Everyone loves a good show, a well-compiled narrative that doesn't lack complex characters, intriguing scenes, and hard-to-anticipate scenarios and twists. When it comes to the TV series drama field, things can get a bit complicated as a certain balance must be reached.
''This Is Us'' is a rarity of its own genre as its producers were able to use the right ingredients, and what's even more important, the right amount of them. Blending high-intensity drama with blunt comedy and sarcasm can turn into a real powderkeg for the whole story. ''This Is Us'' puts us right in the middle of a unique universe, a world where death dictates the pace.
A strange way to fuel a narrative
''This Is Us'' has been up and running for a while now as it got past its Season 2 finale. As longevity keeps mounting on its side, it becomes easier to observe a pattern that drives the story onward. A pure dramatic construct, the narrative ''This Is Us'' produces has one of the greatest fears a human being can feel at its core, the ever-presence fear of death and how deep its ramifications are.
Jack Pearson's death is an event that put in motion a gigantic narrative megalodon. Once in motion, this giant structure divides into dozens of secondary facets, all connected, all based upon a primordial premise.
Jack mirrors a unique character that stands for so many archetypes.
At first, he was just a young man whose life had been derailed by the painful and premature experience of going to fight the War In Vietnam. Losing his brother (presumably on the battlefield) had a major impact, and he would go to put all of his efforts to make his own family.
He is the perfect father and husband, a man who does anything humanly possible to provide all needed for his family.
He is also able to keep his dark demons in check as he's struggling with alcohol addiction.
Three separate deaths that shaped 'This Is Us' story
Up to this point, we've got, more or less, three events that helped to set the course of the show. From a chronological point of view, Jack's brother died first during the war in Vietnam.
Nicky's death is still a mystery as we know very little about it but it changed Jack.
The second tragic event that is considered a major flexing point happened when the twins were born. Rebecca gave birth to triplets, but only Kevin and Kate survived while Kyle died. That vacancy would allow Randall to join the Pearsons.
The last but not the least is Jack Pearson's tragic end. Doing his best to save his family from a burning house, Jack suffered a widow-maker, a heart attack caused by a large quantity of smoke that had been inhaled during the fire.
