The inevitable is finally here: Kate and Toby are no more.
Last week on This Is Us, baby Jack went missing, sparking the beginning of the end of Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Toby (Chris Sullivan).
This week, that end is here, and the audience gets to see just how their relationship falls apart and what happens leading up to Kate’s wedding to Phillip (Chris Geere).
This episode has one of the best formats of any of the This Is Us episodes this season. It expertly moves through several periods of time and wraps up that part of the storyline. With six episodes left in the entire show, moving quickly is necessary.
First, it shows the events right after Jack goes missing and how Toby takes the job in Los Angeles to try and save the marriage. They go to couples counseling, work hard and still can’t seem to get on the same page for what they want.
Finally, Kate makes the step to end the marriage. Toby is reluctant, but all of his reasons aren’t because he loves Kate and wants to be with her, but because he doesn’t want to be alone and start over in a new relationship. However, Kate stands strong and doesn’t let Toby convince her to get back together.
They end up going through with the divorce and signing the papers and Kate tells Toby that their story will not end there, and that they were meant to meet each other, be together and will forever be grateful for that, even if he doesn’t see it now.
However, Toby says he will never see it.
The story is woven together with the future, where Kate and Phillip become friends, have their first date and realize they’re in love with each other, get engaged and have their engagement party. Watching the progression never once feels forced or rushed – it feels like we’re watching moments in a relationship beautifully unfold and progress.
What is also really great about this is the whole Pearson family seems to really like Phillip and appreciate the way he treats Kate. At the engagement party we see Randall (Sterling K. Brown) talking about his senator campaign, which seems to be going well, and we see Rebecca (Mandy Moore) still have her wits about her and know Phillip’s name.
There are other small hints too, like Madison (Caitlin Thompson) having another baby and Kevin (Justin Hartley) not being able to pick a suitable partner.
But the best part of the episode comes from Toby and Kate reconciling their friendship for the sake of their children. At the beginning of the episode, Toby calls Kate on her wedding day and at first it seems so insensitive and rude, but at the end of the episode you figure out he was calling because he finally understands that they were meant to meet each other and then be apart to be happy.
The two are then seen together at Jack (Blake Stadnik)’s musical performance. Toby with his new wife and Kate with Phillip, both there to support Jack and now far removed from the stress of the divorce and content with their lives.
It’s a very sweet ending to what is otherwise a heartbreaking episode. It shows that Phillip and Kate will never be the same as Toby and Kate, but it’ll be better for her and for their lives going forward. It’ll be good to see how the rest of the six episodes in this season play out, now that Randall is running for senator, Kevin needs to settle down with someone and Rebecca’s Alzheimer’s is getting worse.
This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on NBC.
