'This Is Us' Finale
Spoilers ahead.
If you spent a chunk of the This Is Us season-two finale convinced that Kate was going to leave Toby at the altar even though she promised she wouldn't "runaway-bride" him (his words), you were not alone. If you spent another chunk thinking he was going to bail on her, you were also not alone. But neither scenario played out, and by the end of "The Wedding," Kate and Toby were married. Happily ever after? That remains to be seen.
The episode flashes between Kate's hectic wedding prep (she leaves the family cabin without telling anyone where she's going) and a dream she's been having of her parents' vow-renewal ceremony. (It's not clear that it's her dream until about halfway through the hour, when Kate tells her mom about it, but given that Jack and Rebecca are seen celebrating their 40th anniversary and he's been dead for about twenty years, it's obviously not reality.) As Kate's wedding approaches, her father's death - and her parents' love story - are weighing on her. "We’re all there and we’re so happy together," she tells her mom of the dream. "You know, the way it was supposed to be." (Toby isn't present in the dream, which is one reason it seems like she could still call off the wedding.)
She'd initially left the cabin to replace her "something old" (her dad's Daytona shirt, which Toby forget to pack) with an equally thoughtful one (banana pudding ice-cream from the parlor she and Jack used to frequent), but the plan backfired - Frenchie's is now a spot called Artisanal Scoops, and it serves flavors like "Lavender Balsamic." (Jack would never.) By the time Kate calls Rebecca, she's driving to the woods with her father's urn. "I’m getting married today," she tells him from the stump where they once had a heart-to-heart, "and I’ve gotta make room for Toby. So I’ve gotta let go a little now."
Meantime, Toby's parents - played by TV vets Wendie Malick and Dan Lauria - are questioning whether Kate is stable enough for Toby. "It feels like you’re constantly bending over backwards to calm her," his dad says. "The way you tip-toe around to keep from setting her off, it’s just not normal," his mom adds. They're worried that, like his first marriage, this one might end with Toby divorced and "severely depressed." Toby rejects their concerns, but there's a moment where you could almost see him running into Randall and Kevin, finding out that Kate is missing, and thinking his parents were right.
Instead, Randall and Kevin - who've been reflecting on how they've failed their sister over the years - track down Kate and bring her back to the cabin. Rebecca dotes on her, but delicately. "I know that sometimes I can make you ... you know," she says. "So I wanna stay out of your way."
"All that I’ve ever wanted was to be like you," Kate says. "I wanna be a singer like you. I wanna be a mom like you. I wanna have a marriage like yours. Mom, you are not in my way. You are my way." It's a breakthrough for Kate and Rebecca, who have been shown mostly at odds this season, and if it didn't make you cry, how about that flashback to Young Kate asking Jack to marry her? "One day, a long time from now, you’re gonna meet someone who’s better than me," Jack says.
He’s gonna be stronger and handsomer. He’s gonna be better at board games than me. When you find him? When you find that guy? That’s the guy you marry. Oh, and he’s one lucky guy - the guy that gets to marry you, Katy girl? And your mom and me, we’re gonna be there, check him out, make sure he’s as good at board games as you think he is. And assuming that he is, I’ll get to walk you down the aisle, and I may even cry a little.
Wedding drama aside, the finale also reveals that Deja's mother has terminated her parental rights, leaving Deja hurt, angry, and acting out. She comes around a little thanks to Beth's cool cousin Zoe, but then Toby's mother - who really is the worst - says Deja looks "just like [her] father," prompting Deja to bust Randall's windshield with a bat.
Cut to the final montage of the episode, the cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers, in which you get a glimpse of everyone's nearish future: Toby is depressed (or suffering from another health issue); Kate is caring for him; Kevin is traveling to Vietnam (with Zoe!); and Randall and Tess, who grows up to become a social worker, are having a serious, mysterious discussion. "It's time to go see her, Tess," Randall says. "I'm not ready," she replies. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until season three to find out what Tess is not ready for.
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