This Is Our Spoiler and Speculation Topic

[chocolatine]

2 minutes ago, ShadowFacts said:

If the next episode is flashbacks of Rebecca and Jack getting married, could the present day parts be Kate and Toby taking the plunge?  Or they might feature Kevin and Sophie, but they would not do flashbacks of their wedding in the same episode I don't think. 

Often times I have heard it advised that older women who color their hair should go lighter to brighten the face.  I personally think staying closer to one's natural color is well, natural and perfectly reasonable. 

The more I think about it, it's not just the color that bothers me, but the cut as well. The blunt-cut bob with bangs is not flattering for her face shape. They had Rebecca stick with more or less the same style from the late 70s to at least the mid-90s, so such a drastic change later in life seems unlikely.

[biakbiak]

14 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

This is probably more speculation than spoiler, but I thought I'd better be safe on it.

I think the Kate/Horse Dick thing is being pumped up far beyond what it will actually be.  I just came across a promo for the next ep on FB and Kate is very clearly happy and not conflicted about seeing Toby, so I think it is more a matter of Horse Dick saying things are awkward because he's trying to move in on Kate, not that he has succeeded.

Also (and here is the spoiler part), yesterday one of the cast posted a picture on IG from the set where they are filming a future episode.  It is pretty clear it is the family at the opening of Kevin's play (which means Sloane is still around, at least as his co-star) and Kate is there with Toby.  So, if there is any friction going on between the two, it doesn't look like it is the relationship-ending variety.

That totally looks like Berry Pepper popping up behind Miguel.

[Guest]

13 hours ago, ShadowFacts said:

Often times I have heard it advised that older women who color their hair should go lighter to brighten the face.  I personally think staying closer to one's natural color is well, natural and perfectly reasonable. 

My natural hair color was almost black but over the years I've had to go medium-brown because those dark browns look stark and witchy after an age.  Plus the contrast of the dark hair and the gray roots makes a lot of women choose to go lighter.  It's less maintenance.  

I'm ok with old-haired Rebecca because it helps age her.  A lot of women go shorter over a certain age because their hair gets thinner and more lifeless so longer just looks stringy and unkempt.  The lovely effects of menopause.  We literally dry up.  

I do agree that bob does her no favors, nor do the glasses, but I guess that's the point.  That pasty makeup and oddly blonde gray color on Jon Huertas bug me more.  I guess they couldn't use his real hair and make it salt-and-pepper graying.  That'd be more realistic, I think.  This kind of looks like Frankie Grande gave him highlights.  

[SueB]

First, I LIKE Jon Huertas as a human being.... but that instagram?  Of COURSE Miguel takes the selfie.  

[Tiger]

I think the problem is that Mandy's wig looks extremely wiggy.  The show needs to spend some money and get her a better big.  iIRC, the producers of Good Wife once commented that each of Julianna Margolis' wigs cost over $10,000.00.  Mandy's wig looks like it cost $10.00.  

Susan looks great in that picture.  

[againstthewind]

Not sure of more spoiler-y for speculation but I'll put it here to be safe because it's not completely unfounded. 

Mandy likes to post little snippets behind the scenes on Instagram  video. She said they're filming the finale right now. Anyway, last night she posted video of her and Milo, mid-nineties hair and all (around when he dies) filming a late night scene in a car. So I'm going to put my vote out there that they are filming the car crash in which he dies.

[Aloeonatable]

Quote

Often times I have heard it advised that older women who color their hair should go lighter to brighten the face.  I personally think staying closer to one's natural color is well, natural and perfectly reasonable.

Since I had my first gray hairs in my twenties, I started coloring my hair before I turned 40. At first it was just highlights to blend in the gray, but because my husband looked so young, I colored my hair blonde and then eventually my natural color. I've since gone completely natural with snow white (and I love it!) hair. Darker hair on aging skin is not very attractive IMO. Mandy, even in the aging makeup, does not look like she is in her late sixties. Of course, many women take good care of their skin, but as someone posted above, we do "dry up."

