This Is Us Season 4 Winter Premiere (And Beyond) Scoop
This is Us - Season 4
KATE MEETS THE WOD SQUAD
"Obviously there's some tension and resentment around [Toby's workout friends] for Kate," Chris Sullivan said, nodding to the awkward way Kate found out that Toby was venting to his gym friends about her. "Getting them all together in the same room" — something that happens in the midseason premiere — "should be an interesting dynamic. He added,"There's always hesitation when you bring two different parts of your world together, and that tension is probably part of the thing that is driving a wedge between the two of them. So we'll see how they navigate it."
This is Us - Season 4
KEVIN'S BIG PLAN
Unlike previous chapters in Kev's life, the former Manny "can see the light at the end of the tunnel. He's also hopeful. He has a goal," Justin Hartley said. "He knows what he wants for the first time." That said, don't expect things to magically fall in place for Kevin just because he's put his intention out into the universe (though you should probably pay close attention to a Kevin-related detail near the end of the winter premiere). "Kevin doesn't really have a dial, right? He's on or off. It's a switch more than a dial," Hartley added. "But I think what he was saying was: It's time. It's time to grow up and move on."
This is Us - Season 4
RANDALL'S RUSTY COPING MECHANISMS
Randall flies to California to see his mom in the midseason premiere, which Sterling K. Brown said will only intensify his character's inner turmoil. "He was already on edge. He lives with anxiety. He lives with a baseline level of fear that makes it difficult for him to feel comfortable," the actor pointed out. Add in the uncertainty of Rebecca's mental state, and "This is stressful," Brown said. "It's stressful when you're dealing with a parent getting older and different things that they have to deal with as a result of getting older. I think it will cause tension for everybody."
This is Us - Season 4
RANDALL'S RUSTY COPING MECHANISMS (cont'd.)
If the look on Beth's face here is any indication, that tension won't wear well on her already pushed-to-his-limits husband. Brown previewed that Randall's upcoming story is "quite compelling" and explores "what's right and what's wrong about how he takes care of himself and how he could possibly do a better job at that."
This is Us - Season 4
IN THE REARVIEW
Wondering about the winter premiere's flashbacks? We can tell you that they focus on Jack and Rebecca just after her father delivered that soul-crushing speech about how his fancy daughter deserves more than a directionless grease monkey (we're paraphrasing). "And I know there's very ambitious things happening for the rest of the season," Mandy Moore said... which may or may not have to do with Rebecca's current or past storylines.
This is Us - Season 4
THE POWER OF (THE BIG) THREE
The second episode back — which will focus on Randall — will kick off "three episodes in a row in the same timeline, where each of The Big Three will get an episode" like the show has done before, Fogelman said.