), which she clearly put on hold when she did wind up having kids.
(They were conceived on Super Bowl Sunday, by the way.)
What does it all mean for Team Pearson?
Credit: Ron Batzdorff/NBC
Lets Hail Mary some burning questions to creator Dan Fogelman.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You took JackandWilliam from us in one episode.
Do you have stock in the major tissue companies?
Thats a bit cruel, dont you think?
DAN FOGELMAN: [Laughs.]
Well, I felt likeWalking Deaddid it, so we have to do it, too.
The William part of it is meant to be this almost metaphysical glimpse at a hypothetical future.
But we have this ominous thing looming in some kind of distant or near-distant future.
And was it initially put there to act as another red herring for the twist in the pilot?
It was the original, original construct of the script.
Because at that point in the pilot, you dont know that Jack is Randalls father.
So it was not like it was any big piece of information.
So, well see.
We dont know when he died.
We dont know if he died as an old man or if he died as a young man.
We dont know if his marriage to Mandys character survived or not.
What was Milos reaction when you told him that Jack was dead?
He was cool with anything,as long as I let him have a mustache.
The urn story sweetly illustrated Kates continuing connection to her dad.
What were the different ways if any you talked about revealing Jacks death before deciding on the urn?
And how did you settle on that?
It was pretty early that we decided on it.
I forget exactly how we landed on football and an urn with ashes.
It came up organically in the writers room, and I dont remember exactly how we got there.
What can you hint about when well receive more intel about those things?
We spread it out for quite a while.
Next weeks episode, one of the Big Three talks about the loss of their father.
But this is the big piece of information that in the present day, hes no longer alive.
The when he died of it all will be revealed in the course of two episodes of the show.
Its not going to be something that theres an immediate answer for.
There is still much story to tell here about Jack and Rebecca and the family.
What does this allow you to do?
Our stories dont change too much with this information that Jack is dead.
Jack hasnt existed in the present-day stories yet, and now you know why.
And as long as Jacks alive, it doesnt really affect what stories were telling.
Because hes obviously an incredible dad.
He has a very special episode next week.
Jack and little Randall have a very special story that I love.
We have these kids who have lost somebody that was very close to them.
We also learned that Rebecca wasnt interested in having kids at least not right away.
She clearly had musical aspirations, which were put on hold to have kids.
I think you feel it, right?
Rebecca contemplates getting back into music, something shes put aside for almost 13 years.
So its a story line that comes back upon itself.
Weve only known Rebecca as a mother.
We met her giving birth to triplets.
Weve seen her in the show either pregnant or mothering 8-year-olds, and being a stay-at-home mom.
While not a shocker, given his diagnosis, its still a moment that stings and resonates.
And is that something the show will start experimenting with, traveling forward in time?
Yeah, it was an adventurous and much-talked-about thing to pop into the future.
Theres a lot of people who are going to watch it and think they missed Williams death.
Theyre going to quickly find out next week that William is alive and well.
I like that the show can make people talk a little bit and not always be completely clear.
What happened with Miguel?
We waited five episodes to find out what happened with Jack.
What did that mean, that flash forward with William?
And I think its okay to provoke a little of that.
Were not trying to do avant garde theater here, you know?
Its a fine line.
This show has been given us some powerhouse monologues.
Kevin has a big one with his nieces.
After a pretty horrific start, he recovers nicely.
Theres no dying, theres no you or me or them.
I think its us.
Is that speech essentially the thesis or mission statement of the show laid out?
And any stories behind the creation of that scene?
Mission statement is a great word.
Thats the main question: Whats this about?
So, it gets you thinking a lot about what is the show.
Its very much what this show is.
It extends far before you and far after you.
And its all this big giant thing.
So, yeah, I think that was it.
So its not just the One Direction movie.
To hear Milo Ventimiglias thoughts on Jacks fate and much more,click here.
To read what Ron Cephas Jones had to say about Williams future,click here.
