This Is Us Recap: “That’ll Be The Day”

This Is Us, “That’ll Be The Day,” wastes no time setting the table for Jack Pearson’s death and fans are devastated.

While the Pearson patriarch doesn’t actually die this week on This Is Us, viewers do get a glimpse of his final day before meeting his untimely fate. Unfortunately, it’s probably the worst Super Bowl that the Pearson family experiences and it caps off an even sadder sendoff for Jack.

In the past, Rebecca and Jack prepare for the final Super Bowl with all of the kids under their roof. “That’ll Be The Day,” check all of the boxes with the teenage kids and where they need to be while everything goes down. Randall has his new red-headed girlfriend, who happily helps him decorate football cookies before the two bail on watching the game to go see the Titanic.

Kate gets angry at her dad for recording her singing an audition but eventually reconciles with him before leaving to go to a party. Meanwhile, Kevin is angry and frustrated with his college situation that he storms out after yelling at his parents to go hide out at Sophie’s house.

While Jack spends most of “That’ll Be The Day,” upset about all of his kids leaving during the Super Bowl, he is cheered up by Rebecca. She excitedly picks out a house for him to flip and cutely hides it inside the cornbread to surprise him. After realizing how lucky he is to have a spouse who will wholeheartedly support his dreams, Jack asks her to join him as his business partner.

She’s initially hesitant but quickly warms up to the idea when he reminds her of how helpful she was during their own home renovation. While Jack might be on shaky terms with his kids, his marriage is definitely rock-solid.

Back in the present day, Randall tackles the renovation at William’s old apartment building. Beth warns him to slow down, but of course, he ends up getting in over his head with too many promises with not enough time. Luckily, Kevin joins his brother to happily provides free labor and a free show to most of the female residents. After discovering a cockroach infestation, Randall evacuates the tenants to a nearby hotel but finds his brother still hard at work.

Turns out, Kevin is following in Jack’s footsteps of finding manual labor a good distraction from his addiction. The brothers sit down and have a heart-to-heart with Randall inspiring Kevin to finally make amends with the last person on his list. Unsurprisingly, that person turns out to be Sophie. While she feels guilty over not noticing the addiction signs, she begs Kevin to leave her alone and to cross her name off his amends list because she forgives him.

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“That’ll Be The Day,” might close the door on their relationship now but Alexandra Breckenridge is a series regular so Kevin is bound to win her back at some point.

It turns out that she isn’t the last name on his list, but Jack is. Kevin breaks down in the end of “That’ll Be The Day,” after getting his medallion back from his one-night stand because he knows he’ll never get a chance to make amends with his father. In the past, teenage Kevin apologizes to Rebecca over the phone but says he’ll talk to Jack in the morning. He’ll never get that chance because a faulty slow-cooker starts a fire while the Pearson family sleeps.

Looks like Jack meets his fate in the fire like many viewers suspected, but it won’t be from sleeping through it. It’s been stated since the first season that Kate blames herself for the death of her father. Her reluctance to get a dog this week (she ultimately does) most likely means that Jack dies running back inside for their family dog.

Next: This Is Us Recap: “Clooney”

This Is Us won’t air next Tuesday because NBC is saving the devastating hour for after the Super Bowl. “That’ll Be The Day,” was already so heart-wrenching knowing that every scene would lead to Jack’s untimely death. However, the promo for the next episode sees the Pearson patriarch fighting through a fire, desperately trying to get his kids to safety.