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This 'This Is Us' Fan Theory Might Just Reveal When We'll Find Out About Jack's Death


We’re halfway through the second season of This Is Us, and fans of the show still don’t know when or the details of how Jack Pearson died. Although viewers have learned some bits and bobs about the Pearson clan, there’s been very little new information revealed about Jack since we found out he likely perished in a fire in episode one (aside from the fact he once had a brother named Nicky).

Creator Dan Fogelman told Entertainment Weekly back in September that the fire in season 2 wasn’t a red herring. So we know that that, at least, is a sure thing. Now, a new fan theory from Redditor MaineSoxGuy93 suggests that Jack’s fate will be revealed to viewers on the real-life 20th anniversary of his death.

They wrote: “A thought just occurred to me. The Big 3 were born in 1980. They are now 37. Jack died in their senior year of high school. So that means Jack died somewhere between 1997-98. That means the twentieth anniversary of his death is coming up. We will find out how he died on the 20th anniversary of his death.”

MaineSoxGuy93 makes an intriguing case. We know for certain—thanks to episodes we’ve already seen—that Jack dies during Randall, Kate, and Kevin’s senior year of high school. The show is seasonally accurate, so when it comes back in early 2018 after its winter recess, the Pearson kids will likely be starting the second semester of their senior year.

Fogelman also revealed in the same September EW interview that we won’t have to wait until the last episode. “It’s fair to say you’re not going to learn everything about Jack’s death next week, but you’re not going to wait until the season finale, either,” he said. “It’ll be somewhere in between.”

It really is perfect timing for the writers, and it definitely gives MaineSoxGuy93’s theory some legs. The only thing to do now is mark our calendars for the show’s return on January 2.

Related Stories:
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–This Fan Theory Questions Everything We Know About Jack’s Death on ‘This Is Us’
–A ‘This Is Us’ Fan Theory Blames Jack’s Death on the Washing Machine, and It’s Actually Convincing



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'This Is Us' Directors Explain Why We've Never Met Jack's Brother Before


Tonight’s episode of This Is Us—appropriately titled “Brothers”—packed a lot into 42 minutes. We learned via a super early flashback that Jack has a younger brother named Nicky, which gives us even more insight (and questions) into Jack’s mysterious past. We also saw Kevin struggle to keep up appearances at a charity gala because of his addiction to pain meds. Then, after Kate told Toby she’s pregnant, she sternly instructed him not to talk about their unborn child until after the baby is born. Of course, that was until she decided to bend that impossible rule and let Toby tell one person at a local coffee shop, which then turned into a Hootie & the Blowfish song-and-dance routine followed by an ode to Flashdance. Got that?

Obviously, we needed answers immediately about all of the above—so executive producers Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, who directed the episode, hopped on the phone to fill us in.

So, Jack has a brother. Was there ever any previous reference that this sibling existed?

John Requa: I don’t think we have, as far as we can remember. The point of this episode is to show that Jack has been hiding this. He also had a serious alcohol problem that he completely concealed from his wife and his family, and he’s concealed this dark part of his past as well. I think [it’s the same thing as] when we see Kevin keeping secrets and being evasive. We see the weaknesses of the father passed on to the son, so for this episode, titled “Brothers,” it fit nicely into the theme. The reveal informs all the scenes before it.

The way Jack is dealing with Kevin—it’s the first time you’re seeing Jack be a bit short and testy with his kids—and it turns out, there’s a reason because he really wants this brotherhood to work. Once you see he had a brother of his own, well, that raises all sorts of questions: Is there regret there? Is there something he’s trying to replicate? Or something he’s trying to fix?

Should we assume that Nicky Pearson is alive in the present day? Or will that be a mystery solved later in the season?

John: We’re never going to explore the Nicky storyline. [Laughs]

Glenn Ficarra: If This is Us has taught us anything, it’s never assume anything. It’s safe to say, though, that you’ll be surprised.

Fair enough. At the beginning of the episode, viewers are told that Jack’s dad, Stanley, is on his deathbed. We don’t see him die by the end of the episode. Will he be back, or was that it?

Glenn: Well, I think we’re certainly open to come back and revisit him, but the main takeaway is that this man, because of his choices and his relationship with Jack, is going to die alone.

