Jack's Fate Is Finally Revealed On 'This Is Us'
It's pretty clear after a few week's of This Is Us that each episode will deliver at least one or two moments that are going to make me all teary-eyed - but "The Game Plan" was next level, because the feels just kept on coming. Now we know how the triplets were conceived, more about Kevin's insecurities, and finally, exactly where beloved Jack is in present day.
Rebecca and Jack
One of the very first scenes delivered a big shocker: A 29-year-old Rebecca didn't want kids. Surprising, considering she was totally in mom zone with her eight-year-old kids in past episodes. It's actually Jack who wants a family, and he makes the most heartbreaking face when she pours him a drink the morning of the Super Bowl and asks why someone would ever want kids. It happens again at the bar, where they go to watch the Steelers with Miguel and Shelley - which is pretty hard to handle, thanks to the twist at the end of episode 2, when (spoiler alert!) it was revealed that Rebecca ends up with Miguel. You know, Jack's best friend. His best friend.
Of course, Jack can't hide his feelings much longer and has ~the talk~ with Rebecca about how she doesn't want kids, which prompts her to ask "Am I not enough for you, Jack?" Definitely a conversation they need to have, but probably not the best one to have at a crowded bar, proven true when their arguing gets loud enough to spark comments from a neighboring group and prompts Jack to throw a fist into a stranger's face. Is it bad to kind of be rooting for Milo Ventimiglia in this situation?
Later, Jack mentions he didn't think he would want kids, and explains that his father loved watching football more than anything, but when they would watch it together, he didn't let him talk. "I always imagined that when I had kids, I'd watch the games with them, too," he says, "except I'd let them talk as loud as they want." Swoon.
Rebecca eventually confesses she doesn't know what's wrong with her, because all her friends have kids (hey, you do you, girl!). She admits she's not as far along in her life as she thought she'd be, but does see their future with kids. Jack promises her things don't have to change, and then they get it on in the bar bathroom after the Steelers win - and it's later revealed by Kate that this is where the triplets were conceived. Awwww.
Randall
Another couple struggling with the idea of having a baby? Randall and Beth, who escape to a hotel for the night, leaving Kevin and William in charge of the girls so they can have some time alone. Randall's epic speech about having "loud, adult, no-kids-in-the-room sex" and then watching Florence Foster Jenkins (always knew he'd be a Meryl fan, BTW) is cut short, though, when Beth reveals she's late. Commence freakout.
Watching their trip to the pharamacy is almost like a watching a couple who's never had kids panic over a pregnancy test - except, they're two well-off adults who already have two beautiful girls. But, this was unplanned, and they're scared, and Randall is absolutely mind-blown that this could happen even though his wife takes the pill "every day like clockwork" (sorry, buddy, it's not that simple). He eventually warms up to the idea of having a son, and it's probably safe to say everyone watching was hoping they would have a boy and name him William. Beth, meanwhile, struggles with the fact that she was planning to go back to work and remember who she was again. It turns out she isn't pregnant - they are, however, able to reference that their baby could have a nanny or a manny. Shout out to Uncle Kevin.
Kate
Things are progressing nicely with Toby, and it's great to see her concerned about something besides her new boyfriend's ex - that thing being the Steelers, of course. She likes to watch Sunday night football alone, which social butterfly Toby cannot comprehend in the slightest. But after he gives her the most adorable homemade greeting card in the world, featuring a miniature Kate and Toby watching the game, she joins him at his place with his friend - although she quickly gets annoyed when they talk through the game and pause. the. television. Come on, guys!
Even I know you NEVER pause a live sporting event. #ThisIsUs
- Mandy Moore (@TheMandyMoore) October 26, 2016
One great thing about this couple is when they have their issues, they talk about it pretty quickly instead of letting the anger stew. Yay for mature relationships! Kate opens up about how she grew up watching football with her dad every single Sunday, until she moved away and got out of the habit. In 2006, she watched a championship game with him and they won, then won the Super Bowl. She said "It's just what I do now, I watch the Steelers and I watch them with my dad." Cue collective stomach sinking, because her dad didn't appear to be around... And sure enough, after Toby says he'd love to meet her father sometimes, she pulls out an urn. With ashes. Because Jack is dead. The beautiful Milo Ventimiglia is no longer around and everything is awful.
Kevin
Kevin, or Uncle Kevin, if you will, is delighted to be spending time with Randall and his family because New York is getting lonely for our favorite Hollywood star. But getting all these complicated lines right is tough, even with William (AKA the biggest Manny fan) there to help. The girls want to play games with him, but he puts them to work, too - only to then crush their hopes and dreams when they ask if Grandpa is going to die. His first reaction, "Why are you asking me?" is the perfect response of every adult who has to deal with someone else's kids big questions. But instead of playing along, he says "I wouldn't get too attached if I were you," and tries to save himself by saying he was joking. Oh, Kevin. So much to learn.
After sufficiently upsetting his nieces, Kevin laments that he shouldn't be the one talking to them about the intricacies of life and death, and William delivers the after-school special lesson the episode needed: He thinks Kevin doubts himself, but he shouldn't, and also he was great on Manny. "You're the wise owl in the Pixar film. I'm the dopey labrador," he says. Never has there been a more accurate or incredibly analogy.
And then Kevin's the one delivering a Danny Tanner-style lesson of his own when he goes to apologize to the girls and shares his big secret: He paints! When he gets a script, he paints the way it makes him feel. He explains his latest work, saying, "I felt like the play is about life, and life is about color, and we each get to come along and add our own color to the painting." Basically, life goes on to infinity and everyone is connected forever. Including his dad, Jack, and Randall's biological father - who apparently soon dies, quietly revealed in what might be the most heartbreaking scene of the season, as Randall packs up his belongings while sobbing. How many father figures must these characters lose in one short hour, NBC?!
In a poignant shout-out to the show's title, Kevin adds, "There's no dying. There's no me or you or them. There's just us." Cut to a scene of the whole family as their younger selves cheering while watching the Steelers, confirming that Jack does get to be the father he always wanted to be. So maybe it will be OK even though two of the most lovable characters are no longer with us. JK, of course it won't. At least there are still flashbacks?
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