There are no shortage of questions in need of answers in the final season of This Is Us. Among them: Is Kate alive in the future? Is Miguel? Just how high up the political chain is Randall going to go? And will Kevin ever find true love? With that in mind, it's not too shocking that This Is Us added another mystery to the pile in the Season 6 premiere, but this one is most likely going to remain unsolved and periodically haunt your dreams forever.
In the premiere, Randall's desire to do more to help his most vulnerable constituents is stoked in an unexpected way when he comes face to face with the man who broke into his home in Season 4. Even though no one in his family was physically hurt during the home invasion, the incident shook Randall to his core. His anxiety flared up, he feared for Beth and the kids anytime he had to leave them alone, and it took a long time for him to feel safe in his own home again.
But when he finally gets the chance to confront the man who caused his family so much pain, he finds out he's not the terrifying specter from his dreams, he's just a man named David who is struggling with addiction. During his conversation with Randall, it's clear David is in need of help not a jail cell, and Randall does his best to get it for him. But the question that's going to haunt This Is Us fans quite possibly for the rest of their lives is: What happened to David's dog?
Twice during their conversation, David asks Randall if he knows what the police did with his dog after his arrest. Randall promises he'll try his best to find it, and then the dog is never mentioned again. Given the state of his mental health, it seems likely David is homeless and his dog is quite possibly the only true companion he has in the world. Ultimately, Randall bails the man who broke into his home out and promises to get him into a shelter.
But sadly, David never shows up. Despite not being to help the man who broke into his house, Randall still vows to help as many Davids of the world as he can in honor of all the people in his own life who have been dealt with addiction including William, Laurel, Jack, and Kevin. What Randall doesn't do is mention David's dog again, which I, quite frankly, was shocked by. I 100 percent expected the final scene of the episode to be him walking through the door with a dog and Beth giving him a "hell no," before promptly falling in love with the scruffy little fellow.
Instead, the episode ends with David back on the streets and the mystery of what happened to his beloved pooch left unsolved. In hopes of easing my mind, I did a little research about what happens to a person's dog when they get arrested, and the answers aren't exactly comforting. According to Vice, there is no universal law for arresting officers to follow in regards to ensuring the safety of a person's pet. In fact, the duty of care still falls to the owner even after their arrest.
Generally, a person who has been arrested can inform an officer that they have a pet that will need care while they're being held in custody. From there, the person can either call a friend or family member to take care of their pet, or the officer may hand the pet over to an animal shelter where they'll be put up for adoption after a certain amount of days. In the case of a homeless person, things are trickier since they most likely don't have someone to call.
The best case scenario is David's dog was picked up along with him and they were reunited after he made bail, or the dog was taken to a no-kill shelter until it can be adopted. But as Randall realized when he finally met the man who broke into his home, life is often cruel and unfair to those who are the most in need, and there's a good chance David's pet slipped through the cracks in the system just like he did.
So, congratulations This Is Us, you've officially left me crying over the fate of a character I never even met.
Images: Ron Batzdorff/NBC; NBC