Jack Pearson has been setting the husband/father bar very high since the premiere of This Is Us back in 2016. It seems that no matter what situation the Pearson family seems to find themselves in, Jack always has the right thing to say. His words make us laugh and they make us cry, sometimes they even make us swoon.
It could be argued that Jack's words and the promises he makes to Rebecca with those words, is the reason why Rebecca falls for Jack in the first place. It is safe to say Jack has a way with the English language, and here are some of his best words.
"You're not just my great love story, Rebecca. You were my big break."
Like almost every marriage, real or fictional, Jack and Rebecca have their fair share of fights, but the biggest fight to date happened after Jack drunkenly confronted Rebecca's bandmate at a gig in Philadelphia. Jack drove (drunk) for hours to make it to Rebecca's gig and when he got there, he learned that another guy made a move on Rebecca and a fight ensued, causing Rebecca to question Jack and their marriage. Jack knew he was in the wrong and he apologized, but Rebecca still asked him to spend a couple nights away from the house to give them some space. On his way out, Jack gave Rebecca a gold, crescent moon necklace and one of the most romantic speeches in television history.
"I am thankful for my family. I'm thankful that we're all safe and there's no one in the world that I'd rather be too hot or too cold with."
Thanksgiving episodes are a fan favorite on this show, and the first Thanksgiving episode back in season one set us up for a series full of nostalgia and happy holiday memories. Jack and Rebecca are forced to find the silver lining when their car breaks down on the way to Rebecca's parents' house on Thanksgiving.
Jack, Rebecca, and the big three find themselves in a cabin in the woods, with a broken furnace, eating hot dogs wrapped in cheese and watching Police Academy 3. It turns out to be the best Thanksgiving the Pearson's ever have and one that they remember and cherish forever.
"Hey, God. I know we only talk during play-off season, but if you're listening, I'm concerned that my wife may be possessed by demons."
One of the sexiest things about Jack is his sense of humor and his ability to make jokes in just about any situation. In this instance, Rebecca is very, very pregnant with triplets, and well, that's enough to make any woman crazy. Jack tries to steer clear of his wife, who at the moment, is completely unpredictable, but he can't even seem to do that right. So, he does what any husband, at his wits end and mildly afraid for his life would do, he prays, in Rebecca's ear-shot.
"I love the mother that you are. I love that you are still the most beautiful woman in any room and that you laugh with your entire face."
Speaking of Rebecca being a great mother, that fact does not go unnoticed by Jack Pearson. He praises his wife every chance he gets and loves her down to even the tiniest of details. This line was also a part of the speech Jack gives to Rebecca after their biggest fight. In an effort to save his marriage, Jack lists all the things he loves about Rebecca, bringing her, and us, to tears. After a speech like that, Rebecca's only choice really, is to forgive Jack and take him back.
"The moment I saw you, I knew you were my boy. You weren't a choice, Randall, you were a fact."
Another quote that sticks with us through every season. The way Jack communicates with all three of his children is simply beautiful. With Randall, Jack has to work a little bit harder because as Randall grows up, he begins to feel more and more like an outsider.
Jack makes it a life mission to make sure that Randall knows he is just as much a Pearson as anyone else in the family. Jack truly believes that Randall was meant to be a Pearson and he'll say or do anything to make Randall see that too.
“I love that you are still the same woman who all those years ago ran out of a blind date because she simply had to sing.”
Jack remembers the first time he saw Rebecca like it was yesterday. Jack was actually getting ready to rob a bar out of pure desperation, but then a girl got on the tiny stage in the back of the bar and sang "Moonshadow." That was the moment Jack Pearson fell in love with Rebecca, and that's the reason he constantly reminds Rebecca that she saved him. If Rebecca hadn't left her blind date to go sing on that tiny stage, who knows what would have become of our favorite television dad.
“We’re their parents. We do the best we can. But at the end of the day what happens to them, how they turn out, that’s bigger than us.”
One of the many reasons Jack is a great father is because he understands his limitations as a parent. He knows there's only so much he can control when it comes to the lives of his three children, so he does his best with what he's got and trusts that everything else will work out the way it's supposed to.
Jack always seems to be the voice of reason for Rebecca when it comes to raising their family. His level-headedness comes in handy quite a few times throughout the series, until his untimely death, of course.
“I love you as much as a human heart can love.”
Here is another beautiful moment between Jack and young Randall. Randall's anxiety has started showing up more and more, and with that Randall begins spiraling more often. After a particularly rough day at school, Randall worries that he may be in trouble and is hesitant to talk to his parents about what's really bothering him. Leave it to Jack to reassure Randall and get him to open up about what's going on. When it comes to his family, Jack approaches every situation with nothing but love.
“You got to own your choices, boys. Choose them fully and don’t look back.”
Leave it to Jack to always give the best advice to his two sons. One of Jack's biggest goals in life is to raise his boys to be respectable men. He takes pride in his relationships with his sons, but is also pretty tough on the boys when he has to be. He's not afraid to enforce what is right and what is wrong, and he is definitely more of a disciplinarian as the boys become teenagers. This sound advice Jack passes along to Kevin and Randall sticks with the boys long after Jack is gone.
"There is no lemon so sour, that you can't make something resembling lemonade."
Okay, so, technically Jack wasn't the first character to utter these words on the show, but this quote touched Jack (and us) so much, that it is something he says frequently. It is also a lesson he instills in his children and something they carry with them throughout their lives, both before Jack's death, and after. This quote has become the theme of the show in a lot of ways. No matter what happens to the Pearsons, they always seem to turn it into something resembling lemonade.