This Is Us Season-Four Finale Recap: Who Is the Mother of Kevin’s Child?

Dan Fogelman held nothing back when he wrote the season-four finale of This Is Us, which—spoilers ahead!—revealed that Kate and Toby adopt a baby girl in the future, Nicky Pearson is married, or at least wearing a wedding ring, and Madison is pregnant with Kevin's twins. And then there was the fight of all fights between Randall and Kevin, one of the most emotionally charged scenes we've seen on This Is Us yet.

Justin Hartley has more to say about that in a minute, but let's dive into the episode a little deeper first. The episode opens with baby Jack as an adult and his pregnant fiancée, Lucy, who is about to go into labor. Next, we see a man on a ranch trying to train a horse. That's followed by a woman, Hailey, who works in an art gallery and can't get her friend Zach to stop annoying her. It's unclear if those last two scenes are in the future or present, but the title of this episode—"Strangers: Part Two," a bookend of the season-four premiere which was titled "Strangers"—implies that these new characters have a surprising tie to the Pearson clan.

In the next scene Rebecca and Jack are in their bedroom with a towel, a cupcake, and...no, it's not the This Is Us pilot. It's a year after the Big Three's birth, and the couple wants to re-create the moment. But Rebecca is struggling to celebrate because the day also marks the loss of their child, Kyle. Back in present day, it's baby Jack’s first birthday. Toby and Kate keep teasing some secret thing that's going to happen later. No one seems to care—and the reveal isn't that exciting, either. Basically, Toby and Kate take Jack to the hospital where he was born to put his picture on the Wall of Fame. It seems a bit anticlimatic, until...well, I'll get to that.

Also happening in the present day: Kevin calls Uncle Nicky outside his AA meeting. Nicky seems to be doing well, sarcastic as ever. When Kevin mentions that the next day is his one-year sober anniversary, Nicky says he’ll congratulate Kevin tomorrow, not today. Meanwhile, Randall, Beth, and the girls get ready to fly to L.A. for Jack's birthday. Randall tells Beth he bought Rebecca travel books on St. Louis since she’ll be there for nine months. Beth doesn't respond as positively as Randall would like. He presses her, so she finally says, “I think your mom made her decision, and the tactics you used to get her to change her mind are [questionable]…. I mean, did she even tell your brother she changed her mind? Because that’s going to be something." Randall says Rebecca will tell everyone in person, to which Beth replies that she hopes he knows what he's doing.

Now we're at baby Jack's birthday party: Kevin tells Randall he knows Randall only wanted what’s best for their mom and wouldn’t have mentioned the trial if he hadn’t done an insane amount of research. But, Kevin adds, Rebecca is in a good place right now and just wants to be with her family. Randall's only response is to congratulate Kevin on his one-year anniversary of sobriety.

Minutes later, Rebecca announces that she and Miguel are moving to St. Louis for the Alzheimer's clinical trial. Kevin is stunned, but says he'll support her if this is what she wants. It's the first of many moments this episode when Hartley's reaction nearly rips your heart out. But let's get back to the rancher, Eli. A young girl—his daughter, Sadie—approaches and shows her dad how to properly tend to the horse. She tells Eli that the horse just needs proper TLC and encouragement. Then, at the art gallery, Hailey gets an alert and rushes off. Zach thinks she's rushing off to meet a movie star....

In the present day, Kevin can't comprehend why Rebecca changed her mind about the clinical trial. He presses Randall, who denies everything but says "she probably just sees the trial as an investment into her future." It's a weird choice of words, but that's Randall. Kevin knows something's up. We then flash back to Jack and Rebecca in their first year as new parents. Jack suggests they visit Dr. K for some wisdom. It's a beautiful scene between Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore and worth watching again, but I'll leave you with the main takeaway: "The trick is not trying to keep the joys and tragedies apart," Dr. K says, "but you kinda gotta let them cozy up to one another and coexist.” It's exactly what the Pearsons needed to hear.

Back in the present, Kate, Toby, and Jack are outside the hospital. Toby starts talking about expanding their family, but Kate says she can't get risk getting pregnant again. Toby understands and mentions that her family has a good track record with adoption. They agree to think about it, only because they're concerned being at the NICU is giving them baby fever. But when they leave the hospital's parking lot, the urge is still there. Guess what baby Jack? You're going to get a sibling! Well, eventually.

In the following scene—the deep future—we see that Lucy has given birth to a baby girl, and Hailey rushes in to meet her new niece. Yes, Hailey is Jack's sister! Jack is now a father to baby girl, Hope, which means that in the deep future Toby and Kate are grandparents. But we still don't know whether they're even alive in that time period.

As for the other "strangers" in this episode—Eli and his daughter, Sadie—she schools her dad on training a horse. "You’re asking him to be still when all he wants to do is run," she says. "Little early to give up on him, don’t you think?” Eli smiles and says he needs to shower and head to the office. That office is actually a doctor's office, where Eli sees his next patient: Madison. Surprise, she's pregnant. Madison says she can't believe she's pregnant because she was told she'd never have biological children of her own. We learn this is her third doctor's appointment, and she hasn't told the father (Kevin) because they "barely know each other." Dr. Eli—following his daughter's advice—says, "That's a little early to give up on it, right? You haven't given him a chance."

