We’re all guilty of speculating about how dream dad Jack Pearson dies on the NBC tearjerker This Is Us, but now we can feel a little bit better about our crazy guesses and hypothesizing. Cosmopolitan reports that Jack himself, aka Milo Ventimiglia, revealed his favorite fan theory about Jack’s death, and we have to agree with him—this prediction is pretty out there.
“Miguel killed him,” Ventimiglia said of the theory at an ATX television festival panel. “I enjoyed that one just because it feels so far-fetched and a bit ridiculous—because Miguel is Jack’s best friend!”
Okay, true, but that best friend also marries Jack’s wife. Just saying.
At the same panel, members of the show’s creative team revealed that none of the fan theories have actually included the truth of Jack’s demise. “They may be onto something,” said executive producer Ken Olin. “The truth is, [Jack’s fate] was one of those things that got away from us. It’s one of the many emotional layers in the story…it’s become this thing that we obviously need to address at some point, and we will.”
Of course, it’s impossible for the This Is Us cast to speak at an event without making us cry, and this panel was no exception. Ventimiglia also revealed that one of his favorite scenes of the show is that heartbreaking blowup between Jack and Rebecca in the Season 1 finale. According to Refinery29, Ventimiglia said, “That big argument that Mandy [Moore] and I had in the very end—that had to be one of the most satisfying things on set.” He called the powerful scene “one of the best moments, one of the highlights of my 22 years of my career as an actor.”
Although time is ticking down until we learn the likely devastating truth about Jack’s death, it’s great to know that Ventimiglia is satisfied with his incredible portrayal of this character.
