Asking if we’re a fan of This Is Us is totally a rhetorical question. Of course we love this TV drama about the adorable Jack and Rebecca Pearson and their three interesting kids, Randall, Kate, and Kevin. Well, we love it when we’re not ugly crying through five boxes of tissues… and even then we’re still fans because it’s just that good.
Thankfully, this family drama was renewed for a second season, and we can get ready for what is sure to be a beautiful, moving, and impressive batch of new episodes starting on September 26. While season one was the perfect pilot season — better than we could ever dream of for a TV show — it definitely left us with lots of questions. While we need them answered, we definitely have some strong opinions about what we think should happen in the lives of our favorite fictional family…
1. How Did Jack Die?
By now we all know that Jack Pearson (played by the too-hot-for-words actor, Milo Ventimiglia) dies. That’s just a given. What we don’t know (and what has been driving fans crazy) is how his life ends. While we want to see this happen, we don’t want his death to be super tragic. That’s just too much to take. Any This Is Us fan would probably agree that someone that beautiful can’t die in a terrible way. Hopefully, the TV gods agree that it just can’t happen that way.
2. How Did Rebecca and Miguel Get Together?
We were all shocked when we saw that Rebecca had moved on after losing Jack… and she had moved on with his BFF, Miguel. To use a super big cliché, we didn’t see that coming.
Sure, the show has focused on how this has caused a lot of tension between Miguel and Kevin, but Miguel and Rebecca’s love story hasn’t been shared. It would be great to see a flashback about how they decided to embark on a relationship because quite frankly, the idea sounds pretty offensive right now. There must be a good story there.
If Rebecca could also say that she has never forgotten Jack and still loves him, that would be good, too.
3. How Did Randall and Beth Meet?
Randall is one of the best TV characters ever. He’s sweet, sensitive, and we just want to give him a big hug every time he walks on screen. His wife, Beth, is awesome too. She’s tough but not too tough and they make a great couple. It would be awesome to see how Randall and Beth met in a flashback. We can’t help but be curious about how Randall found love and happiness after having such a difficult childhood. We’re always going to be rooting for him and this is one piece of his story that has been missing from the show so far.
4. How Did Kevin Get Famous?
Sure, we saw Kevin acting on The Manny in the first few episodes of the first season, and we know that he got cast on the sitcom and shot to fame pretty much ASAP. What we don’t know is exactly how he became such a successful actor.
What was that process like? Did he struggle for a long time before landing that role, or was it super easy from the beginning because of his looks? If the second season of This Is Us can tell us how Kevin made this happen for himself, we would be happy. It seems like a pretty obvious flashback, right?
5. Will Kate Ever Have a Storyline That Doesn’t Involve Her Weight?
It was great that This Is Us wanted to focus on a female character who is not a size zero and someone who lots of people can relate to. But just like the brilliant actress Chrissy Metz doesn’t want to talk about her weight 24/7, we don’t want to see her character, Kate, have to talk much more about it, either. Kate is a cool girl who has a lot going for her and it would be nice to see a storyline featuring her that doesn’t have to do with her size or body image since season one really laid on thick with that being her defining characteristic. Maybe she can get her dream job or something? Just a thought!
6. Will Randall Quit His Job?
It’s no secret that Randall has had a tough time lately. The scene featuring him having a panic attack at the office was truly moving and emotional, especially when Kevin left the opening of his own play to help him.
Oh man. We’re crying just thinking about it.
Although Randall’s shot to the top in his career, it’s pretty obvious he’s not finding it super fulfilling — especially with all the other emotional stuff happening in his life. His strict (and fairly unsympathetic) boss and a coworker who’s encroaching his territory don’t make this job look like Randall’s prime opportunity. It would be cool to see Randall quit his job and start his own business. He would be so much happier and if anyone can do it — it’s Randall.
7. Where is Kevin’s Career Headed?
Kevin has slowly been moving away from the whole Hollywood scene and doesn’t seem to care about being a dreamboat actor anymore (even though, of course, he’s still incredibly cute).
What if Kevin wrote a play or a screenplay in season two of This Is Us? At the very least, it would be pretty funny to see him struggle with classic issues like writer’s block or being afraid to be vulnerable on the page. Maybe he could even write a play about his experiences as part of The Big Three and losing his dad. We would be into it.
