marilyn’s personality that Jack would discover include her charming boyfriend Mike (with appearances mimicking the offspring of a Neanderthal and Santa Clause), Marilyn’s love for cats, poetry, and steamy romance novels.

At the service, Jack perseveres through an astounding eulogy with the help of a surprise appearance from his children and sympathetic wife Rebecca (Mandy Moore). When the Pearson family returns to their home, Jack is overwhelmed as the reality of his deceased mother settles in. Though the tears are intense on Rebecca’s shoulders, in classic Jack fashion, he gathers himself and embraces in the light that is the comfort of his family.

This is Us season 6 episode 4 highlights how the simple things stick

Whether you are from the suburbs of Pittsburg or not, This is Us could possibly be one of the most introspective dramas to broadcast tv screens in the last decade. Creator and show runner Dan Fogelman week-over-week taps into very specific experiences common in every family relationship. Last night, it was that routine phone call to a family member inconveniently too far away for frequent visits. We all have a relative, sibling, or parent whom we do not see as often as we should. A relationship fabricated on scripted questions and answers over phone lines such as:

“What’s new?”

“Not much. You?”

“Oh, same old, same old. How are the kids?”

“Growing so fast.”

“Are you going to visit soon?”

“Wel’l see, we’ll see…”

The obligatory conversation we know all too well inspired the name of this week’s episode: “Don’t Let Me Keep You.” I mean, during those phone calls, we suddenly become the busiest human beings alive and refer on impulse to say, “Something came up…” and abruptly end the call, right? The Pearson family reminds us of the individual on the other side of that phone call.

Posthumously through Mike, we learn those phone calls to her son Jack meant the world and then some to Marilyn, regardless of the superficiality sometimes. Marilyn recounts how looking out the window and watching the snow fall in the company of her son as he ate his favorite post-play meal was one of her fondest memories.

Perhaps the power of a memory lies in the mundane, when we can marinate in the feelings and thoughts in the shared moment of people we love and who love us. Perhaps consistency of checking in and letting your relatives know you are thinking of them is just as or even more important than sporadic flashes of kind gestures.

With still 14 episodes to go in the season, many questions need answers and many lessons are to be learned from the Pearsons and company. Simple and applicable, T.I.U. The Final Chapter continues to lead the way, and now it is our turn to emulate that same level of compassion. With all that being said, “don’t let me hold you.”