Mandy Moore Says ‘This is Us’ Finale Will Not Feature A Funeral

Mandy Moore wants This Is Us fans to take a deep breath. Moore, who plays matriarch Rebecca Pearson on the blockbuster NBC drama, posted a cast photo to Instagram after the season finale shoot, which shows her and her character’s present-day husband, Miguel (played by Jon Huertas), front and center.

“Good day at the office,” Mandy wrote. “Sad to say goodbye to these faces for the season. Too much fun. Too many laughs. #thisisus #thebackofanegg.”

Shortly after Mandy Moore posted the pic, which showed the entire This Is Us cast dressed in dark clothing, social media went crazy as fans speculated that the show’s season finale will be set at a funeral.

This is Us is currently juggling two “death” storylines. Family patriarch Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) is known to have died in the mid-1990s, although he is still shown on the series in flashback scenes. And in the present day, William Hill (Ron Cephas Jones) is battling Stage 4 stomach cancer, so his death is imminent. Still, fans don’t want to see either character’s funeral anytime soon, and now it sounds like they won’t. After fans freaked out over Mandy Moore’s photo, the actress updated her caption to clarify what is going on in the supersized selfie.

“Update,” Moore wrote. “The photo is dark. No one is in black actually. Everyone breathe. We’re at Kevin’s play. Hence the hashtag.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BP_agVfAb74/?taken-by=mandymooremm&hl=en

Mandy Moore is referring to her TV son Kevin Pearson’s (Justin Hartley) play, “Back Of an Egg.” Based on the photo, the entire family will show their support at Kevin’s off-Broadway debut.

While she has clarified her photo, Mandy Moore and the rest of the This Is Us stars are clearly not under strict orders not to talk about the timeframe of the upcoming character deaths. Viewers have been given glimpses at what’s to come—Jack’s death was confirmed at the end of the episode “Three Sentences” with a shadowy peek at his teen kids somberly standing his funeral, while William’s biological son Randall (Sterling K. Brown) was previously shown packing up his father’s belongings and sobbing as he held on to his hat — but Moore and the other This Is Us stars won’t divulge any of the details.

In an interview with Glamour, Sterling K. Brown, who plays the adult version of Mandy Moore’s TV son, Randall, dodged questions about William’s death. When asked if the death will happen this season or will it occur in Season 2, Brown said: “Right. Right. Next question.”

But Brown did reveal that he knows when and how Jack Pearson dies.

“I do,” the actor said.

“Well, because we have to know because it sort of informs how we relate to our present, knowing what our past was. So we know the story, and we know the pieces will be parsed out throughout the course of this season into the future.”

Earlier this season, Ron Cephas Jones told Entertainment Weekly he didn’t know exactly when his character’s demise will play out.

“I don’t know if the writers know, either,” he said. “It’s shocking when one of your characters is eliminated from the series that you love…But I know eventually, inevitably, it’s going to happen. And William may still exist in flashbacks or dream sequences or things like that, so there’s still a life for the character but maybe not in the present day.”

Jones added that he would “love” to know when his character dies so he can be prepared for it, even though he knows it’s inevitable.

“When I get home at night, it’s like, ‘Damn, I wonder what episode!'” he told EW. “And every time a page comes in for a new episode, immediately I read it to see what’s going on. Oh, man! So it does create a little bit of anxiety, but if I stay within the parameter of where William is at, then I’m fine.”

Take a look at the video below to see Mandy Moore and the rest of the This Is Us cast in the show’s latest promo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMtHkgtA62g

[Featured Image by John Sciulli/Getty Images for InStyle]