Time is the most powerful tool in the arsenal. The show can collapse into a single hour or stretch the mystery of a moment over multiple seasons. It can make a new character feel like a family in a single episode. It can take a character who has been on our screens for six years and suddenly explores his life in a whole new light. I don't know if it was the best use of the show's time to push the story to the background and then cram it all into the show. It makes for an effective hour of TV. Kevin tells Andy that he never talked to him about it. For a long time, that was what Miguel was, a supporting player hovering around Jack in the past and Rebecca in the present. A potential villain at first, easy comic relief, and then, slowly, one of the most quietly moving characters in the show's ensemble, thanks to Jon Huertas. His mother tells him that love is giving his heart without expectation, as she reflects on the years she has spent with him. It turns out that his mother's son is very much a gentle, loyal, and kind person, right up until the end of his life. It's not unusual for me to cry during an episode of This Is Us, as I have mentioned once or twice in these reviews over the years. It hit me on an emotional level that very few of this series have. In terms of tears, it's right up there with William's first season swan song episode, which struck a similarly poignant, reflective tone as it sought to condense an entire lifetime into just 43 minutes. It isn't a tragedy when someone in their 80s dies happy and at peace with their loved ones. It is a loss. That sense of loss is captured by the gift that was Miguel's life.
The son of two gentle, pragmatic parents was born in Puerto Rico. He had to adjust to a new culture and a new language when he moved to Pennsylvania. He made his parents proud by working his way up in the world as a construction foreman, even though he had to pull away from his own culture to get there.
A complicated relationship with his father, a complicated relationship with his ex-wife, and an especially complicated relationship with his two kids were some of the things that Miguel had. His life was characterized by a sense of longing, a feeling of never quite fitting in. He learned from his father that "I don't know, but it's a good question." I'll ask you again later.
And then the Pearsons met him. Though this episode breezes past how Jack and Miguel transitioned their random suit store meet cute into a lifelong best friendship, it still reiterates that Jack is the one Miguel turns to in times of stress. The segment reminds us of the time when the Pearsons had a messy divorce from their first wife. He goes to a bar to see Jack and Rebecca after a 1970s Christmas Eve fight with his dad.
Rebecca had a weird grudge against him. Jack Pearson's two favorite people will be jazzed up with a dose of dramatic irony. The first time that I ever felt homesick was when I left you on the porch.
This episode emphasizes simplicity instead of stretching out the drama of Rebecca and Miguel's relationship. Rebecca can sometimes be passive in her personal life, but she has a certain confidence when she knows what she wants. She was the one who made the first move with Jack and the one who made the first move with Miguel. Even as her new relationship sends her kids spiraling, there is no question that Rebecca and Miguel are meant to be together.
The midlife romance between Rebecca and Miguel is so sweet that I would happily stay in that time period. The amount of time they had together as a couple is emphasized by the fact that they only had a few scenes. The lengthy break between when they parted ways in 1999 and when they came back online in 2008 had costs. They were together for 12 years before Rebecca was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. They appreciated every moment more than most people.
Like Jack, he found his purpose in Rebecca. Like Jack, there is an element of guilt at play in his dedication. In the same way Jack poured himself into Rebecca and the Big Three to make up for not saving Nicky in the Vietnam War, Miguel dedicates himself to Rebecca and her family to make up for his failures as a husband and father. He takes care of Rebecca on his own, making sure she is taken care of in a safe way. He never leaves her side even when he accepts help, and he will care for her until the end of his days.
It's easy to take for granted that sort of quiet, largely invisible caretaking. At the end of the series, This Is Us finds time to give the man his due, both in life and death. The baseball field he played at as a kid in Puerto Rico and the apple tree he grew for Rebecca at the Pearson family cabin are both where his ashes are scattered when he dies. Maybe that is Miguel in a nutshell. In some ways a Pearson family outsider and in other ways the most loyal Pearson of them all.
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