Warning! The following contains spoilers for the latest episode of This Is Us. Read at your own risk!
This Is Us fans were warned that Kevin Pearson was on a journey to rock bottom, although it's safe to say few expected to see things get any worse for "Number 1" after leaving Sophie and having a breakdown at his old high school. Unfortunately, things went from worse to tragic as the news of Kate's miscarriage drove Kevin to an early drinking session at Randall's and a high-speed joyride while intoxicated. Unfortunately, Kevin soon found out Randall's daughter and his niece Tess was in the back seat just as a cop pulled him over, and the actor was arrested for a DUI.
So what's next for Kevin? Obviously, a DUI charge is serious by itself, but adding child endangerment to the equation has got to elevate that charge immensely. Even if his star power saves him from serious jail time, the publicity alone might be enough to sink any chance of him working again in Hollywood. Hell, it might even kill his chances of the film he's spent the first half of Season 2 working on even getting a release date. It's safe to say This Is Us set Kevin up for a big fall, and as serious as this situation is, it's up for the writing team to decide just how this decision will affect his career in acting.
Right now, his career seems to be the least of his problems as both Beth and Randall are furious at the fact their daughter's life was put in danger by Kevin's recklessness. As This Is Us fans know, Kevin didn't get a chance to come clean about his addiction, so this erratic behavior has to be really baffling for the entire Pearson family right now as they learn of the news. We already know Randall and Beth want Kevin's head, but will they come around when they learn the truth? What will Kate and Rebecca think? Sterling K. Brown said in the This Is Us aftershow all those answers will be revealed in 2018:
This episode is our last episode in 2017 before we come back in 2018, so in classic This Is Us style we want to give people something to talk about. In 2018, the repercussions of Kevin's actions, definitely, you know you see the ripples of that.
This Is Us will return in 2018 with new episodes starting January 2 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. For more return dates of shows that are going on winter break, be sure to visit our midseason premiere guide and jot down when all the best shows of 2017 will be back. Those still looking for new shows in 2017 can visit our fall premiere guide as there are still plenty of great shows to check out. For a look at some shows that didn't make it out of 2017 regardless of their quality, visit our cancellation guide.