John: Whenever his demise is, it will be a miserable and lonely one. The message of the episode is that there are two sides to Jack: the open, gregarious father, who really works hard to be a good dad and mend the fences between the two brothers, and there’s the side that keeps secrets. Then you see Kevin keeping secrets and going down a dark path. You see Randall being this very involved father, trying to make this relationship work with Déjà, and then you see, if you go down the dark path, where it leads. It leads to you dying alone with your son unwilling to visit you in a nursing home. In the microcosm of this episode, that’s what we’re trying to say.

In this episode, you worked with a lot of young actors—from Jack and Nicky to Kevin and Randall—on some really difficult scenes. What was that like?

John: Milo Ventimiglia has really taken it on to develop relationships with the kids. When we were shooting that really great scene in the tent with Parker [Young Kevin], it was just a great performance, and he’s this little guy! Milo came up to me and said, “Parker’s been working really hard, and he wants to deliver some emotional weight to this scene.” I said, “OK.” When somebody says that—an actor, or in this case, it was Milo—you really get your crew in line and get out of the way and let them do it. He came in there, and in take one he came from a really raw, emotional place. He really delivers a remarkable performance.

Glenn: To watch all the kids grow is a really great thing, but you don’t want them to lose that wildness of being children. We want them to be a family and drive their parents crazy, so you find a way to work with them that keeps them as a tight unit but doesn’t strip them down, either.

John: Milo knows all the rules right now. He’s like half-parent, half-acting coach for those guys. I always say when we’re about to direct an episode, “OK, Milo, what’s the deal?” And he says, “Well, this one, he’s thought about [the scene]…” Milo is a very thoughtful guy and he understands how tricky it can be. He was a young actor himself, and he really deserves a lot of the credit of the level of performances those kids get to.

Let’s talk about Kevin and Sophie for a minute. It’s really interesting to see him unravel just as his career is on the upswing and he’s back with Sophie. What can you share about what’s to come? And what’s Sophie’s role in this?

Glenn: In a lot of ways, he’s revisiting his relationship with Sophie. Kevin isn’t done growing yet. How Sophie factors into it, we’re going to see. Is Kevin on his way up or his way down? Just because he’s going back to this relationship with Sophie doesn’t mean he’s fixed all the problems. That’s really going to inform the next few episodes, and you’ll see where that’s going to go. It’s time he deals with that. Through no fault of her own, Sophie is unaware of what’s going on, just the way that Rebecca was unaware of what was going on with Jack and his problems. These things can be insidious and the shame of having a problem forces you to keep secrets. You can get really damn good at it.

PHOTO: NBC/Ron Batzdorff

John: Sophie is what he can lose, and how it affects his family and how it affects his relationship…that’s really what addiction is about. It’s not about wandering the streets. It’s about the people you love, and the damage you do to those relationships that are so vital in your life. Addiction is always an ensemble. It’s never about one person. An addict will say, “This is my choice.” But ultimately it’s not really your choice, because your actions affect the people that you love. The stakes of your actions are that you hurt people you love. In many ways, Sophie is what Kevin has to gain and what he has to lose as he goes forward.

Glenn: We talked with an addiction expert, who said the opposite of addiction is not moderation. The opposite of addiction is connection. The only thing that really can cure you of addiction is human connection, and it’s one thing you lose as an addict. You sever all those connections, and you fold in on yourself.

Finally, I want to ask about Kate and Toby. Who among the writing staff is such a huge Hootie & the Blowfish fan that they wanted that song to play during Toby’s celebratory dad-to-be announcement?

John: [Laughs] Tyler Bensinger wrote the episode, and his favorite band is Hootie & the Blowfish. He actually, for a period, follows them around, like people follow The Grateful Dead. He follows them around, and he wears—to the writing room—a Hootie & the Blowfish hoodie once a week. He loves them. He’s obsessed with them! He’s been lobbying, ever since he’s come on the show, to get Hootie & the Blowfish in there. We love it because it kind of makes sense that that would be Toby’s favorite song. Actually, it’s not his favorite song; it’s his happy song! [Laughs] It makes the scene really funny, I think.



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'This Is Us' Season Two Episode Three Revealed New Clues About Jack's Death


Was your head spinning at the end of tonight’s This Is Us episode, too? There were so many flashbacks to unpack, including new scenes of Kevin and Kate on the night Jack died and the days (or was it months?) leading up to his passing. And in the process, new clues were dropped throughout the episode; not only did we find out how that scrappy dog became part of the Pearson family, but we might have uncovered a side of Kevin that was never even on our radar.

