This Is Our Spoiler and Speculation Topic

[ShadowFacts]

13 hours ago, Bean421 said:

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

I have also speculated that Randall will be making big changes, and I think from a writing standpoint, there is much more to work with if he walks away from the high pressure and into something different.  I think his boss made a comment about how he's been doing the heavy lifting at the firm for 12 years -- that would mean he started there when he was 24.  He found William, he lost William, all in the space of probably 6 or so months; I see him being awakened to parts of life he didn't find as important before. 

[Aloeonatable]

I think they will slowly roll out how and when Jack dies. I honestly don't think we'll actually see it until late next season. I'm not at all bothered by the fact that writers are taking time to tell us that part of the story. 

Edited March 5, 2017 by Aloeonatable

[CofCinci]

56 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

My guess is he'll do some work-from-home thing while Beth goes back to the office full-time and we'll get more of adorably annoyed alpha Beth and cowed Randall each week.  

Please let it be a work-from-home gig and not something musical.  With so many characters with musical storylines (Rebecca, Kate, William, William's family) I worry that Randall is next.

[NutMeg]

2 hours ago, CofCinci said:

Please let it be a work-from-home gig and not something musical.  With so many characters with musical storylines (Rebecca, Kate, William, William's family) I worry that Randall is next.

I don't think you have to worry, the only time we saw Randall try his hand at music, he was very, very, very and hilariously and cringeworthily bad. 

[PRgal]

3 hours ago, NutMeg said:

I don't think you have to worry, the only time we saw Randall try his hand at music, he was very, very, very and hilariously and cringeworthily bad. 

HA!!!

I suppose Randall could back one of Kevin's plays with several people...

[ShadowFacts]

4 hours ago, NutMeg said:

6 hours ago, CofCinci said:

Please let it be a work-from-home gig and not something musical.  With so many characters with musical storylines (Rebecca, Kate, William, William's family) I worry that Randall is next.

I don't think you have to worry, the only time we saw Randall try his hand at music, he was very, very, very and hilariously and cringeworthily bad. 

Well, he did say he was taking piano lessons and would have a recital in spring.  Maybe we are not out of the woods yet on Randall and music.

Seriously, I could see him doing something totally different than what he has been doing.  He could have made good investments over the years, plus have a nice severance package and thus be able to start who knows what.  Maybe he resurrects Jack's construction company dream. 

[Lady Calypso]

So, here's a summary for the finale:

Quote

"THIS IS US"
"MOONSHADOW"

03/14/2017  (09:00PM - 10:01PM) (Tuesday)  :  Jack heads to Cleveland to make things right with Rebecca on the night of her first big gig with the band. Randall, Kate and Kevin make big decisions about their futures.

So, I have some ideas on the flashbacks:

a) Jack drives to Cleveland to make things right with Rebecca. He doesn't make it because he's involved in an accident and that's how he dies
b) Jack makes it to Cleveland, sees a situation with Ben and Rebecca that he misinterprets. He leaves, possibly goes to drink, then gets involved in a car accident before he can make up with Rebecca and dies
c) He makes it to Cleveland, and he does end up making things right with Rebecca. Both decide to go home, they're involved in a car accident and Jack dies
d) Jack doesn't die during these events!! Twist is that he totally survives all of this...only to have the finale end on Jack's deathbed, so we're left guessing his cause of death yet again, but we possibly get a date of death instead

[ShadowFacts]

I'm actually more interested at this point in what are the big decisions that Kate, Kevin and Randall make.  It won't surprise me if we know little or nothing about what happened to Jack. 

[ShadowFacts]

I was just assuming that the Big 3 were being described in the present.  I wouldn't be as interested in their teen plans, not that teens don't have interesting plans, but the adult siblings have some heavier stuff going on in the present that would pique my curiosity. 

[CofCinci]

20 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

So, here's a summary for the finale:

So, I have some ideas on the flashbacks:

a) Jack drives to Cleveland to make things right with Rebecca. He doesn't make it because he's involved in an accident and that's how he dies
b) Jack makes it to Cleveland, sees a situation with Ben and Rebecca that he misinterprets. He leaves, possibly goes to drink, then gets involved in a car accident before he can make up with Rebecca and dies
c) He makes it to Cleveland, and he does end up making things right with Rebecca. Both decide to go home, they're involved in a car accident and Jack dies
d) Jack doesn't die during these events!! Twist is that he totally survives all of this...only to have the finale end on Jack's deathbed, so we're left guessing his cause of death yet again, but we possibly get a date of death instead

E)Jack makes it to Cleveland and misinterprets an innocent interaction between Ben and Rebecca. He leaves without making it known he was there. Once he gets back to Pittsburg, he starts to heavily abuse alcohol again and bangs the secretary.

