SPOILER ALERT: This story contains plot details from Tuesdays episode of This Is Us, The Game Plan.
It does, though not a full one.
How much more of Jack (in corporeal form) will we get to see?
Credit: Ron Batzdorff/NBC
How did he feel about Toby outfitting Jack with some Steelers gear?
EW dialed the dearly departed to discuss The Game Plan.
(To see what series creator Dan Fogelman had to say about the episode,click here.
Andclick hereto read an interview with Ron Cephas Jones about Williams fate.)
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: The secret is finally out.
How do you feel?
Any sense of relief that you’re free to talk about it now at least partially?
Its a little bittersweet.
When did that happen?
When did he pass?
At what point did his lessons to those kids stop?
Do they take him as just a memory?
Those are the things that I start to consider and wonder.
Before we get into that, lets back up for a second.
The original version of the pilot had a line that revealed that Jack was dead.
When Dan told me, he goes, Yeah, Jack dies.
Jacks a lot smaller than people thought he would be in present day.
Thats amazing to picture.
Did the producers talk about different ways that they might reveal his death?
[That exchange was in an early version of the pilot but was cut before it aired.]
Cool move when Toby put the Steelers hat on your urn?
I do approve of Toby.
Hes a good guy.
He loves my daughter, and thats whats important.
As you mentioned, we found out only that hes dead, not how or when he died.
What can you hint about that in terms of when those bits of information will come out?
And what do you think about the way that theyre planning to do it?
How would you sum up the emotional power of that moment?
What did you think, though, of Dans pitch about how Jack ultimately did meet his maker?
There still could have been events before he passed away.
You said to people who were jumping to conclusions about Miguel to just wait.
What would you say about Rebecca ending up with Miguel, with the new information we have?
Thats still something thatIdont even know about.
I dont know how that road is paved, so to say.
But at that point, Jack is a memory.
Its out of Jacks hands.
People are still trying to figure out what to make of Miguel…
And thats the thing.
Theres a lot to discover about who Miguel is and how he was involved in the familys life.
Did that one catch you off-guard?
It was talked about, where this idea of wanting to have a bigger family came from.
Lets say they didnt have triplets, but they had one kid.
Would they ultimately have three?
He wanted that comfort of family.
Hes a very loving man.
We see that she clearly had musical aspirations which obviously were put on hold to have kids.
How much of a source of tension will that be for Jack and Rebecca moving forward in their story?
The revelation, while huge in a way, really doesnt change anything.
I mean people already understand that theres a lot happening in the past with the Big Three.
Thats not going to change at all.
The show has been giving you guys some powerhouse monologues.
You had a great one in The Pool.
Theres no you, me or them, its just us.
Im wondering did that speech resonate to you as just the thesis of the show?
I think so very much.
Is there more to say here about Jacks alcohol issues moving forward?
It never seemed like there was a slip-up on Jacks part.
He never left the kids after school and forgot to picking them up because he was drunk.
He just wasnt entirely himself.
Jack relating to alcohol its not done, but its also not going to take over his life.
I think that may be his youth.
Rebecca… And its funny, too.
I think a lot of fans have [said], How could Jack do that?
Jack, get back to your family.
Jack this and that.
And its like, yeah, butnowmaybe you have a better understanding.
Dont judge until youve read the full book.
What happens to Ron?
Ron is amazing, and hes doing this beautiful work.
Its the nature of television and characters.
Some characters are going to go away.
Some are going to stick around.
Some are going to deviate to different paths.
Its the nature of the business and how storytelling is not just told but experienced.
We also went back in time earlier than wed ever gone.
Does that give the show permission to go anywhere?
And are you interested in making an episode that just stays in a particular time period?
Dan has mentioned to us about traveling in different directions and going forward and going back.
I think youre right.
Permission is a very good word.
Was there a moment or line between you and Mandy that you particularly loved in this episode?
It was just something that I know that Dan and I have always spoken about.
I think Jack is excited to be a father.
I think hes a fun dad, and weve seen that, but he loves his wife.
She definitely needed to hear that in that moment.
That was important for Jack to make that statement of purpose.
What we have together, you and me, nothing.
Its heartbreaking to know thatsomethingchanged, whatever it was.
I wonder if we cant be evengreater.
Its funny, Rebecca had to hear it, but it was almost like Rebecca wasnt listening.
Rebecca could be Jacks bottom-line end-all everything is about Rebecca.
Is Jack everything for her, though?
Its a question people should ask themselves.
It is this monumental couple, but Ive always talked about Jack loves his wife.
And I know Rebecca loves Jack, but to Jack, Rebecca is everything.
But is Jack everything to Rebecca?
Thats a good question.
And finally, youve said that this was a painful episode.
If you had to pinpoint it, how many times did you cry?
I give it five tissue boxes.
Just understanding how their lives are about to change and how theyre actually accepting it.
It was the very end, when it was going through the memory of the kids and Kevins speech.
Putting it all together.
Hes got the same heart his brother and sister do…
