It has been more than six months since the family drama unveiled the season 1 finale, so the return of "This Is Us" season 2 is long overdue. For the dedicated fans of the hit series, the death of the patriarch Jack Pearson (played by Milo Ventimiglia) has been at the top of their minds ever since the show blindsided them with the confirmation of his imminent passing. Now, creator Dan Fogelman has given few details about how or when it happened.
By the time the season 1 finale aired, fans had a lot of questions and very few answers. But, according to the showrunner, everyone will get a major clue about the fate of Jack during the second installment's premiere. Fogelman revealed that the Pearson family would find themselves on a different journey than what is expected. Speaking to TIME, he discussed interesting details about the show and the big mystery that is yet to be unveiled.
Fogelman said, "Our second season revolves around this death that everyone's been talking about for the last year. So there's a natural kind of darkness and sadness that informs the second season of our show, both in that storyline and other storylines." He further noted that the series would be extremely gloomy and devastating in various ways.
However, he asserted that they were doing their best to make sure that although the upcoming installment will be very heavy and depressing, the ending of each storyline will ultimately be inspiring. Fogelman then replied when asked if viewers will find out how Jack's death happened in "This Is Us" season 2.
The series creator said, "Yeah, I think it's fair to say that kind of mystery or conversation about that will have evolved into new stuff by the end of the season. The first episode holds a giant piece of the puzzle that I think will feed the beast of the appetite of people wanting to know what happens without giving every single answer." He then added that this season would be a journey to understand the mystery.
In a separate interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Fogelman pointed out that he did not want to rush the show's timeline just to cave in to pressure from vocal fans who were disappointed in not having the answer to the question of Jack's death in the season 1 finale. He explained that someone could not necessarily change the timeline just because it was displeasing or not in line with how viewers wanted to witness it.
So in terms of the reveal of the patriarch's demise, the creator quipped that the only balancing act they were trying to be cognizant of was spacing it out in a way that would make it interesting for the fans, keeping them engaged and talking about it.
Everyone will then find out how Jack died in the series when "This Is Us" season 2 premieres on Tuesday, Sept. 26, at 9 p.m. ETD on NBC.