She's Chekhov's Skank. 

[Guest]

I think he'll die on the way home from Cleveland or they will be saving his death for next season. 

[OtterMommy]

24 minutes ago, deaja said:

I think he'll die on the way home from Cleveland or they will be saving his death for next season. 

They could be really annoying and have the season end with him driving down the road and another car (or, to stick with cliche, a truck) heading right for him and then fade to black....

...and then we find out at the beginning of season 2 that it was non-fatal or a close call...

[Wings]

Since Kate has a strained relationship with her mother I think Jack dies in a car accident driving away from seeing Rebecca and Ben looking too familiar with each.other.  

It becomes clear, given the.location of the accident, that.he had been there and headed home.  Rebecca realizes what he saw.  And it might not have been so.innocent.

Mandy, in an interview said the finale is all about Jack and Rebecca.  Said it gIves a view of their life together both good and difficulties. Milo said it was going to be stressful. 

[Lady Calypso]

Dan Fogelman has been giving plenty of interviews that really do seem to say that we won't find out Jack's cause of death in the finale and that they're taking their time to explore Jack's death, so I'm positive that Jack will not be shown dying because of a fight with Rebecca and during Rebecca's tour. Now I'm convinced that it'll happen later on and it'll be when we're least expecting it. We might, however, see the date of his death for the finale. They'll probably want to give us a sliver of information leading into next season, after all.

[ZeroDiscipline]

This show has been so cagey about every plot twist that I just can't believe they would telegraph Jack's death this way. I mean, the scenes with him driving around drinking beer are a little much for 1996. Nonetheless, when I was watching last night, I assumed every interaction with his family would be Jack's last. That is how he said goodbye to his wife and kids, I guess. But I don't fully believe he goes out like this. If he does, I am going to be so pissed that that it happened the one time Rebecca actually worked up the gumption to do something for herself, one time in 16 years of raising triplets. I hold out hope that this show isn't so cheap, but then again, Ken Olin..........

[MsChicklet]

Quote

This show has been so cagey about every plot twist that I just can't believe they would telegraph Jack's death this way.

This is true. So many possibilities. 

Jack gets busted for drunk driving. Shame and stress of it all culminate in a heart attack.

[Lady Calypso]

3 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

Have there even been twists lately?  I remember the beginning of the season that was supposed to be their thing.  So ep 1 the twist was that they were triplets, ep 2 that Rebecca married Miguel.  Then it seems like they kind of fizzled out.  Some said William being bi was a twist.  I guess Kate going to the cabin door was a cliffhanger of sorts.  Toby collapsing was a minor cliffhanger.  It feels kind of typical tv stuff now, more than twists.  I love a good twist.  

There are kind of "twists" every episode. Not to the extent of the first couple, but not all twists can be like those ones. For example, the latest twist is supposedly Kate saying that Jack's death is her fault. The twist in the Memphis episode was William's death. The twist in the episode before that is, presumably, Kevin skipping out on his play. I do agree that those are less twists and more TV expectations. 

[ShadowFacts]

I think Ron Howard happening to be in the audience of the Manny's little play and possibly igniting his film career is a little twist-y.  Unexpected anyway. 

[ShadowFacts]

On 3/8/2017 at 9:50 AM, MsChicklet said:

This is true. So many possibilities. 

Jack gets busted for drunk driving. Shame and stress of it all culminate in a heart attack.

Or he is hit by another drunk driver.  Or he actually kills or maims someone else but survives himself and then dies some other way.  It would be bold to take him all the way to killing someone else, but they might. 

[mahree]

On 3/6/2017 at 8:29 PM, ShadowFacts said:

 

I'm actually more interested at this point in what are the big decisions that Kate, Kevin and Randall make. 

 

Probably they all decide to move (back) to Los Angeles.

[MsChicklet]

I don't see Kevin leaving New York yet. He's financially and emotionally committed to the play, and there's Sophie. Also, would Randall and Beth uproot the girls after the upheaval of William's death? If Randall has a partnership or financial stake in his former company, he's looking at a buyout and probably a non-compete clause. Could Beth build her career in California, and are they willing to take a financial risk to do so?

[CofCinci]

The series could fast forward a few years next season, with everyone established in LA. 

