Kate Pearson wasn’t broken then.
And she wouldn’t be broken now.
“I wanted to just lock it up, and I didn’t want to think about it.
Credit: NBC
I didn’t want to think abouthim.”
Was he wracked with guilt or even tinges of remorse over what he had done to her years ago?
What he remembered about Kate was just that she was “broken in all the right ways.”
You’re the disease.
And I’m not carrying it a moment longer.
So I give it back to you."
How therapeutic will that moment of empowerment prove to be for Kate?
Did adult Kate consider telling Marc about the abortion?
How did Metz engage with this emotional episode?
The actress spoke to EW about her journey on “The Long Road Home.”
This is what she should have done,'' she says.
How do you feel about taking this on?"
And I said, “To be honest, it’s a controversial topic still in 2021.
And especially now that there are a lot of women’s rights that are being potentially compromised.”
In this case, Kate’s.
And that’s really important.
And then I knew they were going to be people who would have other things to say about it.
Which is fine; everybody’s entitled to their opinions.
It’s something we need to be able to talk about."
What questions or concerns did you have as you began plotting out your performance in this episode?
Well, I think it was: Was this consensual intimacy?
I wanted to just get the full scope of everything and find those answers out.
And that being right after Kate’s father passing and she still feeling shame and guilt about it.
It’s a very, very complicated, layered situation.
And then she didn’t tell anybody about it.
So, yeah, I had lots of questions as far as: How did it affect her?
And of course it did.
It affects every single decision she’s probably made since then.
No, we haven’t!
I thought about that, but then I thought, as much I’m Kate, so is she.
This is a big step for Kate to face down the past.
That confrontation could be triggering or even dangerous.
That’s a big decision.
I think she has been holding onto it for so long.
And as she said, she’s eaten over it and she’s damaged herself over it.
Mentally, emotionally, physically, he’s had such a control and hold of her.
And the epiphany that she has while she’s having this conversation with him.
Any human would like to believe the best of people.
And I think part of her wanted to go and see, “Oh!
Is he the same old guy or…?”
[But] shehadto do it on her own.
And this is just the beginning of a change for her and of massive growth for her.
This was something she needed answers about.
He’s not changed.
He’s not going to change."
And my goodness did she dodge a bullet.
And she was able to find some answers that were plaguing her for so long.
But she had to do it on our own.
I know that, for sure.
What surprised you about the way it played out?
Was it how little Marc said, or how little remorse he had?
[Laughs] I just thought, “Wow, he really hasn’t changed!”
And there are people that we all know that never do.
And then I thought, “You know what?
By saying what she said, she said everything she needed to say.”
And it wasn’t about him ever.
It was always about her.
Initially I was like, “I want to just light him up!”
But you know, that’s not always the way of grief and loss and closure.
Teen Kate withheld the same information after a disheartening reunion at his apartment.
But it’s not even worth it.
it’s possible for you to’t [draw water] from an empty well, you know?
So she was strong enough then to say, “Yeah, I gotta go.”
I don’t think our brains fully mature till we’re, like, what 25 or something?
She always had, in the back of her mind, “Well, he could change his mind.
Maybe he would want to have a baby together.”
That such a s— apology, it’s embarrassing.
What was the most challenging moment of the episode for you to film?
Definitely the confrontation with Marc.
What are you saying?
What are you not saying?
And then to have kept a secret from Toby for many years and to potentially disappoint him washard.
So again, it was very layered and complicated just to play all those notes can be very challenging.
But I think there’s so much stigma still attached to that decision.
I specifically didn’t want to play it that she had shame around it because she owned the decision.
Kate seems to get at least most of the closure that she was seeking.
You hinted at it above, but how much stronger is she for it?
Will she move through life a little differently and more confidently than before?
I really hope so.
This is such a great depiction of what therapy and love and support and encouragement can do for somebody.
We’ve seen her come from the anguish and pain through all of these particular incidents and scenes.
And now she’s like, “Oh!
And it’s not what happens to us but for us that we get to grow.
And we get to see that happening in real time with Kate.
I do think it’s going to change her.
I don’t know how it couldn’t.
Another dragon has been slain, it seems.
Or at least really, really badly wounded.
What lies ahead next for Kate and Toby, specifically in their adoption journey?
I think it’s important to both of them.
So we’re going to see if they get to bring a baby home.
And that is going to be a whole other dynamic, especially as Jack is growing, as well.
Can we expect more raw honest conversations about race between these characters and other family members down the road?
That was a really uncomfortable, powerful scene.
It is so uncomfortable.
What was it like to film that scene?
It was very uncomfortable, in that I knew that it was not about me as an actress.
It was not about me as a character.
It was not about me as a woman or as my race.
Kate isn’t wrong, but this has got to change.
That’s not an excuse and something has to change.
It’s such a massive scene.
and it’s so much more than a scene in a TV show.
It’s hard, because I get very emotional about it.
Now let’sdosomething about it and let’s change something.
Because it can’t go on like this.”
I think Kay [Oyegun], who wrote the episode, did such a beautiful job.
Randall still was so loving and kind to Kate.
Which is even more heartbreaking for me.
No matter what, there is love there, but there needs to be a better understanding.
And so this is, I think, hopefully bridging a gap between understanding and also a change.
A massive change that has to happen.
