This Is Us Is Making Us Really Worried About Kevin (and Jack)

Kevin is his father's son, as creator Dan Fogelman confirms

By Lauren Piester Oct 11, 2017 2:49 AMTags

Kevin truly is his father's son, as we learned tonight on This Is Us. 

After Sylvester Stallone, of all people, forced him to confront his father's death, Kevin (Justin Hartley) freaked out. And when he got injured on the set of his movie, he turned to pills, and it sounds like all of our concern for the turn Kevin's taking is not unwarranted. 

"I think the nature of Jack [Milo Ventimiglia] needing to go sit inside of AA and exploring his demons is a little bit of him letting that breath out that he's kept closed up for four decades," creator Dan Fogelman said during the show's Facebook after show. "I think his son, generations, decades later, is experiencing the same thing, but it's as it relates to the loss of his father. That's what we're trying to get there." 

Kevin even lost it on Kate, who was just trying to help, after she talked to Stallone about Jack's death.

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"I think what you're seeing with Kevin is he also has experienced a trauma or something that has caused him deep pain that he can't let out, and he's his father's son," Fogelman continued. "So he's attacking it a similar way. He's withholding, he's keeping it internal, and he's not sharing it with other people." 

The Jack that we're currently seeing is getting the help he needs and finally opening up to Rebecca about his struggles, but Kevin isn't there yet. 

"He's not at the stage where Jack is at right now," he said. "He's at the stage where Jack was in the earlier time period, where he kind of white knuckled and kept it all to himself." 

NBC

On the other hand, while we may be seeing Jack get help, he's not even close to being out of the woods. 

Fogelman says that letting that breath out is "why Jack's in this dark place." 

"We are going to reveal in the upcoming episodes--especially by episode five, there's a big other piece of what went on with this guy, why is he going down this well of darkness right now, and what is his story? That's a big story to be told as we move forward for him. 

Check out the after show to hear about Stallone's appearance and Kevin's relationship with Kate! 

This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on NBC. 

(E! and NBC are both part of the NBC Universal family.) 

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