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Losing a loved one, especially a parent, is hard, and the latest episode of This Is Us Season 6 sheds light on this highly sensitive subject.
Directed by Jessica Yu and written by Elan Mastai, Don't Let Me Keep You, revolves around Jack's struggle with grief over his mother's death. The first Jack-centric episode of the season highlights the regrets and distance one realizes after it's too late.
'This Is Us' Season 6 Episode 4: Recap
This Is Us Season 6 Episode 4 opens with Jack preparing to leave for Ohio to attend his mother's funeral. In a flashback, Jack drives his mother from Pennsylvania to Ohio to get her settled with her cousin, Debby. This comes after Marylin left her abusive husband Stanley and moved in with her friend for a while.
Jack decides to stay in touch with his mother by setting up a weekly call with her on Sunday nights at 6:00 pm, although Marylin doesn't want to bother. He also promises to visit her every now and then, the distance grows between them as time goes on.
Sunday night calls
After a few Sunday night calls with his mother, Jack seems almost annoyed as silence falls after their small talk, and Marylin hangs up saying "Don't let me keep you." Once again, she doesn't want to cause any disruption to her son's life in This Is Us.
Marylin hopes her grandkids Kate, Kevin and Randall will visit her Ohio one day and go ice skating together. But Jack reminds her that they are too young and wishes Marylin would come back to Pennsylvania to meet them. But she makes excuses to hide her fear of Stanley finding her.
When she finally visits Jack, she's consumed by fear and is always on high-alert, making Stanley a lingering ghost in her life.
Return to Ohio
Viewers of This Is Us are familiar with how the past impacts the future of the series. At the beginning of this episode, Jack insists on dealing with his mother's death alone. Like his mother, he doesn't want to cause inconvenience to others around him, so he tells Rebecca to stay home with the kids. According to him, taking triplets on a four-hour car ride in the middle of a blizzard is not ideal.
Upon his arrival at Debby's house, she taunts that it took him 13 years to visit. Jack learns that he never really knew his mom after discovering her love for poetry, her cat and her boyfriend Mike. He realizes how much she shined without Stanley and how much those Sunday night calls meant to her.
Moments missed out
Guilt takes over Jack as he realizes how much of Marylin's life he missed out on. He never took his kids to visit their grandmother or ice skate with her and now it's too late. He decides to call his father and take out his anger on him.
On this drunken phone call, he blames Stanley for looming over their heads and keeping them apart even in his absence. He further warns Stanley not to come to the funeral but Stanley still tells him he'll do what he pleases. But Jack gets another surprise at the funeral in This Is Us.
The final goodbye
Throughout this episode of This Is Us Season 6, Jack is seen struggling to write a eulogy for his mother's funeral. After the phone call with Stanley, Jack calls Rebecca and tells her about the same.
At the funeral, Jack finds himself speechless while trying to give his eulogy. But then he sees Rebecca, Kevin, Kate and Randall walk in, which gives him the push he needs. He then thanked Marylin's friends for helping her build a new house and a better life, just like what Rebecca and the kids did for him. He ends his eulogy with "OK, Ma. Don’t let me keep you."
Favorite memory
After the funeral, Jack finally takes his kids ice skating with Rebecca, Debby and Mike. Jack recalls his mother's favorite memory - making hot dogs and tomato soup for little Jack after he came back from playing in the snow. So, Jack made the same dish for the Big Three.
But, in the middle of the meal, he walks out of the room and everything sinks in. He tells Rebecca that he does not have a mom anymore and breaks down in front of her. Rebecca hugs him and after a while, he puts on a brave face and returns to the dining table to sit with his kids.
Stream the latest episode of This Is Us Season 6, now available on NBC, Hulu, Peacock, and Hotstar.
