What Happened To Audio On This Is Us

Remember This Is Us? We cried, we laughed, we related. But... something felt off towards the end.

I’m talking about the audio. Yes, the sound. Was it just me, or did the music become, shall we say, a bit much?

Don't get me wrong. The earlier seasons had a fantastic soundtrack. It added to the feels. Perfectly timed piano chords pulled at our heartstrings.

The Musical Onslaught

Then, BAM! Season five and six hit. It felt like a constant stream of indie ballads. Were we watching a drama or a very long music video?

Every. Single. Scene. Needed. A. Song. Happy? Music. Sad? Music. Buying groceries? Yup, music!

I half expected the Pearson family to burst into a fully choreographed musical number. Imagine Jack and Rebecca tap-dancing their way through a fight! Okay, maybe not. But you get my point.

"The music became a character itself, and not a particularly subtle one."

It's like the writers thought we couldn't feel emotions without a constant reminder. They must've assumed we’d forgotten how to cry without a strategically placed ukulele.

Dialogue? What Dialogue?

Sometimes, I genuinely struggled to hear what the actors were saying. The music swelled, burying important lines. Subtlety was thrown out the window.

I found myself constantly adjusting the volume. Up for dialogue. Down for the emotional crescendo. It was exhausting! My remote control got quite the workout.

And the diegetic sound! Remember that? You know, actual sounds within the scene? Cars honking. Birds chirping. The sizzling of bacon. Gone! Replaced by more poignant melodies.

Unpopular Opinion Time

Maybe I’m alone in this. Perhaps everyone else enjoyed the wall-to-wall music. But I craved silence.

I wanted to actually hear the actors breathe. I wanted to feel the tension without being told how to feel.

Did the show underestimate its audience? Did they think we needed constant audio cues to understand the emotions? I think the acting and writing were strong enough on their own.

The Power of Silence

Think about some of the most powerful moments in television history. Often, they involve silence. A pregnant pause. A lingering look. A single tear falling.

This Is Us had those moments early on. But the later seasons often opted for musical overkill. They drowned out the quiet power of the performances.

I missed those moments. I missed the raw, unfiltered emotion. I wanted to connect with the Pearsons on a deeper level. But the constant music kept me at arm’s length.

Am I the Only One?

So, tell me. Was it just me? Did anyone else feel like the music in the later seasons of This Is Us was a bit… much?

Or am I just a grumpy old soul who prefers the sound of silence? Sound off in the comments! Let’s discuss!

Maybe I’m just longing for the days when we could all cry together, in comfortable silence, without a singer-songwriter telling us exactly how we should feel.

Perhaps Mandy Moore herself will weigh in! Now that would be something.

In the meantime, I'll be here, listening to the sweet, sweet sound of... nothing.