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This Is Us is currently in its penultimate season, and as we head toward the end of the Pearson family’s journey, questions are being answered, and more mysteries are arising. The series focuses on the Pearson triplets, Kevin (Justin Hartley), Randall (Sterling K. Brown), and Kate (Chrissy Metz), from their birth to the year 2034, as well as their parents Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) and Rebecca (Mandy Moore). 

Now that This Is Us has revealed some scenes from the future, including some from Rebecca’s death bed, fans have a theory about why Jack’s brother Nicky (Griffin Dunne) is present.

Mandy Moore as Rebecca on 'This Is Us
Mandy Moore as Rebecca on ‘This Is Us’ | NBC

Why did Jack tell everyone Nicky was dead on ‘This Is Us’?

Though Jack was always open and transparent with his wife Rebecca and his three children, as a Vietnam War veteran, he kept some things to himself. In fact, he told Rebecca when they first met in 1972 that he’d lost his brother Nicky in the war.

However, This Is Us is known to have tricks and twists. By Season 3, the writers had revealed that Nicky wasn’t actually dead, and instead, he and Jack had become estranged due to some of Nicky’s actions in the war.

Amid the war, Nicky dealt with addiction, and due to his carelessness, he accidentally let a grenade slip under the boat leading to the death of an innocent Vientmanese boy. Since Nicky was known for his screw-ups and was on the verge of being court marshaled, Jack blamed him for the incident. After the accident, Jack could be heard screaming, “What did you do?! He was just a kid! I’m done, I’m done….” The men never reconciled before the elder Pearson’s death in 1998.

Nicky is at Rebecca’s death bed in the ‘This Is Us’ flash-forward scenes

Kevin is the only one of the Pearsons who has formed a close bond with Nicky. He’s even named his son after his only uncle. Therefore, when fans noticed Nicky at Rebecca’s death bed in 2034, they began scrambling for theories. US Weekly has theorized that Nicky is present because Rebecca is dealing with Alzheimer’s, and he is her sole connection to her late husband, Jack.

It could be that Rebecca believes Nicky is Jack, and that is bringing her comfort in her final days. However, there is another theory that is also buzzing.

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Is Nicky married to Rebecca at the end of ‘This Is Us’?

Not only were fans stunned to see Nicky at Rebecca’s death bed in the future scenes, but they were also stunned to see him wearing a wedding ring. Interestingly enough, Rebecca’s current husband,  Miguel (Jon Huertas), who also happened to be Jack’s best friend, is nowhere to be found.

Nicky could very well be comforting Rebecca, but Ventimiglia did also hint at Miguel’s death. “Speaking as Jack, it breaks my heart that Miguel is not around because that’s his best friend,” he told US Weekly of Rebecca’s death bed scene. “But maybe that means that Jack and Miguel are just kinds of hanging out in heaven together. I don’t know!”

Only time will tell.

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