‘This Is Us’ Season 1, Episode 6 Spoilers: "Career Days" – Kate, Randall Face Professional Struggles; Showrunner Talks How Jack’s Death Influences Kids’ Lives

‘This Is Us’ season 1’s episode 6, entitled "Career Days", will follow Kate and Randall as they struggle with their careers. Meanwhile, showrunner Dan Fogelman teased that Jack’s death has a direct impact on his children’s lives.

The synopsis for episode 6 posted on The Futon Critic stated, “Kate (Chrissy Metz) interviews for a new job that seems just about perfect, although it comes with a catch. Randall (Sterling K. Brown) doubts his career choice and wonders if he followed the right path. Kevin (Justin Hartley) and Olivia's (Janet Montgomery) relationship moves in a new direction. Rebecca (Mandy Moore) and Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) are conflicted on what to do when Randall tests as a gifted child.”

The incoming episode will find the Pearson kids struggling with their professional lives and career choices. Kate has finally decided to take control of her own life and is building a career for herself although it remains unknown what her new job will be like. Meanwhile, Kevin continues to find his acting career on a standstill but it seems that his relationship with Olivia will have interesting developments.

Despite being the most stable of his siblings, Randall will begin doubting his chosen career path. In one of the flashbacks, Randall will be revealed as a gifted child, which puts his parents Rebecca and Jack at a tough position.

The preceding episode, entitled "The Game Plan", also took a shocking turn when it Jack’s demise was revealed. During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ventimiglia was asked about how he felt about his character’s death on the series. He replied, “I think a sense of relief, almost like the reveal of the pilot and you understand that this is a family… I guess there is a bit of relief, but it’s also knowing that I’m never going to be with my kids in the present day.”

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, showrunner Dan Fogelman revealed that Jack’s death has a profound effect on his children. Fogelman said, “Even though we never really have spoken about it until now and have primarily focused on Kate in this episode, you can feel that Jack is kind of a superhero dad. You can feel that there’s something, in a romantic and melancholy way, broken in each of these people. You have to think that a big part of that has to do with whatever happened here. It’s something we start peeling back the layers of as we move forward.”

He continued, “The death of any parent affects a family. The death of this particular parent, no matter when and how it happened, is clearly going to affect these three kids because he’s kind of the best dad ever. It’s going to be a big thing that we explore this season and seasons to come.”

‘This Is Us’ season 1’s episode 6, entitled "Career Days", is scheduled to premiere on NBC on November 1, 2016.