OK, We Need To Talk About All The Ways Jack Could Die On “This Is Us”

1. This coming Tuesday, March 14th is the season finale of This Is Us and, if you’re like me, you’re probably not super looking forward to it.

2. That’s because it looks like we might *actually* find out how Jack dies, and if I’m reading the whiskey glass right, it might involve a car accident and some drunk driving.

3. Quick refresher: Momma Rebecca left to go on tour with her ex-boyfriend (woof), and Daddy Jack (Daddy!!!) kinda fucked up by not saying a proper goodbye to her.

4. So Jack goes to some bar and starts boozing it up with this ginger temptress…

5. …and meanwhile, baby Kate reveals that she feels responsible for her father’s death.

“It’s my fault,” Kate tells Toby. “I’m the reason he’s dead.”

6. Which we, as viewers, are led to believe is because she told Daddy Jack to drive two hours to Cleveland to go see Momma Rebecca on tour, and Jack decides to do just that — but only after he’s been pounding some drinks with Ginger.

8. For starters, This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman has said this of the finale: “There is a scene with Milo and Mandy that I have not seen on television,” he told Variety. “I think it’s going to rock people.”

So that tells us that Jack and Rebecca are reunited — meaning he successfully makes it to Cleveland — and it’s a situation we’ve never witnessed on TV. So a drunk driving accident doesn’t seem to fit that bill. Also? Fogelman added about the finale that it’s “definitely the darkest place we’ve been” — suggesting it’s way darker than drunk driving.

9. Also, as this Reddit thread points out, a LOT of emphasis is put on the fact that Jack teaches Randall how to drive. But when Jack leaves for Cleveland, he had to drop the kids off at a party, suggesting they aren’t old enough to drive yet. Which means THIS MIGHT NOT BE HIS TIME.

It’s such a big point that Randall even has a dream about Jack and William talking about the driving lessons.

10. There is one batshit crazy fan theory going around right now, and it’s that Jack commits suicide.

It would be a dark place, as Fogelman pointed out, but we haven’t seen any behavior that would lead to this kind of an ending. At least, not yet…

11. But the scariest part is that it might be true. Because remember how Randall talks that guy at his office holiday party down from jumping to his death? That could be some kind of nod to what happened to his own father.

The scene didn’t feel super organic at the time, but if you think about it in the context of this theory, then…it definitely makes sense.

12. To add in some mystery, Chrissy Metz, who plays Kate, told EW that the finale may not even reveal how he dies, “You’re going to have to wait a little bit, but it does answer some really important questions. And not ones that you’re expecting.”

The idea that we won’t get any real answers is further emphasized by Justin Hartley, who plays Kevin, because he told CNN, “There is a cliffhanger. He didn’t die an old man. He didn’t live a long, long life…it’s sudden, it’s unexpected, it’s very tragic.”

13. That doesn’t mean that Jack survives the trip to Cleveland, however, because as this Reddit user pointed out, Jack looks to be wearing the same shirt en route to Cleveland as he’s wearing in the after life with William.

Look, I know I said he might survive Cleveland, but he also might not, because TV is a cruel mistress.

14. Here’s my very scientific comparison of the shirts — and while the colors aren’t exact (mainly because of flashback sepia tones), they do appear to be the same damn shirt.

15. Mainly, I just don’t think it’s going to be a drunk driving accident — it’s too set up to be that way, and Fogelman tends to rip the sheets out from under us with each episode.

Plus, Milo Ventimiglia told The Hollywood Reporter that the finale is just going to be bananas: “I hope everyone has recovered from William’s passing is all I’m going to say. Get ready. It’s a rocky ride at the end.” So I’m thinking it’s really going to be completely unexpected.