In the penultimate episode of the fifth season ofThis Is Us,Kevin and Madison split up.
Sorry, should have phrased that a little differently.
And,surprise!, neither of those events was as festive as hoped.
Caitlin Thompson, Justin Hartley, and Alexandra Breckenridge on ‘This Is Us’.Ron Batzdorff/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal (3)
(Moving inwhatdirection seems to be a rather pressing question.)
Ummm… let the wedding festivities begin!
I’d say we’re in the 50-to-60 degrees Fahrenheit [range] of cold.
Make of that what you will.
What I love about this episode is, we’re all huge romantic-comedy fans atThis Is Us.
We’re all huge Cameron Crowe fans.
There’s not one bang out of love story that’s any more valid or real than the others.
They all look very, very different.
It definitely confused him.
Sophie is someone that he grew up with.
So whenever she comes into the mix, it’s really, really complicated for Kevin.
But he also has this incredibly powerful connection with Madison.
They’re raising a family together.
They’re living together day in and day out.
With Sophie, whenever they are together, it’s not always that easygoing.
Whose words do you think ultimately resonated more deeply with Kevin, Nicky’s or Miguel’s?
I think they both really landed with him.
That’s what’s so complicated and interesting about the episode.
They really have found this incredible second act and second marriage that is incredibly rewarding and real.
Kevin has now walked off a TV show, a play, and the movie.
He’s backed out of romantic commitments before.
Oh, for sure!
Am I a guy who bails on things?
Am I a guy who goes for whatever’s in front of him?"
Madison is uncomfortable watching Kevin dodge the empty-nest question.
How conscious is Kevin of this behavior?
I don’t think Kevin’s conscious of that at all.
Because they’re so used to doing it.
Sophie changed her number.
When Kevin asked her why, she said it was “a long story.”
Does that story involve a fiance who is no longer in the picture?
Maybe she’s just found a really good data plan.
But it does certainly seem like there are some questions.
You certainly didn’t want to show her hand with a possibly missing ring, did you?
I mean, my dad changes his number like every two years to take advantage of a new contract.
So she could just be, you know, frugal.
Toby feels so motivated by work now, when he didn’t really talk about it so much before.
[Laughs] Yeah, it’s possible.
It’s not like he’s signing a contract or anything.
Isn’t that what happened with Kevin and Sophie when they were younger?
That’s a totally fair point.
Where did people in your writers' room land on whether Jerry and Dorothy lived happily ever after?
Everybody rewatched the movie, because it had been a minute for some of us.
People were really, really split.
Just like hopefully our audience is split on: Kevin and Sophie haven’t worked out many times.
Should they be together?
Are they meant to be together?
Or are we happy that he deleted her number?
Hopefully people are divided because it is messy and complicated.
So, in this split room, where didyoufall?
I love a romantic comedy.
I love a happy ending.
I believe that they are living happily ever, raising little Jonathan Lipnicki in wedded bliss.
Later, Kate wants to check that that Madison is getting what she needs from Kevin as a partner.
But how worried is Kate that she doesn’t have that punch in of relationship with Toby?
I think she’s definitely been feeling the strain.
We’ve seen little moments of it.
It’s not like they’re getting in these blowout fights or anything.
But there is a distance that’s creeping in.
When Madison opens up to Kate and says, “Girlfriends don’t come easy for me… What should we brace for there?
Madison really is in that moment buying into Kevin, and she’s feeling great about this relationship.
And I think this is Madison assuring her that that’s not going to happen a second time around.
Was he weighing whether to share his developing feelings for her?
It’s always under the surface.
Now we’re a bit away from Jack’s passing.
It’s not quite so fresh.
At the same time, that is such a loaded situation.
It’s his best friend’s wife.
I think she’s like, “I want to go on a few first dates.
So I don’t think she’s thinking that at all just yet.
So, do we meet Sally before the end of the season?
We only have one episode left in the season.
There’s quite a lot to do, so we’re not going to meet Sally just yet.
And I love how Kevin calls him out.
And we’re seeing him take these really small steps towards what that could be.
And googling Sally for him is agiganticemotional deal.
And I can’t wait to tell the stories of what comes of it.
Beth encouraged Rebecca to ask Randallabout his trip to New Orleans.
Will we see Rebecca’s conversation with Randall about Laurel [Jennifer C. Holmes] soon?
Because that could be very therapeutic, if fraught.
I’m very excited for what’s to come there.
That’s really a series-long important story.
Is this the setup for the endgame path towhat we see in the distant flash-forward?
And then trying to return to that and because of a pandemic, having her business fail.
Also: It has officially been announced thatthe show will conclude next season.
Why does ending after six seasons feel right?
There are not crazy cases of the week to use as an engine to keep it going forever.
And we never wanted it to veer into too overwrought or too sensational.
Next week brings the wedding and the season finale.
What is your one-word tease for this episode?
