Forget tissues! This Is Us fans need something to pick their jaws up off the floor. The NBC drama has delivered a startling number of shocking twists since it premiered in September 2016 — from the original surprise to the mystery surrounding Jack’s (Milo Ventimiglia) death.
Four Birthdays, Two Timelines
The series premiere introduced us to four people who shared a birthday. Little did we know, they were all connected. Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Kevin (Justin Hartley) were twins, while their adopted brother, Randall (Sterling K. Brown), was born on the same day as them. Even more trippy was the fact that the Big Three came into the world on their father Jack’s birthday.
Viewers did not realize they were watching stories in two different timelines — the day Kevin, Kate and Randall arrived as well as the adult versions of the siblings celebrating in the present day — until the episode ended.
The Late Mr. Pearson
Fans worried about Jack’s fate when he failed to show up with modern-day Rebecca (Mandy Moore) in season 1. Five episodes into the series’ run, Jack appeared … in an urn. His death became a seasons-long quest for answers that culminated in the post-Super Bowl episode that aired in 2018. Anyone who still trusts Crock-Pots has clearly never seen This Is Us.
Welcome Back
Just when viewers thought the writers could not pull another trick out of their hat, Jack’s brother, Nicky (Michael Angarano), turned up alive in the present. Jack led his family to believe that his ne’er-do-well sibling died when they served together in the Vietnam War. However, the Big Three tracked down Nicky to find out the real reason why Jack cut off his brother.
Watch the video above to relive more This Is Us twists, including Rebecca’s second marriage and a still-unsolved mystery!
This Is Us airs on NBC Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
