Entertainment
Though Sunday night blessed this dedicated fanbase with the chunk of information they've been craving for months, there's still plenty of questions yet to be answered on This Is Us (series writing: Kay Oyegun). We can finally say with certainty what happened to Jack — after initially escaping the slow cooker-induced flames that quickly and quietly engulfed the Pearson home, he suffered cardiac arrest back at the hospital, which the doctors attributed to severe smoke inhalation. The post-Super Bowl episode of the show also gave us fans a bit of a glimpse into why exactly Kate blames herself for Jack's death — he ran back into the home to retrieve her dog, meaning that he was inhaling the smoke for far longer than the rest of the family was.
The reveal of Jack's death, though heartbreaking, offered some closure for viewers who had agonized over all the potential possibilities. It means the show and its audience can begin to move on from this big mystery, and explore plenty of other twists and turns that are likely coming down the pike. There are already plenty of things that This Is Us has introduced that are begging to be expanded upon. Here are the biggest questions that still remain even after Sunday's big reveal.
1How Does Teenage Kevin React To The News About Jack?
We know Kevin, as an adult, still isn't exactly handling his father's passing well. And the show did give us a small look at Kate telling him that Jack had died, but there's still more to explore with teenage Kevin in the direct aftermath. The scene in which Kate delivered the news was quick, and happened while a lot of other things were also going on. It'd be really insightful to hear what Kevin, as a teenager, has to say, and if the guilt he feels as an adult came on immediately or slowly after years of stewing on it.
2Why Did Deja Come Back?
Everybody is probably still recovering from the chills felt when Deja was the one waiting outside Beth and Randall's front door. She is their former foster child, whom they had to heartbreakingly let go earlier in the season as she headed back to her biological mom.
It remains unclear why Deja came back to the Pearsons, but she definitely bonded with Beth and Randall during her time with them. Whether her mother got into some trouble again or she simply missed her former foster parents, it seems safe to say Randall and Beth would welcome her back with open arms.
3How Will Foster Care Continue To Affect Tess?
Perhaps one of the biggest reveals in the post-Super Bowl episode was that which surrounded the little boy we ultimately thought was Randall and Beth's newest foster child. Instead, that boy we saw was a foster child that a grown-up Tess was helping find a home. The show then offered a glimpse at a grandpa-age Randall, proudly watching his daughter work. This was heartwarming because it meant two things — fostering children affects Randall and Beth's biological kids in a positive way, and also that Randall is locked into surviving into old age. Whew. It'll be interesting to watch just how Tess continues to head down this path, and what childhood experiences will push her toward social work.
4Will There Be More Flash-Forwards?
As a dedicated and unwavering fan of Lost, the moment I realized that This Is Us was showing us a scene set in the future shook me to my core. Flash forwards would be an intriguing way to continue expanding the story even as Jack's death fades further from the main focus. The show is about family, after all, and continuing to show multiple generations in Randall's children (and maybe Kate's and Kevin's down the road) would be a great way to see how Jack set the foundation for his grandkids to flourish.
5Will Kate And Toby Have Another Pregnancy On Their Hands?
She mentioned in an earlier episode that she and Toby were giving pregnancy another try, but it remains unclear whether Kate is ready after the traumatic miscarriage she suffered toward the beginning of the season.
6How Do Rebecca And Miguel Get Together?
It's been proven that Miguel definitely wasn't going after Rebecca while Jack was still alive, and even hinted that they didn't reconnect until years after the tragedy. But we still don't know the whole story behind how exactly Rebecca and Miguel's friendship blossomed into a romance, and we've yet to see the inner struggle Rebecca surely dealt with in order to come to terms with her developing relationship with him.
7Will Kevin Continue To Triumph Over His Addictions?
Kevin's seemed far healthier in recent episodes than he did when he basically hit rock bottom a couple months ago. Addiction is an ongoing battle, though, and it doesn't ever go away completely. He's seemed more open to facing Jack's death, though, which can't be a bad thing on his road to recovery.
8What Happened To Jack In Vietnam?
Jack was never exactly open to sharing the details of what he went through in the war, so it largely remains a mystery, perhaps even to the people who were closest to him. He showed Randall a name on the Vietnam memorial when they traveled to Washington, D.C., but still remained cryptic about the things he did and saw.
9What Happened To Jack's Brother?
Jack's brother was presumably in Vietnam with him, if we're judging by the photos he kept out in the garage, hidden away from the rest of the family. They endured an abusive alcoholic father together, and his name might have been the one he and Randall observed at the memorial, but ultimately no information has been given on what actually happened to him — or whether Rebecca and his other kids even knew he had a brother.
10Why Is Dr. K back?
The promos for Tuesday's episode (yes, this Tuesday, Feb. 6 — you have little time to recover) showed a familiar face. Dr. K, who delivered Rebecca and Jack's triplets way back in the first season, appears to be back in the picture. He offered some incredible words of wisdom to Jack as he faced the death of Kyle, their baby who didn't make it through the delivery, and now it seems he may be back to hold Rebecca's hand in a similar fashion as she mourns Jack. We can't know for sure how he found her again, but hopefully he'll have some healing words for viewers.
Now that Jack's death has been essentially explored in full, This Is Us has some work to do. It set an incredibly high bar for itself with the first major story arc of the show, and now it heads into uncharted territory. The people behind the drama have always insisted that there is a plan, though, and the twists and turns of Sunday night's episode show that they've likely got no shortage of material up their sleeves.