Warning: This article contains plot points from the This Is Us Season 4 finale, “Strangers: Part Two.”
This Is Us fans are still unpacking the show’s season 4 finale, which ended with the birth of a Pearson great-grandchild in the far future. And now, many are looking for meaning as to the child’s name.
In a flash-forward scene set decades from now, fans found out that Toby and Kate’s (Chris Sullivan, Chrissy Metz) adult son Jack Damon (Blake Stadnik) has a sibling named Hailey (Adelaide Kane). Little sis is seen by Jack’s side just as he welcomes his own baby girl with wife Lucy (Auden Thornton).
In a scene that teases flashbacks to young Rebecca Pearson (Mandy Moore) and the family matriarch on her deathbed decades later, it is revealed that Future Jack’s baby is named…Hope.
In comments on the This Is Us Instagram page, fans were surprised by the baby’s name, given the montage of Rebecca that was interspersed with the name reveal.
“I really thought they were going to name her Rebecca the way they kept panning back and forth between oldest Rebecca and Jack Damon,” one fan wrote.
Many others agreed that they were sure the baby was going to be named Rebecca, after her late great-grandmother.
But other fans pointed to another bombshell from the finale in which it was revealed that Kevin Pearson (Justin Hartley) is the father of twins after his hookup with Kate’s best friend Madison (Caitlin Thompson). In the finale-ending deathbed scene, viewers saw that Kevin is dad to a twin boy and girl. Their names weren’t revealed, but some fans speculated that the twins will be named after Pearson family members.
“Maybe Kevin’s daughter is already Rebecca,” one fan wrote.
Others noted that perhaps the boy is named Kyle after Kevin’s triplet brother who died during childbirth.
Other fans think the fact that the Damon baby is named Hope means that grandmother Kate may still be alive in the far future. This Is Us fans have been concerned because Metz’ Kate character has not been shown in age progression yet and appears to be missing from the family gathering at Rebecca’s deathbed.
“The baby being named Hope makes me believe Kate is still kicking it,” one fan wrote on Reddit . “If she passed that baby would 100% be named Kate.”
This Is Us fans may have a long wait before they find out the answers to all of the cliffhangers left in the Season 4 finale. In a press conference with The Hollywood Reporter and other outlets, showrunner Dan Fogelman said he adores the actors who play Future Jack and Hailey and he hopes to get back to those characters before the series ends in two seasons.