Mandy Moore wasn’t expecting Rebecca Pearson’s trip to end the way it did. Moore’s character Rebecca has Alzheimer’s disease on the show This Is Us. This battle will finally come to an end, with the matriarch of the Pearson family dying.
Moore discussed the difficulty of coming to terms with this narrative in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. Mandy said: “I don’t know if there is a way to brace anybody. I wasn’t braced for it. I wasn’t ready. I had no idea what I was about to read or what we were all going to endeavour to do. I didn’t know how (series creator) Dan (Fogelman) was going to flesh out the end.” She further told Entertainment Weekly, “I would encourage people to come in with an open mind, and I’m sure they know where this is heading, but I think it’s surprising. I imagine that this is very real way for some people to imagine the end of their life.”
Kevin (Justin Hartley) told his brother Randall (Sterling K. Brown) that he needed to return home when Rebecca’s health continued to deteriorate in last week’s episode of the NBC drama “Family Meeting.” Moore has struggled to say goodbye to the popular character. “The Train,” the series’ penultimate episode, was more difficult for her to shoot than the series finale. She added, “I well up thinking about it,” she told the news outlet. It was a lot. This episode is definitely a lot more to take in than the actual finale, in my estimation. It’s going to be sad to say goodbye to this family and see these characters, but I think there’s a lot more wrapped up in ‘The Train.'”
Beside this, Milo Ventimiglia has previously referred to Mandy as his best on-screen collaborator. The actor, who plays Jack Pearson on ‘This Is Us,’ praised the actress’ dedication and passion to her profession. He said, “I’ve got to say she has been probably in my 26 years in front of the camera, the best partner I’ve ever had her commitment, her dedication, her growth as an artist. The audience, you guys get to watch the show in its entirety. I get to sit there in front of her, or stand in front of her, or lay in a bed next to her and watch front row what she does and how impactful it is, the work is to her. And I’ve only seen it grown. So, it’s been a pleasure to be her TV husband for six years. At the same time, closing this chapter, I’m very excited to see what Mandy does next because she’s such a force.”