Quote

So I'm going to put my vote out there that they are filming the car crash in which he dies.

I honestly don't think that we will see how Jack dies before the end of this season. I'm surprised they showed that snippet of the funeral. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Aloeonatable said:

I honestly don't think that we will see how Jack dies before the end of this season. I'm surprised they showed that snippet of the funeral.

I agree.  Though Milo tweeted that the finale will be sad.  I think it'll be bye-bye to William, maybe.  I get the impression they're going to milk the Jack thing for as long as they can.  

http://www.refinery29.com/2017/01/138568/this-is-us-star-milo-ventimiglia-season-finale

[ShadowFacts]

The pictures show J and R getting married at the courthouse.  I wonder if they want to avoid having their respective families involved. 

[3 is enough]

For those worrying about William dying next week, I found this description for episode 16 on IMDB:

S1, Ep16

Memphis

Randall and William take a road trip to Memphis, where Randall learns about William's past.

I am guessing William won't die until the finale, or the very last scene of episode 17.

Edited February 8, 2017 by 3 is enough

[chocolatine]

Jack/Milo is going to lose the facial hair later this season. I think he looks 1000x better clean shaven.

[3 is enough]

He looks great clean shaven, but so much younger. 

[qtpye]

Holy crap...it's that guy who used to like Rory Gilmore!  I always thought they made him wear that awful beard to make him look older.  I think he is actually younger then the adult age actors that play his sons.

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, qtpye said:

Holy crap...it's that guy who used to like Rory Gilmore!  I always thought they made him wear that awful beard to make him look older.  I think he is actually younger then the adult age actors that play his sons.

Ha, you're right.  Milo is 39.  Brown and Hartley are 40.  

[qtpye]

Just now, Winston9-DT3 said:

Ha, you're right.  Milo is 39.  Brown and Hartley are 40.

He could probably pass for 28-31, easily.

[luna1122]

See, that's the Milo from "Heroes" who I never liked. I like bearded Jack. Just not porn'stache Jack.

[CofCinci]

Any chance Jack served in Vietnam?

[methodwriter85]

I'm positive that's a flashback to Young Jack back in the late 1960's. He looks reasonably like he could be 25 there. Jack after his abusive childhood but before he meets Rebecca would be a place we haven't gone before.

Quote

I always thought they made him wear that awful beard to make him look older

I always thought it was about making him feel like a brawny 1970's kind of dude. Facial hair was pretty in during the 1970's.

Edited February 11, 2017 by methodwriter85

[chocolatine]

6 hours ago, CofCinci said:

Any chance Jack served in Vietnam?

If he turned 36 in 1980, that means he was born in 1944, so he was the right age to be drafted.

 

2 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

I'm positive that's a flashback to Young Jack back in the late 1960's. He looks reasonably like he could be 25 there. Jack after his abusive childhood but before he meets Rebecca would be a place we haven't gone before.

Maybe not quite as far back as the late 60s (especially if the Vietnam theory is true and he was serving at the time). In the second video in the article, it looks like he's working on the car that he sold in 1980 in order to scrape together the deposit for the house. The car was still in very good shape when he sold it, so I don't think he's had it for over 10 years at that point.

My theory is that the flashback is to the mid-70s, when Jack and Rebecca meet. Jack doesn't strike me as the hippie type - he's a hard worker, has always wanted a traditional family, and possibly has served his country. But Rebecca may have been dabbling in that lifestyle due to her "artistic" side (though I don't think she's ever been a full-blown hippie herself), and since it's been established that Jack has always been head over heels for her, I can see him growing out the facial hair to fit in a little more with her world.

[methodwriter85]

Well, Jack is supposed a little older than Rebecca, and I can see Rebecca kind of influencing him to take on a faux-bohemian look like hers.

[doodlebug]

On ‎2‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 3:13 AM, chocolatine said:

If he turned 36 in 1980, that means he was born in 1944, so he was the right age to be drafted.

