How did Jack Pearson die? It's the question fans of This Is Us have been asking ever since his daughter Kate (Chrissy Metz) revealed that her dad had passed in Episode 5 "The Game Plan." But it seems that fans won't have to ask it much longer. According to Deadline, This Is Us will reveal how Jack died in Season 2. Creator Dan Fogelman told the website that fans will learn what happened to the dad with a heart of gold next season — starting with the Season 2 premiere.
“There’s going to be a big piece of the puzzle told in the first episode back," he said. "All the looming questions that I’m getting asked about on a daily basis will be answered, and I think a whole bunch of new ones will be asked.” Clearly, how Jack died is not the most important question of the show, but one of many.
Fogelman told Deadline his writers have been going back and forth on when would be the best time to reveal Jack's death. Many fans wished it would have happened in This Is Us' first season finale. But, in the end, the writers stuck with their original plan. "We always planned on ending the [first season] as we did, and we always planned on starting the first episode as we will," he said. "And we always planned on what would happen in this second season as we did it.”
Fogelman's quote hints that all of those "how did Jack die?" theories didn't play a significant role in how the show approaches the story. This may be why Milo Ventimiglia, who plays Jack, would like people to calm down about Jack's death. In an interview with The New York Post, the actor said, “People are dissatisfied no matter what. If Jack dies: ‘Why did you kill him?’ If Jack lives: ‘Why didn’t you show us how he died?’ People just need to calm down… and understand that things are going to unfold as they’re supposed to unfold."
But in contrast to the actor's words, fans may be more inclined to comb through the first season looking for clues. Already, the biggest tease has been Episode 17, where Kate told Toby (Chris Sullivan), “It’s my fault… I’m the reason he’s dead.” The episode ends with a shot of a drunk Jack calling his teenage daughter to tell her he wants to work on his marriage, which seems to be falling apart, before getting into his car. Many have guessed Jack dies in a car accident.
Others have noticed that Jack's drinking has been a thread throughout the first season. He begins by telling Rebecca (Mandy Moore) that he's going to stop drinking to focus on his family, only to go back to drinking later in the season when he's worried about his marriage — leading many to believe alcohol will be a factor in Jack's passing.
No matter how Jack dies though, it's going to be sad. And, it's not going to be revealed until the fall when This Is Us finally returns.
