This Is Us star Justin Hartley says not everyone will be happy with Kevin's ending, but...
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You've reached the midpoint of the final season of This Is Us, and you're starting to get clarity on what Kevin (Justin Hartley) may be focusing on as he enters this next stage of his life: the creation of a non-profit construction company that employs veterans and honors his father's legacy. What you don't know, though, is whom Kevin will end up with. If anyone.
Last week's episode, "The Guitar Man," a.k.a. the first episode of the Big Three trilogy, saw the self-examining actor gazing toward evolution with the aforementioned passion project. But what about that other kind of passion? You might remember Kevin's romantic entanglements with Olivia (Janet Montgomery), Sloane (Milana Vayntrub), Zoe (Melanie Liburd), Cassidy (Jennifer Morrison), Madison (Caitlin Thompson), and Sophie (Alexandra Breckenridge) — and with just a fistful of episodes before the series finale, it remains unclear whether the show will outfit him with a former flame or fire up a new twist.
High school girlfriend-turned-ex-wife Sophie has the most expansive (and tortured) history with Kevin, and viewers recently saw her texting with Kate (Chrissy Metz), which could very well portend another reunion. Of course, he's also got a natural tie to Madison, now that they share two kids, and he's made it a priority to be in town for them by taking a steady-if-soul-dampening job on a reboot of The Manny. (There's just that small problem of Elijah....)
And just recently, he was seen exchanging encouraging looks with Cassidy, his friend with benefits (or not, whatever, take it or leave it). Cassidy's story did take a darker turn, though, as he learned how much she was still haunted by her service in the Afghanistan war. It may be that his role is more of friendly support as she seeks treatment for her suicidal ideation. Should viewers rule out Cassidy as a romantic partner for Kevin, given that they seem to be carving out a different place in each other's lives, and she herself has all but dismissed that prospect? (Remember earlier this season when she told him that he was "chasing the wrong blonde?" And bear in mind, both Sophie and Madison are blonde.) "I think so," Hartley tells EW. "But I also think that, you know... [laughs] this is Kevin. Which way the wind blows, you never know. Something could happen and all of the sudden he's like, 'Wait a minute, wait a minute. You are the one for me!' So he's struggling with that. But I think he's settling down into that idea that they're friends. And important friends. And necessary friends. And he's comfortable with that. I think."
Ron Batzdorff/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal (3) Caitlin Thompson, Justin Hartley, and Alexandra Breckenridge on 'This Is Us'
The finale will be filmed this spring, and Hartley knows most, though not all, of what's to come. Did he have a rooting interest in whom Kevin ends up with? "Yeah, I did," he says. "Look, I've been so lucky, man. I've been gifted with all these really great scene partners. So whichever way it turned out, I was like, 'Okay, great.' I just cared about the story, that it made sense, you know?"
He hints that the resolution has a sound logic to it, even if Kevin's endgame turns out to be a little polarizing. "I don't think everyone's going to be happy necessarily," he shares. "Every single person is not going to be like, 'That's what I wanted.' Some people will want something different. I mean, because it could be that he just ends up with no one... People are going to have their own reasons for why they believe what they believe. But whether you get what you want or you don't get what you want, I think it's going to be very satisfying, and you're going to understand what happened, and you're going to say, 'Well, that makes a lot of sense.'"
How would he quantify the percentage of Team Sophie fans versus Team Madison versus Team Other, simply based on what he hears and sees from fans? "I think there's a big percentage of people that want Kevin to be with Sophie," he says. "I also think there's a big percentage of people that don't want that because they're like, 'Jesus, how many times are these guys going to get together and ruin each other's lives?' But I would say that the debate is usually Madison [Caitlin Thompson] or Sophie [Alexandra Breckenridge]. And it's hard to beat a love interest that you've had from five years old," he adds with a laugh. "But then Madison and Kevin have had these great moments, and they have a family together and she's so sweet to him, so it's tough. He'll figure it out. What's interesting is there's a significant group of people that want him to be with someone else. And I understand that, too."
It also sounds like you may not be the only one shouting at your TV. Quips Hartley: "Sometimes I just sit there and I go, 'Dude, just be alone. Just be alone for a while, man!'" Indeed, all options are on the table on the search for happiness, so pull up a chair and see how this extremely long-running TIU mystery resolves.
Hartley had a lot more to say about Kevin and his decisions in the first trilogy episode. The second installment, featuring Kate, airs on Tuesday night, while the third, which centers on Randall (Sterling K. Brown), airs Mar. 31 and was directed by Hartley.
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