An ending fit for Tony Soprano!
After six seasons with the Pearson family, "This Is Us" came to a close on May 24. In a press conference for the NBC drama series, creator Dan Fogelman compared one specific part of the finale to the infamous ending of "The Sopranos" -- where Tony Soprano sits in a diner with his family, when a possible hit man enters the restaurant with the scene cutting to black.
So, you can understand our confusion when Fogelman compared the loving family drama with the HBO mob hit. Nonetheless, the creator said that "Randall's political journey ahead of him" could be comparable to the open-ended twist of the "Sopranos" series finale.
In the "This Is Us" series finale, Randall (Sterling K. Brown), who is now a senator, decides to head to Iowa following a request by the Democratic National Committee. Fogelman explained that the unknown surrounding Randall's political career "is probably the closest we come in the show to "Sopranos" going to black at the end of the episode."
"You're left to choose your own adventure as to what you think happened with him," he continued. "I think it's up to the audience to decide what they think happens next with Randall."
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And there's a lot left up to the imagination.
Fogelman asked aloud, "Does he even decide to run again? Does he and Beth decide they'd rather settle at home? If he runs, how much traction does he get? Does he win?"
Of course, Fogelman knows all the answers to these questions.
"In my mind," he said, "I know what happens to Randall and his family, but it's meant to not be answered. There were definitely a lot of conversations about how we were showing the end to Randall's political journey. We all felt that if we had hypothetically flash forwarded to Randall sitting in the White House, that wasn't what the show is. It would have broken a little bit."
He continued, "We loved ending it on the promise of further stardom for this exceptional and extraordinary character without going all the way there."
We may not know the ending of Randall's story, but we do know one thing: he's got our vote!
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family)