Back at Toby and Kate's house, Kevin and Rebecca have a heart-to-heart. She admits she changed her mind about the clinical trial because she began to view it as "an investment in my future." Kevin now knows. Rebecca knows that Kevin knows. And we know that World War III is about to break out when Kevin confronts Randall. The scene that follows is one of the most intense this show has ever done. At first, Randall pretends he has no idea what Kevin is talking about, before finally admitting he needed to do whatever was necessary to give their mom the best possible chance. Kevin is furious that Randall couldn't side with him just this once. Randall tries to walk away, but Kevin goes after him. Then Madison shows up at the house, and Kevin says it's not a good time. Randall ends up leaving, and Madison blurts out that she's pregnant. "You're the father," she says. "And I know I'm a complete stranger to you, and I know how much you love your high school girlfriend, but I’ve decided I’m going to go through with this. You don’t know my medical history, but this is kind of a miracle for me. But I need you to know I will not ask anything of you, emotionally, financially, all of it. You can still find the great love story you deserve." Kevin whispers he might pass out and says he needs some air, but isn't walking away from the conversation.

Of course, when he goes outside for air, he runs into Randall. The two argue about who's really been there for Rebecca over the years. Then Kevin says if he was there the night of the fire, he would have been able to save Jack. Randall counters, "But you weren't there, and when he died, he died ashamed of you. I think that's the part that really gets you...the shame he felt for you and the pride he felt for me. You’ll never know what it’s like to devote yourself to anyone other than yourself. You’ll pretend but it will just be a performance. A tired, stale performance, like all of your performances."

The whole thing is awful, sad, and beyond uncomfortable. Kevin then says he used to think the worst thing that happened to him was the day his dad died, but it was actually the day they brought Randall home. Shit. Kevin goes back to the house and declares that he's all in with Madison. "I'm sick of chasing ghosts," he says. "I'm all in, Madison. Whatever you need, I'm all in. I want to be a father. I think I'd be great at it." Madison then admits she's not just pregnant with his child, but his children. Twins. While this is all happening, we see Cassidy pay Nicky a visit in his trailer, followed by Sophie in Times Square looking up at Kevin's cologne ad. (You just know we haven't seen the last of them. Well played, Dan Fogelman.)

In the last few minutes, older Kevin—with a wedding ring on—is back at Rebecca's bedside. His twin daughter is there too. Nicky's there as well and wearing a wedding ring. When Randall enters, Kevin puts his hand on his brother's back. So no matter what's happened in the time since, they'll come together when it counts.

Whew. With so much to unpack, we called up Hartley to get more details on those scenes with Sterling K. Brown, my theory about Kevin's future, and more. Read on.

Glamour: What did you think when you read the finale script?

Justin Hartley: We're so lucky to play these amazing characters and have this writing from Dan Fogelman. I mean, this is never going to happen again. So I try to give it everything I have. As for the script itself, I was pleasantly surprised with how Kevin was allowed to be furious to the point I thought he was going to hit Randall. I think that would be okay, actually. I was surprised he stood his ground, and how sure he was about the fact that he was right about what's best for his mom.

Certain This Is Us scripts are so tightly guarded that they omit some scenes for security reasons. Was that the case in the finale?

The scenes that were omitted were anything that gave away who the mom was, and I think some of the stuff between me and Sterling. In the redacted one, I think it was obvious they were feuding. In the unredacted one, I think it was like, Oh, we didn't realize how intense that fight was. I think the ending was redacted too.

Did you always know who the mother of Kevin’s children would be? What surprised you the most?

I knew all of the spoilers that happened in the finale months ago. But as a viewer, I think people are going to be really shocked to find out who the mom is. Also, at the end, you see the wedding ring on Kevin's finger, the wedding ring on Nicky's finger, and Kevin put his hand on Randall’s back.

That was an interesting yet comforting moment.

Here’s a cool bit of info for you: Our director, Ken Olin, had us play that moment different ways. When hot, older Kevin walks in and puts his hand on rundown Randall’s back...no, I'm kidding. In one scene, we had Kevin put his hand on Randall’s shoulder. In another, we didn’t. Then there was a reluctant hand that went on his shoulder very briefly. We did a bunch of different things because we were trying to figure out how to play it. I really loved what they chose. With all the bullshit and horrible things that are happening to his family, they persevere. They’re the Pearsons.

But obviously we still don’t know if Randall and Kevin resolved things in the years prior to that.

We don't. All we can assume is that they did not by the time they're 40, because we saw what will happen at their birthday party at the cabin. I think it's always going to be a tumultuous relationship. It's just the way it is; it’s the way they're built, the way they're wired, the way that their blood runs through their veins. They're always going to have that. But I also think they have each other's back no matter what. They could be like, I hate you right now, but if that dude's threatening you, no way will I let someone do that to you.