 

Maybe not quite as far back as the late 60s (especially if the Vietnam theory is true and he was serving at the time). In the second video in the article, it looks like he's working on the car that he sold in 1980 in order to scrape together the deposit for the house. The car was still in very good shape when he sold it, so I don't think he's had it for over 10 years at that point.

My theory is that the flashback is to the mid-70s, when Jack and Rebecca meet. Jack doesn't strike me as the hippie type - he's a hard worker, has always wanted a traditional family, and possibly has served his country. But Rebecca may have been dabbling in that lifestyle due to her "artistic" side (though I don't think she's ever been a full-blown hippie herself), and since it's been established that Jack has always been head over heels for her, I can see him growing out the facial hair to fit in a little more with her world.

Back in the day, every male registered for the draft at age 18.  Jack comes from a blue collar background and was working in construction when he first met Rebecca.  The only way a blue collar lower middle class healthy guy like Jack could've avoided the draft would've been to enroll in college.  Guys like Donald Trump and George W Bush could use their family money to pay for college and help them avoid getting drafted; guys like Jack usually didn't have that option.  Didn't matter if they were 'hippies' or not; it was mostly a socioeconomic thing.  Most of the male 'hippies' out there protesting the war were college students who got a draft deferment.  Guys like Jack were the kind who went to Viet Nam, like it or not.  They did a lottery every year and decided who would be drafted based on birthdays.  I remember commiserating with a high school draft when her brother's number was pulled third.  Yep, he went.

If you take a look at the demographics of who served in Viet Nam; it was disproportionately lower class, non-white males.  If Jack's number was low enough, he might not have been drafted; but he surely knew people who were and probably knew a couple who died.  I was in high school and a girl when Viet Nam ended; and I certainly did.

Edited February 12, 2017 by doodlebug

[Guest]

I'd be a little surprised if they dropped in a Vietnam tour at this point.  It seems like some allusion to it would've come up by now, even if just that he'd qualify for a VA loan when he was scraping up for the house.  And he's already written too saintly.  Story-wise, it could easily be overkill, unless they wrote some Don Draper-like coward story and that seems unlikely.

[ShadowFacts]

If he was born in 1944 he would have been 25 in 1969 and draft eligible, and I think local boards called up 25-year-olds first, so he could have gone to Vietnam, unless he had a high number, which is entirely possible.  We only saw a snippet of his funeral, which didn't look military, but who knows, not everybody wants one. 

[biakbiak]

5 hours ago, doodlebug said:

Guys like Donald Trump and George W Bush could use their family money to pay for college and help them avoid getting drafted; guys like Jack usually didn't have that option.  Didn't matter if they were 'hippies' or not; it was mostly a socioeconomic thing.  Most of the male 'hippies' out there protesting the war were college students who got a draft deferment.  Guys like Jack were the kind who went to Viet Nam, like it or not.  They did a lottery every year and decided who would be drafted based on birthdays.  I remember commiserating with a high school draft when her brother's number was pulled third.  Yep, he went.

That is not how the draft worked. There are tons of working class guys who didn't go to Vietnam because they had a high draft number and we're never called up. Yes, the draft heavily impacted poorer people but many people didn't serve in Vietnam not through deferments/family connections but simply because of the day they were born.

[CofCinci]

Many men volunteered (75%) before being drafted.  http://history-world.org/vietnam_war_statistics.htm

[breezy424]

Jack may or may not have served in Vietnam.   Maybe that will be something in future episodes.

Just a side note:   Men still are still required to register for the draft with Selective Service at age eighteen.  It's not 'back in the day'.  My son had to do it.

[Guest]

Well, from the teaser at least we know Kate goes up to the door and Duke opens it.  She looks more annoyed than amorous, though.  Hard to tell with Kate, though.  She usually looks a bit annoyed to me.  Maybe it's just the stories she's been given so far.  

[NutMeg]

On 2/13/2017 at 4:29 AM, biakbiak said:

That is not how the draft worked. There are tons of working class guys who didn't go to Vietnam because they had a high draft number and we're never called up. Yes, the draft heavily impacted poorer people but many people didn't serve in Vietnam not through deferments/family connections but simply because of the day they were born.

