Moonshadow is the eighteenth episode of the first season and the 18th overall episode of This Is Us.
Short Summary[]
In the Season 1 finale, Jack heads to Cleveland to make things right with Rebecca on the night of her first big gig with the band. Then, Randall, Kate, and Kevin make big decisions about their futures.
Full Summary[]
The story flashes back to before Jack and Rebecca met. Jack is working odd jobs as a mechanic, and an elderly customer, Mrs. Peabody, offers to set him up with a girl. Jack goes home to his abusive father who criticizes his lack of a steady job. With the dream of opening his own auto body shop, Jack goes to a mob-run poker game with his friend Darryl to get the money. He draws an extremely lucky first hand and wins big, but the mobsters beat him up and rob him of his winnings.
Rebecca’s friends are skeptical of her goal of becoming a singer. She gets rejected by a record label and decides to take a friend up on her offer to set her up on a date.
Rebecca goes to meet a man for her date. Jack sets up a plan with Darryl to rob a bar to make his money back, but he forgets that he had a date that night. It’s revealed that Jack and Rebecca’s dates aren’t with each other, but with different partners. Rebecca decides to leave her date early to go sing, and Jack is distracted from his robbery by a singing Rebecca in the bar.
Later in the timeline, Jack drives to Rebecca’s show while drunk. He arrives and continues ordering more drinks. Rebecca has stage fright before the show, and Ben calms her down, but then tries to kiss her. She calls home and gets no response. While she’s outside, Jack goes backstage, where Ben tells Jack he kissed her, and Jack punches Ben. Rebecca sees what happened and quits the band on the spot to drive Jack home instead of performing. Jack admits that he started drinking again weeks ago. Rebecca vents that her life has felt empty recently and accuses Jack of resenting her wanting more out of life. Jack tells her that her dream of singing is silly. They go to bed angry, and the next morning, Rebecca tells Jack he should move out for a while. Jack gives an impassioned romantic speech on the way out.
In the present, Kate reminisces about her mother and decides she wants to try being a singer. Kevin goes to meet with Ron Howard for the movie part. Randall tells Beth he wants to adopt another child.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Milo Ventimiglia as Jack Pearson
- Mandy Moore as Rebecca Pearson
- Sterling K. Brown as Randall Pearson
- Chrissy Metz as Kate Pearson
- Justin Hartley as Kevin Pearson
- Susan Kelechi Watson as Beth Pearson
- Chris Sullivan as Toby Damon
- Ron Cephas Jones as William Hill (credit only)
Guest Stars[]
- Alexandra Breckenridge as Sophie Inman
- Sam Trammell as Ben
- Peter Onorati as Stanley Pearson
- Jeremy Luke as Darryl Magee
- Debra Mooney as Mrs. Peabody
- Meryl Hathaway as Linda
- Sara Paxton as Kathryn
- Shaun Duke as Ray
- Darren Richardson as Alex
- Lauren Niemi as Marilyn Pearson
- Joe Conti as Blonde Banker
- Ricky Saenz as Bartender
- Hesley Harps as Hostess
- Josh Tessier as Bouncer
- Robert Dominick Jones as Doorman
- Crispin Alapag as Tattooed Player
- Richard Gleason as Nervous Player
- Erik Aude as Thug #1
- Sean Dillingham as Poker Dealer
- Kym Jackson as Cocktail Waitress
Music[]
Song | Performer | Scene |
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"" |
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Notes and Trivia[]
- This episode scored 12.84 million viewers.
Gallery[]
Episode Stills[]
Quotes[]
See Also[]
A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here. |
This Is Us Season 1 | |||||
#01 | "Pilot" | #07 | "The Best Washing Machine in the World" | #13 | "Three Sentences" |
#02 | "The Big Three" | #08 | "Pilgrim Rick" | #14 | "I Call Marriage" |
#03 | "Kyle" | #09 | "The Trip" | #15 | "Jack Pearson's Son" |
#04 | "The Pool" | #10 | "Last Christmas" | #16 | "Memphis" |
#05 | "The Game Plan" | #11 | "The Right Thing to Do" | #17 | "What Now?" |
#06 | "Career Days" | #12 | "The Big Day" | #18 | "Moonshadow" |