This Is Us Cements Jack as the Best Dad on TV

Fans may already know why Jack isn't in the present timeline of the show, but Episode 6, "Career Days," served to prove that Jack Pearson is currently the best dad on television, which makes knowing he's going to pass away that much harder to take.

Jack has a fear that Randall feels like he stands out too much already, being the only black kid not only in his family but in his entire social circle.

Jack puts starting his own business ("Big Three Homes," sob) on the back burner and takes a promotion to ensure that the Pearsons have enough money to pay for Randall's school.

The episode didn't give us much insight into exactly how Jack died yet, but it did show how deeply his death must have impacted his kids and gave the audience even more reason to mourn as they saw the lengths he was willing to go to for the Big Three.

The emotional pull of the episode also helps to push past the need to get the answer to the mystery.

- Kevin slept with his co-star in the play, but it turned out she only had sex with him to help him engage emotionally with the script.