You’ve known the doom and gloom that looms.
(So much so, she conjured up conversations with the Toby of yesteryear.)
(Do the geographic math at your own peril.)
Chrissy Metz as Kate, Chris Sullivan as Toby.Ron Batzdorff/NBC
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So… yay for Kate, but wuh-oh for Kate and Toby?
CHRISSY METZ:Yay for both.
And wuh-oh for both.
And ultimately it affects the relationship.
But I think that they served such beautiful purposes in each other’s lives.
And that’s the bittersweet nature of not only our show, but the way that it’s written.
Everything has a purpose and a place and a time.
They both were so important in each other’s lives.
Kate might feel like the glue holding these two alpha male brothers together.
She’s very strong and vulnerable at the same time.
All the kids are.
Kate has never really wanted to rock the boat.
Now she’s getting to, because she’s putting herself first.
And ultimately, that’s what we all have to do.
It’s such a beautiful character arc for Kate and for me to play.
Then for her to decide, “Oh, I do want to teach!
What was your reaction when you found out?
Were you as surprised as Kate?
I was absolutely just as surprised.
I just can’t believe that she chose her.
She looks to Randall like, “We know it’s going to be him.
Because it’s always him.”
I think Rebecca knew exactly what she was doing, and I think Randall will understand that.
Yeah, it’s coming.
What’s so great is nobody’s wrong and nobody’s right.
It’s what they need to do.
Building on that, you could see that both parties are thriving in their own respective environments.
They love each other and want the same thing in theory, but sometimes people grow in opposite directions.
For me, I was always like, “Kate’s right!
Kate’s right!”
And then I’m thinking, “You know, Toby is, too.”
That’s really hard.
[Toby] means well, but it’s just not practical.
There’s so many ways that you’re like, “Oh, he’s right!
There’s the hill moment where he calls a ride instead.
That’s what I’m building to.
The biggest crime was that he hid the job offer in L.A. from her.
He’s really made this a habit: He hid his workouts from her.
Last season, he took the job in San Francisco without telling her.
When you put them all together, you’re like, “Why isn’t he telling her?”
And if he’s afraid, why is he afraid?
And is it because he feels like he’s doing something wrong?
And then you’re thinking, “Oh, well, is Kate not receptive?
Is she not trying to hear him?”
And if that’s the case, do they not have open communication?
It’s a whole thing.
I think that’s such a huge factor in what happens between them.
Because when trust is violated, it’s really hard to go back from that.
I mean, you’re always going to be second guessing.
I think it was the audacity for him to even say that I need to do that.
Even if I moved there, it would be something else.”
Because of the distress or because he didn’t want hurt her feelings and never was honest with her.
It was all of it, but also that was a very big eye-opening conversation and argument.
It was like, “Oh!
So he gets to put himself first, but Kate doesn’t get to?
That doesn’t work for me anymore.”
What was it like to act opposite old Toby?
It was almost like the show had digitally stitched in old footage of him.
I mean, the hair and makeup alone is incredible.
And it’s such a juxtaposition to how he dresses now.
So yeah, it was really cool.
You sort of get to take a journey back in time.
Kate and Toby want each other to be happy, but that doesn’t always include one another.
We know this marriage isn’t going to work out, given the flash-forward to Kate’s second wedding.
But we didn’t know who we were going to get there.
What has struck you about the way that this marriage has been broken down?
At least for as far as the way I played it, you really see Kate standing her ground.
He’s been convincing her since the weight-loss group she said she didn’t want a boyfriend.
And now she’s like, “Oh hell, no!
I can’t do this!”
This is the whole journey of her life: she’s put everybody else first.
How might Toby react when Kate tells him about the phone call that she just made?
Personally, I don’t think he ever thought he would hear that from her.
Dan [Fogelman, the show’s creator] offered cast members a chance to direct an episode.
Both you and Susan Kelechi Watson chose to write an episode.
Why did you decide to write instead?
There’s so much more I need to learn.
He didn’t know who wrote what.
He wrote about the jokes.
I was like, “Oh my gosh!
He likes my jokes!
That was very validating, because I just revere him so deeply.
The final installment in the trilogy is Randall’s episode, airing next week.
What’s your cryptic tease?
He’s making a very big decision that’s going to change his life in many regards.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
