Warning! The following contains spoilers for the This Is Us episode "Super Bowl Sunday." Read at your own risk!
This Is Us is known for its emotional storylines, and "Super Bowl Sunday" was This Is Us' most heartbreaking episode to date. Many fans shed a tear for Jack Pearson the night of the Super Bowl despite knowing since Season 1 that his death was coming. As for the cast of This Is Us, Mandy Moore said she and the others' reaction to the episode were largely the same as fans. She recalled a special viewing that took place at creator Dan Fogelman's house prior to the episode's live airing:
We saw the episode together as a cast at Dan Fogelman's house last week, and none of us could speak afterward. We were sort of speechless. And then we were recounting some of our favorite parts of the episode and favorite lines, and we would all start crying. So it affects us too.
Turns out This Is Us can force tears out of even the folks who already know what's going to happen! In addition to feelings of sadness, Mandy Moore also said many of the cast felt relieved after the episode's airing, as the weight of being one of the few people who knew how Jack died was lifted from their shoulders. Moore and co-star Milo Ventimiglia especially felt that weight lift. She revealed they've known the gist of how Jack died since the show's beginning.
The cast viewing of the episode at Dan Fogelman's house wasn't just therapeutic; it was also necessary. While the world watched the Super Bowl wrap up from home and then went on to watch This Is Us, a bulk of the cast were hanging out at U.S. Bank Stadium taking in all the Super Bowl action. This left out the opportunity for a lot of live tweeting from those involved with the show, although Milo Ventimiglia managed to post a few set pics from the episode just after its airing:
Mandy Moore had some more news during her appearance on Today beyond how the cast reacted to the episode, and it might not be something This Is Us fans want to hear. Moore shared that while "Super Bowl Sunday" was a sad episode, the following episode, called "The Car," is actually sadder, in her opinion. The episode will show the history of the Pearson family from the car's perspective. We have no idea what moments will be shown, but we have to speculate one sequence will show Rebecca driving the kids to Jack's funeral. If that's the case, yeah, there's going to be more tears from fans than angry letters Crock-Pot received ever since they were blamed for the big fire starting.
This Is Us airs on NBC Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET. For a look at some other upcoming programming in 2018 be it new shows or old shows with new seasons, head on over to our midseason premiere guide.