8. Are Randall and Beth Adopting a Baby?
In the season one finale, Randall told Beth that he wanted to have another baby, and it seemed like all signs were pointing to adoption. We would love to see Randall as the dad of a baby and we would love it even more if the new family member helped him bond with his sister and brother. He’s not super close with Kevin or Kate — although it seems like they are making strides in that direction. Maybe something like this would connect them for good. It’s not too much to ask for The Big Three to be super tight, is it?
9. Why Is Kate So Guilty Over Her Dad’s Death?
We don’t know a lot about Jack’s death (at least, not yet), but we do know that Kate blames herself for what happened. That’s just dark AF and is way too much for anyone to deal with.
Once we know how Jack passed away, we think that Kate should go to therapy so she can learn to face her guilt and move on. She really won’t be able to feel good about herself and be truly happy until she handles this aspect of her life. We’re just going to get the tissues ready right now.
10. Will Kate and Toby Actually Head Down the Aisle?
A wedding is always TV gold. If it’s a drama, then it’s even better since we just know that something is going to go wrong… and then everything will go right at the very last second. We’ll be glued to the screen the entire time. We definitely want to see Toby and Kate get married in the second season of This Is Us but it seems a little too-good-to-be-true at this point.
We’ve heard about this wedding for so long. Toby even almost died. It’s time that they make their love official but could it actually happen so early on in the series?
11. What’s Rebecca’s Life With Miguel Like Today?
We’ve seen Rebecca in brief present-day scenes, like when she and Miguel are celebrating big events with Rebecca’s kids. It would be interesting to see what their relationship is like today and to compare that to what it was like when she was dating and then married to Jack. This seems like something the show will definitely do at some point, but we would love it to be a feature of season two.
12. What Really Went Down With Kevin and Sophie?
We already know that Kevin and Sophie met as kids and were pretty much a thing from elementary school on. We don’t know when their first date was, what age they were when they got serious, what it was like when they graduated college and went to college, and when they got engaged. Since This Is Us is so spot-on with the flashbacks, maybe an entire episode could be dedicated to this duo!
We would love to swoon even more over this lovely couple — though obviously, Kevin’s cheating will have to hold a major part in the episode which would be tough to watch.
13. What Does the Future Hold for Kevin and Sophie?
Oh, Kevin and Sophie. How cute was it when we learned that Kevin first started crushing on her when they were kids?! It was heartbreaking to learn that they had actually gotten married and then split up years and years before the pilot. Now that they’re back together, we need to see how the relationship progresses and how their past relationship affects it. We would love for them to get engaged eventually, but we’re trying to be cool about it.
14. Will Jack’s “Ghost” Make More Appearances?
When the family went to their cabin last season, Randall saw Jack’s ghost during an accidental drug trip, and it was pretty much the best TV moment ever. Of course, we would say that about basically every time that we see Milo and Randall on screen together (hellloooo, eye-candy!). Jack helped his son realize that the drama that Randall was going through with Rebecca was unintentional and that there was a way for them to heal and move on. We definitely wouldn’t say no to Jack appearing as a ghost of sorts again on season two of This Is Us. If his spirit could appear in every single episode, that would be cool with us, too.
15. What’s Happening With Randall and Beth’s Kids?
Randall and Beth’s kids, Annie and Tess, are absolutely adorable. It would be cool to see them going through something of their own that doesn’t necessarily involve their family. Let’s face it, Tess is at peak middle school drama years and we’d like to see a glimpse into that. Plus, it’d be interesting to see what their relationship is with Miguel considering he’s been around for most (if not all) of their lives. It seems like it’s only a matter of time before everyone accepts Miguel and maybe Tess and Annie could be the bridge.
16. Will An Episode Ever Leave Us Tears-Free?
Sure, we get that This Is Us is a pretty sad show and the tears are going to keep flowing this new season. We get that… but we still want a happy storyline that doesn’t make us cry. Just one. What can we say? We love all of these characters and we want the best for them and they’ve been hit by tragedy after tragedy. (We know it’s a drama but still!) TBH, even if something joyous does happen, we’re totally going to cry… but this time, they’ll be happy tears.