Recaps
THIS IS US: Goodbyes and Connections; Rebecca Passes Away in Penultimate Episode
Tuesday night’s penultimate episode of This Is Us, brought the long-anticipated moment in the lives of the Pearson family, when their mother, Rebecca (Mandy Moore, the matriarch, the heart and soul of the family, dies due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease. And, if come Emmy time, after all of the performances she gave this season, Mandy Moore, does not take home the Lead Actress in a Drama Series prize, something is amiss in the awards system.
That said, here we go. I hope those who followed the Pearsons journey over six seasons had the hankies nearby for this. In story, the focus was Rebecca’s passing, while meeting a new family, and then as viewers trying to figure out how this interconnects throughout the episode; something the show has stayed true to throughout its run; with a payoff of how they tell a themed-story when the sum of its parts is revealed.

Courtesy/NBC
As Rebecca takes her final turn on this earth, everyone is notified the end is near and to say their goodbyes. While Randall (Sterling K. Brown) and Kevin (Justin Hartley) were present, Kate (Chrissy Metz) was in London trying to get back to her mom. She then receives a devastating call from her brothers that Rebecca is running out of time.
When Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) goes to say her goodbye to Rebecca, in tears, she tells Rebecca that she does not have to worry. She will take good care of her son, Randall. While the family is gathered and trying to just hang and be with each other through tragedy, when all the noise stops and everyone leaves for the night, it’s just brothers Kevin and Randall who go sit with their mother in heartbreaking and realistic scenes for anyone who has gone through the death of a loved one due to this horrific disease.

Courtesy/NBC
To illustrate what is going on in the mind of Rebecca in her final hours, a younger version of herself is on a train, which brings into play how she loved train rides with her own father years ago. Taking her to the afterlife, Rebecca is guided through the cars by none other than William (Ron Cephas Jones). She also spends time having a drink with the bartender, who turns out to be the doctor (Gerald McRaney) who saved her life and delivered her children. He recounted that fateful night, when Rebecca lost one of her triplets. As Rebecca and William get to the caboose, back in the present, it’s morning.
Now, Rebecca is still alive but waiting for someone, which, of course, is her daughter, Kate. As Randall and Kevin look on, an emotional Kate arrives and runs to her mother’s bedside, and holding Rebecca’s hand, tells her how much she loves her. Cutting back to Rebecca’s journey on the train, she says to William, “This is quite sad, isn’t it, the end?” Willam replies: “That’s not the way I see it, if something makes you sad when it ends, it must have been pretty wonderful when it was happening. You will see that the end is not sad, Rebecca, it’s just the start of the next incredibly wonderful thing.”

Courtesy/NBC
It’s then, that Rebecca lets go and passes away with the Big Three all at her bedside. Back to the train, Rebecca goes to the caboose lays down on a bed, and is met, in bed, by her beloved Jack (Milo Ventimiglia). In the present, Randall had whispered to his mom shortly before his death, “You tell him, hey”, and so when Rebecca lays down next to Jack, she says “hey”.
The other element to the episode was the new family we had never met before. After a car accident, one of the sons, Marcus. is taken to the hospital in critical condition. In the present, we think Marcus is the grown-up boyfriend of Deja, especially after she reveals to Randall that she is pregnant.
In the flashback, Marcus’ father, Kenny played by Dulé Hill, bumps into Jack at a vending machine at the hospital and we realize we are back in time when Jack went to the hospital following the Pearson family home fire. Turns out, that Jack and Marcus were being treated by the same doctor, Dr. Spencer (Bill Irwin). While Marcus survived after flatlining, that is when Jack suddenly didn’t, and died. We later learn Malik turns out to be Deja’s baby daddy and boyfriend, and Marcus grows up to become a top researcher in Alzheimer’s disease and wins an award for his accomplishments. The person who handed him the award was none other than This Is Us director and executive producer, Ken Olin.
So, what did you think of the penultimate episode of This Is Us? Did you reach for the hankies? Comment below.
It was such a beautiful and emotional episode. The train journey was absolutely brilliant. It was wonderful to see William again and the children throughout their lives. I was in tears most of the time. Seeing Rebecca finally reunited with Jack was wonderful. They’ve taken every drop of emotion from us already. I can’t imagine what the finale will be. As always, bravo to everyone who brought us this wonderful series.
Brilliant! Mandy Moore deserves every accolade and award for her poignant performances this season.
The absolute best Acting and Writing, just an amazing show – ever.
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Cullum’s Got Plans to Keep Brennan Out of His Way
On General Hospital, the Wednesday, May 13 episode saw Cullum (Andrew Hawkes) plotting to keep Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna) from ever being a problem for him again, as Lucas (Van Hansis) reveals his hopes for a plan to rid the world of Cullum and his co-conspirator, Sidwell (Carlo Rota) in one fell swoop.
At the hospital, Nina (Cynthia Watros) is still freaked out by what she did by jabbing Jack with the dose of medication meant for Drew (Cameron Mathison). Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) comes to the hospital to try to get her mother to get a grip and then heads out to do damage control.
Cullum arrives and questions Nina about Jack’s medical condition. Nina lies and tells Cullum he should talk to Dr. Lucas Jones about Jack. In a tense exchange, Cullum shows Lucas he has documents that make him Brennan’s medical proxy and wants an update on his condition. Britt stumbles upon the scene and comes up with a fake emergency in another patients room to pull Lucas away from the WSB director.