You and Sterling delivered one of the most uncomfortable fights I’ve ever seen. What was the most challenging part of it?

I prepared for it just like I do for everything else: hard work. I don’t stop until someone says "cut." I did a lot of prep on my own, but then Sterling and I ran it as many times as we possibly could. It’s funny, the relationship I have with Sterling is the complete opposite relationship Kevin has with Randall. We spent an hour on the phone yesterday talking about who knows what. One of the great joys of my life is making that man laugh. He’ll fall down laughing, and the wardrobe department's like, “Can you please stay away from Sterling? You’re ruining his wardrobe.” I'm like, “He's a grown man. Why is he on the floor? It's not my problem.” [Laughs.] I am his biggest cheerleader, and he is one of the greatest human beings I've ever met. He’s my brother. But when we play these scenes where Kevin and Randall are fighting, I'm an actor. He's the same way. We're a couple of athletes. It’s like, Okay, let’s go. The love that we have for each other on set allows us to play those awful, nasty things to be said. And then Sterling and I go have a beer afterward. We love each other.

Did Randall go too far though? It was pretty awful that he said Jack was ashamed of Kevin when he died.

I don't know. Right before that Kevin said if he was at the house when the fire happened, he would have pulled Jack out. He basically blamed Randall for letting his dad die. And then Randall said Kevin always gives tired, stale performances and never cares about anybody about himself. That's too far. When Kevin said that the day Jack and Rebecca brought Randall home was the worst day of his life, that’s too far. It's like this ball of yarn and no one was there to stop it from unraveling. Once you say these things, you cannot take it back. Look, great people do horrible things. Great people say horrible things. I think that's one of those instances where you have two really great men, and they both said some horrible shit to each other. It’s a defining moment. Randall and Kevin’s relationship will now be defined by the relationship before their fight and the relationship after their fight.

So true. Let’s move on to Madison now, because I have a theory about her pregnancy.

I love a good theory. It's one of my favorite things in life.

Okay, here goes: In August 2020, Kevin and Kate are celebrating their 40th birthday at the cabin. Kevin is there with his pregnant fiancée and mentions that she’s having morning sickness at all hours of the day. If Madison is the fiancée he’s referring to, that would make her around eight months pregnant if she conceived in January. You can have morning sickness in the third trimester, but it’s not very common. So maybe Kevin’s pregnant fiancée isn’t Madison and someone else?

Look at you, with your big brain! [Laughs.] Jessica, anything's possible. I don't know. Anything's possible. Although, like you said, morning sickness that late into pregnancy is uncommon. But it happens. He did look a little bit tired, like it's been a long, arduous pregnancy...a sickness that's not ending. I think it could go either way. You're on to something, maybe. Maybe, maybe not.

Madison is afraid she’ll deprive Kevin of his great love story, but we’ve seen people make great love stories out of all sorts of beginnings. Do you think Kevin could have a great love story with Madison?

I do. I do. I think sometimes the nontraditional and the unexpected relationships develop out of something that you in a million years would never guess that Person A would be with Person B. But, because of certain circumstances, they do. These two people find themselves together, and for whatever reason this person changed what they thought their life was going to be like and what they thought they wanted in their life. And the other person accepted a few things they thought they would never deal with. The next thing you know you have a kind of perfect relationship that is so strange when on paper. But it works in reality. So yeah, I think so. You also have a man who wants to have children, who was never taken seriously, who now has the means to support all of them. He's a year sober. He's found himself. He's comfortable in his own skin. He's older now. He knows what he wants. And you have this woman who never thought she would have kids and resigned herself to it. Then she ends up pregnant with twins. That is kind of a miracle. Miracles will make you rethink things, I think.

That’s a great way to put it.

Love is a strange thing. If you let it happen, it could be wonderful. If you try to force it, then you're always going to be searching for something that maybe never was there in the first place. And not only that, but maybe you didn't even really want. You're shutting yourself out to things, because you had this idea about what your life was supposed to be. And there it was right in front of you.

Regardless of what you know about Kevin’s future, who do you think is right for him? Madison? Sophie? Cassidy? Someone else?

You can make a case for all of them, and that’s the brilliance of Dan Fogelman’s writing. Cassidy came into his life at a low point for him and steered him in the right direction. She cared enough about him to stick with him, and they have a relationship that is unique and unlike any other. Then you have Sophie who...I mean, that's a lifetime love. No explanation necessary. Then you have Madison...she is going to give him everything he wants. And also, she is not expecting anything from him. This could be the perfect love story for him. Are we forgetting one?

No, I think that’s it. The three. Is there someone else?

I don't know. [Laughs.] You'll have to watch season five.

Let me ask you this: Do you know who Kevin is married to in the future when we see him with the wedding ring?

Yes, I know. I do know. It's not to say that it couldn't change, but I do know what I've been told.

Craving more This Is Us? The show’s 2017 panel at Paleyfest will be available on its YouTube page until Wednesday morning, March 25, at 10 a.m. ET.

Jessica Radloff is the Glamour West Coast editor. You can follow her on Twitter @JRadloff.

Originally Appeared on Glamour