TV
10 Easter Eggs In The Penultimate This Is Us Episode

It was full of little nods to the Pearsons' past.

by Ani Bundel
NBC

Saying goodbye to Rebecca on This Is Us was extremely nostalgic. Here are the biggest easter eggs in the This Is Us Season 6, Episode 17.

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1. The Train

The train itself is a reference to Young Rebecca’s rides into New York City with her father that she talked about in Season 4’s “New York, New York, New York.”

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2. Madame X

There is a second reference to that Season 4 episode later on, as Rebecca sees herself as a child standing in front of her favorite painting, John Singer Sargent’s Madame X.

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3. The Steelers Game

There are many callbacks in the restaurant car: Mr. Rogers’ trolly (a Randall favorite), Heinz Ketchup (a Kevin favorite), mugs from the Pearson kitchen, and tapes of the Big Three. But the Steelers game from the night Rebecca got pregnant means the most.

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4. Dr. K & The Lemons

Dr. K’s lemon saying comes up multiple times, but the lemons on his bar eventually make Rebecca’s fantasy drink: a vesper martini.

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5. Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell is an essential artist to Rebecca; she and Jack tried to find her house on the 1970s road trip. Though the episode where she and Kevin finally found the house is named “Clouds,” it’s “The Circle Game” Kevin puts on the turntable.

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6. Kevin’s Painting

During Kevin’s time in Los Angeles when he was a teen, he got into painting to express himself and his frustrations. Rebecca has his best work from that period hanging in her room.

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7. The Lemonade Quote

Dr. K’s famous “There is no lemon so sour that you can’t make something resembling lemonade” quote has been passed down to more than the Pearsons. Less than an hour before Jack passed away, he recited it to Marcus Brooks’ father, and it became their family motto.

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8. Kate & The Fireflies

Kate’s nickname has always been “Bug,” and one of Rebecca’s fondest memories is them catching fireflies together. Young Kate and her jar of fireflies sat by Rebecca’s bedside at the end of the train.

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9. Ken Olin’s Cameo

Director Ken Olin, who helmed some of This Is Us’ most essential episodes, makes a cameo as the man awarding Marcus Brooks for his Alzheimer’s research.

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10. Caboose!

The Little Red Caboose book the kids love shows up early on in the ep. And the word — which marked Rebecca’s significant memory loss earlier in the season — reappeared as she finally reached her favorite train car.

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This Is Us: The Final Season's final episode premieres on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, at 9 p.m. ET on NBC and streams the next day on Hulu. All previous This Is Us episodes are streaming on Hulu now.

Ron Batzdorff/NBC