‘This Is Us’: Sterling K Brown Drops A Major Hint About That Randall-Tess Finale Flash-Forward

This Is Us will go back to the future, and that means fans may want to start collecting clues as they get ready for Season 3. With the NBC drama’s first mystery finally solved, This Is Us fans should get ready to focus on the ominous future-set storyline that was teased on the Season 2 finale.

In case you need a refresher, the This Is Us Season 2 finale, “The Wedding,” ended with a montage that included a time jump to a future Randall (Sterling K. Brown) and his daughter, Tess (Iantha Richardson). When Randall told his now-adult daughter, “It’s time to go see her,” Tess replied, “I’m not ready.” Randall admitted, “I’m not either.”

This Is Us fans have been going crazy trying to figure out who the “her” is in the scene, which appears to be set 15 to 20 years in the future. The obvious choices are Randall’s wife, Beth, his daughter, Annie, foster daughter Déjà, or possibly his mother, Rebecca, who would be in her 80s by this time. It really could be anybody, including a character that hasn’t been introduced yet. If you’re looking for confirmation on who the “her” is right now, just know that the This Is Us cast members do know who the mystery lady is, but they’re sworn to secrecy.

“I know who the person is that future Randall is referring to, but [This Is Us creator Dan] Fogelman would cut off my big toe if I actually told you who it was,” Brown told Entertainment Weekly.

“But I can tell you it’s probably not what you suspect. In classic Fogelman style, it will be like, ‘Oh, wow — didn’t see that coming.'”

This Is Us season 3: Chrissy Metz warns Randall-Tess cliffhanger resolution is 'not good' https://t.co/Mwe0bXY6gs

— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) April 13, 2018

Brown also revealed that Dan Fogelman has a definite plan for how This Is Us will eventually end, and the flash-forward scenes could provide a major clue to viewers.

“[Fogelman] has a very keen understanding of what the beginning, middle, and end of our show is, and that’s important because he often likens our show to Lost in terms of its structure. You’re dealing with present-day circumstances, and then you have these flashbacks which further illuminate the present circumstances of the characters. … When you see that flash-forward to the future, it will ultimately help to illuminate what the end of our story will be. That’s pretty big. Without telling you anything, I actually told you quite a bit.”

Sterling K. Brown is not the only This Is Us star to talk about the Randall-Tess mystery.

“It’s something you’d… nobody… it’s not good,” co-star Chrissy Metz told EW. “It’s actually very heartbreaking.”

While the fate of the This Is Us characters can change with any script, Brown’s TV wife, Susan Kelechi Watson, told the Los Angeles Times she thinks her character, Beth Pearson, is safe, despite the fact that some fans noted Randall wasn’t wearing a wedding ring in the finale flash-forward scene.

“I don’t think I’m dying,” Susan Kelechi Watson told the Los Angeles Times. “That’s a rumor…But I feel like I know … there is some real stuff that happens in the future. And it involves the whole family. Does it necessarily mean Beth is dying — no. That’s the spoiler I can give — she’s not dead.”

You can see the This Is Us flash-forward scene in the video below.

This Is Us returns to NBC this fall.