Rebecca is waiting in the car for the kids outside their hotel room. They’re heading to Jack’s funeral. While she’s waiting, Rebecca finds tickets to a Bruce Springsteen concert the family was supposed to go to together. They’ll never see another concert together again. They’ll never do anything together again. Rebecca remembers the day they got the family car. When Jack sees the kids in the Wagoneer, he knows what he has to do. He takes the car salesman into the office to talk and manages to get a good deal. He buys the car even though it’s out of their budget. This same car Jack fought so hard for is the same car the Pearsons are going to say goodbye to him in.
Rebecca is adamant about being at the cemetery before the urn gets there. Kate admits on the way there that she doesn’t want Louie anymore. He’s a constant reminder of her dad. All of the kids are on edge. Without Jack, the entire family is walking on uneven terrain. Nothing feels right.
Before Jack’s death, Rebecca had a health scare. He took her to his special tree to await the results. Jack told her that she was going to live forever. He knew she would be OK. And he was right. Jack knew in his heart that he would go first. He made Rebecca promise not to bury him. “Don’t put me in the ground,” he said.
Rebecca keeps her promise. She’s there right as the urn arrives. Rebecca, Kate, Kevin, and Randall all sit alone at the cemetery before the funeral. Kate and Randall cry during the service, but Kevin and Rebecca remain stoic. Grief is different for everyone. Everyone reacts differently. Miguel and Randall both speak at the funeral. When the service is over, Rebecca grabs the urn and takes it with her. She’s not letting Jack be alone again.
At the reception, Kevin sees Randall wearing Jack’s watch and confronts him about it. He focuses on something so trivial because it’s too hard to face his grief. Kevin doesn’t want Randall assuming he’s the new man of the house. He starts to blame Randall for allowing Jack to go back inside the house during the fire. “I would never had let him go back in,” Kevin says to his brother. Randall reminds Kevin that he wasn’t even there when the fire happened.
Dr. K shows up to the reception to pay his respects. He reveals Jack used to come by the hospital often for advice. Rebecca admits that she’s followed Jack’s urn around all day because she wasn’t there when he died. Dr. K listens to Rebecca and gives her some advice, just like Jack used to do. Rebecca and the kids take Jack’s ashes to his favorite tree. Rebecca knows that Kate blames herself. “It was not your fault,” Rebecca says. “He was a grown man, Kate. He made a choice.” She tells the kids that Jack had gotten them Bruce Springsteen tickets for tonight. She wants them all to go. As the kids go back to the car, she has a moment alone. “We’re going to be OK, baby,” she says. “I promise you we’re going to be OK.” Rebecca walks back to the car and drives across the bridge — conquering her fear — to the Bruce Springsteen concert, just like Jack would have wanted.
The Family Car
The Pearson family car isn’t just a means of transportation. It’s a vessel of memories. The family car is the same car Jack and Rebecca took the kids to a Weird Al Yankovic concert in. As they were driving, they got stuck on a bridge. A terrified Rebecca is consoled by Jack, who refused to let go of her hand.
Jack taught Randall how to drive in the family car. When Randall nearly crashed after he started fighting with Kevin, Jack made them walk home. He told his kids how “inseparable” he was with his brother. Jack wanted Randall and Kevin to have the same kind of relationship. Because they won’t always have each other.
Jack came upon Kate waiting for the bus in the family car. She skipped school to go get a signed copy of Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill. Jack didn’t take Kate home that day. He took her to get that signed copy. Jack may be gone, but Rebecca and the kids will never forget these special moments with him.
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