The good news is that the writers of tonight’s episode—executive producers and co-showrunners Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger—understand your confusion. They may not be able to answer everything we’re dying to know, but they were happy to clarify the episode’s biggest moments and what to look out for as the season unfolds. But be warned: If you haven’t seen tonight’s episode, then proceed with caution.

When Kevin and Stallone are in the middle of filming their movie, Ron Howard says to Kevin, “Remember, [Stallone] is like a father to you and he’s going to die on your watch if you don’t save him.” Was that meant to indicate Kevin feels like he wasn’t able to save Jack?

Elizabeth Berger: I definitely think it’s triggering feelings of Jack; Stallone is an actor Jack loved, so having to do a scene where he’s saving him from death is a big mixture of complicated emotion. It’s not necessarily touching on the specifics of his death, but touching on having lost the father he loved so much.

Later on in the episode, Kevin tells Kate, “I don’t need to walk around and be sad and damaged just like you are.” That was such a powerful line that called back to last week’s exchange of words between Kate and Rebecca. Was there something more to his comments we don’t know about yet?

Isaac Aptaker: That’s one of my favorite lines from the episode. What that line speaks to is last season we saw Kate start to do a lot of work when she went to the weight loss camp and it sort of broke her open and moved her closer to being able to talk about what happened to her dad and the tragedy of her family. Kevin hasn’t done any of that, and that’s kind of him putting on his defense mechanism because he’s scared his sister is making this progress and he’s unable to. He lashes out in the moment, but what’s really going on there for Kevin is he’s a little bit almost jealous of his sister that she’s been able to move on with her life and deal with her feelings.

PHOTO: Ron Batzdorff/NBC

The last five minutes of tonight’s episode were loaded with flashbacks and clues, starting with the moment we see teenage Kate approach Kevin and Sophie asleep in a car to tell them about Jack’s death. Then we see another flashback of Kevin being in the hospital with a cast on his leg, and Jack puts a necklace around his son’s neck. What was the significance of that necklace?

Isaac: It’s a necklace that we will reveal the significance of later in the season, but that’s the necklace that Kevin as an adult wears around his neck every day.

Elizabeth: It’s one that we’ve seen Jack wearing throughout the series.

Later in present time, Kevin calls Kate to apologize for his words and says, “Kate, it’s really hard for me with Dad.” This, of course, is the first time we see him verbally acknowledging the pain from Jack’s death. Justin Hartley’s performance was absolutely beautiful, so please tell me we’ll see more to this side of Kevin.

Elizabeth: Justin was absolutely amazing. Kevin has a lot bottled up and moves through life being charming and friendly, but as we saw last season in terms of how much he was there for his siblings, there’s so much more to him than meets the eye. There’s a lot churning beneath the surface. Part of his journey, even within the season, is going to be bringing some of that up and being able to verbalize his feelings on Jack’s death.

When Kate and Kevin get off the phone, Kate looks longingly at Jack’s urn and says, “He’s just like you.” At that moment we see Kevin pulling out some prescription drugs because obviously he’s in pain from his knee injury on the film set. Were you alluding to an addiction problem there? He hesitated at first when taking the pill, which one doesn’t normally do. What should the audience be thinking in that last minute of the episode?

PHOTO: Ron Batzdorff/NBC

Elizabeth: They should be thinking, I wonder what’s going to happen! [Laughs] There’s a more sort of obvious interpretation in terms of…it’s an episode where Jack has been struggling to verbalize his feelings and speak out loud about everything he’s been going through. And yes, perhaps Kevin might be like him in other ways that we explore.

Last season when Randall’s hands started shaking, my first thought was, “I hope he doesn’t have Parkinson’s or a neurological disorder.” Surprisingly—and refreshingly—it wasn’t that at all. That’s why I ask, am I reading too much into this? Or could Kevin really have a problem with addiction?

Elizabeth: We are glad you are wondering because, yeah, you’re gonna have to stay tuned.

Isaac: It’s open to interpretation. With Jack and Kevin last season, in the episode “Jack Pearson’s Son,” where Kevin [comes to Randall’s aid], it shows all the positive ways Kevin is like his father, and how he is there for his brother and a support system for Kate. Then this year, in this episode, we’re looking at the less than exemplary ways that Kevin is like Jack with the withholding of feelings. So yeah, whether or not that also encompasses addiction is something that we’ll have to wait and see.

