‘This Is Us’ Producer Claims Door Is ‘Beautifully Closed’ on Possibility of Kevin and Madison Reunion, or Is It?
While much of the focus of the latest installment of NBC’s This Is Us, titled “Saturday in the Park,” dealt with the explosion of emotions surrounding Kate and Toby’s (Chrissy Metz and Chris Sullivan) marriage, another storyline quietly bubbled underneath the surface. After two seasons, the door has officially closed on the possibility of a Kevin (Justin Hartley) and Madison (Caitlin Thompson) reunion, or has it?
Is this the end for Kevin and Madison?
While Kate and Toby navigated yet another hurdle in the downhill turn of their relationship, Kevin faced an emotional crisis.
After realizing that Kevin living with his sister and husband contributed to Toby’s irritation about their home life, Kate asked her brother Randall (Sterling K. Brown) to take him out of the home for a few hours.
Randall drove Kevin to Madison’s house, visiting his children Nicky and Franny.
Kevin then asked Randall if he would like to meet Madison’s boyfriend Elijah (Adam Korson). However, he became suspicious of Elijah when he saw him rifling through Madison’s jewelry box. Elijah revealed he was trying to figure out Madison’s ring size as he wanted to propose.
This realization led Kevin to feel conflicted. Randall stopped him from sending a text to Madison to try and rekindle their relationship.
However, Kevin realized that he wasn’t the right person for Madison. He admitted he wanted to remove her as his primary contact in an emergency. Subsequently, Madison told him that as the mother of his children, she would remain that person for as long as he wanted her.
Did a ‘This Is Us’ producer close the door on a Madison and Kevin reunion?
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, This Is Us Producer K.J. Steinberg claimed the door was closed on a reunion for Kevin and Madison at the moment. However, he teased a future possibility for an even deeper connection between the characters.
Of the relationship between Kevin and Madison, Steinberg said, “I think it’s beautifully closed.”
However, he added, “whenever there’s love between people — real love, which they do have, and the inextricable bond of sharing children — there’s always a possibility.
“For these characters at this moment, it’s this deeply bittersweet definition of what love can look like, in a different form. They do not want to let each other go. That’s the answer. But sometimes, you have to — in certain ways,” Steinberg concluded.
So who is Kevin’s relationship endgame?
As This Is Us heads toward its conclusion, fans wonder who Kevin will ultimately marry.
Hartley weighed in on Kevin’s romantic possibilities in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“Many people wanted the Madison (Caitlyn Thompson) thing, and when that didn’t work out, they were heartbroken,” Hartley admitted. “And then many people were like, ‘Well, that means he’s going to go back with Sophie [Alexandra Breckenridge].
While there is also a potential for Cassidy (Jennifer Morrison) to be that particular person for Kevin, there could also be another woman who enters his life at just the right time.
Hartley admitted that Kevin does some soul searching before finding his happily ever after.
“When he finally wraps his brain around the fact that it’s OK to be alone, that opens him up to be available to other people, instead of the square peg/round hole thing that he constantly tries to do. He’s OK being alone. Kevin is not lonely; he’s alone. That’s different. And I think that opens him to love,” the actor explained.
This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST on NBC.
