Entertainment
The first season of NBC's breakout series This Is Us comes to a close on Tuesday, March 14, with a highly anticipated season finale. Jack's fate has been teased throughout the first season and through the show's creative timeline, fans have pieced together the details to form many theories about Jack's death on This Is Us. When we left off, fans had concluded that Jack took his teen daughter Kate's advice and decided to drive to Ohio to repair things with Rebecca. However, he was drinking and driving. Since Kate blames herself for his death and the trailer shows him driving with a six pack towards the Pennsylvania-Ohio border, many fans believe we'll see him die in a car accident in the season 1 finale. But would that mean the end of his story, or will Jack be on This Is Us Season 2?
When the show first confirmed that Jack is dead in the present day, actor Milo Ventimiglia told Entertainment Tonight that his fans did not need to worry. “Going into this show I knew that my character was always going to be past and I was OK with it," Ventimiglia said. "Dan Fogelman, our creator, he was like, ‘Milo, you're not going anywhere.’”
Whew. Did you get that? Ventimiglia is not going anywhere and that's part of the beauty of This Is Us. Jack has sort of always been both alive and dead throughout the series. The show depicts his life with his children, and his children's adult lives where he has always been dead. There are still plenty of opportunities for Jack's character next season, as there are still many unexplored chapters in the Pearson family's story. Since Ventimiglia is here to stay, here are the stories I'm hoping to see play out in Season 2.
Jack Before Rebecca
What was Jack's life like before he met Rebecca? We know a little bit about his abusive dad, but what about his adulthood? We'll get a small glimpse of it in the Season 1 finale, bet there are surely more untapped storylines to be found in Jack separating from his dad and finding his own way.
Jack & Rebecca's First Date
So, fans love Jack and Rebecca. They have a beautiful, romantic storyline. Let's see more of that, please. I mean, these two have chemistry. I think we'd all like to see more of that steamy, pre-kids chapter of their life together.
How Jack Met Miguel
Jack and Miguel have a longer history than Rebecca and Jack and we still have so much to learn about Miguel. This could be really interesting for fans to see.
Jack & Kevin
So, Jack and Kate have a lot of backstory, with the ashes, the daddy's girl stuff, the death, etc. And there have been some memorable Jack and Randall stories like the karate class and teaching him to tie a tie. But, what about Jack and Kevin? Frankly, there has not been enough baby Kevin backstory. I think Young Jack and Young Kevin deserve a shared plot already.
The Grief Of Losing A Child
We know know that the third triplet Rebecca was carrying didn't make it, and we briefly saw her mourn that loss in one episode, but This Is Us has largely shied away from this story. This is a tragedy that many families can relate to and is not often depicted on TV. I understand that Jack and Rebecca were overjoyed to have three healthy babies to take care of, but I think there's more grief to unpack with the death of their other child, even as time passed.
The Pearson Kids Growing Up
From family traditions to birthday parties, we have really only seen a glimpse of the Pearson kids' upbringing. There are tons of infant and toddler and childhood stories that have gone unseen and an indefinite amount of Jack storylines that could arise with them as This Is Us continues.
