‘This Is Us’ Season 4, Episode 13 ‘A Hell Of A Week: Part Three’ Review: Katy Girl

The Sad Three trilogy is coming to an end in This Is Us. This week, it’s Kate’s turn. And can I say, this was such a cliffhanger! We need to know what happened to Marc and Kate. We know what triggered Randall and we know who’s Kevin’s probable fiance and the mother of his child is. But, we still don’t know what in the hell happened to Kate and Marc. Hopefully, the next episode can bring us a little more enlightenment.

In tonight’s episode of This Is Us, Justin Hartley also showed off his directing skills. And man did he nail it! The episode was beautiful. That bedtime story sequence particularly is my favorite because it captured the pure sweetness of little Kate. And it’s such a heartwarming way of showing Kate’s bond with her mom. Hartley also did a great job in unfolding Kate and Marc’s relationship. Now, we know why everybody didn’t like the guy. All in all, it was a great ender to the “A Hell of a Week” a.k.a. Sad Three Trilogy. Now, it’s time to think about favorites. Before everybody gets all riled up though, let’s talk about what went down with Katy Girl in This Is Us first.

Rebecca and Kate Time

After discovering that Jack’s starting to see lights, Toby (Chris Sullivan) gets way too excited. It’s like he found a reason to be a dad again. Kate (Chrissy Metz) tries to bring him back down to the reality that Jack’s case is more severe than other kids but, Toby isn’t having it. And though it’s wonderful to see him so happy and hopeful like that for a change, it’s also a little sad. It’s understandably difficult to have a blind child but, Toby can’t seem to get past his son’s blindness.

When the day of their retreat comes, Kate immediately notices that something’s off with Toby. He clearly doesn’t want to go to the retreat which was intended for their whole family. So, when Rebecca (Mandy Moore) offers to go after Kate tells her some excuse about Toby having work, Kate can’t be any more relieved.

Ron Batzdorff/NBC

At the retreat, Kate is definitely distracted by all the complete families running around. But, Rebecca makes up the excitement more than enough for both of them. In fact, since her diagnosis, it seems that she’s been a little more fun and carefree. And from the talks to the Braille lessons, Rebecca sticks by her daughter and grandson’s side.

After a full day of discovering all the different and ingenious ways blind kids can adapt to their lives, Kate calls Gregory (Timothy Omundson) immediately. Not Toby. And he’s so excited to talk about everything like he’s Jack’s grandfather. Soon enough, Kate fesses up to her mother about Toby’s confession. And Kate is worried if Toby is going to be there for her and her son or not.

The Lightning Bugs

Since Kate mentioned not being able to go to the pool because of her own fears and insecurities, Rebecca drags her daughter out there for a change. And there, Rebecca finally reveals the story behind Kate’s pet name ‘bug.’ Apparently, as a kid, Kate was obsessed with bugs. Her favorite was the lightning bugs or as she called them lightbulb bugs. I mean, how cute is that? And every time she went out and watched them, little Kate would be so full of wonder. She would cup one of the bugs in her palms ever so gently. Then, she’d sweetly whisper “Go find your way home.”

Ron Batzdorff/NBC

Rebecca always thought Kate was sensitive. But, she also thinks Kate is strong. Even when Kate doesn’t think so herself, Rebecca knows it. And as she tells Kate, if Toby doesn’t pull through, she is just as strong and capable of raising Jack beautifully. But, Rebecca’s still holding out hope for Toby to find his way home.

Afterward, Rebecca takes her turn to confess. And she finally tells Kate about her diagnosis. Before Kate can start beating herself up over not noticing and worrying, Rebecca assures her daughter that she’s okay. We all know that by the end of this season of This Is Us, she probably wouldn’t. But, let’s give them this moment. Taking her mother’s words to heart, Kate repeats the words out loud. “I am strong,” she tells Rebecca. “You made me strong.” The pair cries in each other’s arms that night. And then to end it perfectly, they have a nice little karaoke duet of Alanis Morisette’s “Ironic.”

Kate and Mark

Going back in the past, we finally get a glimpse of Kate’s first serious relationship. From the previous episode of This Is Us, it’s obvious that there’s something off with Marc (Austin Abrams). Kevin and Randall already sniffed it out but, now we know what it is exactly. Plainly said, he is toxic.

