This Is Us revealed how Jack died and it's not what anyone expected

The moment This Is Us fans had been dreading has arrived.

Ever since about midway through season one, fans have known they would (eventually) be bidding farewell to Jack Pearson.

The show aired a special post-Super Bowl episode in the United States on Sunday night, which promised give fans the definitive answer as to what happened to Jack.

And after the show’s creator Dan Fogelman hinted that the first few moments of the show were so powerful that it’s “literally and figuratively [going to be] hard to breathe”, we knew it was going to be a tear-jerker.

But it definitely wasn't what we expected.

Warning: This story contains spoilers for the most recent episode.

Do not proceed unless you have watched This Is Us, season 2 episode 14.

We mean it.

Proceed at your own risk.

Fans saw the Pearson family home start to go up in flames at the end of the last episode, after a used crock pot created a spark.

And viewers have been on edge ever since, with the promise that the post-Super Bowl episode would answer all fans’ questions.

The episode picked up after the fire began, with Jack waking up Rebecca and the kids.

He managed to get the family out of the house through his and Rebecca's bedroom window, then went back inside to get the dog - which many fans believed would be how he met his maker.

But even then, Jack managed to come out alive.

He had also managed to save a number of family values, including a photo album and the video of Kate singing that he had managed to record that day.

In the future, Kate watches the tape every year on Super Bowl Sunday, while Kevin avoids it all together and Randall celebrates it.

While the EMT's informed Jack that his vitals looked okay, they did tell him that he had inhaled a lot of smoke.

The couple dropped the kids off with Miguel, before heading to the hospital to get Jack checked out.

But, sadly, the good news is short-lived.

This can't be true. Share this moment of a family's world turning upside down, presented by @Chevrolet. #ThisIsUs [SPOILER ALERT] pic.twitter.com/x9f881lExJ — This Is Us (@NBCThisisUs) February 5, 2018

As Rebecca is on the phone with a hotel and trying to book a room for the family, Jack goes into cardiac arrest.

She's unaware of what's going on behind her, with doctors and nurses darting in-and-out of the room responding to the emergency, as she rings Miguel to talk to the kids.

When she's off the phone and at the vending machine, the doctor approaches her.

He gently tries to explain:

"One of the complications of smoke inhalation is it puts terrible stress on the lungs and therefore the heart. "Your husband went into cardiac arrest and it was catastrophic. I'm afraid we've lost him."

Rebecca is left stunned by his words, and refuses to believe him - heading into Jack's room to tell him about it.

And it's an absolute soul-crushing moment.

Don't mind us, there's just a lil' something in our eye...