Warning: This article contains plot details from Tuesday’s episode ofThis Is Us, “Katoby.”
It’s all over.
It’s begun again.
Dinner and a divorce? Toby (Chris Sullivan) and Kate (Chrissy Metz) move toward the inevitable.Ron Batzdorff/NBC
And it may take a while, but you’ll see: It’s going to befine.
As they were about to sign the divorce papers, Toby made an unsuccessful last gasp to reverse course.
“Just because our marriage is over doesn’t mean our story is over,” Kate told him.
“We were meant to find each other in that weight-loss group.
And we were meant to be together.
And now, we’re meant to be apart.
And I know that one day you will see it.”
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: This episode had a classicThis Is UsM.O.
ELIZABETH BERGER:You really hit on exactly why we did it this way.
We feel like it mirrors the way life feels when you look back on it.
You managed to stuff a lot of them in here.
Be honest: Did you wish you had another season once you started mapping this out?
[Laughs] It’s sort of a Choose Your Own Adventure of terrible lines.
In your mind, what was ultimately the cause of death for Kate and Toby?
Oh, it’s a really hard question.
Kate and Toby met at a really vulnerable place in both of their lives.
Toby was coming off a divorce.
He was still battling depression.
Kate still had all of these unresolved issues about her father’s death.
And in a lot of ways, they changed and grew for the better.
I don’t think they always grew together.
We definitely find uplift in that, for sure.
What was important to the writers to remember as you told this painful story of divorce?
Was there a mantra that you kept in mind while unraveling this couple?
How do you feel about Kate?"
and the other half was, “I could kill Toby in this episode!”
What was the most memorable or even brutal writers' room debate over Kate and Toby?
Nothing was too brutal.
It was more just really interesting conversations.
What’s wrong with her?
She’s being terrible!"
And on the other side you had people saying, “No, this is insane!
It’s too much!
It’s hard for all of us.
We love this couple Sully and Chrissy love this couple.
We’ve spent years with them.
We’ve watched so many different, beautiful chapters of their love story.
So I think it was hard on all of us.
At the same time, we all understand it and we’ve all come to terms with it.
And we all really do understand why this couple met this fate romantically.
But yeah, it’s very difficult to love these characters deeply and watch them go through this.
I think pure desperation took over in that moment.
He can’t imagine this next chapter of his life, and he is just purely desperate.
And does Toby pop up here and there before the finale?
He definitely pops up, and you’ll continue to see him.
At the same time, yes, we feel like we really covered this chapter of time.
We’ve learned more about Phillip, whose relationship past is rooted in tragedy.
We’re going to get to see a little bit more of how they function as a couple.
And it’s no easy task for anybody to take on.
What happened to all his growth and moment of enlightenment after Rebecca’s speech?
But it’s always a process for him.
We see a married Sophie at the engagement party.
There definitely is still a final chapter to be told between those two.
Viewers also see Madison and Elijah are together, and she’s pregnant.
Any other hints about their relationship in the future?
They are really, really happy together.
It just took a really brutal chapter for them to get there.
Will she be in more episodes moving forward?
She will definitely be referenced in more episodes.
I don’t believe she is in more episodes moving forward.
In this distant future, Kate is alive and very well.
How did you decide to reveal the answer to thewhere-is-Kate?mystery in this deep-future era?
Revealing that Kate is alive and well in the future in this episode felt really right to us.
Viewers saw the engagement party this week.
Now there’s a wedding to attend.
What can you tease about next week’s episode?
I think people are really going to love them together.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Check out ourdaily must-see picks plus news, celeb interviews, trivia, and more onEW’sWhat to Watchpodcast.
