‘This Is Us’ gives viewers the heartwarming finale we need right now

The Pearsons have been through some pretty dark times over the years. There have been devastating fires, life-changing road trips, holiday heart attacks and more than a few tears. Thankfully, the fourth-season finale of This Is Us read the (global) room right now and delivered a sweet episode that could restore even the Grinch’s faith in humanity. Well, except for that one, gut-wrenching fight…

Defined by siblings

Viewers can probably all agree that Toby (Chris Sullivan) has been less than his stellar self over the past year, and his relationship with Kate (Chrissy Metz) and baby Jack has suffered because of it. Tobes has been making a comeback lately though, and that came full circle in the finale when he and Kate visited the hospital to post Jack’s picture on the wall on his first birthday. Thanks to the power of flashbacks and that sweet moment when Kate woke up from her c-section to learn Jack was only 2.5 pounds, fans were reminded just how far they’ve come as a couple. So when Toby suggested adopting another baby to give Jack a sibling, Kate, and TBH all of us watching at home, were all-in. After all, the Pearsons are defined by siblings and they have a pretty great history of adoption.[video_embed id='5828400024001']RELATED: Chrissy Metz reveals the most famous person in her phone[/video_embed]What no one was expecting was the far-future flash forward, which introduced Hailey (Adelaide Kane). The writers set it up so that viewers would assume she had had a one-night stand with Kevin (Justin Hartley), but as it turns out she’s the grown-up version of the baby Kate and Toby adopted. Her emergency at the gallery was the birth of her niece, Hope, that grown-up Jack (Blake Stadnik) and his wife had just had. (Hands up if you thought they’d name that baby girl Rebecca.)

Her name is Hope...❤️?❤️?❤️?#ThisIsUs

— Chrissy Metz (@ChrissyMetz) March 25, 2020

Unanswered questions: While it was sweet to see that Jack and Hailey are close and the sibling connection in the Pearson family stays strong, should the fact that Toby and Kate are nowhere to be cause for concern? Whether they are still alive or close to their kids in the future is a big question heading into season five.

Kevin’s real baby mama

After teasing everyone for more than a few episodes about the identity of Kevin’s baby mama, the episode confirmed that Madison (Caitlin Thompson) is indeed the mother. But of course this show still has to deal out the surprises, and in one extra little twist everyone learned that not only is Madison expecting, but she’s expecting twins—an actual miracle for her considering her backstory. And it all went down on Kevin’s one-year anniversary of being sober.The best part about that entire storyline though was Kevin and his reaction to hearing the news. If you needed any more proof that Kevin has grown more than any other character on the show, the scenes where he told Madison he was “all in” were it. Who knew, way back in season one, that Kevin would end up being the most likeable character and Randall would become someone viewers had a hard time liking? But more on that in a minute…

All in.???? #ThisIsUs pic.twitter.com/l75cs5Q0GO

— Justin Hartley (@justinhartley) March 25, 2020

Unanswered questions: Thanks to the flash forward, viewers know that the twins are born healthy and okay, but what they don’t know is who Kevin winds up marrying. A wedding ring is clearly seen on his finger, but whether he marries Madison, gets back together with Sophie (Alexandra Breckenridge), reconnects with Cassidy (Jennifer Morrison), or finds some other great love story remains to be seen. Those possibilities were all hinted at during the finale.

The big fight

We knew things were going to get epically messy between Kevin and Randall (Sterling K. Brown) at some point, and when Kevin learned how Randall had pushed Rebecca (Mandy Moore) into the trial in St. Louis, that was it. Kevin had just found out about Madison when Randall approached him, and the guys said some really, really awful things to each other. Kevin accused Randall of not being able to save Jack (Milo Ventimiglia). Randall told Kevin that Jack died ashamed of him and that his career is a joke. And Kevin slapped Randall when he said his being adopted was the worst thing that ever happened to him. Bru-tal. Is it really any wonder they weren’t speaking in that flash-forward scene? Years of issues were unpacked in that moment, and it’s going to take a lot to put that relationship back together.[video_embed id='1827415']RELATED: Sterling K. Brown reveals how 'Waves' influenced his approach to parenting[/video_embed]Unanswered questions: Okay, so it's clear the brothers reconnect at some point, because in that flash forward scene on Rebecca’s deathbed, Kevin had Randall’s back. But how or when they reconciled is anyone’s guess. Also unclear? Whether Rebecca wound up going ahead with that trial and if it helped. She’s aged considerable at that point, but what her mental state has been like for all those years is as unknown as Miguel’s (Jon Huertas) whereabouts in those scenes.

Hope you all will join us for season 5...see what I did there? ? #ThisIsUs pic.twitter.com/LUR56mLA3w

— Sterling K Brown (@SterlingKBrown) March 25, 2020

The return of Dr. K

In case anyone needed a bonus heartwarming moment, Dr. K (Gerald McRaney) delivered all the feels. In the flashback scenes, Rebecca and Jack had a hard time dealing with the death of Kyle on the Big Three’s first birthday, which is something the show has never really explored. But that babe’s death happened, and the writers finally addressed it by having the Pearson crew make another memorable visit to the delivery doctor’s office to seek out some advice.

Holding on to these words ? #ThisIsUs https://t.co/PfZ01rdN4m

— Chrissy Metz (@ChrissyMetz) March 25, 2020

After another lemon joke, the good doc opened up about the loss of his own child, and how with the passing of time things had improved. He never stopped missing that baby, but he learned to embrace the good and the bad in life without ignoring one or the other. It was exactly what the Pearsons—and viewers—needed in that moment, leading to one final unanswered question: why can’t Dr. K just be a permanent character on this show already?And that’s all for now. This Is Us is expected to return for a fifth season to CTV later this year.[video_embed id='1927603']RELATED: Ryan Reynolds, Seth Rogen join PM Trudeau’s efforts to flatten the curve[/video_embed]