Here's Why 'This Is Us' Fans Are Convinced Kate Is Going To Die

With two seasons left of This Is Us, the show's mysteries are no longer in the past. Season 5 and 6 may bring surprise twists, but most fans want to learn about 2034 and 2050. But one of the Big Three hasn't been seen in the future yet: Kate. The show could be saving her for next season, doling out one Pearson a year. But fans are starting to add up the clues and starting to believe Kate will die on This Is Us. Let's look at the evidence.

These future flash-forwards begin in Season 3 with Randall. After introducing him and grown-up Tess, Randall makes a call to an aging Toby. Toby is sitting in bed, in a strange bedroom, alone, with no wedding ring. He seems hesitant to come, but is told: "She wants you to be there."

When he arrives at Kevin's house, his dialogue confirms he's never been there before. That seems to validate suspicions he and Kate are no longer together. He says, "I talked to Jack, and they're on their way." Fans assumed at the time "they" are Jack and Kate, and Toby is calling his son because he and Kate are divorced.

But if they're not speaking, would Kate really want Toby there? Season 4 answered some of these questions, and the picture it paints isn't pretty.

At the end of Season 4, Kate and Toby plan to adopt a second child. Fans know they will succeed; their daughter-to-be, Hailey, shows up in the far future. All signs of impending divorce in the present have disappeared. And yet, in the future, Toby no longer wears a wedding ring.

And finally: "They're on their way." The assumption of "they" being mother and son was due to Kate only having one child. Adoption changes the equation. "They" now includes Hailey, which means Kate isn't necessarily with them.

There's just one detail that trips this up. Jack was born in 2019, and Hailey, one assumes, in 2020. That makes them 15 and 14, respectively. Jack can't drive, even if he is old enough for a learner's permit, and Hailey is too young. So how are they on their way, other than mom driving?

That's where Kevin's still being married comes in. Madison is nowhere to be seen. But as Kate's BFF, she would be loyal to those kids to her dying breath, should her best friend pass away.

It might also explain why Kevin has such a large house. If Toby became too lost in grief to handle full custody, suddenly there's a niece and nephew who stay with him regularly. (Uncle Kevin's connections would also explain Jack's ability to land an album contract and Hailey dating celebrities.)

That brings things back to Randall's "She wants you to be there." If Kate is gone, and Toby the last connection to her late daughter, then it might be Rebecca (and the whole family) who wants him there after all.