‘This Is Us’ EP Claims Fans Will Need ‘Serious Comfort Food’ After ‘Intense’ Kate and Toby Episode
This Is Us executive producer Elizabeth Berger claims that viewers will need “serious comfort food” after what she admits is an “intense” episode centering on the relationship of Kate and Toby (Chrissy Metz and Chris Sullivan). The installment titled “KaToby” takes fans on the ride of a lifetime as one of the series’ most beloved couples heads toward divorce. Berger has a unique insight into this particular episode as she had a hand in writing it.
‘This Is Us’ 100th episode will also be it’s most heartbreaking
Midway through its sixth and final season, This Is Us has also marked a milestone 100th episode.
This exciting achievement means that the series has produced 100 uniquely original installments involving the Pearson family members.
However, this milestone will also mark one of the show’s most heartbreaking episodes, the final breakdown of Kate and Toby’s marriage.
Emotions will undoubtedly run high for those invested in the series as Kate and Toby face the music regarding the differences they have spent the better part of their marriage pushing under the rug.
The show’s Executive Producer claims the episode is ‘a lot’
Berger admits that watching Kate and Toby’s relationship break down is heartbreaking. However, the flood of emotions viewers will feel throughout and after the episode can only be described as “intense.”
Berger says that this particular hour of the NBC family drama will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions.
“This episode is a lot,” Berger said to Entertainment Weekly.
“If you have followed along with this couple and you’ve loved them over the years, have your ice cream sundae prepared, either as you’re watching or immediately after you watch. It requires some serious comfort food,” Berger warned.
Another of the series’ executive producers K.J. Steinberg, concurs with Berger’s assessment of the episode.
“I don’t want to say, ‘Bring out the tissues,’ because it’s not special enough for how special this episode will be,” she said.
“I’d say, “Get a beach towel instead of a box of tissues.”
‘This Is Us’ execs are hopeful fans will accept Kate and Toby’s breakup
From a teaser trailer shown at the end of the series Apr. 5 episode titled “Saturday in the Park,” fans heard Kate’s reflection on her marriage to Toby. This moment was made available via a YouTube video.
In a flash-forward, Kate says, “I was married to a wonderful man, and we loved each other a lot, and it wasn’t enough.”
“I thought if we fixed what was broken, we would find our way back to each other,” Toby claims. He later cries, “this cannot be how our story ends.”
Berger says that fans should prepare for the closing of one door and the opening of another.
“We’re going to see the final chapter of the Kate and Toby love story, and we’re also going to see some really exciting, beautiful new chapters beginning as well, all in one episode,” notes Berger.
Steinberg had this to say about the end of Kate and Toby’s love story.
“It earns what we’ve all been afraid of: ‘Will the show be able to earn this iconic couple splitting up? Will the audience ever be able to understand and accept both sides and love them both at the end of it?'” she says. “And the answer is, ‘Yes.'”
This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST on NBC.
