This Is Us Season Finale Review: The Adirondacks (Season 5 Episode 16)

Even with so much chaos to contend with, no show understands its formula better than This Is Us.

After five seasons, This Is Us Season 5 Episode 16, “The Adirondacks,” is an example of how consistent and reliable this muti-timeline family drama can be even when it lacks gripping storytelling.

Madison and Kevin’s relationship may be a means to an end for this season, and a predictable one at that, but this tale of two weddings still has all the trappings of the show we love — including mind-blowing cliffhangers!

If this season is This Is Us with one hand tied behind its back, I’d like to see the final season remind us of what this show can do without constraints.

This latest collection of episodes may not flow together as cohesively as they could. It’s an unfortunate byproduct of the pandemic that this episode continues to put on full display, as storylines intersect that haven’t had enough overlap to work in the same space.

However, it’s the small moments that continue to prove this show is so much more than its flashy twists and elaborate timelines.

At the end of the day, this wedding is a mixed bag of Pearson problems. And, while some of those problems may miss the mark, the ones that do hit the mark — well, they hit us hard.

It’s not that Kevin and Madison’s breakup literal hours before their wedding is a shock — it’s absolutely not! These two have been a relationship red flag all season long.

This Is Us understands this. So instead of putting pressure on this reveal to carry the episode, it focuses on the reaction of these two people coming to that realization, rather than the realization itself.

There’s something utterly heartbreaking about watching a girl slowly concluded that the man she loves does not love her back, and there’s nothing either of them can do about it.

It would have been nice to see Madison’s past used as an episode centrepiece before now, especially with the larger role she has played in this season and all the milestones she’s completed without so much as a word of acknowledgement.

At the very least, shedding light on her childhood in the final hour helps justify her thought process.

It’s captivating, and ever so slightly chaotic when Nicky and Miguel are around, to watch Kevin slowly build to a panic attack at the realization that his desire for the perfect wedding is just masking his inability to love the woman he’s marrying.

The painful hysteria that comes pouring out of him as he struggles to say anything to make Madison stay but “I love you” is palpable.

Hartley’s over-the-top response is matched beautifully by Thompson’s resolve as their dialogue grows louder, messier, and nearly coherent before dying altogether in the face of the truth.

Madison and Kevin may not work, but this break-up scene in all its raw unchecked horror works so incredibly well.

The level of emotion they bring to this goodbye makes stringing us along worth it, and the choice to stay apart for the episode’s final minutes is a nice touch. It allows Kevin an honest moment of reflection with Rebecca where he admits he couldn’t lie to Madison, no matter how much he wanted this.

It’s a strong ending to a relationship that was never built to last (unlike Rebecca’s new house).

Speaking of things not built to last, there’s one couple whose break-up certainly has the shock factor worthy of a season finale. It wouldn’t be a true ending for This Is Us without a trademark flash-forward; the kind that wreaks havoc on even the most passive viewers.

Kate divorcing Toby and marrying her co-worker Phillip is certainly a shocker. And yet, while the overload of information is shocking, the seeds of doubt have been sewn into their relationship since the beginning.

Kate and Toby have been lucky enough to pass unscathed through many of their big blow-out fights, but eventually, their luck has to run out as their selfish tendencies, inability to communicate, and conflicting passions drive them apart. It’s almost a relief to know this constant inward fighting has an endgame.

Something tells me that if you would much rather quit your job in secret than sit down and talk to your spouse, you don’t have much of a relationship to continue with.

That said, this twist is genuinely a jaw-dropping moment for This Is Us and it’s great to see this show is still keeping us on our toes. We shouldn’t fall for that opening scene of Kevin seemingly practising his vows and yet we do, because the alternative is a form of storytelling only this series seems to think of reaching for.

Another chapter has closed for This Is Us. Relationship drama may threaten to drag this episode down, but it’s clear this show already has its eyes set on a bigger prize than the season finale.

We’re in the endgame now, and the final note of hope this episode lands is enough to suggest the final season will do right by the Pearsons, even when it has to show them at their ugliest.

Closing out Season 5 with that moment between the Big Three and Rebecca is particularly cathartic after a season of watching this family live apart. I, for one, am looking forward to watching them embrace each other more than they ever have in the coming episodes.

In a year of so much turmoil, this show has managed to turn the sourest of lemons into some decent lemonade. That’s something to celebrate.

What did you think of the Season 5 finale of This Is Us? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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This Is Us returns Spring 2022 on NBC for its sixth and final season.

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