This Is Us Review: Katoby (Season 6 Episode 12)

There was a worry that another episode centered around Kate and Toby would prove potent to the momentum of this season. After all, there’s only so much to say about a couple whose end was inevitable.

However, This Is Us Season 6 Episode 12, “Katoby,” proves the third time is the charm for this storyline.

In revealing that Kate and Toby are better off apart, the show gives the couple a newfound appreciation. Their love story ends on a series high by acknowledging that sometimes the strongest thing two people can do is give up.

Where Kate’s trip to San Fransico delivered a nice blend of hope and despair for the couple, the barbeque fiasco fumbled the bag by focusing on the unnecessary dramatics of their blow-up and treading the same tired ground.

I can’t say “Katoby” avoids that repetition entirely, but it does find a way to acknowledge Kate and Toby are having the same tired fights because that is all they have left to cling to in their relationship. The long silences of their date night demonstrate as much.

It’s good to see Kate and Toby have one last fight for the road, and I commend This Is Us for realizing there’s no lower to go than claiming Kate wants to get with her father. It physically hurts to hear Jack Pearson be so disrespected.

There’s no going back from that line, and thankfully, Kate recognizes this. So the rest of the episode feels like letting out a long breath as Kate relaxes into the realization she and Toby are broken.

We get more likable moments between Kate and Toby throughout this episode than we did the entire series, which must be by design.

I actively root for them as the couple builds their separate lives, one mundane action at a time. I enjoy that the Pearson clan is not involved in their relationship drama for once. These decisions fall on Metz and Sullivan to hash out, and rightfully so.

It seems like a lot to shove Geere’s Phillip into the mix, but This Is Us makes it a far more practical option than having to set up for another Kate-centric episode. It will be interesting to see how the show navigates their relationship in the present storyline, having gone through the greatest hits.

That said, Phillip and Kate are a strong pairing. Their meet-cutes are in direct contrast to Toby and Kate’s divorce, so the bar for romance is low, but Geere and Metz go for it anyways. Their soft interactions coupled with an awkward karaoke date suggest Kate’s happily-ever-after is compelling enough to let rest easy.

This Is Us gives the first of the Big Three finality, and it feels good to have a storyline for Kate that is complete and whole.

“Katoby” introduces a new form of timeline hopping that is less linear and far more discombobulating as it jumps back and forth between two key events in Kate and Toby’s lives.

This jumble of future and present scenes is exciting because it can tease the ensemble’s future in short bursts, like Madison’s pregnancy and Kevin’s reunion with Sophie.

However, it is a lot of life to throw at viewers without explanation, and while wigs and makeup help give us an idea of how much time has passed, it does make for a jolting experience. Most of the time-jumps work against themselves as the episode backtracks for context.

If this is a technique This Is Us hopes to use more in the final stretch of episodes, it needs to streamline the way we receive information because throwing scenes at us from different time periods is not the fun collage of memories the show thinks it is.

And I have to say it, that flash-forward wig did Rebecca so dirty!

The final fairytale moments of “Katoby” make the more irritating moments of this three-part story worth the hassle.

It’s gratifying to see Kate and Toby together in the same room with Jack and Lucy. Rather than the miserable Kate and Toby we are accustomed to, we see the two sharing an embrace with their new partners as Jack beams at them from the stage.

In the end, Kate and Toby decided happiness meant they had to move on from each other. The flash-forward rewards the decision by bringing nothing but joy into their lives — and, in turn, ours as we are finally able to embrace their relationship.

Divorce is a storyline few shows treat with dignity, let alone positivity. This Is Us proves there’s nothing to be ashamed of when our love stories fail. Sometimes a breakup can lead to even great love and stronger family dynamics.

And no one has to die to make it happen. What a concept!

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This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC.

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