[Guest]

16 hours ago, MsChicklet said:

I don't see Kevin leaving New York yet. He's financially and emotionally committed to the play, and there's Sophie. Also, would Randall and Beth uproot the girls after the upheaval of William's death? If Randall has a partnership or financial stake in his former company, he's looking at a buyout and probably a non-compete clause. Could Beth build her career in California, and are they willing to take a financial risk to do so?

I think they could hand-wave all of this.   

[HeyThere83]

I was going to say....they skip over most things....

[Guest]

1 hour ago, methodwriter85 said:

Dan Folgelman said specifically that he dies when they're 16 or 17, which could take us up to summer 1998.

Oh. Where?  Thanks.  All I've seen him admit in the media is "those prominent late teenage years".  Actually, Milo used these words, "You’re just about to finally gain that confidence as a young adult, get out of your teens, and then all of a sudden Dad dies."  That sounds 18-19 to me.  If they're almost 20, it could be as late as 2000, so 5 years after this band trip?  

This article says it occurs somewhere in '96-'99, not that The Hollywood Reporter is hugely credible but it's one source.  So that would suggest it could be up to 3 years after the band trip, I guess.  

The combo of the three suggests 1999 to me.  Which means the band trip sparks some long chain of events that Kate sees as linked?   Maybe Rebecca freaks at him showing up and it drives her into an affair with Ben, and they divorce.  Jack drinks himself to death and she ends up with Miguel, bonding over their shared grief.  That actually might be a good season two ride.  

Edited March 11, 2017 by Guest

[Cardie]

In several interviews the actors talk about the episode as dark. I doubt Jack will die on the trip to Cleveland but something very bad will happen. I can't think that Jack does anything to harm others because the memory of the perfect dad would be tarnished and it doesn't seem to have been. Perhaps he is gravely injured in an accident not his fault or a mugging or by Ben going Neanderthal on him. And he's never the same again.

[ShadowFacts]

In order to draw things out I think Kate's "it was my fault" will be revealed later next season, and it will be regarding a whole different set of circumstances than we're seeing so far.  Either that, or he has a drunken driving accident (I use the word loosely) that is not fatal but is the beginning of a series of events that end up in his death later.  If so, I really hope no one else is killed.  Look at me worrying about fictional possible victims.  But I hate that scenario.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, ShadowFacts said:

In order to draw things out I think Kate's "it was my fault" will be revealed later next season, and it will be regarding a whole different set of circumstances than we're seeing so far.  Either that, or he has a drunken driving accident (I use the word loosely) that is not fatal but is the beginning of a series of events that end up in his death later.  If so, I really hope no one else is killed.  Look at me worrying about fictional possible victims.  But I hate that scenario.

I think this is what's going to happen.  

2 hours ago, Cardie said:

I can't think that Jack does anything to harm others because the memory of the perfect dad would be tarnished and it doesn't seem to have been.

I don't think the writers care that much about logical behavior.  And I wonder if Jack was left paraplegic or something, so not the only victim, if that would soften the hard feelings.  

[methodwriter85]

Ooh, they could rip off Me Before You. Jack is left a quadriplegic, and eventually decides to die. Given the general liberal slant on this show I can't picture anyone finding it morally wrong.

Bonus if we get one final dance scene between Jack and Rebecca like the one that Lou and Will get.

This show is so fucking inspired by romantic dramas/comedies that I feel like it's eventually going to start not-so-subtly ripping them off.

I would kind of get a kick out of it if they somehow managed to get in an homage to Chasing Liberty where two love interests go on a road trip and encounter wacky stuff while falling in love.

Edited March 13, 2017 by methodwriter85

[Literata]

I don't think for a minute that Jack's going to meet his maker tomorrow night. The foreshadowing with the drinking has been so over the top -- let's shine a neon arrow right here in the car, POINTING AT THE BEER CANS -- that it couldn't possibly be leading us to that. My guesses:

- He sees something tomorrow night. Maybe Rebecca and Ben are embracing after a good performance. Maybe Rebecca's feeling some combination of irritation at Jack and independence at being away from home for the first time ever and she allows Ben to get too close. I think the endgame of tomorrow night is they'll start down the road to separation. The kids will blame Rebecca.

- They'll reconcile before divorcing, hence Rebecca's continued wearing of the moon necklace.

- I'm not willing to give up the plane-crash theory. There were a few aviation catastrophes in the late '90s. Maybe he takes a flight he wasn't supposed to take because Kate was ill or needed him for something; hence, she blames herself.

[AriAu]

Lots of speculation and no actual spoilers-I give the showrunners a lot of credit for keeping the lid on this and barely even giving out speculative breadcrumbs.

