Mandy Moore Explains Why the Train Scene With Dr. K Was the One That Broke Her

This Is Us actress Mandy Moore (Rebecca) has been open about how hard it was to say goodbye to the series when it wrapped in May 2022. The penultimate episode was not for the faint of heart as Moore's character, Rebecca Pearson, is forced to confront her imminent death.

As she nears the end, she disappears into her mind where she's on a train. During the ride, she shares a few beautiful moments with Dr. Nathan Katowski (Gerald McRaney), the doctor who delivered her children. According to Moore, she felt a deep connection to McRaney from the beginning. 

"I love Mack, I have just felt this intrinsic connection with him, like, from the jump of the show, and whatever it was going to unfold and be," Moore said during an interview with Variety. "I just thought it was so fitting that he was there to sort of usher her into this next chapter of her life and also was the one to give her permission to sort of move forward."

Throughout Season 6, we watched Rebecca and the family struggle with her progressing Alzheimer's. As she moves closer and closer towards death, her vision with Dr. K takes on a much larger sentiment. 

"It makes me emotional to think about, [for Dr. K] to tell her that she was an incredible mother and did such a good job, 'cause he was there at the start of it," Moore said. "That’s the part of the script that really got me, and I was so moved by him being the person to tell her that she did a good job."

Watch Moore discuss this for yourself starting at the 5:10 mark in the video, below. 

Stream the final episodes of This Is Us, including the penultimate, on Peacock now.