Long Islanders bid a tearful farewell to 'This Is Us'

 As a self-described "honorary member of the Pearson family," Debbi Spiegel of St. James has a to-do list before Tuesday's finale of "This Is Us" (9 p.m., NBC/4). First, tissues. Does she have enough of those?

She forwards a selfie with a tower of Kleenex boxes stacked neatly behind her. The answer would appear to be yes.   

Spiegel asks to chat by email because (one suspects) she couldn't hold it together if she actually had to talk about the abrupt finality of it all, after six tragic, joyous, life-affirming, and tear-soaked seasons.

 "I am not sure what I am expecting," she says of Tuesday's momentous wrap. "I do have full confidence the writers will take care of the viewers as they have for the past six years," but other than that, it's just "one final ride on the TIU emotional roller coaster."

 Shows come and shows go, except that fans aren't quite ready to let go of this roller coaster just yet. Scan any social media site devoted to "This Is Us" — the huge Facebook one will do — and the words "sob" or "cry'' recur with startling frequency across hundreds of posts. Rebecca Pearson (Mandy Moore) died in May 17's   penultimate episode following a seasons-long struggle with dementia while her second husband, Miguel (Jon Huertas), was gone a couple of episodes before that. Those were hard enough on "This Is Us" long-haulers, and now the finale? Other than Spiegel, who's got Kleenex enough for that?

The ties that have bound fans to "This Is Us" include an ingenious time-shift structure which has explored beloved characters' lives across generations. Then, there's also "TIU's'' big-hearted worldview. A cross between Norman Rockwell and "It's a Wonderful Life," this was best expressed by William (Ron Cephas Jones) as he closed out Rebecca's story last week: "If you're brave enough to allow yourself the gift of a really wide perspective, you'll see that the end is not sad [but] just the start of the next incredibly beautiful thing." 

 That message and this show were turbocharged by an historically difficult stretch in recent American history, or they helped to assuage it for millions of viewers. Either way, many are clearly dreading the inevitable on Tuesday. Like Spiegel, they don't plan on attending any viewer parties because what's there to celebrate? They speak of a devotion they reserve for few other shows — or for any other show. This is a moment for solace and reflection. They know exactly what they'll be doing Tuesday at 9, and like Spiegel, what they'll be reaching for too.

 "This Is Us' ' is "not like the shows on today, with all the violence, death, and apocalypse" ' says Jackie Olmstead of Massapequa. "I'll miss it because it reminded me of the time when TV was innocent, like when "Eight Is Enough '' was on — yes, showing my age! — but It also made me appreciate my family more — my children, husband, siblings and even my parents who have passed."

Teresa Lacy of East Islip, a former special ed teacher, began streaming the show during COVID lockdown as the perfect escape, "but I'm also the adoptive mother of a child of a different race than me," she says. "That's what really grabbed me the first season, when they brought Randall Pearson [Sterling K. Brown] home as a baby, and then followed his struggles with adoption."

Back in 2017 before the start of the second season, Kathy Radigan — a mother of three from East Northport — attended a breakfast event with one of the show's stars, Justin Hartley (Kevin Pearson), sponsored by the "Today" show. (A writer, Radigan contributes stories and blogs as part of the show's Parenting Team.) That marked the beginning of her own obsession. 

 "There were maybe thirty of us" at the "Today" event, she recalls, "and after they played [the season premiere] we were all sobbing." 

 Like so many fans, Radigan found something in the show both intensely personal and painful. "Though I hadn't lost a child, I had had several miscarriages and we lost my son's twin very early in the pregnancy at eight weeks," she says. She was immediately "taken in" by the show's key storyline about Rebecca's loss of one of her triplets. 

Radigan got her son Thomas, then 17, hooked around that time and he has stayed with the show ever since. He recently graduated from SUNY Oswego, but his mom knows what he'll be watching Tuesday night, and like her, what he'll be feeling too. If it's any consolation, they won't be alone.