The day before Rebecca’s birthday dinner, the pair were working at the record store. He gives Kate Patti Smith’s book “Babel.” But, then when Kate reaches for some chocolates, he suddenly stops her and says the dreaded words “Are you sure you want that?” He reasons out that he knows she’s watching her weight and all. But, the next one is even worse. A customer comes in asking about a certain song and Kate unintentionally shares more accurate info about it than Marc. For some absurd reason, Marc feels humiliated that Kate knew better. He ends up stomping off and leaving Kate hanging until the next day.

Ron Batzdorff/NBC

After they patch things up again after a little sorry excuse for an apology from Marc, Rebecca convinces Kate to let her meet him before the birthday dinner. And that’s when it really goes downhill. First off, Marc arrives late. Then, he announces that he quit from the record store giving some lame excuse that their manager wasn’t treating him well.

When he starts complimenting Kate’s singing, I thought he was going to at least redeem himself a little. But, boy was I wrong. He starts rambling off about writing songs with Kate. But, he says they need to do it outside of Pittsburgh. Suddenly, Kate gets the idea they could do it in the family cabin. Although Rebecca doesn’t give a concrete yes, Kate assumes it anyway.

Toxic Through and Through

Later back at home, Rebecca reveals that she doesn’t feel comfortable with Kate going up to the cabin with Marc. Her reasons are completely logical. Unlike Kevin and Randall’s girlfriends, the family barely knows Marc. He doesn’t seem keen on letting them know him either. But, of course, teenage Kate thinks that Rebecca simply hates Marc and lashes out. “I don’t need you to like him” are the iconic words of this teenage Kate Pearson. Then, she decides that they’re going to the cabin that very moment. And she goes on to tell Rebecca “Sorry if that ruins your birthday dinner. I’m sure Miguel will be around to pick up the pieces.” Low blow Kate, low blow.

Ron Batzdorff/NBC

On the ride to the cabin, Marc tries to lowkey convince Kate that she should also quit her job at the record store because he’s quitting. When she refuses, he goes ballistic. He starts speeding and when he finally heeds Kate’s pleas to stop, he kicks her out. Then, he leaves her on the side of the road in the middle nowhere in that freezing night.

Left with no choice, Kate walks. A while later, she reaches the nearest phone booth then she calls her mom. Kate immediately apologizes but, just when she’s about to admit that her relationship isn’t fine, Marc comes driving along. He opens up his arms which are holding a blanket and mouths an apology. And just like that, they’re good again. Then, they continue the drive up to the cabin.

Even though Kate told her mom that she was fine, Rebecca had a bad feeling. That’s when she cancels her birthday dinner, gathers up Randall and Kevin, and heads out to find Kate.

Mommy Story

Those two stories are told with the backdrop of little Kate’s bedtime story with her dad. It’s Kate’s turn on This Is Us to keep Jack awake, remember? Unlike the other two though, all she wants is a mommy bedtime story. Since Rebecca’s clearly unavailable for that, Jack makes his won with his daughter.

As little Kate’s story goes, there was once a prince and a princess. That’s little her and Jack right there. They find each other in a magical forest. And together, they journey through the woods into a field of beautiful flowers. Afterward, they arrive at a cave. At that point, little Kate takes over the story from her dad.

Ron Batzdorff/NBC

When they arrive at the mouth of the cave, the prince disappears. And the princess, with her little jar of lightning bugs, enters the cave alone. When she comes out on the other side, there’s a path with bright sunlight. And at the end of it is none other than her mom. Without hesitation, the princess runs up and jumps into her mother’s arms. All this time, the one thing the princess wanted the most wasn’t the prince nor the flowers. It was her mom.

In the present day, after Kate’s retreat bonding with her mom, she finally confronts Toby. She demands to know if he can be the man their family and she needs. Toby answers that he wants to. But, that’s not enough for Kate. After receiving the call from her brothers, Kate decides to go up to the cabin with them. When she tells Toby, he surprisingly volunteers to take care of Jack while she was gone. And he makes it clear that he really wants it saying “I want to spend time with my son.”

This Is Us continues Tuesday, February 25th, with “The Cabin” at 9/8c on NBC.