Let’s move on to Jack and Rebecca. He tells her he feels like he’s holding on by a thread. Obviously he’s referring to his alcoholism, but was that statement made to foreshadow his death?

Elizabeth: That line in the moment speaks truly more to his emotional state. I don’t think there’s anything too hidden in that.

Meanwhile, it was interesting to see Rebecca and Miguel’s ex-wife, Shelly, together since it adds a whole other layer to how Rebecca and Miguel became a couple. Have we established whether Shelly is alive in the present day?

Isaac: We have not. We’ve said nothing about Shelly’s whereabouts in the present day.

Is that a story we are going to see explored this season? The fact that Rebecca is talking about her sex life with Jack to Shelly would make me think things are going to get awfully complicated down the line with Miguel. What can you speak to about that?

Isaac: There’s definitely something that will come up at some point. We’ve told the audience and shown that Rebecca and Shelly were best friends for a big part of their adult lives, so certainly once Rebecca does get with Miguel, whenever that is, the Shelly side of the equation is something that will need to be dealt with.

Elizabeth: We are going to delve a little bit more into Miguel and Rebecca’s relationship this season because there’s a lot to be explored there. We will get a better sense of what happened there.

PHOTO: Ron Batzdorff/NBC

It was so sweet to see Jack with this stray dog at the end, but obviously heartbreaking because we know Kate was holding this same dog closely on the night Jack died. What can you tease coming up?

Elizabeth: I don’t know how much we can tease, but we definitely are going to give some really big answers this season, as Jessica Radloff Dan Fogelman has promised. We hope that people consistently feel like they are receiving satisfying information.

Isaac: It’s the question on everyone’s mind, and we’re going to tell the story exactly as we’ve always intended to, which we think will play out in a very satisfying way.

Just tell me we will get a lot of future scenes with Milo and this stray dog.

Elizabeth: There will be definitely some of that. [Laughs]

Isaac: I feel like that should be a calendar. We should sell that at the NBC store: Milo and this dog. Or maybe there’s a spin-off we should create. There’s no dialogue, just Milo playing with a dog for a half hour.



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'This Is Us' Season 2 Episode 1 Recap: We Just Learned Something Huge About Jack's Death


You’ve been waiting for months, and it’s finally here: This Is Us season two! Yes, America’s favorite form of catharsis is back (and weepier) than ever. I’m still reeling from all the info revealed in this premiere, so let’s just dive right in, shall we?

The episode opens with some familiar—but, damn it, so effective!—emotional pull tactics: Randall’s late father, William, is writing a book of poems for his son as Rebecca drives the teenage Big Three to a diner where Jack (and his goatee) are waiting. Remember, Rebecca and Jack got in a huge fight last season because that random dude from Rebecca’s “band” kissed her. Well, it turns out they didn’t resolve their differences because Jack’s temporarily moving to Miguel’s remote cabin, which is only just a little bit creepy.

The kids are (rightfully) pissed. Teenage, hickey-covered Kevin asks Rebecca and Jack if they’re getting a divorce; they say no, which I don’t exactly believe. The Pearson family is in complete shambles at this point, and I’m sad about it. I’m also bored. This episode is kind of dull so far?

At the cabin, Jack’s complaining to Miguel about the state of his marriage while making a depressing futon. He tells Miguel not to put sheets on his bed because “sheets are for long-term guests.” This is both gross and unnecessary. Jack insists Rebecca will call him to make up, but I bet $1,000 that she doesn’t call until episode five because this show loves to Drag. Things. Out.

Cut to Rebecca eating breakfast with the Big Three teenagers alone. No one’s talking, so Rebecca suggests they go see a Tom Hanks movie because…that’s the answer to all family disputes? I mean, maybe she’s right? Should I go watch Terminal the next time I fight with my mom?

In a flashback from last season, we learn teenage Randall—the best teenager by a mile—knew about the fight Jack and Rebecca had. He warmly offers Rebecca some candy during the Tom Hanks movie, and Kevin made a sick incest joke about this that I’m just going to blaze past. Teenage Kevin is low-key the worst, but I definitely would’ve had a crush on him in high school because I’m a masochist.

