This week’s episode of This Is Us was a quieter chapter of the Pearsons’ lives compared to last week’s explosive therapy session. “Clooney” warmed hearts with subplots about Kate growing closer to Madison and Randall trying to decipher one of William’s poems, but its highlight was a family visit to the mall circa 1997. As we saw with the group trip to the pool in Season 1, these ordinary events are often the most emotionally stirring moments of the show, and while this afternoon sent the family in split directions, it proved that a typical-seeming day was crucial to the Pearsons’ lives.
Now, I have to come clean. I have an English degree and I’m used to analyzing stories and looking for telling clues. I picked up on the episode’s important hint when it was first mentioned at the beginning. But even if you’re not used to scanning a scene for the writers’ sneaky hints, you would’ve known how important this episode was if you kept up on the cast’s tweets as the show started. Sterling K. Brown warned fans that they may want to embrace their scholarly side and watch carefully.
#ThisIsUs starts now… and maybeee take notes. There’s a small detail in tonight’s episode that is a major clue to a life changing event. pic.twitter.com/QIKTLBeQra
— Sterling K Brown (@SterlingKBrown) January 17, 2018
With that actor disclosure in mind, it’s clear that the show is closer than ever to revealing fans’ biggest question: how exactly does Jack die? If you’re still in denial that This Is Us is about to take a heartbreaking turn, here are five signs that Jack’s death is definitely coming up soon.
1. Jack and Rebecca forgot to pick up batteries
Find what’s important in your life. Share this moment of doing your best, presented by @Chevrolet. #ThisIsUs pic.twitter.com/RbL3hzcFsL
— This Is Us (@NBCThisisUs) January 17, 2018
Blink and you would’ve missed Rebecca asking Jack to remind her to buy batteries at the beginning of the episode. Although they accompanied the kids to the mall with the intention of getting batteries, it was quickly forgotten when the Big Three’s demands seized their attention. In the episode’s last few minutes, after she learned of Jack’s desire to start his own company, Rebecca wondered aloud if they had forgotten anything while shopping. One final shot of the smoke alarm above was all we needed to guess what possibly went wrong and caused the home fire. Did dying alarm batteries affect Jack’s ability to safely escape?
2. The family’s fuse box was acting up
If you flash back to the trio of episodes focusing on each of the triplets, each one replayed the moment when the fuse box malfunctioned from different perspectives. The obvious intention behind showing the same events during these episodes was to explain how Kevin broke his leg, but the fuse box could be a “secret” clue. Seeing as “Clooney” took place soon after Kevin’s injury, the theory that a faulty fuse could start a fire isn’t crazy. The house, which Jack and Rebecca bought while expecting their babies, is also on the older side, suggesting that it was extra susceptible to flames.
3. Miguel was extra vulnerable because his ex-wife was getting remarried
In the Season 2 premiere, we saw Kate and Randall with Miguel while mourning the loss of Jack. Although this episode hinted that Kevin and Miguel are actually more similar than we thought, the kids never seemed particularly close to their dad’s best friend as teenagers. Miguel revealed at the mall that his ex’s boyfriend had just proposed, and it appeared that he felt extremely distant from his own kids as a result. Last week’s episode delved into present-day Miguel’s role in the family — that of an outsider — but perhaps Jack made an effort to include Miguel in Pearson activities during this rough patch in his life. It would add extra oomph to why Kate and Randall were with Miguel in such an emotional time.
4. Randall asked out the redhead
The redheaded girl was seen in that same premiere scene with Kate, Randall and Miguel, but given the assumed short time between Randall asking her out and Jack’s death, her relationship with Randall must become hot and heavy fast. Okay, maybe not hot and heavy, because teenage Randall is a shy sweetheart, but their emotional connection likely developed at a rapid pace. Randall was always mature, and we were reminded in “Clooney” that he started dating Beth at 19 years old. His relationship with the redhead was short-lived, and perhaps the loss of Jack played a part in that, but it’s clear that the two had an intense high school romance.
5. There was lingering focus on Jack and Kevin trying on suits
Jack had to buy a suit for work, and he convinced Kevin to get one for the upcoming school formal. The camera seemed to stay focused on the two wearing their suits for a beat too long. I interpreted it as major foreshadowing of Jack’s death. Although we know that Jack was cremated and couldn’t have been buried in that suit, Rebecca and the kids had a memorial service for him, and it’s quite possible that the suit Kevin bought in this episode was what he wore that day.
The pieces of this Pearson puzzle are coming together, and upcoming episodes are bound to be even more intentional with their storylines.