‘This Is Us’: Did Chrissy Metz and Chris Sullivan Just Debunk This Kate and Toby Theory?
This Is Us fans have been digging for answers about Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Toby’s (Chris Sullivan) far-future whereabouts ever since the fourth season finale. The couple had their ups and downs throughout the season. But the episode titled “Strangers: Part Two” was like a beacon of hope for the Damons — sort of.
In a flash-forward, Jack Damon (Blake Stadnik) and his wife, Lucy (Auden Thornton), welcome a baby girl to the family. However, the scene also left viewers wondering whether Kate and Toby are dead in this timeline. But recently, Metz and Sullivan suggested fans shouldn’t worry — at least not yet.
Why ‘This Is Us’ fans think Kate and Toby are dead in the future
In the This Is Us Season 4 finale, Kate and Toby decide they want to give baby Jack a sibling. So now, they plan to adopt. Then in the flash-forward, fans learn adult Jack Damon has a sister named Hailey (Adelaide Kane). She arrives at the birth of Jack Jr. and Lucy’s daughter, Hope.
That said, Kate and Toby are nowhere to be found in Jack Jr.’s future timeline. The couple don’t appear when their adult son is introduced in the season 4 premiere. They also aren’t at the hospital with their growing family. So, many This Is Us viewers are wondering whether Kate and Toby are both dead by the time Jack Jr. and Lucy have their baby.
Chrissy Metz and Chris Sullivan on Kate and Toby’s absence in Jack Damon and Lucy’s far-future timeline
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly from October 2020, Metz was asked whether This Is Us fans should make note of Kate and Toby’s absence during Hope’s birth. It’s possible fans are construing too much out of a simple and heartwarming scene.
“The camera could have just been really wide and they could be right at the door,” she said. “Maybe we’re reading too much into it.”
Meanwhile, Sullivan echoed his co-star’s comments, noting there could be a number of reasons why Kate and Toby aren’t at the birth in the season 4 finale.
“As far as the TV scene [you saw], you’re like, ‘Oh yeah, this is an incomplete picture,’” Sullivan told Entertainment Weekly. “But if Jack Jr. is in a different city, and he and his sister live in the same city, and Toby and Kate do not — there are all kinds of logistical things.”
He continued, “Sometimes the grandparents aren’t there for the delivery or postpartum scenarios. So I don’t think there’s too much to read it.”
It seems Kate and Toby are safe for the time being. That said, Sullivan also hinted fans may not know enough about the couple’s future to make that call.
“There is never too much to read into until there is,” he said.
No matter what happens to Kate and Toby in the future, This Is Us Season 5 will continue building the family’s story. And as always, it’ll be filled with all the ups and downs that life has to offer. So stay tuned. The NBC drama returns with a two-hour premiere on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
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