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3 Theories of What Happens Next Time on ‘This Is Us’

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Kristen Perrone

Speaking for all viewers of This Is Us, we are so close to what we’ve simultaneously been dreading and anticipating all season long. The saga of Jack’s death has begun and I don’t think my wee heart will survive. After last week’s episode dropped a major omen of Jack’s impending death, this week’s “That’ll Be The Day” crept toward the specifics of what exactly caused his passing. If we were on a rollercoaster right now, the end of this episode would equate to slowly ascending to the peak of the first big drop. Are you ready for this?

Yeah, me neither.

Although we learned that a faulty Crock-Pot started the fire in the Pearson home, we only caught glimpses of the family’s reactions in the next episode’s teaser. We now know that Kate watches Steelers games with her dad’s ashes out of guilt for missing that last game with Jack and that Kevin never saw Jack’s loving note to him, but we’re still left with some pressing questions. What exactly happens next? I definitely assumed that Jack would actually pass away in this week’s episode, but based on that teaser, this moment in time clearly isn’t as simple as it seems.

Until then, here are three of the biggest internet theories about what the post-Super Bowl episode may reveal about how Jack died.

1. Jack assumes Kevin is home and goes to his basement room to help him escape the fire

After he stored away Super Bowl snacks and turned off kitchen appliances (who else is afraid of their Crock-Pot now?), Jack left a note for Kevin saying that he loved him but that he still expected an apology for his behavior from him. Kevin spent the night at Sophie’s house and called Rebecca to let her know, but given the quick romantic turn of Mama and Papa Pearson’s night, telling Jack where Kevin was might have slipped Rebecca’s mind.

When Jack heard Randall coming home from his date, he thought it was Kevin, heavily hinting that he never knew his injured son was gone for the night. Plus, in the heat of the moment (no pun intended), Jack could have easily morphed into protective mode and instinctively went downstairs to find Kevin.

2. The family escapes safely, but Jack goes back inside when they realize the dog is still trapped

The entire season has danced around the exact role of the Pearsons’ dog in Jack’s death, but present-day Kate’s initial refusal to finalize her dog adoption basically confirmed that her first pet contributed to Jack’s passing somehow. The last we saw of the dog was him in his basket on the first floor, the same time that Jack was cleaning up the kitchen. Assuming that the dog was in that spot when the flames broke out, I would think that he either dove into a hiding spot or found his own way outside before the family even noticed the fire. Logically, the dog probably would have barked when the fire started, but given that we saw flames inch their way up the stairs and the dog was nowhere to be found, he might have escaped on his own. 

Perhaps teenage Kate panicked when she couldn’t find him and Jack tried to track him down, staying in the burning house too long. This would also explain why adult Kate said she feels responsible for Jack’s death. Jack dying because he tried to save the dog seems to be the internet’s most popular theory, which may mean that it’s incorrect and a way too obvious solution.

3. Jack sustains critical injuries in the fire that he later dies from

Since the teaser shows Jack actively working to help his family escape, this theory actually seems the most plausible to me. This Is Us loves a good fake-out, as we saw again this week with the reveal of who the old man George was. While Jack may not have died in the actual fire, it’s possible that he died soon after in an ambulance or the hospital.

In the Season 2 premiere, when we first learned about the fire, we saw Rebecca drive up to the house in the Steelers jersey she wore throughout this episode. Next episode’s teaser shows her still wearing it and gathering essential items before trying to escape the fire. Remember, she had a bag of Jack’s unharmed belongings in the car with her, suggesting that Jack emerged from the fire with only internal damage.

My guess is that he died very soon after leaving the house, as the premiere showed Kevin out with Sophie at the same moment that Randall and Kate were mourning Jack. If Jack was in stable condition at the hospital, Rebecca or one of the kids would’ve had the time to call Sophie’s house and tell Kevin. Maybe this was the case, since Kevin and Sophie were at that party in the woods and it’s possible that Kevin lied about Sophie’s mom being home to answer any phone calls.

However, even if her mom was home, this was 1998, and Mom couldn’t just send you a text asking where you were. Either way, things must have happened quick enough for Kevin to not know about Jack until it was too late.

Looking at the theories together, it’s totally possible that elements of all three are true. No matter what will go down, I think it’s safe to say that Milo Ventimiglia deserves all the awards for his heartbreaking performance, and Jack isn’t even dead yet! We’ll see what truly happens next in the new episode on Sunday, Feb. 4.

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Kristen Perrone is a Siena College Class of 2018 alumna. She studied English during her time at Siena.