“We’re gonna give ourselves over to Tom Hanks,” – Rebecca

As always, the adult Big Three stories are more interesting. Randall, Kate, and Kevin are all turning 37 this year—this show loves a good birthday theme!—and their issues are more intense than ever. Randall wants to adopt a son, but Beth isn’t here for it. In fact, she’s so not here for it that she reads Randall for filth inside the adoption agency, saying that he only wants to do this to rectify his own childhood. Honestly, I lived for this shade. RuPaul would’ve been proud.

Sharing a cigarette in the parking lot, Randall says his adoption bug isn’t going away and Beth needs to get on board. Hmmm, not the best communication strategy, Randall (but he looked hot AF in this scene, so I’m good).

“I’m not throwing down with you in an adoption parking lot,” – Beth, living icon

Adult Randall visits Grandma Wig Rebecca to learn more about his adoption. Rebecca says she originally wasn’t down with adopting Randall, but she came around. She frowns approximately 6,000 times in this scene, which is strange because her monologue is supposed to be hopeful. Either way, I’m crying, so this friggin’ show is doing its job.

Meanwhile, Adult Kevin is in L.A. filming what looks like the worst movie alive. I think he’s proposing to a robot in it? His girlfriend, Sophie, was supposed to come out and visit for his birthday, but she can’t because of her mother’s M.S. Sophie seems more upset about missing potential Kardashian sightings than seeing her boyfriend, which I understand 100 percent. Kevin then makes some eerie joke about Sophie not sweating missing this trip because the Kardashians are like “Gremlins.” “By next week, they’ll be a bazillion more of them,” he says. This is very ironic given, ya know, this week’s news.

Adult Kate wants to sing, and, honestly, the world needs a pop star like her. I want her to release an electro-pop banger and have it climb the charts. She has to start small, though, so she attends a minor singing audition on her birthday but bails when she sees the skinnier, more conventional-looking competition. A totally understandable reaction—but for some unacceptable reason this angers Toby when she tells him. He has no right to police her emotions! And, more importantly, he’s ruining the fancy L.A. dinner Kevin planned for the two of them. He rented out an entire restaurant! That’s some fancy-people shit!

Toby and Kevin get in a huge, cringe-y fight about who should be “taking care of” Kate. It’s gross, and thankfully Kate steps in to proudly announce she doesn’t need any scrub to push or coddle her. She then goes back to the audition to “wipe the floor with those bitches.” Yes, that’s a literal line she said, and I’m squealing.

“The sexiest thing about you is how sexy you make me feel,” Kate, on Toby (aww, but also meh)

She goes to the audition, sings, and the male director blows her off. At first, Kate thinks it’s because of her size, and she claps back at the director with an incredible monologue. But he then lets Kate hear the backup singer for the gig, and she’s, like, a million times better than her. So, no, she didn’t get the job, but it’s because of her ability—not her size. TBH, I’m here for this twist.

Kevin explains that he has a hard time letting go of his sister because being a great brother is the only thing he’s naturally good at. This is sweet, but a little weird because he’s 37. Also, he was brilliant in The Manny, so this is a straight-up lie.

In the plot twist everyone saw coming, Beth finally comes around to the adoption, but she has one request: They need to adopt an older kid who the world has turned its back on. Honestly, this is such warm, surprising development in their storyline, and I have nothing snarky to say about it. Beth and Randall are the best.

“We’re perfectly imperfect,” Randall, on his relationship with Beth

Meanwhile, back in the ’90s, Jack goes to the bar Rebecca used to sing at and asks if there’s any room in the lineup for a solo female act. The bar owner says no because it’s the ’90s, but honestly if he heard Mandy Moore’s “In My Pocket,” he’d change his mind.

Then, Rebecca actually goes to Miguel’s sketchy cabin to talk to Jack. She says she’s upset and shouldn’t have let him leave. Apparently, Jack’s been drunk for “weeks,” and he admits he has a problem that he needs to handle before coming home. He says he needs to fix this on his own and slams the door—but Rebecca says they’ll fix it together. OK, this is a genuinely poignant scene, and I’m tearing up. Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia have amazing chemistry.

But wait…we just panned to the teenage Big Three at a later date, and Kevin’s wearing a full leg mask. WTF?! And the Pearson house is completely destroyed from a fire! WTF again?! And Rebecca’s crying! What’s happening? Does this mean Jack…died in the house fire? The episode, of course, fades to black before answering anything. And just like that I’m hooked again. Ugh, Dan Fogelman and his tricks.

Parting thoughts: They’re really going to drag out Jack’s death, aren’t they? Whatever. I’m here for it.

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