I never heard about a high draft number, but then again I know very little of that period. How did you get a high draft number?

[wilnil]

45 minutes ago, NutMeg said:

I never heard about a high draft number, but then again I know very little of that period. How did you get a high draft number?

I was a little too young for Vietnam, but the draft order was based on a lottery drawing, so a high number was the luck of the draw.

[NutMeg]

2 minutes ago, wilnil said:

I was a little too young for Vietnam, but the draft order was based on a lottery drawing, so a high number was the luck of the draw.

Thanks, for a minute there I thought there were probabilities assigned to numbers :)

[CofCinci]

More on the draft lottery: http://www.historynet.com/live-from-dc-its-lottery-night-1969.htm

[Good Queen Jane]

On ‎2‎/‎2‎/‎2017 at 0:29 PM, OtterMommy said:

Also (and here is the spoiler part), yesterday one of the cast posted a picture on IG from the set where they are filming a future episode.  It is pretty clear it is the family at the opening of Kevin's play (which means Sloane is still around, at least as his co-star) and Kate is there with Toby.  So, if there is any friction going on between the two, it doesn't look like it is the relationship-ending variety.

Based on this picture, it appears that Kevin will get another shot at appearing in his play. This was not from the episode when Kevin ran to help Randall. Beth and Randall are in the audience and the other members of the family are wearing different clothes (especially Toby!) So Kevin comes up with a good explanation for his disappearance, probably something that goes along with #supportkevinpearson.

[camom]

And Randall is there!

[3 is enough]

Great catch Good Queen Jane!

[SueB]

8 hours ago, Good Queen Jane said:

Based on this picture, it appears that Kevin will get another shot at appearing in his play. This was not from the episode when Kevin ran to help Randall. Beth and Randall are in the audience and the other members of the family are wearing different clothes (especially Toby!) So Kevin comes up with a good explanation for his disappearance, probably something that goes along with #supportkevinpearson.

Oh how I hope this happens!

[methodwriter85]

I checked out the "lottery numbers" for the 1970 draft.

Jack, as someone born on August 31st, 1944, would have pulled an 11. (Had I been born between 1944 to 1950, I would have pulled 12.)

So either he got out of it somehow or he served. At his age he could have had some stint in the military in the early 60's before things got crazy.

[ShadowFacts]

I read on ew.com that William will be back in Season 2.  Ron Cephas Jones is happy that he will still have a job. 

[HeyThere83]

Nothing against the actor and I certainly don't blame him for wanting to still have this gig, but I wonder if this is going to turn into one of those situations of not knowing when to stop with something.....?

[Aloeonatable]

Quote

Many men volunteered (75%) before being drafted

My husband volunteered because he had a high draft # and would have gone to the infantry. This way by enlisting he was able to choose the Core of Engineers. He still served in Viet Nam, just not in the infantry.

[methodwriter85]

On 2/21/2017 at 9:11 AM, Winston9-DT3 said:

But couldn't he have simply had flat feet or some other innocuous reason for being dismissed that the show doesn't have to mention?  I had a brother who enlisted once but before leaving he broke his leg and needed a rod put in and for that he was declined.  I think a lot of men don't qualify for one reason or other that are not worth mentioning in a story like this.  I just don't want the show to turn into Forrest Gump and have to address every cultural event in the timeline.  

The show for the most part really seems to ignore the time period except for clothes, music, and maybe the technology they're using. The closest they've gotten to depicting any kind of actual events would be the Iranian hostage crisis playing in the background t.v. when the Iranian crisis happened.  Maybe also the mention of segregation in the South. The show also has had flashbacks to 1980, 1988 and 1996, all of which were elections years, and there's been absolutely no mention of politics. Not even a Ronald Reagan campaign sign on someone's front porch as Rebecca is walking to the liquor store in late summer 1980. Someone should've had something there. Honestly, that's probably the right call. Given how badly Brothers and Sisters did politics, I don't want to see it here, either. Like, they wanted to make Kitty this uber-conservative Republican, but they just couldn't bring themselves to actually have her espouse actual conservative Republican ideology.