Courtesy/ABC
STARING MY BOYFRIEND’S KILLER IN THE FACE
Now alone in the hallway, Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) warned Lucas that if he acts like that around Cullum, he will get suspicious. Lucas says they should just tell Sidwell that Cullum stabbed Marco, so Cullum will be killed and Sidwell would be sent to prison. Lucas drops the idea realizing if Cullum dies Britt cannot get her hands on her Huntington’s disease medication. However, Lucas warned Britt how everything would explode once Sidwell found out that Cullum killed Marco, so they have to be certain that they have the evidence that Cullum’s the culprit.
Inside Jack’s room, Cullum tells an unconscious Jack that his stroke may have saved his life, because he planned to kill him. Meanwhile, Willow arrived at Wyndemere to see Sidwell. She explains that Jack accidentally got the dose of Drew’s medication and kept her mother’s name out of it. Sidwell is livid.

Courtesy/ABC
TWO MEN HAD “STROKES” AT MY HOUSE!
Willow thinks it’s time to stop drugging Drew so that people would be focusing on his recovery, rather than the odds that two different men had “strokes’ at Drew’s house. Willow threw the responsibility back on Sidwell telling him that he needed to figure out a way to make sure Drew didn’t expose them. Next, Sidwell reminded Willow that he gives the orders around here and not her. For good measure, he threatens that if they were exposed, she would have the most to lose.
At the end of the episode, and at Wyndemere, Sidwell informed Cullum that Brennan had been dosed with Drew’s medication. When Sidwell declared that things would go from bad to worse when Brennan wakes up and out of his locked-in state, then Cullum fired back, “Then he can’t come out of it.”

Courtesy/ABC
Meanwhile, Willow unexpectedly shows up at Michael’s (Rory Gibson) office while Jacinda (Paige Herschell) is there. She demands to talk to her ex-husband now, as the photo of Chase (Josh Swickard) and Willow looking close snapped by the private eye is sitting on Michael’s desk.
So, do you think Sidwell should be the one to kill Cullum and then be carted off to prison … 0r, would you like to see Willow get caught for murdering someone since she got away with shooting Drew? Share your thoughts via the comment section. But first, check out the threatening exchange between Willow and Sidwell from today’s GH.
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Rocco is Coming Apart at the Seams
On the Tuesday, May 12 episode of General Hospital, Rocco Falconeri (Finn Carr) was at its epicenter and the secret which is destroying him. Previously, Rocco shot WSB Director Ross Cullum (Andrew Hawkes) in the back to stop him from killing Jason (Steve Burton) and to save Britt (Kelly Thiebaud).
However, the consequences of Rocco’s actions are weighing so heavy on him, that now he is starting to crack, and with good reason! While Rocco has been suffering in silence, he is wracked with guilt over Jason taking the fall for him, being carted away by the WSB, and worse yet, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) losing his father.
While Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) confronts “Nathan” (Ryan Paevey) about how he covered-up and “advised” Lulu (Alexa Havins) to stay quiet about the night on the pier which saw Rocco shoot Cullum, Dante can clearly see that the man in front of him seems off. His responses and demands and insights are not those of the good-natured “Nathan.” Will Dante be the one, or the last to know that “Nathan” is really Cassius Faison?

