The 13 most heartbreaking moments on 'This Is Us,' ranked

Jack Pearson's (Milo Ventimiglia) mother Marilyn Pearson (Laura Niemi) died on the fourth episode of season six titled "Don't Let Me Keep You," which aired in January 2022.

Jack was a devoted son who helped his mother get away from his abusive father. But when he moved to Pennsylvania from Ohio and eventually started a family, he drifted away from her.

He refused to let his wife Rebecca (Mandy Moore) travel to Ohio with their young triplets to support him for the funeral. But they showed up anyway.

Jack noticed his family in the middle of the eulogy for his mom, during which he talked about how as a child, he and his mom had escaped from his abusive home.

He thanked Marilyn's friends for creating a family for her. It's absolutely gut-wrenching to consider that he had to basically abandon her in order to be a better husband and father than his dad was.

Jack's mother triggered painful memories for him, but just because he couldn't include her in his life as much as he should have, doesn't mean he didn't love her. He only learned who his mother had become when it was too late.

Teenage Kate (Hannah Zeile) got an abortion when she found out she was pregnant after she broke up with her abusive ex-boyfriend Mark (Austin Abrams) on season five episode five called "A Long Road Home," which aired in January 2021.

Kate's mother Rebecca was out of town at the time, but we saw Kate almost pick up the phone when her mom called, perhaps ready to confess she needed support. She didn't get there in time.

Kate also went to Mark's place in the same episode to try and tell him she was pregnant, but when she realized he was never going to change, she decided to go through with the procedure alone.

Rebecca was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairments on the season four episode 10 episode called "Shadows And Light," which aired in January 2020.

After the doctor's appointment, she remembered the first time she and Jack said "I love you." Rebecca remembered her husband saying, "Rebecca Malone, I love you. Don't you ever forget it."

In the present day, she realized she had no control over the fact that she would forget that moment and many more from her life with Jack.

On season two's episode four, called "Still There," Beth Pearson (Susan Kelechi Watson) and her then-foster daughter Déjá (Lyric Ross) talk about Black hair and alopecia when Beth discovered patches in Déjá's hair.

Déjá was so scared to be vulnerable about her hair with Beth, and the ensuing conversation served as a reminder of the care that Déjá had missed out on for much of her life.

It was also rare to see a conversation like this on network TV and it was a small step forward in representation.

"Still There" aired in October 2017.

Toby (Chris Sullivan) and Kate's (Chrissy Metz) divorce was one of the most heartbreaking moments on "This Is Us." The fight on their front lawn was so intimate and raw that it felt like even the audience shouldn't have been watching.

It occurred on season six episode 11, "Saturday in the Park," (which aired in April 2022) after they brought their son Jack Jr. safely home from the park after he had run away.

Because Jack Jr is blind, his parents hurled insults at one another about how they had failed him. Kate was a wonderful advocate for Jack in the moment, but it hurt to watch a child's disability come between his parents.

The fight even got so bad that Kate's brothers Randall (Sterling K. Brown) and Kevin (Justin Hartley) had to break it up.

Randall met his birth father William Hill (Ron Cephas Jones) on season one of "This Is Us" when he was dying of cancer.

Near the end of his life, they took a road trip to Memphis where William grew up and he planned to die there.

One of the last things William told Randall was that he was scared to die. Randall took William's face in his hands and they breathed together to calm him down. The 16th episode of the first season, titled "Memphis," aired in February 2017.

On season one's 15th episode called "Jack Pearson's Son," which also aired in February 2017, we saw Kevin leave the opening night of his play to go help his brother Randall, who he sensed was having a panic attack.

It was early on in "This Is Us," so we were just learning about Randall's anxiety. Watching him crumple into his brother's arms was a heart-wrenching moment.

The first time we knew for sure Jack was dead was on the fifth episode of season one, which aired in October 2016.

Kate told her then-boyfriend Toby that she liked to watch football with her dad — she then showed Toby the urn Jack's ashes were in.

It was a simple moment but it showed audiences the depth of Kate's grief.

On season six episode 10, which aired in March 2022, Rebecca had to explain to her son Randall why he couldn't be the executor of her medical care wishes.

She explained that Randall had been there for her and taken care of her his whole life (even before Jack died) and he would try too hard to save her. She didn't want to hold him back anymore. She also called her son her "hero."

The weight of all of Randall's responsibilities came clearly into focus and it was also the beginning of Randall and Rebecca saying goodbye to each other.

Rebecca's kids said goodbye to her on the May 2022 episode called "The Train" (season six episode 17).

We watched as Kevin whispered, "I love you, Ma" at her deathbed, while Randall and Kate both cried.

This scene was gut-wrenching for all the obvious reasons, but it was interwoven with younger Rebecca as she imagined a train as a metaphor for death.

When she reached the last car and realized it was her time to die, she told William, "This is quite sad, isn't it?" The once-vivacious young Rebecca seems fragile and scared.

Her weak voice also signaled to fans that the true end of "This Is Us" was coming quickly.

Two of the early episodes of "This Is Us" also had one of the most dramatic storylines. Rebecca and Jack's third triplet, who was to be named Kyle, died in the hospital. "Pilot" and "The Big Day" aired in September 2016 and January 2017 respectively.

Jack learned the news of the baby's death via Dr. K on "Pilot" and Jack told Rebecca on "The Big Day."

Rebecca's illness meant her kids had to watch their mom die very slowly. "The end" for her came in stages, and one of the most concrete signs she was actually dying came on season six's episode seven called "Taboo," which aired in March 2022.

The Pearson matriarch sat her kids down and laid out her plan for her end-of-life care. Then she demanded that they promise her that they would continue living their lives in the biggest ways they could even though she was dying.

Moore gave the most heartbreaking performance of the whole series on season two episode 14, "Super Bowl Sunday," which aired on February 4, 2018.

When the doctor met Rebecca at the vending machine to tell her the news, her shock was exactly how the audience felt, even though we knew it had been coming.

No experience with the Pearsons was more heartbreaking than watching Rebecca go back to Jack's hospital room, only to find his bed empty.