After all this time, it turns out crock-pot started the fire.
Last night's This Is Us revealed the heartbreaking truth about the fire that presumably killed Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia). It turns out the fire was no one's fault, but it started due to a faulty crock-pot that was given to Jack and Rebecca (Mandy Moore) by a neighbor before the triplets were even born.
"You gotta fiddle with the switch, but it works," the kindly neighbor George warned of his two year-old crock-pot, which would, more than 17 years later, randomly short out, setting fire to the Pearson house and all the memories and apparently some of the people inside. Thanks so much, George.
Post-episode, This Is Us fans all over Twitter were ready to throw out their trusty slow cookers out of loyalty to Jack and also out of an understandable fear of fire.
It got so bad that This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman felt the need to defend the kitchen staple.
"Taking a moment to remind everyone that it was a 20 year old fictional crockpot with an already funky switch?" he tweeted. "Let's not just lump all those lovely hardworking crockpots together."
Even the Crock-Pot brand was forced to make a couple of statements after fans flocked to the latest pork carnitas post on the Crock-Pot Facebook page to express their newfound concerns.
"I hope you guys have an awesome Super Bowl commercial for a 'fire proof Crock Pot' after that This Is Us episode has everyone throwing away their Crock Pots..." Elizabeth wrote.
"Jack Pearson was our Valentine so we equally understand your pain with his loss. We love him and we love you too," the brand responded. "Don't further add to our heartbreak by no longer using Crock-Pot Slow Cookers, rest assured our products have been generationally tested by your family and friends."
Another fan named Ruthie asked, "What is your response to This Is Us? So many people are worried now."
"We're heartbroken over last night's episode too!" they replied. "Ruthie, we're innocent until proven guilty."
So far, trendy kitchen tool and slow cooker upgrade Instant Pot hasn't yet realized what a great marketing tool this is, but if they've had an uptick in sales today, hopefully they'll figure out who to thank.
This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m., but will next air directly after the Super Bowl, February 4 on NBC.
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBC Universal family.)