Courtesy/ABC
STAY AWAY FROM MY SON
In yet another confrontation, Lulu and Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) go at it over Rocco. Lulu blames Britt for Rocco being on the pier at all that night, because Rocco cares about Britt, and she warned her not to get close to Rocco, but Britt did anyway.
Then, at the Quartermaine boathouse, Rocco was shocked to learn that Danny overheard Sonny saying that Jenz Sidwell was responsible for Jason getting taken away, and confided in Charlotte (Bluesy Burke) the intel several weeks ago. Rocco tried to cover his guilt as Danny and Charlotte explained they hadn’t confided in him because he has been so withdrawn lately.

Courtesy/ABC
ROCCO AND DANNY AT ODDS
Next, Danny asks Rocco to help him and Charlotte break into Wyndemere. Danny is determined to get info on Sidwell to try to find Jason. It’s at that point Rocco loses it. He shouts that Sidwell is a dangerous man and Danny needs to stay away from him.
In the most surprising turn of event, Rocco threatened both Charlotte and Danny that if they tried to sneak into Wyndemere he would turn them in.
Danny loses his cool and firmly tells Rocco, that unlike him, he didn’t have parents to clean up his problems for him and told Rocco to stay out of his way. As Rocco walked away, he asks Charlotte if she was coming with him. When she refuses, he tells the both to screw off.

Courtesy/ABC
THE ONLY PERSON I CAN TALK TO
Later, Britt returns to her room at Bobbie’s and finds Rocco waiting for her. He begins to share with her how freaked out he has been feeling over shooting Cullum. Britt hugs him and attempts to comfort Rocco letting him know he is a hero for saving her life and Jason’s. Britt tells Rocco she can talk to her anytime, as the two hug one more time. We fade to black.
Finn Carr delivered another excellent performance within his storyline. It’s clear GH made the right call by giving this young actor the ball with such a high stakes dramatic and emotional storyline to play.
So, do you think Danny will find out what Rocco did and come after him for letting his dad take the fall for shooting Cullum? Do you think Rocco will continue to turn to Britt, further upsetting Lulu? Will Dante get a clue about Cassius? Share your thoughts in the comment section. But first, in case you missed it, check out the emotional moments between Rocco and Britt on yesterday’s GH below.
American Idol
AMERICAN IDOL: Who Won Season 24? Did Your Favorite Take Home the Title?
It all came to Monday night’s three-hour season 24 finale of American Idol, where finalists Hannah Harper, Jordan McCullough, or Keyla Richardson belted out tunes, wowed the audience, judges, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie, and of course, America. who controlled the voting to pick the next music superstar.
After two rounds of competition on the May 11 episode, Keyla Richardson came in third place and was eliminated leaving it down to two: stay-at-home Missouri mom, Hannah Harper, or worship director/leader Jordan McCullough from Tennessee.
The evening was filled with music superstars performance as well including guest mentor Alicia Key, even Luke, Lionel and Carrie performed to Richie’s tune. Mötley Crüe also joined Underwood for renditions of their classics “Home Sweet Home” and “Kickstart My Heart.”

Photo: ABC
In addition, Brad Paisley Blues Traveler, Gin Blossoms, En Vogue, Jason Mraz, Lee Ann Womack, Nelly, Shinedown and Tori Kelly also performed with contestants that were eliminated earlier in the season. American Idol alums, Clay Aiken and Cameron Whitcomb also took to the stage.
Before the winner was revealed, both Harper and McCullough took to the stage and performed for America’s vote one last time. Hannah chose her own song “String Cheese” which became all the rage on social media about her personal struggle with postpartum depressions after she first performed it in the auditions round, and McCullough reprised, “Goodness of God,” and took everyone to church one last time.
Finally, it was time to find out the winner. Host Ryan Seacrest set the tone, dimmed the lights one last time for the season, gathered Jordan and Hannah centerstage, opened the results envelope and revealed that the winner of American Idol season 24 was… Hannah Harper.

Photo: ABC
After she was crowned the winner, she had to perform a song with all the raw emotions coursing through her veins that she just won the whole competition. She attempted to reprise Chris Tomlin’s “At the Cross (Love Ran Red).” However, tears overcame her and she was joined onstage by all the contestants and the judges who helped her finish the song.
You can watch Harper’s winning moment below.
Now let us know, do you think America chose right? Would you have chosen Hannah over Jordan? Share your picks via the comment section.
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