[Guest]

I think it's likely that his means of death hasn't even been written yet, and is possibly still being conceived.  We know it's not going to be revealed for a while.  Didn't they write the second half of this season while the first half aired?  

[Aloeonatable]

Quote

I think it's likely that his means of death hasn't even been written yet, and is possibly still being conceived.  We know it's not going to be revealed for a while. 

Actually several of the actors, including Milo, Mandy and Justin, in recent interviews that they know how and when Jack dies

[LaJefaza]

Allow me to speculate about something completely unrelated to Jack's death (I'm really not ready for it whenever it does come)...I can't help but worry that we haven't seen the last of Olivia, and she returns... pregnant, claiming Kevin as the father and we spend the entire next season with her forcing him to jump through hoops, and everyone else waiting for the birth to find out the truth. It just seems like the type of drama this show would employ. Sorry for even putting that thought out into the universe, but it's been nagging me for weeks. I would be very happy to be wrong. Ugh.

[Wings]

We have 2 speculation threads.  Damn. I doubt there will be any spoilers, the cast is taking this show very seriously and think it is groundbreaking in that it is opening viewers to feel and it will change our lives.  They a heady with the good reviews, apparently.  

Season 2 will open with Rebecca holding her necklace as she did in the final scene only it will be in another setting and Jack has died.  I repeated myself, apologies.  I posted this in the other speculation thread but this is where I prefer to read and post.  :^). 

It is in Chrissy Metz contract that she will lose weight.  

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/tv/a8303923/this-is-us-chrissy-metz-weight-loss-contract/

Brave of her to commit, not an easy thing to do or a sure bet.  It doesn't appear she has started that journey yet as her size, in interviews, remains the same and the show wrapped awhile ago.  

Edited March 15, 2017 by wings707

[Guest]

2 hours ago, wings707 said:

It is in Chrissy Metz contract that she will lose weight.  

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/tv/a8303923/this-is-us-chrissy-metz-weight-loss-contract/

Brave of her to commit, not an easy thing to do or a sure bet.  It doesn't appear she has started that journey yet as her size, in interviews, remains the same and the show wrapped awhile ago.  

I think there's some talk of that in the media thread or the Metz thread.  IIRC, she later backpedaled on that, to some extent.  It seemed like NBC didn't like the implication, maybe.  

I tuned in partly to see her transform somewhat so I hope she does lose weight, for my viewing pleasure and for her health.  

[Wings]

3 hours ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

I think there's some talk of that in the media thread or the Metz thread.  IIRC, she later backpedaled on that, to some extent.  It seemed like NBC didn't like the implication, maybe.  

I tuned in partly to see her transform somewhat so I hope she does lose weight, for my viewing pleasure and for her health.  

Thanks, I looked for the link and gave up.  I last I heard, she is in favor of losing weight on the show and for herself, of course.  It is in her contract that she willingly signed.  I think it is a great idea and I hope they will go through with that plot line.  Those who take umbrage have taken PC clear off the edge of the cliff. 

ETA.  This would be a major reason I would watch season 2.  Maybe the only reason.  LOL  This series did not hook me like it did so many others.  

Edited March 15, 2017 by wings707

[Aloeonatable]

On 3/14/2017 at 4:36 PM, LaJefaza said:

Allow me to speculate about something completely unrelated to Jack's death (I'm really not ready for it whenever it does come)...I can't help but worry that we haven't seen the last of Olivia, and she returns... pregnant, claiming Kevin as the father and we spend the entire next season with her forcing him to jump through hoops, and everyone else waiting for the birth to find out the truth. It just seems like the type of drama this show would employ. Sorry for even putting that thought out into the universe, but it's been nagging me for weeks. I would be very happy to be wrong. Ugh.

OMG, I cannot see this show doing this. That is too soap opera-ish. 

[ShadowFacts]

58 minutes ago, Aloeonatable said:

OMG, I cannot see this show doing this. That is too soap opera-ish. 

I would have agreed with you, and it is too soap-y, but now that the show has made Jack out to be *this close* to becoming a petty criminal before being saved by meeting Rebecca, I can't count it out.  Prime time shows employ this baby crap all the time, and I always hate it. 

[HeyThere83]

I just read that for season 2 to look forward to a lot of singing for Kate, and that we could possibly see a Kate and Toby wedding.

Sounds absolutely thrilling.

[Guest]

I read we get to see how Kevin became the shallow playboy chick-magnet in Hollywood.  Also thrilling.  

I also read Fogelman saying they removed a line in the wake scene where Kevin makes it more clear that he was around 15 when he lost his father.  Which to me doesn't make much sense, given other things they've said about the 'when', like Milo saying 'just about to get out of (their) teens'.  Though I get the impression he's no rocket scientist, either.  

