Tuesday night’s episode of “This Is Us” focused on how Milo Ventimiglia’s Jack and his younger brother Nicky (Michael Angarano) ended up in the Vietnam War, but the previous episode teased a period in Jack and Rebecca’s love life that we can’t wait to see on screen.
“Katie Girls” ended with Jack agreeing to go with Rebecca (Mandy Moore) to Los Angeles, where she has been dreaming of going to try and sign with the same record label as her music hero Joni Mitchell. The upcoming road trip will be a bit of a test for the young couple, Ventimiglia teased to TheWrap ahead of Tuesday’s episode.
“L.A. is a long way from Pittsburgh in 1972, so Jack and Rebecca are going to be spending a lot of time together,” the actor told TheWrap, hinting that it might not be smooth sailing the entire trip.
“We all know what it’s like to be around someone that excites us, and be around someone that you feel like there could be a future with, you know, and also like the reality of bringing our own experiences that maybe are hard for us to deal with ourselves into something new,” he continued.
“You know, so knowing they’ve got a lot of miles to cover and a lot of ground to get to California — and maybe get back to Pittsburgh where we know they have a family — it’s safe to assume that we’re going to see a lot of the struggle that Jack and Rebecca had in coming together as husband and wife,” he said. “But also, like, the greatness that happens.”
Creator Dan Fogelman added that seeing Jack and Rebecca on the road to the City of Angels is “awesome.”
“It’s coming,” he told TheWrap, adding that the journey will be woven into the story along with all of the other flashbacks to the 1970s. “With our past periods, we’re spending some time in their courtship period and some time in Vietnam, and so it’s kind of an alternation. And then some time with the kids and teenagers, so it takes a minute sometimes but it’s very special.”
“This Is Us” airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on NBC.