This Is Us Review: So Long, Marianne (Season 4 Episode 9)

The fall finale of This Is Us leaves us celebrating more than one milestone.

And we should be celebrating because This Is Us Season 4 Episode 9, “So Long, Marianne,” finally achieves the perfect Pearson Thanksgiving.

The Pearsons graciously invite two new members into the fold for dinner and make the bold choice to smother their guests with food rather than their own family baggage. That’s a big win for the series as we continue to put distance between Jack’s passing and the holiday.

But this wouldn’t be This Is Us if there weren’t a few surprises hiding in amongst the stuffing and smiles.

The decision to have Randall and Beth host Thanksgiving at their new home in Philadelphia is ultimately what allows this milestone episode enough room to breath — and succeed.

With four thanksgivings under this show’s belt, the holiday was in desperate need of a facelift. By creating new traditions and teasing their importance down the road, This Is Us manages to make this holiday a memorable staple of the series all over again.

Uprooting the Pearsons allows dynamics pushed aside by distance to strengthen. The gift of witnessing Kevin and Tess have a very hip conversation about memes, Zendaya, and coming out online is worth every mile of the logistical hassle.

Not to mention the devilishly evil heart to heart Beth and Kate sneak in before dinner that can’t even be outdone by Miguel and his stylish apron.

Despite the looming dread of mid-season, this episode gives us a rare glimpse of the Pearsons happy without any strings attached and confirms what everyone has been thinking — no Randall, that house is not considered downsizing.

It’s no Thanksgiving miracle that Nicky continues to establish himself as a season standout.

He has put in the work this season to be a better man and it’s paying off in ways one could never have predicted. We may have lost Jack but we just gained an uncle with his own loveable qualities.

Nicky not knowing Randall’s name or what Queer Eye is, just makes me love his presence on screen more. He keeps the Pearsons real.

It’s heartwarming to see Nicky come to the realization that while his name may not have been discussed much with Jack’s kids, his legacy was present in everything Jack taught them. He complains that Randall’s children know him as a stranger and then Randall discusses a song with Annie that Nick originally shared with Jack during their final thanksgiving together.

The tears welling up in Nicky’s eyes as Randall uses his uncle’s exact words to call the song a poem represents everything I love about the character dynamics of this show. Seeing Nick surrounded by people who love and accept him is a beautiful moment that elevates the family nature of this momentous episode.

At least one OG Pearson sibling got his happy ending.

What would a mid-season finale of This Is Us be without flash-forward shockers? They’ve become just as much a staple of this series as turkey has to Thanksgiving. Keeping with tradition, these flash-forward shockers hold little to be disappointed about.

The episode does a clever job establishing a timeline with Kevin promising Randall he will be married with kids by the time he turns 40, in 9 months. Moments later we can see a Happy Birthday banner as Kevin throws the words fiance and morning sickness around like they are nothing — when we know they are everything.

But with an episode willing to give us so much to be thankful for, there have to be some negatives as well. That comes in the form of Randall and Kevin no longer being on speaking terms 9 months later. It’s a tease that leaves a lot to be divulged considering how good their relationship is going right now.

I am a bit disappointed to hear more sibling squabbles are on the horizon considering how recent Kevin and Randall’s last feud feels. None the less, the flash-forward does its job beautifully, as we once again find ourselves nervously awaiting an answer as to why this future came to be.

While these shocking flash-forwards have come to be expected, a crafty This Is Us uses this reinventing season to propel its time-travelling game to new heights.

That starts with Rebecca’s thanksgiving red herring. It’s not necessary to question Rebecca’s day out on the town but it is necessary to question how her health has deteriorated so quickly. It takes a minute to wrap your mind around the twist that Rebecca is, in fact, in the future and not celebrating thanksgiving.

Thankfully, once you do you have the opportunity to appreciate this twist for previewing what is to come for the Big Three’s mother in 9 months and doing so in such a quiet and sneaky way.

I can’t help but love the use of Jack Jr.’s cameo on this episode. His appearance is brief but his purpose is felt through the rest of the installment. We now know that Nicky’s five pounds of shrimp tradition that he started with his brother will live on through the generations and become just as important to Jack Jr. as pilgrim Rick’s hat is to the Big Three.

That’s how you use time-travel and shrimp to pack an emotional punch.

I do like that this episode takes a break from past storylines (for the most part) to create new traditions in the present.

It would have been nice to see more of the family together and eating around a table at some point, rather than scattered on their own one-episode arcs. And don’t get me started on how completely unnecessary the avocado-gate drama is.

But we have to appreciate that This Is Us tries to do something different here with an untraditional Thanksgiving episode and pulls it off for the most part.

So take a moment to marvel in the warmth of this episode and try not to think about how long we’ll have to wait to see the Pearsons again.

What did you think of this episode of This Is Us? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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This Is Us will return with new episodes in 2020 on NBC.

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