This Is Us Review: That’ll Be The Day (Season 2 Episode 13)

Suffice to say, I held my breath during the final moments of This Is Us Season 2 Episode 13, “That’ll Be The Day.”

Many of us feared and predicted that “That’ll Be The Day” would be the episode to feature Jack’s long-awaited death.

And while the episode ends with the start of the fire that will scorch the Pearson house to dust, we will have to wait until the next episode to see how the fateful night unfolds.

It’s easy to get caught up in the event that changed the Pearsons’ lives forever because of how beloved of a character Jack is, thanks to both the writing and Milo Ventimiglia’s heartfelt performance.

But it’s important to note that the show has always been about Jack’s life, and not his death. And on “That’ll Be The Day,” presumably the last day of Jack’s life, it has never been more clear what the essence of that life is.

For all his flaws, Jack is a man who is devoted to his family. Even when all three kids have other plans and would rather spend the night with friends or be on dates than watch football with their day, Jack’s love for his children is unconditional. And his love for Rebecca is as pure as it gets.

My favorite thing about “That’ll Be The Day” is the gnawing feeling that something really terrible is going to happen, and realizing that at any given moment, this could be the last exchange or the final look between Jack and his loved ones.

So when we see Kevin yell at his parents before storming out, or Kate share a warm moment with her dad, or Randall get a quiet moment in the kitchen with Jack late at night, we wonder if these are the real, last impressions the Big Three are left. When they think about how they left their relationship with dad, is it these memories that come up?

If so, it’s understandable why Kevin has so many unresolved feelings about Jack, because his final memory is a cold one, and that’s why “Dad” is written on the back of his apology tour list.

And perhaps that’s why, out of the siblings, Randall seems to have processed his grief the best way, because his relationship with Jack was solid from start to end.

As for Kate, her feelings of guilt come from feeling somehow responsible for what happened to Jack. We know that she had no part in starting the fire, which was triggered by an old, faulty slow cooker after Jack and Rebecca went to bed.

So, what happened for Kate to feel so remorseful about Jack’s death? My guess is that it has something to do with her dog, a plot point that becomes a focus for Kate in the present day.

There is nothing more gut-wrenching than the idea of Jack surviving the fire and bringing the family to safety only to return to the inferno to save Kate’s dog and then dying.

“That’ll Be The Day” ends with Jack cleaning up the kitchen, leaving Kevin a sweet note, and going to bed before the fire consumes the first floor of the house, burning picture frames and past Christmas gifts, all set to a montage of happy family memories while The Cinematic Orchestra’s “To Build a Home” plays over it. It is simple and heartbreaking.

We’ll finally have the answers we’re looking for in the next episode, which looks intense and awful and amazing.

We’ve seen it coming, and as irritating as it has been for the show to drag out Jack’s death, I commend them for filling me with anxiety, dread, and an ache in the pit of my stomach over something I already knew was going to happen months ago.

How will we cope after the next episode?

Other final thoughts:

• The whole Randall and Kevin fix people’s apartments plotline was pretty charming. It also drew similarities between Jack and his boys. Kevin feels like he needs to stay busy to help him stay sober, and Randall is a do-gooder who feels that construction is in his blood.
• Kevin and Randall reminiscing about Jack and ruminating about time and age is one of my favorite scenes in the whole show. “He’s already been gone longer than we had him.” Oh, that hurts.
• We see Sophie this episode, and I did think her asking Kevin to leave her with good memories was effective, but after all this time I still don’t understand what this relationship is or was, and without filling in those blanks, I can’t care about this couple
• The Kate and Jack scenes this episode are so, so good and made me feel all the more terrible about what will end up happening.

What did you think of this episode of This Is Us? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Reviewer Rating:

User Rating:

 

This Is Us will air its next episode on Sunday, Feb. 4, after the Super Bowl on NBC.

Follow us on Twitter @telltaleTV_

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

21 TV Dramas We Loved in 2017