Mandy Moore Confirms ‘This Is Us’ Finale Cliffhanger

Mandy Moore says This Is Us fans will have to wait a while before they’ll get the details of This Is Us character Jack Pearson’s (Milo Ventimiglia) impending death. In an interview with CTV News, Moore, who plays patriarch Rebecca Pearson on the hit NBC drama, said the Season 1 finale episode will keep viewers hanging all summer until the show resumes next fall on NBC.

“There will be a bit of a cliffhanger finale, but you’re not going to find out about Jack this season,” Moore said. “Nope.”

Mandy Moore’s TV daughter, Chrissy Metz, also talked about the final This Is Us episodes, telling Yahoo TV that viewers will have to tune in next season for more details on how Jack died. But she did tease that one aspect of the character’s death will be addressed in the Season 1 finale.

“You’re definitely going to find out how things were affected by Jack’s passing, and then you will learn more about [his death] in the second season, Metz said. “But you will discover who his passing affected the most by the finale.”

Moore and Metz made their comments ahead of the final two This Is Us Season 1 episodes, titled “What Now?” and “Moonshadow.” While the stars didn’t elaborate on which characters will be involved in the season-ending scene, it’s clear that This Is Us writers know their way around a cliffhanger. Earlier this season, fans were left in limbo for five weeks after Toby (Chris Sullivan) suffered a heart attack in the middle of the family’s Christmas Eve festivities. The hashtag #PrayforToby went viral during the show’s winter hiatus, while Moore told Us Weekly fans should prepare for more emotional episodes.

“This show is always gut-wrenching,” Mandy told Us. “Every episode, there’s going to be something gut-wrenching. They really know what they’re doing!”

Mandy Moore recently calmed fans down after she posted an Instagram photo from one of the final days on the This Is Us set. Fans noted the characters’ dark clothing and assumed the shot was from a funeral scene.

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

Fans now know that a major character did die, but it wasn’t Jack. As for the finale, This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman previously told Entertainment Weekly that the season finale will be “a very Jack and Rebecca-centric episode.” There will also be a bit of a love triangle as Mandy Moore’s character heads out to a five-city band tour with her ex-boyfriend, Ben (Sam Trammell).

“It starts to ramp up,” This Is Us executive producer Ken Olin told EW about the storyline for Moore’s character. “And then by the end of the season, it reaches a pretty critical mass. And it will take us to the end of the season, and the events that take place in the finale definitely are the things that are going to carry over in terms of next year, and where we’ll pick them up and how they’re doing.”

Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia will be heavily featured in this season’s final two This Is Us episodes. The Futon Critic posted a synopsis of the “What Now?” episode which reveals that tensions will be high between Mandy and Milo’s characters as Rebecca leaves to go on tour with her band. In addition, an adult Kate ( Metz) will continue to struggle to open up to her fiancé Toby about her father’s death.

The synopsis for “Moonshadow” reveals that Jack will head to Cleveland to make things right with Moore’s character on the night of her first big gig with the band.

Speaking of that band, Mandy Moore, who kicked off her career as a teen pop star with the hits “Candy” and “I Wanna Be With You,” told CTV she is thrilled that music is a big part of her character’s life.

“It’s fun to have music back in the fold again,” Mandy said.

“It’s really just the dreamiest job I’ve ever had, the best job I’ve ever had. The opportunity to play a character from 23 to 66 and every bit and chapter of her life in between, it’s just the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Mandy Moore also credited This Is Us for tackling a variety of taboo issues.

“I think the show does a great job of touching on issues that not every network television show would tackle, whether it’s race relations, whether it’s body image, panic attacks,” Mandy said.

Take a look at the video below to see Mandy Moore and the rest of the cast in a promo for the next episode of This is Us, “What Now?” The final two episodes of This Is Us air Tuesday, March 7 and Tuesday, March 14 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9RUNtUnrC4

[Featured Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]