[CofCinci]

It is in Ms. Metz's contract to lose weight (I'm sure it is stated in a way to remain legal) -- I wonder what would happen if she wasn't able to lose weight?  She has a whole team working with her on meeting these health/wellness goals, so she most likely will succeed with her contractual expectations - but if she didn't, would she leave/the series would kill Kate off?

[Guest]

I doubt anything would happen.  Firing her for not losing weight would be network suicide.  NBC didn't even want it known they put weight loss in her contract.  

I'm guessing the contract says she has to make some reasonable attempts to lose weight if the story calls for it.  I'm not even sure how they'd enforce it, if they chose to.  

[OtterMommy]

2 hours ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

I also read Fogelman saying they removed a line in the wake scene where Kevin makes it more clear that he was around 15 when he lost his father.  Which to me doesn't make much sense, given other things they've said about the 'when', like Milo saying 'just about to get out of (their) teens'.  Though I get the impression he's no rocket scientist, either.  

If that's true, it is pretty much confirmation that they are scrapping whatever plan was in place.  We've now seen that the kids are older than 15 when Jack dies.  And, if they removed the line from the scene and not from the script (i.e., it was actually filmed), it sounds like they are trying to figure out what to do.

Sigh....

[Optimist48]

14 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

If that's true, it is pretty much confirmation that they are scrapping whatever plan was in place.  We've now seen that the kids are older than 15 when Jack dies.  And, if they removed the line from the scene and not from the script (i.e., it was actually filmed), it sounds like they are trying to figure out what to do.

Sigh....

Not really.  Fogelman gave an interview after episode 13 (the one showing shots of Jack's funeral) saying the kids are around 16/17 when Jack died.  That certainly qualifies as being around 15.  The point, I think, is that Jack died right around the time the kids were on the brink of adulthood.

Edited March 19, 2017 by Optimist48

[OtterMommy]

9 minutes ago, Optimist48 said:

Not really.  Fogelman gave an interview after episode 13 (the one showing shots of Jack's funeral) saying the kids are around 16/17 when Jack died.  That certainly qualifies as being around 15.  The point, I think, is that Jack died right around the time the kids were on the brink of adulthood.

Except...I don't think anyone would say they are around 15 if their parent died when they were 16 or 17.  That's a pretty big life event and one that is not likely to get misplaced in memory.  I was 16 when my brother died--not 15, not 17...16.

[methodwriter85]

I think the original plan might have been 15- i.e. around the time of The Greatest Washing Machine Ever, but my guess is that they're stretching it out a year so that Jack and Rebecca have enough time to fall in love together all over again before they kill him.

Note that he said 16 or 17. Not 16, not 17, but both. They're trying to have a little bit of breathing room. If we go by the birthdays, we're talking anywhere from August 1996 to August 1998.

[chocolatine]

6 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

We've now seen that the kids are older than 15 when Jack dies.

Not necessarily. If the season finale was a few weeks after the Valentine's Day episode, and the year was 1996 (based on Rebecca saying that Jack quit drinking "seven years ago", and we've seen him quit drinking in 1989), the kids are still 15. They turned 16 on August 31st. So Jack could have died shortly after the separation (Randall's vague reference to "dying when no one is looking"), and the kids would still have been 15.

[Guest]

11 hours ago, Optimist48 said:

Not really.  Fogelman gave an interview after episode 13 (the one showing shots of Jack's funeral) saying the kids are around 16/17 when Jack died.  That certainly qualifies as being around 15.  The point, I think, is that Jack died right around the time the kids were on the brink of adulthood.

Do you know where that interview was?  I saw vague references to late teens from him but no actual numbers.  

I think they probably removed the wake line because they didn't want it known that early on that the kids were teens at all, not that Kevin was 15 or around 15, the more I think about it.  

The more I read in the media, the more it looks like they're setting Jack up to be a huge martyr, dying doing something for his family.  

[Optimist48]

4 hours ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

Do you know where that interview was?  I saw vague references to late teens from him but no actual numbers.  

I think they probably removed the wake line because they didn't want it known that early on that the kids were teens at all, not that Kevin was 15 or around 15, the more I think about it.  

The more I read in the media, the more it looks like they're setting Jack up to be a huge martyr, dying doing something for his family.  

He says it in this interview: https://www.google.com/amp/ew.com/tv/2017/01/24/this-is-us-creator-jack-death-kate/amp/

I agree they removed the line so as to withhold the reveal they were teenagers until episode 13.