After Kate and Toby reached a tipping point at the end of last week’s episode of the couple’s worst fight since Jack Jr. escaped to the park, we pretty much knew what tonight’s episode, “Katoby”, had in store for us. from NBC as “The Last Moments of Kate and Toby”. Starting right after the incident with Jack, who left the scar on his forehead that we saw in flash-forwards, “Katoby” chronicles the breakup of Kate and Toby’s marriage as well as the courtship of Kate and Philip. There are many flash-forwards in “Katoby”, but it’s a short ending that solves one of This Is Us’s biggest mysteries – what will happen to Kate in the future? In the main flash-forward of the series for 2032 to which it is being built, where Rebecca is on her death bed in the new house next to the cabin, we have seen Kevin, Randall, Toby, Beth, Nicky, many of Pearson children – but not Kate, which led to fan speculation that she may have died sometime between her 2026 wedding and home events. THIS IS US – “Katoby” Episode 612 – Photo: (lr) Blake Stadnik as Jack Damon, Auden Thornton as Lucy Photo: Ron Batzdorff / NBC At the end of “Katoby”, the adult Jack Damon, along with his wife Lucy, performs in a bar, with his proud parents, Kate and Toby, watching, along with their important others, Philip and Laura, a Toby woman. meets after his divorce from Kate in tonight’s episode. The scene, which took place around 2043, revealed that Kate is very much alive in the future and that, after the cute meeting in the cafe, in which Toby and Laura exchange parfait cracks, they become a couple that lasts. At the time of Kate’s engagement to Philip, Kevin is living a bachelor life, going out with one model after another, but, in something that could be an indication of what is to come (and a possible full circle), Kevin longs for his first love, Sophie (Alexandra Breckenridge) who is at a party with her husband. At the same party, we learn that Randall’s campaign for the Senate is going very well. Written by This Is Us executive producers / co-presenters Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, “Katoby”, which probably has more time changes than any other episode of the NBC family drama, is framed by a call Toby makes to Kate on the day of her wedding. The episode follows the couple as they spend 16 months of marriage counseling with little success. At one point, Kate, after another piercing by Toby in front of her family, brings her to tears, asking Kevin, “How do you know it’s time for the marriage to end?” and Kevin reassures her, “If the time comes I think you will know.” Finally, after another argument with Toby that upsets Jack, Kate calls him and divorce proceedings begin. of Toby to try to save the marriage. THIS IS US – “Katoby” Episode 612 – Photo: Chris Sullivan as Toby Photo: Ron Batzdorff / NBC “Please, our story can not end like this,” Toby says in one of the duo’s embarrassing exchanges. “Just because our marriage ends does not mean our story ends,” Kate replies. “We were meant to be together and now we have to be apart.” Says Toby, “I promise I will never see it.” In his call to the future bride Kate who opens and closes the episode, Toby tells her: “I want you to know that I see it now, I’m sorry it took me so long.” In an email interview with Deadline, Aptaker and Berger discuss the end of Kate and Toby’s marriage (but not their story), revealing Kate’s fate in the episode, Toby’s new girlfriend and their future. and Kevin’s possible reconciliation with Sophie. They also talk about the emotional shooting of “Katoby” and tease about next week’s episode, “The Day of the Wedding,” and other flash-forwards. DEADLINE: Let’s start with the biggest news for This Is Us fans: Kate is alive. Was it always the plan to take a look at the distant future of Kate and Toby (thankfully always after) in this episode or did you just get tired of the online chat “Kate is Dead” and decided to put an end to it? APTAKER & BERGER: We closed to reveal Kate in the distant future in this episode a while ago. A lot of what we thought obsessively about creating this episode was to balance this incredibly sad chapter of Kate’s life with the joy and uplift that followed. So, it’s right for us to finally reveal her happy ending here, to officially say, “After Toby, Kate’s story goes on for a long time and it’s a beautiful story.” THIS IS US – “Katoby” Episode 612 – Photo: (lr) Chrissy Metz as Kate, Chris Sullivan as Toby Photo: Ron Batzdorff / NBC DEADLINE: Talk about writing this episode that involves the breakup of a marriage, from the point where Kate and Toby hit at the end of the last episode, although their last attempts to save their union are in denial and finally in accepting that the marriage is over. What was the most moving scene shot? APTAKER & BERGER: We were all emotional throughout the shoot. We made a lot of jokes between the scenes because we all desperately needed a break from the tension and sadness we were feeling. The scene where Toby begs Kate to give him another chance and kisses her one last time was difficult for all of us. When he kisses her and says “I guess this is the last time I will ever kiss my wife”, we all felt it deep on the set. We have been watching this couple for so many years now, through so many happy chapters; there was something in this scene that caught our house and we really saw their end as a couple. THIS IS US – “Katoby” Episode 612 – Photo: Chrissy Metz as Kate Photo: Ron Batzdorff / NBC DEADLINE: Kate has the example of her parents who stayed together until Jack’s death and yet she was the one who asked for their marriage to end and remain steadfast throughout the divorce process despite Toby’s efforts to reconcile. Why was that? APTAKER & BERGER: Kate fought very, very hard to save her marriage. So is Toby. But I think things got to a point where he knew with absolute certainty that it was time to leave. Kevin tells her early in the episode that he will know when it’s time and I think on the scene of the big fight with Toby, after they wake Jack up with their voices, he knows he has to leave. They start hurting their children with constant quarrels and she can not have that. In my opinion, this is what gives her the strength to say that it is over – she has reached a point where she really thinks it will be better for their children if they end the marriage. DEADLINE: When exactly did Toby meet his future partner in the cafe? Will we meet her and get married? Kevin is not wearing a flash-forward ring at Kevin’s house. APTAKER & BERGER: Toby meets his partner, Laura, years after his divorce from Kate and is still with her when we see him again at Jack Jr. concert. at the end of the episode. Although we will not delve too deep into the love story of Toby and Laura, it is safe to say that they have a very happy, loving relationship. Laura is definitely part of Toby’s happy ending in our minds. DEADLINE: About five years into the future, Kevin appears farther than ever to find his true love and is very close to the playboy we met as a pilot. Will that change until we get to the final flash-forward at his house and have to read the longing glances he gave Sophie at Kate’s wedding? APTAKER & BERGER: Kevin has always been our guy who takes a step forward just to take two big steps backwards. And it’s definitely safe to say he’s backed up a bit romantically since Madison finished things. Obviously, Sophie has a special place in his heart for decades. Maybe these were just longing looks they gave each other at Kate’s engagement party or maybe there’s yet another chapter in their story to tell. THIS IS US – “Katoby” Episode 612 – Photo: (lr) Chrissy Metz as Kate, Chris Geere as Phillip Photo: Ron Batzdorff / NBC DEADLINE: What can you do for the upcoming episode, “The Day of the Wedding”? When will we see another flash towards the house? APTAKER & BERGER: “The Day of the Wedding” will fill in the gaps in what everyone has done in the last five years. He will also really dive into what Rebecca’s illness looks like now that time has flown by. I will not say exactly when we will see another flash forward at home, but it is safe to say that it plays a big role in our latest series of episodes.
