'This Is Us' Season 2 Episode 18 Recap: So Something Really Is Going on With Beth?

Well, it's over...at least for now. The season finale of This Is Us aired tonight, and it wasn't short on drama. Here's what happened (spoilers ahead).

The first shot of this episode is some kind of hallucination and/or fever dream in which Grandma Wig Rebecca has a 40-year wedding renewal ceremony with Grandpa Wig Jack. Because This Is Us is all about the heavy-handed parallels, this is timed to Kate's actual wedding day. Toby's afraid Kate's going to Runaway Bride him, and she gives him a weird, dorky bowtie to calm him down. She unnecessarily thanks him for putting up with her unconventional choices for their wedding reception. Um, girl, you're doing the biggest service of all by marrying Toby. Kate's having flashbacks about Jack; she looks sad and despondent and, honestly, I get it. It's the day before her wedding! Of course she'd want her dad there. Mustache and all!

Meanwhile, Randall's preparing all the gifts for Kate's wedding because he's a saint and no one on this show compares to him. Déjà's in a funky mood about going to the wedding, but honestly I relate with her thoughts on it:

Déjà's situation with her mother, Shauna, might explain her attitude. Apparently, Shauna terminated all her parental rights and essentially gave Déjà to Randall and Beth. There will probably be an explosive, emotional confrontation about this at the wedding ceremony, TBH, so stay tuned.

Across town, Grandma Wig Rebecca's stressed about what to wear to the wedding, seeing as how Kate takes issue with every time she breathes. Miguel tells her to calm TF down because at least the siblings don't hate her as much as they hate him, which, fair.

Randall finally arrives to the family cabin where Kate's getting married the next day; she's stressing because she can't find an old "Daytona" T-shirt that Jack had. It was going to be her "something old" and she planned to pin it on her dress. Randall makes it clear he thinks that's a bad (read: ugly) idea, but he and Kevin agree to help her find it. It turns out Toby forgot the shirt and freaks out about this as his estranged parents are in the car. Oh, yeah, his parents are also here, and they're tragically un-fun. Kate throws a 5-year-old-level hissy-fit about the missing shirt and Kevin and Randall have to calm her down in the most patronizing way. God, these siblings are so annoying, now that I think about it. You're all grown-ass adults!

Randall brings Beth and his kids to the cabin, and Déjà immediately calls it a "dump." Icon. Her pessimism is interrupted, though, by Zoey, Beth's cool cousin's who's photographing the wedding. Of course Beth's family members are the best.

Beth basically tells Zoey that Déjà is a nightmare, so Zoey offers to talk to her and find out what's what. Turns out, Zoey was also conveniently abandoned by her mother at 7 years old, and she acted out on her host family—Beth's family—in retaliation. This is just not how life works. These parallels are now just wonky and unrealistic. The chat works on Déjà, though, and she begins to thaw.

Later, Kevin and Randall try to find other "something old" items that Kate can use, but she vetoes their options and instead goes to the old ice cream shop Jack took her to growing up. Unfortunately, though, the shop was sold to a hipster brand that serves things like "lavender balsamic" ice cream. I'd rather eat nails.

Keep in mind this narrative keeps getting interrupted by random shots of the hypothetical 40-year anniversary party between Rebecca and Jack. It's schmaltzy and cheesy, but I'm feeling it nonetheless. Grandma Wig Rebecca sings at one point. Where's her Grammy?

So Kate's missing. She's nowhere to be found after her ice cream trip, so Kevin and Randall go looking for her. Why am I not surprised Kate's serving this kind of drama on her wedding day? Like, she couldn't just have a nice ceremony with a five-tier vanilla cake?!

On their trip to find Kate, Kevin and Randall both admit to being shitty brothers: Randall says he got so consumed with his own life that he stopped looking out for Kate. Kevin says Kate spent so much time taking care of him that she forgot to take care of herself. Both are valid points, but they also belittle Kate's existence. If anything, all of these siblings are creepily dependent on each other. It's not just Kate.

OK, now Kate's idly driving around for...reasons? She calls Grandma Wig Rebecca and tells her that she's been having dreams about her and Jack's hypothetical renewal ceremony (that explains the flashbacks), but Toby's not in them. As this is happening, Toby's parents sit him down and reveal they have reservations about Kate; they say she's rash and irrational and find it strange that Toby bends over backwards to make her happy. Toby vehemently defends Kate and silences his parents, saying that Kate loves him and would do nothing to hurt him. Um, let's hope Kate gets back to the cabin for this ceremony, if only so his parents are proven wrong.

Kate realizes Toby's not in her dreams because Jack's "taking up too much space" in her heart. She drives to a tree in the woods where she and Jack sat together back in the day and pours his ashes out, which is supposed to be symbolic but is mostly just corny. You're getting married in 45 minutes, girl, and you don't even have your dress on! Time is money!

Before the ceremony, Rebecca and Kate have a cute moment where they settle their differences. Rebecca's all like, "You look great! Not that I mean you don't always look great! You're beautiful! Please don't kill me!" and Kate's like, "Um, calm down, I know I look bomb AF in this dress." In all seriousness, it's a tender scene between Mandy Moore and Chrissy Metz.

The marriage ceremony scene is brief but sweet, and the reception is nice. Toby's mom assumes Déjà is Randall and Beth's biological daughter, which upsets her all over again, derailing the progress Zoey made. In a rage, she goes to Beth and Randall's car and starts smashing it with a baseball bat.

Kevin's wedding toast to Toby and Kate is oddly depressing? He talks about his DUI and rehab stints and Jack's death. Jesus, can't this family just have one moment of happiness? Kevin then suggests he, Randall, Kate, and Rebecca literally exhale together in honor of Jack. This is happening in the middle of the reception. During his speech. My God, today is not about the Pearson Three. They're all so obsessed with each other.

Randall then gives a speech, but it's interrupted by a flash-forward to one year later: Kevin is now dating Zoey, Beth's cousin. They're flying to Vietnam for, again, reasons. Toby is seemingly bed-ridden with depression, and Kate says his doctor wants to "adjust his meds." There's then a flash-forward to way in the future, where Old Man Randall looks at Adult Tess and says, "It's time to go see her." Tess says, "I'm not ready," and Randall goes, "Me either." They're presumably talking about Beth, but about specifically what is a mystery. Is she sick? Is she dying? Didn't a producer tell us this isn't happening? Why is the show leaving us like this?!

Parting thoughts: If This Is Us kills off Beth, I'm suing.