Getty Milo Ventimiglia as Jack Pearson in “The Ride”
This Is Us viewers will get a front-row seat to the Pearson kids’ ride home from the hospital, but it may not be a smooth one.
In the upcoming episode “The Ride,” viewers will be transported to 1980 when Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) and Rebecca (Mandy Moore) drive their newborns home from a Pittsburgh hospital for the first time.
But in a promo for the episode, Jack is seen buying a small bottle of whiskey at a gas station mini-market and slugging it down right in the store before going back to the car.
So does this mean Jack will be shown drinking and driving with his newborns in the car?
Here’s what fans are saying:
‘This Is Us’ Viewers Reacted to ‘The Ride’ Promo on Social Media & Some Were Worried It Could Be a Parallel to a Present-Day Storyline About Jack’s Son
The This Is Us promo was shared on both Instagram and YouTube. The clip showed nervous new dad Jack buckling car seats into his car and saying to himself, “You got this Pearson.”
But the nerve-wracking rise appears to be interrupted by a pitstop. It is unclear if the gas station scene is from the same car ride as the hospital trip. Jack is wearing the same faded jean jacket both times.
In comments to the YouTube clip, some viewers fear that Jack’s drinking flashback will be shown as a way to mirror his now-adult son Kevin’s (Justin Hartley) drinking problem. Kevin has been sober for an extended period of time, but the stress of being a new dad of preemie twins – and losing his recent movie role – could be a trigger.
“Car seats and alcohol,” one viewer wrote.
“I’m wondering if they are going to parallel this story with Kevin’s journey either leaving the hospital or going to it as the focus has been on how he wants to be like his dad,” another added. “Maybe Kevin gets tempted to fall back into his addiction.”
But others think the promo is a fake-out and that Jack’s momentary drinking lapse does not take place when he’s about to drive his precious newborns home.
“I hope we stop getting these weird bait and switch suspense promos,” one viewer wrote. “Like the week with Kevin and the car crash. Of course, I don’t want him to get in a wreck but it was just a weird thing to build suspense and had little impact on the episode. Feel like this promo will be the same.”
‘This Is Us’ Star Jon Huertas Revealed That a Scene With Jack Made Him Tear Up
Viewers will get the full story when “The Ride” airs on NBC. The episode’s director, Jon Huertas (aka Miguel on the show) has already revealed that he got emotional while directing Ventimiglia in a scene.
“I was watching Milo do a scene with one of the other actors and the camera was on Milo and I started misting up,” Huertas told The Wrap in a new interview. “My eyes started watering because I felt so lucky and so appreciative to be allowed to direct an actor like that.”
He added that the episode is about the stress of “starting new families” in both the past and present-day story arcs.
“We will see across all of the family units that This Is Us has created, we will see everyone starting a brand-new family, or a new version of their family in some way or another with a baby, or babies,” he said. “And that can be a very stressful thing, bringing home new babies. And every single one of our characters deals with that differently.”
This Is Us airs Tuesday at 9/8c on NBC.
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