The ‘This Is Us’ Crock-Pot Plot Twist Nobody Saw Coming [UPDATE]

Every Tuesday night, millions of Americans tune in to NBC to have their hearts ripped to shreds by This Is Us, a melodrama where one of the central plots revolves around the mysterious death of a loving father named Jack (played by Milo Ventimiglia). After dropping hints and clues about Jack’s death for nearly two seasons, last night’s episode “That’ll Be the Day” finally showed what happened the day before he met his demise. (Warning: Major spoilers herein.)

It’s Super Bowl Sunday, 1998, and Jack spends the afternoon having meaningful moments with his family, but ultimately he ends up by himself, clearing the remnants of his game day feast — part of it made with a Crock-Pot, which was used to cook chili.

NBC/This Is Us

Jack tosses some rags next to the Crock-Pot, and turns off his slow-cooker. The action then switches to a flashback of a neighbor giving Jack and his wife Rebecca (Mandy Moore) the old pot with a warning about its finicky switch.

NBC/This Is Us

The story then cuts back to the Crock-Pot on Super Bowl Sunday, 1998, which turns back on by itself and shoots off a spark that sets the rags on fire.

NBC/This Is Us

Flames begin to climb through the house and scenes of Jack and his family in happier times flash on the screen, then the credits roll. Fans will have to wait till the next episode — which will air immediately after Super Bowl Sunday, 2018 — for closure on Jack’s deadly game-day Crock-Pot incident.

Here’s a glimpse at how Twitter reacted to this major revelation last night:

And, of course, someone even started a Twitter account for the old Crock-Pot in question:

But sadly, there’s no response from the official Crock-Pot account yet.

UPDATE: A spokesperson for Crock-Pot sends along a statement regarding the incident on last night’s episode of This Is Us.

Crock-Pot understands the concerns brought up by last night’s episode of This Is Us, and we too are heartbroken by the latest development in Jack’s storyline. However, it is important that our consumers understand and have confidence that all Crock-Pot slow cookers exceed all internal testing protocols and all applicable industry safety standards and regulations as verified by independent third-party testing labs. For nearly 50 years, with over 100 million Crock-Pots sold, we have never received any consumer complaints similar to the fictional events portrayed in last night’s episode. In fact, the safety and design of our product renders this type of event nearly impossible.

In addition, and most relevant to the concerns consumers are having after watching the recent This Is Us episode, our Crock-Pot slow cookers are low current, low wattage (typically no more than 200 or 300 watts) appliances with self-regulating, heating elements. The product is designed to cook foods over a longer period of time at low temperatures and the switches connect to only 1 side of the power line voltage, so there is never a high voltage applied directly across our switches. The switches within our slow cookers are subjected to additional internal testing, which includes a Rotary Knob Endurance test, Rotary Knob Force Test and Flame Burning Test and constructed of self-extinguishing, flame resistant material.

Our hope is that the team at NBC’s This Is Us will help us spread factual information regarding our product’s safety. While we know their primary mission is to entertain – something they have continued to excel in – we also feel they have a responsibility to inform. Just like many fans, we will be watching next week’s episode to see how Jack’s story progresses and, regardless of the outcome, we want consumers first and foremost to know they are safe when using their Crock-Pot.

So maybe don’t throw that Crock-Pot out on the curb just yet.

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