Warning! The following contains spoilers for the latest episode of This Is Us. Read at your own risk!
This Is Us keeps dropping breadcrumbs leading to the full story behind Jack's death, and tonight another piece hit the ground. While we knew that at least two of the Pearson children were aware of Jack's death not too long after he died (Kevin was off with his girlfriend), tonight's episode revealed that Kate was actually in a car watching the house burn. The revelation, unfortunately, came during a conversation between Kevin and Kate years after the fact and not during the actual event, so now we're sitting here as usual with way more questions than answers.
The biggest question This Is Us will inevitably need to answer is why Kate was in the car watching the Pearson home burning that night. Kate was not of driving age at this time, so it was either Rebecca, Jack, or someone else driving the car. If Rebecca was driving the car with Kate and Randall in tow, everything kind of comes together why those two are together in Miguel's home after the incident. That said, all we know is that Kate was sitting in a car looking at the house from the road, so we don't want to just assume she was with Rebecca and Randall.
There's also the whole thing where Kate personally blames herself for Jack's death. In the past, we've speculated this could be due to anything from Kate accidentally starting the fire to Jack sacrificing his own life to save her from the burning home. With Kate in the car the time of the fire, we can likely rule out she was in any danger, although the accidental fire starting still appears to be in play. How else would Kate feel personally responsible for her father's death when she wasn't even in the home when it happened?
Could it be that perhaps Jack was in the car with Kate when they spotted the house on fire? Earlier in the episode, there was a quick aside in which Rebecca tells Jack he can never say no to Kate, and it was never really addressed beyond that moment. Is Jack so willing to please his daughter that he would risk his life and enter a burning building to save something or someone (like the dog) for her? It sounds crazy, but This Is Us has shown Jack Pearson to be a man who does anything for his children, so is it really that bonkers?
Hopefully, next week's This Is Us will have more answers than questions! Catch a new episode of the series November 7th at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. Tonight's revelation wasn't the only thing interesting about tonight's episode, as the crew had to rush and change a line that referenced Kevin Spacey. Be sure to read more about that, or check out who Mandy Moore believes the best crier is on the show. For more on fall shows coming in the next couple weeks that may be worth checking out, visit our fall premiere guide.
