‘This Is Us’ Fans Have Heartbreaking Theory About Kate’s Baby

This Is Us fans should get ready for a not-so-smooth entry into motherhood for Kate Pearson. On the most recent episode of the NBC drama, the character played by Chrissy Metz was rushed to the emergency room when her water broke at 28 weeks of pregnancy. Now, fans have a theory of what could go wrong for Kate’s premature baby, and it ties in with a past storyline and some of the dire teasers Metz and the show’s producers have already given.

Chrissy Metz previously told Entertainment Weekly that Kate and her husband Toby (Chris Sullivan) would face “a bit of an unconventional parenting situation” after their son arrives.

“Not unconventional in that people aren’t doing it, but not what I think either of them ever had in mind,” the This Is Us star said. “It’s something I don’t think we’ve ever seen, at least not on network television.”

This Is Us executive producer Elizabeth Berger also confirmed the baby storyline will be “not necessarily something that we’ve seen up close before.”

And in a new interview with PopSugar, Chrissy Metz revealed the story of Kate and Toby’s baby will be shocking for fans.

“It’s not what anybody suspects. But it’s of course beautifully written and there’s a lot of hardships and a lot of challenges ahead. It’s again a story and a thread throughout the series that it’s really important, and that nobody talks about. And it’s really, really going to be a challenge for her and for Toby.”

Now, This Is Us fans think the “mystery” regarding Kate’s baby could be that he will be born with a heart condition similar to his late grandfather Jack’s (Milo Ventimiglia). Remember Kate’s wish to “pass on something of Dad’s” to her baby? Sadly, some viewers think that comment—which her adopted brother Randall (Sterling k. Brown) took offense to—could come back to haunt her.

Reddit user Irisveile14 noted, “Jack has a heart problem that we think Kate will have. Kate will pass on a piece of her dad and that will be his underlying heart condition.”

This Is Us fans first found out Jack Pearson had a heart condition when flashback scenes revealed that he had a pre-existing condition that initially caused him to be ineligible for the draft. In a flashback scene set in the 1950s, Jack’s mom (Laura Neimi ) noticed her young son’s heart was beating extremely fast. Jack assured her it was always like that. A flash forward to 1970 showed Jack’s doctor telling him he had tachycardia—an abnormally rapid heart rate—and could not pass the medical exam required to be drafted into the Vietnam war.

Jack’s pre-existing heart condition could have also been a factor in his heart attack death, which was spawned by smoke inhalation after the family’s house burned down in the late 1990s.

This Is Us airs Tuesday, March 11, at 9 p.m. on NBC.