Everyone has a theory about how Jack Pearson will meet his untimely end during the special post-Super Bowl episode of “This Is Us” on Sunday. Here are ours.
Photo by: Ron Batzdorff/NBC
(Spoiler alert: If you aren’t caught up on “This Is Us,” or just don’t want to know how TheWrap thinks Jack will die during Sunday’s post-Super Bowl episode, then don’t read on.)
As everyone who loves football and good TV now knows, America’s favorite father, Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) of “This Is Us,” will meet his untimely end during Super Bowl Sunday of 1998 – which airs during the special post-Super Bowl episode of the hit NBC drama on Sunday . (Yeah, the time slot placement isn’t lost on us.)
While many clues and promos have made it clear the patriarch of the Steelers-loving family died the night of a house fire started by a Crock-Pot, we still haven’t learned how he passed. You probably have burning questions, and we have some theories you may warm up to. Before they throw you into a fiery rage, of course.
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1. Jack goes back into the house to save Kate’s dog.
We see teenage Kate’s dog Louie, alive, after the fire in the Season 2 premiere. So, we know he gets out OK. Adult Kate has such an aversion to dogs she almost backed out of adopting one for Toby. Add to that the fact Kate blames herself for her father’s death, and the idea that the family made it out of their burning home unscathed, but Jack ran back in to save the dog — it checks out. However, this is the most obvious answer. That means it probably isn’t the answer, because showrunner Dan Fogelman is too smart to throw this nonsense at the viewers he’s been consistently duping since the pilot.
2. Jack dies in the hospital after succumbing to injuries he sustained in the fire.
The burned remains of the Pearson home were featured prominently when Rebecca drove back to the scene in the season premiere, while Kate and Randall were crying their eyes out at Miguel’s house, post-fire. She has a bag of Jack’s things — a notebook, a watch, his wedding band — in the back seat. This suggests that Jack made it out of the house alive with these items, but may have still been injured and taken to the hospital, where he either died later that night or was pronounced DOA. Still horrible, but better than burning up.
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3. Jack goes back in to save Kevin — who ain’t home.
This is probably the most upsetting theory of them all, and luckily, you can’t blame us for it, as Cosmopolitan crafted this horrifying idea. Just because Kevin called Rebecca to tell her that he’s spending the night at Sophie’s at the end of the last episode, doesn’t mean she ever got around to telling her husband. Jack even says, “Oh, I thought you were Kevin,” when Randall comes into the kitchen, and then pins that note to Kevin’s door that reads, “Kevin, if I don’t see you before work tomorrow, I love you. You owe us an apology. Dad.” So, if Jack doesn’t know Kevin isn’t home and if Rebecca doesn’t relay that info to him before the family is escaping the flames, Jack would certainly rush to the basement to save his son. But why would Kate blame herself for her father’s death then? Maybe she doesn’t really, and has been lying to protect Kevin — who never found out why Jack went back into the house — all these years.
4. Jack dies of a sudden heart attack or aneurysm or other freak medical complication.
Just because Jack dies on the night of the fire, doesn’t mean he has to die because of the fire or even inside of the house when it’s ablaze. What if after successfully rescuing his whole family (and the dog), our hero drops dead due to a genetic heart defect, a brain aneurysm or some other underlying condition no one knew about? Come on, you have to admit a bizarre twist like this is just the kind of stunt “This Is Us” would pull on viewers.
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5. Kate kills Jack (stay with us here).
We know. We know. WE KNOW. This is a very dark theory that probably isn’t true. However, Kate has outright said she blames herself for her father’s death. While she may be linked to theory No. 1, it could also mean she literally killed her dad. What if while the family was rushing to get out of the house, Kate knocked her father down the stairs and he hit is head or — OK we can’t even go on with this one. Let’s just pretend this isn’t even a real possibility.
The special post-Super Bowl episode of “This Is Us” will air Sunday after the game (around 10:15 p.m. ET/7:15 p.m. PT) on NBC.
‘This Is Us’: The Biggest Tearjerker Moments So Far (Photos)
“This Is Us” is known for its twists and turns, but more consistent than that are the tears shed by its audience week in and week out. NBC
How Randall became the third triplet Even before the big time-jump twist was revealed on the pilot of “This Is Us,” the tears were already flowing when it was revealed that one of Jack and Rebecca’s triplets didn’t make it through childbirth. Struck by a moment of inspiration in grieving, the Pearsons decide to adopt a baby who had been abandoned and showed up at the hospital on the same day.
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Jack’s fate First, the show dropped the bombshell that Jack has been gone for so long that Randall’s kids consider someone else entirely their “grandpa.” We shouldn’t have been surprised to learn, then, that the Pearson family patriarch is actually dead, and had been since about 2006. Kate seems to have a hard time moving on from it, still maintaining a tradition of watching every Steelers game with her dad — even if it’s just his ashes left now.
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The truth about William We knew William was dying pretty early on, but that didn’t make him trustworthy. It took Beth gently chiding Randall about his inherent goodness and William’s shady behavior to get the truth out on the table: William isn’t still doing drugs, he’s been disappearing for hours on end each day in order to take the bus to his house to feed his cat. “Well now I feel like a bitch,” Beth quipped, and we wept.
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Toby’s past The heartbreaking moments don’t belong exclusively to the Pearsons. When Kate pushes, Toby reveals exactly why he’s not with his gorgeous ex-wife Joise anymore: Turns out, she was so horrible to him that he became suicidal and gained 100 pounds in a year. Ouch.
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The truth about William, Part 2 In the same episode that they killed Jack, “This Is Us” laid down another whopper: Randall cleaned up his daughter’s room, clutching some clothing left behind by William, implying he has said goodbye to yet another father (perhaps at some time in the near future). We don’t really even know what happened here yet, and we’re already crying.
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Kate the princess After being ostracized by her friends in the cruelest way possible, little Kate’s spirit was brought back to life thanks to a bit of magical storytelling by Jack, who hands her his t-shirt and tells her she can be anything she wants when she wears it, though she’s always a princess in his eyes. Who’s chopping onions around here?
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Rebecca and Shakespeare Finding herself unable to bond with her adopted son after the death of one of her triplets, Rebecca seeks out the baby’s birth father instead of telling her husband. Their heart-to-heart, where she refused his request for visitation and he gives her the inspiration to name the baby Randall, is one of the show’s most gut-wrenching so far.
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Randall just wants to fit in When the Pearsons discover little Randall is gifted, it seems like a great thing, until Jack gets it out of him that he’s been pretending to be not as smart as he is in order to fit in with his siblings. NBC
Jack’s sacrifice The Pearson patriarch decides to take the plunge and leave his steady job to open his own business – just as they get news that Randall is so smart he should attend a pricey private school. In the end, Jack puts his family first, taking a promotion he never wanted so his kids can thrive.
