‘This Is Us’ Recap: Jack’s Fate Revealed as Family Secrets Spill

NBC drama answers the question of what happened to Milo Ventimiglia‘s character

In the fifth episode of the NBC drama, entitled “The Game Plan,” the Pearson family in the past consists only of Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) and Rebecca (Mandy Moore).

Luckily, they get back on the same page just in time for the triplets to be conceived on the night the Steelers win the Super Bowl.

In the present, Kevin (Justin Hartley) is struggling with his new role in a serious Broadway play – which only hired him for his TV fame – and runs into even more trouble when he’s tasked with babysitting for Randall (Sterling K. Brown) and Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson).

[...] the parents have stolen Kevin’s swanky Manhattan hotel for a night of alone time and romance – until Beth reveals her period is late and they could be having another baby, putting a real damper on Randall’s secret plan for them to retire in 10 years after the girls are off to college.

Back in LA, Kate (Chrissy Metz) throws Toby (Chris Sullivan) for a loop when she insists she watches Steelers games alone, later confessing that she’s not really watching alone, she’s following tradition and watching with her dad Jack – or rather, her dad’s ashes, since he passed away 10 years ago.

Given the timeline, we could reasonably assume this means Jack and Rebecca stayed together until he died, and she got together with Miguel afterwards, but then again, many of the flashbacks have been dedicated to the younger version of the couple fighting.