[MsJamieDornan]

Quote

http://ew.com/tv/2017/02/21/this-is-us-creator-william-randall/2/

Very interesting....

 

I put this here because it explains if William will or will not be used in the future.

Edited February 27, 2017 by MsJamieDornan

[chocolatine]

Just saw this description of the season finale on IMDb:

Quote

Jack goes to Cleveland to make things right with Rebecca on the night of her first gig.

So it sounds like that's when he dies. Most likely a car crash on his way back from yet another Grand Romantic Gesture. Rebecca will feel responsible, and Kate will probably blame her as well, hence their difficult relationship (I never believed their issues were just about Kate's weight) and Kate claiming the ashes.

[ShadowFacts]

3 hours ago, chocolatine said:

Just saw this description of the season finale on IMDb:

Quote

Jack goes to Cleveland to make things right with Rebecca on the night of her first gig.

So it sounds like that's when he dies. Most likely a car crash on his way back from yet another Grand Romantic Gesture. Rebecca will feel responsible, and Kate will probably blame her as well, hence their difficult relationship (I never believed their issues were just about Kate's weight) and Kate claiming the ashes.

Or maybe since Kate is still so unable to talk about it 20 years later, she encourages him to go, and thus blames both her mother and herself. 

[chocolatine]

2 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

The weird thing is they said we'll learn the 'when' long before we learn the 'how'.  So what would they do-- reveal he died before arriving home from Cleveland but wait a whole season before revealing how?  That seems like a cheap trick.  

Maybe that'll be the the end-of-season cliffhanger - in the last minute of the episode the Pearson residence gets the call that Jack is dead, but we wait until the first episode of S2 to find out how.

[CofCinci]

I think they're going to make up in Cleveland and conceive a baby (unintentionally).

[MsChicklet]

Has anyone seen the "final two episodes" promo on social media?

What is with Jack and William sitting together on a sofa, at what looks to be Randall's house, laughing? Perhaps an imagination of Randall's?

[PRgal]

1 hour ago, MsChicklet said:

Has anyone seen the "final two episodes" promo on social media?

What is with Jack and William sitting together on a sofa, at what looks to be Randall's house, laughing? Perhaps an imagination of Randall's?

So Milo's 40 now...Gosh, it makes me feel old.  I remember when *I* thought 40 was ancient.  

[Bean421]

Randall putting on the hat and walking away from what looks like work might be signal he's done with wall street.

[Tiger]

On 3/2/2017 at 9:53 PM, Winston9-DT3 said:

The weird thing is they said we'll learn the 'when' long before we learn the 'how'.  So what would they do-- reveal he died before arriving home from Cleveland but wait a whole season before revealing how?  That seems like a cheap trick.  

 

On 3/2/2017 at 9:58 PM, chocolatine said:

Maybe that'll be the the end-of-season cliffhanger - in the last minute of the episode the Pearson residence gets the call that Jack is dead, but we wait until the first episode of S2 to find out how.

I think the producers are grossly overestimating the public-at-large's attention span and making a huge mistake by dragging out the details of Jack's death.  Besides, the real story is how his death affected/s the other characters, not the death itself.

Plus, revealing those details doesnt limit the amount to which they can continue to use Milo.   There is still a lot of story to tell before the 1988 stuff we've seen thus far and between the 1988 and 1995/6 stuff. 

[MsJamieDornan]

7 hours ago, Tiger said:

Plus, revealing those details doesnt limit the amount to which they can continue to use Milo.   There is still a lot of story to tell before the 1988 stuff we've seen thus far and between the 1988 and 1995/6 stuff.

Milo was on The Today show last week and said that just because Jack dies, doesn't mean the character will go away.

Edited March 5, 2017 by MsJamieDornan