8 Years Ago, NBC's Family Saga Delivered Network TV's Most Gut-Wrenching Death Of All Time

NBC‘s family epic delivered arguably the most brutally devastating death on network TV eight years ago today. The loss of characters is an integral part of storytelling. As a universal theme, it is used to humanize fictional players on the screen. For network TV, deaths are baked into its projects, partly because of the sheer number of crime and first-responder shows. In 2016, however, NBC debuted a pure family drama with This Is Us.

Created by Dan Fogelman, This Is Us was an immediate hit for NBC. It followed the story of the Pearson family — parents Jack and Rebecca, and their three kids all born on the same day: Kevin, Kate, and Randall. The narrative spanned decades, tackling the origins story of the family’s patriarch and matriarch all the way to the unknown future. If that was not a big enough challenge, This Is Us also told the tale of the Pearsons non-consecutively.

This Is Us Season 2, Episode 14 Revealed The Truth About Jack’s Death

From the get-go, This Is Us made it clear that it would have many twists. Instead of dragging the mystery of Jack’s whereabouts in the present time, the show confirmed early on that he died at some point during the Big Three’s teenage years. This moved the conversation to how exactly he perished, which became the drama’s central mystery in its first two years.

The answer came in on February 4, 2018. During This Is Us Season 2, Episode 14, “Super Bowl Sunday,” Fogelman finally revealed the truth about Jack’s death. Apparently, the Pearsons suffered a house fire after he failed to change the batteries on their fire alarm. A malfunctioning crockpot started the fire and by the time they realized what was happening, the whole house was already up in flames.

Jack did survive the fire with the rest of his family. Rebecca was even able to bring him to the hospital to get checked out, and it did seem like he was going to come out of it without permanent damage. Unfortunately, just when it felt like everything was going to be fine, he suffered a widowmaker heart attack. It turned out that all the smoke that he inhaled during the whole ordeal put a strain on his lungs and heart, resulting in a quick but utterly devastating death.

Why Jack’s Death On This Is Us Was So Brutally Traumatic (Even Though It Was Expected)

The genius of Jack’s death boiled down to its execution, not just on the episode where they actually revealed what happened to him, but in the storytelling leading up to it. Because his demise was already confirmed, This Is Us was able to focus on showing how losing the beloved patriarch impacted his whole family.

It even invited people to imagine what Rebecca and the Big Three would have been doing if he was around. Every single time a conflict arose, there was a lingering feeling that if Jack was alive, any issue would have been immediately resolved. During the episode itself, “Super Bowl Sunday” brought viewers in a roller coaster ride of emotions. Every single time it felt like it was the moment that would kill Jack, it would subvert expectations.

But because his death was confirmed for the outing, the sense of dread was palpable throughout the hour. In the end, the way Jack died on NBC‘s This Is Us being the least dramatic way was what truly made it so brutal. It felt ordinary — something that so many experience when they unexpectedly lose a loved one.

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This Is Us

Release Date: 2016 – 2022
Directors: Ken Olin, Chris Koch, Kevin Hooks, Anne Fletcher, George Tillman Jr., Jessica Yu, Milo Ventimiglia, Rebecca Asher, Catherine Hardwicke, John Fortenberry, Jon Huertas, Roxann Dawson, Sarah Boyd, Uta Briesewitz, Zetna Fuentes, Justin Hartley, Craig Zisk, Helen Hunt, Joanna Kerns, Kevin Rodney Sullivan, Mandy Moore, Regina King, Sarah Pia Anderson, Silas Howard
Writers: Bekah Brunstetter, Laura Kenar, Eboni Freeman, Danielle Bauman, Elan Mastai, Jonny Gomez, Donald Todd, Joe Lawson, Jake Schnesel, Chrissy Metz, Susan Kelechi Watson, Aurin Squire, Tim O’Brien