When I learned that This Is Us was preparing yet another Kate & Toby-centric episode, I was concerned that the series was running out of ideas. How many more unique ideas on a long-awaited sad breakup could the show possibly find? Luckily, the writers seemed to realize that it was time for a change, especially since the series was celebrating its 100th episode. This Is Us The Season 6 Episode 12, “Katoby,” takes a risk by not only focusing on Kate and Toby’s likely breakup but also on the following few years of their lives.
While Kate talks about how much easier life would have been if you could relive it backward, “Katoby” follows a route that is even less linear. It jumps around in time in between the scene of Kate & Toby’s terrible lawn confrontation from last week and her four-year-ago wedding to Philip, which we first saw in last season’s finale. “Katoby” exists in a purposely confusing zone, as the show casually delivers major information concerning the fate of its main characters, such as Madison’s pregnancy with Elijah.
This Is Us Season 6 Episode 12 Recap And Review
This Is Us Season 6 Episode 12 begins with another look at Kate & Phillip’s wedding. Beth and Madison are fascinated with Kate’s wedding dress. Kate receives a phone call from Toby. He wants to know whether she recalls what she told him after they signed the divorce papers. When Kate says that she does, Toby adds he now sees it and apologizes for taking so long. Toby takes a seat and informs Kate that he will be taking the job in California. Toby agrees that they should go to couples therapy, expressing he’ll do whatever it needs for their family.
We watch a montage of Katoby: Toby unpacks his belongings, the two begin couples therapy on a positive note, and both Kate and Toby begin their new jobs. However, Toby’s progress doesn’t seem to last long, since he really doesn’t want to speak much once he gets home from work. Toby waits patiently for Kate to arrive at couples therapy, revealing that they’ve been going for six months. When Kate eventually arrives, Toby criticizes her for being late, and the two have another fight. Toby requests the therapist about their chances of making it, and when Kate becomes irritated with him, he stands and leaves early.
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Kate and Phillip’s Engagement Party
Madison gets pregnant with Elijah during Kate & Phillip’s engagement celebration. Kevin appears with a girl named Leslie, who appears to have starred in a State Farm commercial. Kate explains how he’s recently dated a lot of girls from advertisements and it’s never worked out. Kevin comes across Sophie and her boyfriend. Rebecca and Miguel arrive, and Rebecca forgets Phillip’s name for a moment. Kate takes the stage and invites Phillip to join her. They play Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping” after Kate confesses the music changed her life.
Kevin was dating a girl from a Troy advertisement on Hailey’s 2nd birthday. When he asks Kate how her career is going, Toby makes a nasty remark about how underpaid she is. Toby ignores it, but Kevin discovers Kate weeping in a room. Kate asks Kevin, through tears, how she decides when to leave the marriage. He assures her that she will be aware of the correct time. He also tells Kate that if it comes to that, she and the kids would be happy again. Phillip sees a wedding ring before lunch when Jack & Hailey are grown. He proposes to Kate as she walks back into the room. She says yes after Jack & Hailey hold up posters telling her to.
Kate And Toby’s Marriage Ends
Toby, who has been in couples therapy for 16 months, demands to learn how much longer they will have to go. When the therapist questions them when they last had dinner together, they didn’t recall, so they arrange a dinner date. It doesn’t take them long to get into a fight. When Kate comments that she puts the kids to sleep more than he does, Toby feels mocked. Toby tells Kate how she saps the joy of fatherhood from him. When she says how he always seems unhappy, he says that it’s because she’s in the room. He shouts and says sorry for not being ready to be Jack Pearson, then argues that their entire marriage is rigged and that she is only unhappy because he isn’t more like her father. It’s over, Kate informs Toby. It’s time for both of them to call it quits on their marriage.
Toby and Phillip meet in a bar. Toby needs to talk to Phillip about how he wants to spend much more time with Jack & Hailey now that he and Kate are dating. Phillip informs Toby that he wants to propose to Kate soon, and Toby says that he was expecting it. Phillip tells Toby that he’s only heard positive things about him as a father, but Toby thinks it’s not enough. He tells Phillip about how he thought he and Kate could have made their relationship work. Phillip assures Toby that he adores his children and considers it a pleasure to be available to help in their upbringing. When Toby finds Phillip knows nothing about American football, he teaches him the basics.
Divorce & First Date
Toby collects his stuff and looks for an apartment. They speak with a divorce attorney. The two smile in the elevator as they listen to Victoria Houston’s “I Will Always Love You,” recognizing the irony in the music choice. However, once they’re out, things become tense again, and they part.
On Kate and Phillip’s first date, they are charmed by a mariachi band. When he displays his fear with attention, Kate takes his hand in hers to calm him down. She becomes upset and withdraws. Outside, Phillip sees her. She informs Phillip that just loving Toby wasn’t enough, that they sometimes suppressed their emotions, and that she does not really want to be in another relationship like that. Kate wants to know about Phillip’s plans for her. She accuses him of being a womanizer that dates “toothpick-sized” women, which she isn’t, and she’s also sloppy, which Phillips appears to avoid.
Phillip tells her that he was previously married as well and that he and his wife were very happy for a long period. But he and his wife were having problems conceiving, and it was sucking the joy from their home. He refused to consider IVF for the third time in a row because it was so draining, and she felt he was going to give up on her. Phillip says that his wife never really said goodbye when the taxi picked her up and that she didn’t make it 5 mins away before being killed by a traffic accident. Phillip assures Kate that he’s with her because he’s trying to be happy again.
Toby Realizes But It Was Too Late
Toby and Kate start working on co-parenting even though they don’t live together. Toby advises Kate that there’s still time after Jack appears pleased that both his mom and dad are present to tuck him in at night. Toby notices that things are improving when Kate says they’ll sign the divorce papers in 2 days. He wants to return to couples counseling, but Kate refuses. She claims that now that she has her own room, she can genuinely breathe. Toby, on the other hand, believes that having the kids together will make them happier. Toby confesses to Kate that he is frightened of being alone and spending half his life without his children. He begs Kate, stressing that this can’t possibly be how things will end.
Kate pulls over to Toby after signing the divorce papers to speak with him. She informs him that their story does not stop here. Their marriage may be over, but their story is far from over. They were supposed to be together, she explains, but now they’re supposed to be separated. She swears that he’ll see it one day, but as he walks away, he swears that he won’t. After she signs the divorce papers, Phillip asks Kate out for a coffee in Koreatown. They perform Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping” at the nightclub, and Kate appears to be enjoying herself after a long day.
The Happy Future
When the children stay over, Toby moves into a new place and bonds with them. As Hailey and the boys approach their third birthday, more time passes. Toby orders a pudding at the same time as just another woman in a coffee shop and cracks a cheesy joke. She laughs back, and the two make small talk. It cuts to an older Kate and Phillip greeting a grown-up Jack and Lucy alongside Toby and then that woman from the coffee house (now his wife). They’re all happier than ever as they watch Jack perform. This scene illustrates what Kate meant when she said Katoby’s story wasn’t over. Rather, it’s changing.
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