If there’s any character on This Is Us that viewers have learned the least about, it’s Rebecca. We’ve gotten insight on Kevin, Kate, Randall, and especially Jack and why they are who they are and react as they do in certain situations. Rebecca, though, is a little bit of a mystery – we met her mother and know they don’t get along, but that’s about it. On the season finale of This Is Us, Rebecca cried for attention, and Rebecca deserves to be heard on This Is Us.
Rebecca dreamt of being a singer her whole life, and, admittedly, this is a pie-in-the-sky dream. People have a one-in-a-million shot of making it in the big time as a singer, but Rebecca thought she could do it and damn, she tried. Too bad that no one in her life – not her mother or her friends – supported her or even gave her a pat on the back for pursuing what she wanted to do. Instead, they told her to “diversify” and basically get serious with the rest of her adulthood. Not a supportive group. Because of this, Rebecca started to doubt herself and her singing abilities. No one ever listens to her!
But then Jack came along! She sang a little while they were married, but then she got pregnant with triplets and, well, a mother with three babies doesn’t have much time for hobbies like singing and songwriting. 16 years pass of Rebecca changing diapers and packing lunches and applying sunscreen, and suddenly, she gets another chance to be in a band! It’s with her old buddy (and fling) Ben, and she jumps at the chance. Jack, though, isn’t happy about Rebecca finding her passion for singing again.
Of course, this all culminates in a giant fight. Jack gets drunk, Jack punches Ben for trying to kiss Rebecca, Rebecca drives drunken Jack home, and Rebecca and drunken Jack have a massive blowout fight. Jack accuses Rebecca of not being fulfilled by her family, and finally she blow, admitting that she hasn’t had something for herself in two decades and Jack is trying to take that away from her. Rebecca says that she feels like a ghost – her children don’t need her anymore (they are teens, after all), and Jack says hi when he gets home at 8:00pm and then goes to bed at 10:00pm. Rebecca is going through the motions, and she hasn’t been living any sort of life for twenty years.
I’m with Rebecca on this one – for her whole life, everyone has been undermining her decision-making skills. Her friends, her mother, and her husband don’t support this dream. When Ben tried to kiss her backstage, it also threw her for a loop – did Ben invite her to sing with the band because he wanted to sleep with her? Or because he really liked the way she sang? Again, this undermines Rebecca feelings about herself and her talent.
Women have enough problems with imposter syndrome and inferiority complexes as it is without constant doubt being thrown in our faces. Rebecca told Jack that she went along with everything he wanted to do – their marriage, their house, their kids – because she loved him and because she thought that that was what she was supposed to do. Even though this gave her a family and a husband she loves, it still leaves Rebecca unfulfilled in a major way.
There’s nothing wrong with Rebecca needing to seek validation outside the home, and for Jack to question that shows that he’s far more insecure than he’s been made out to be on This Is Us thus far. If her were secure with his love for his wife and the assertion that she can be a mother and a singer, Jack wouldn’t be throwing a hissy fit about her revisiting her passion. Rebecca is begging to be heard on This Is Us, and not listening to her could be the end of her marriage to Jack.
