This Is Us Review: After the Fire (Season 4 Episode 17)

This season’s penultimate episode is a tough pill to swallow, but it is also the breakthrough we’ve desperately been waiting for This Is Us to have.

This Is Us Season 4 Episode 17, “After the Fire,” tackles the hypothetical with a bottled therapy session that explores Randall’s delusions surrounding the night of the fire and Jack’s chances of surviving.

The Jack-centric episode is not just a tear-jerker. It is cruel, calculated, and whimsical even. At a time where many would be looking for lighter entertainment to distract them, this dense therapy session doesn’t shy away from the darker corners of this drama series.

And that’s not necessarily a bad thing as this meticulously crafted episode reminds us of why we fell in love with this particularly devastating form of storytelling — because it’s darn good!

In a move that feels reminiscent of a Mr. Robot plot device, This Is Us does not show us an unbias version of reality where Jack lived. From the beginning, we are told this is Randall’s version of that fantasy and so everything we are experiencing is what he is feeling — for better or for worst.

That means much of this episode is a lie, with characters taking on personalities that are reflective of Randall’s greatest delusions. In Randall’s worst version of Jack surviving, his father becomes an alcoholic who detests his wife, and in the best version, Randall imagines a man who is too perfect, even for the Jack Pearson we know.

It’s all rather brilliant of This Is Us.

Randall’s anxiety and PTSD are greatly affecting the way he sees his circumstances and the series finds a way to translate those feelings into the plot in small impactful ways.

“After the Fire” puts much of this season’s upward momentum on the line in hopes we will be intuned enough with the Pearsons by now to know when they are acting out of character and why.

The result is a brilliantly executed therapy session that allows us to sit alongside Randall on that couch as valuable spectators.

We get to watch Randall’s psyche come into focus through a clouded lens of intriguing “what ifs” as these scenarios play with the idea of family power dynamics and pairings. From grand wedding toasts to Kevin’s part in Jack’s family business, This Is Us does not rob of us of the opportunities this alternate world presents.

This episode also enriches the relationship at the heart of this season — Randall and Rebecca. Within these two timelines, the series forces this mother-son relationship under a microscope and reveals important truths that only further the authenticity of their complicated dynamic.

This first “what if” episode of This Is Us is not as heartbreaking as we initially expected. It’s certainly more calculated and clinical, which works for the psychological storyline Randall and Dr. Leigh are walking us through.

The fact that we weren’t slobbering messes from start to finish tells me the series didn’t push us as far as it could visually with the early stages of this fantasy. For an episode that features Jack and William in the same room, I expect more of a punch from This Is Us. 

That’s not to say there isn’t a punch. We’re still recovering from the gut-wrenching blow Randall delivers in the final scene as he begins to plead and demand that Rebecca do the trial for his own sanity, cracking open these characters in an incredibly emotional way.

That hurts, partially because we want to root for Randall at that moment but there’s a part of us that knows what he is doing is wrong on some levels too. This moral grey area is something new for our golden boy Randall and while it is incredibly difficult to watch, it’s an honest portrayal of a broken man that needs his mother to do this one thing for him.

If you want to know what success looks like for a sophomore series like This Is Us, this right here is what it looks like.

The series not only utilizes its signature time-hopping format beautifully when constructing this alternate reality, but it also resurrects Jack in a way that does not feel inconsiderate or flashy.

This Is Us certainly gets our hearts racing when it throws us back into that hospital room with Jack, moments before his fatal heart attack. But not once does the idea cross this show’s mind to taint the tragic circumstances surrounding Jack’s death with something so cheap as an ugly death scene.

The same applause should be given for choosing not to rehash Randall’s grievances over Rebecca keeping William from him.

The Pearsons don’t have to hold on to these old grievances to stay relevant. Instead, the series carves a new and promising path to success with the storylines it has worked so hard to develop this season.

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 airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC.

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