‘This Is Us’: Here’s How the House Fire Scene Plays Out

Mandy Moore told us the This Is Us post-Super Bowl episode would be tough to watch, but we were still not ready.

The NBC hit drama kicked off right where the Jan. 23 episode left off, with the Pearsons unaware that the ground floor of their house was on fire.

Jack surprisingly survived the fire. He rescued Rebecca, Randall and Kate by tying up bed sheets to create a rope they could use to climb down. In a dramatic moment, he had to use a mattress to rescue Kate.

Jack later went back into the house to save Kate’s dog. At the hospital, Jack was told he inhaled too much smoke and soot after going back in. This explains why Kate personally feels responsible for her father’s death.

But one of the side effects of the smoke was cardiac arrest. While Rebecca was on the phone with Miguel and Kate, we saw the nurses rush to Jack’s room. There, they were unable to revive him after his heart attack.

Later, Rebecca went right to Miguel’s home, where she insisted on telling the children about Jack’s death herself. However, Kevin was still at Sophie’s house and did not hear the news immediately.

The tragic house fire began during the last episode, titled “That’ll Be The Day,” after an emotional scene where Jack cleans the kitchen after the family’s Super Bowl festivities. He writes a note for Kevin (Logan Shroyer) about the fight they had earlier in the episode, and then he goes upstairs to sleep.

The family slow cooker, a gift from old neighbors, then sparks up and starts the fire in the kitchen. With no batteries on the smoke detector, the fire spreads as the family remains upstairs, unaware of what’s going on.

Following the airing of the Jan. 23 episode, fans were outraged at a slow cooker being the cause of Jack’s death. Some even lashed out at Crock-Pot for being responsible for the beloved character’s death.

The appliance company responded with a rather serious statement.

This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.