This Is Us finally revealed the cause of Jack’s death on Super Bowl Sunday, but will Milo Ventimiglia still remain on the show in some capacity?
We knew Jack was going to die, we just didn’t know how he was going to die. All season long fans tried to recreate the scene of the burned out house Rebecca sat outside and screamed the night Jack died. Did he die in the fire? What caused the fire? Did he escape the blaze and die some other way?
The conspiracy theorists can give it a rest now because on Super Bowl Sunday, the answer was revealed. Jack did escape the fire. He helped get Rebecca, Randall and Kate to safety but he went back in the house to grab Kate’s dog and a few special mementos he didn’t want to see lost in the blaze. It was a tense few moments as Jack lingered in the burning home as fans weren’t sure if he’d walk out the door, but he did, but that was just an evil twist.
Jack didn’t die in the fire but he died because of the fire. Specifically, Jack died of cardiac arrest due to the smoke inhalation that put too much tax on his heart. He suffered a widow maker heart attack as Rebecca put it bluntly to Miguel as she mustered up the strength to stay strong for her family.
One of the questions I’ve seen asked a lot from fans of the show is whether this means it’s the end for Jack Pearson on This Is Us. Specifically, if they’ll be able to see Milo Ventimiglia in any other episodes. I certainly hope so because there is plenty yet to learn about Jack’s past and his relationship with his family. After all, the show deals with a number of timelines, so I think it’s definitely doable.
And it sounds like Ventimiglia is at least hopeful of that too in comments he made in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. Dan Snierson asked the actor if he was relieved that this storyline was in the rear-view mirror when he gave this answer.
"“I am happy to have that in the rear-view. But it’s not the end of Jack. There is still so much to know about this guy.” … There’s a lot of life left in him — even in death, there’s a lot of life left in Jack."
It’s the end of that response that has me believing we’re still going to see Jack, in some way shape or form. I mean, his character has been dead this whole time and yet he’s still been on the show, so I think he’s going to remain on the show, but that’s just my gut telling me that.
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I don’t think this is a cut and dry situation like on Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead where dead is dead and you aren’t coming back from that. So in the case of Jack Pearson on This Is Us, I hope death isn’t permanent.