Also in the episode: Kate married Phillip.
Or, should we say, just beginning again.
Kevin and Sophie’s connection did hit a wee bit of a snag that night in his hotel room.
Kevin (Justin Hartley) had quite a night with Arielle (Katie Lowes), Sophie (Alexandra Breckenridge), and Cassidy (Jennifer Morrison).Ron Batzdorff/NBC
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Is it done?
There’s not still danger, is there?
DANIELLE BAUMAN:I think we can rest easy.
Alexandra Breckenridge and Justin Hartley on ‘This Is Us’.Ron Batzdorff/NBC
How long have the writers known that Sophie would be the endgame?
For us as a whole, there was a push and pull.
There was a short list.
Kevin (Justin Hartley) and Sophie (Alexandra Breckenridge) heat up in the freezer aisle.Ron Batzdorff/NBC
But just imagine that all these writers are Kevin’s hardheaded libido, right?
There were times when it was like, “Well, maybe it’s Cassidy!'
‘Maybe it’s Madison!’
‘Maybe it’s someone totally different!'”
The way that anyone is when they are on the search for their true love.
We’re all with Kevin on this journey.
When was the decision locked down?
By then we really knew.
A romantic mystery played out in these two episodes.
We had a rough idea.
Somebody’s in Kevin’s room!"
And then we had fun with it.
What was the deciding factor in bringing Kevin and Sophie back together?
How did those pros and cons play out in the writers’ room?
So that was a con.
That’s interesting."
She says in episode 10, “I’ll always be your emergency contact.”
It never really felt for us that that was the endgame.
That might be more important to be able to show that.
Every woman that he ever meets becomes his girlfriend.
That was what we felt was a stronger way to go.
They are not right for each other many times.
It was less of a linear relationship, because it kept falling apart.
So I like the fact that it was so messy until it wasn’t.
Was Alex’s availability a factor in your calculus?
Was that tricky to get everything to line up?
We did have to work around it, but it’s really great to have obstructions creatively.
It’s a fun challenge to have.
What were Justin and Alex’s reactions when they were told Sophie and Kevin would end up together?
I know that Justin was excited and so good about it.
I know that Alex was eager to come back to the show.
I wasn’t there when she got the news, so that would be more of a Dan question.
You must have talked about how the fans would respond.
Because we were really just trying to figure out what was right for Kevin.
Kevin actually being content not winding up with anyone that was an idea floated by Dan and Justin.
Yes, it was.
I pitched an idea and it’s kind of silly.
And then I said, “Or maybe he’s just married to himself!
He just chose himself!”
And Dan was like, “What are you talking about?”
It was a very brief thing.
More of a joke than anything else.
We wanted him to find love.
Wait, does this now mean that there’s hope for Kate and Toby?
Um, you know what?
I would say I plead the Fifth.
I’m giving the fans nothing here.
And so were we.
We were also excited to live in this really happy moment of the wedding and everyone being together.
Last week, in mistaking Kevin for Jack, Rebecca said Kevin just needed time to figure it out.
You just hit it on the head there.
We’re in this middle ground before Rebecca’s really lost.
And the people that are locked into in your mind from the past are still really strong.
We felt that this was the case for Rebecca.
And it’s important to note that while they’ve grown and changed, their pattern never changed.
Even though Rebecca thinks she’s in 1998, that’s still sort of what had kept happening.
And as you said, some things are just timeless, and this love story, it is.
That’s another reason why we couldn’t help it.
Kevin’s conversation with Cassidy is an eyebrow-raiser.
He finally reconnects with Sophie, but she freaks out and leaves the hotel room.
For a guy who’s supposedly found himself, he’s so lost romantically.
Sophie just left his room and now he’s like, “I don’t know.
Cassidy, should we give this a go?”
And she’s like, “What are you doing, dude?”
I mean, Kevin’s a bit of a puppy dog.
We had a line in season 1 [about his playing] the golden retriever in a Pixar movie.
He’s grown and he’s much better than he was there.
And in that moment, Cassidy knows that he doesn’t really mean it.
He’s just sort of feeling lost in that moment.
And if so, do we definitely not want to know?
I will tell you that that was purely me writing the ice.
And it’s from a bachelorette party that you don’t want to know about!
By the way, where aren’t Randall and Beth’s kids seen at this wedding?
Were they absent for logistical reasons, such as COVID precaution?
They’re totally there, we just don’t see them.
For all the reasons.
Kevin says that he’s always carried Sophie with her and shows her the valentine.
How long has that valentine been in his wallet?
I think that’s something that’s been there for a long time.
He loves to put things in his wallet: He put that baseball card in there.
I’m sure he’s got a motivational quote somewhere in there and a Chinese fortune.
That’s been Kevin’s thing.
Like his father, he likes to keep a little box of treasures, you know?
Jack had a box.
He’s lucky that Madison never saw it.
That’s part of the reason they weren’t right for each other.
Maybe he didn’t always realize he had it.
I think that’s what this valentine was for him.
He just kind of couldn’t let go.
Will viewers ever hear Sophie’s “long story” about changing her phone number?
We won’t be hearing that long story.
She’s now an integral part of the family.
She’s in the family for good now.
So we’ll see them just enjoying each other.
You’ll have to watch and see what happens.
If I told you there was a surprise, what would be the surprise in that?
What’s one cryptic hint about what viewers can expect in next week’s Miguel-centric episode?
“I don’t know, but it’s a good question.
Ask me again later.”
To read what Alexandra Breckenridge had to say about Sophie’s choice,head over here.
