This post contains spoilers from “This is Us” on Tuesday. Please proceed accordingly.
Well, note another mystery This is us as solved. And if the comment sections in our summaries are an indication, many of you are probably quite happy with the result.
During the NBC drama, whenever the question arose as to who Kevin should be with, Sophie’s name – and with it, that of portraitist Alexandra Breckenridge – filled our comment section abundantly and noticeably.
“It seems to be the majority, this is the reaction,” Breckenridge told TVLine, smiling. “I saw something somewhere, people said to themselves, ‘We’re not going to watch this show if we don’t get together!’
Well, now these people can breathe easy. In this week’s episode, Kevin and Sophie reunite romantically, two decades after their teenage union ended in pain. The connection is facilitated by Kate and Philip’s wedding, which brings the recently divorced Sophie and finally the mature Kevin back into each other’s orbits. There are conversations. There is madness in the middle of make-up. And by the end of the class, the couple decided to be brave and do it again, sealing the venture with a kiss in front of the whole Kev family. (Read the full summary.)
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We spoke with Breckenridge, who also starred in Netflix’s Virgin River, about playing Kevin and Sophie’s huge romantic arch. Read about her thoughts – and find out how often we will see her as the series draws to a close on May 24th.
TVLINE We have an idea of how much Kevin has thought about Sophie over the years. Do you think she’s on the same level of how much he’s thought of her over the years since they’ve been together? Oh my God. Absolutely. As she says in one episode, this is the kind of love you can’t leave in your heart. It just stays with you. They both tried to move away from each other in different repetitions. Apparently he was with Madison, and she married Grant, but she was trying to be stable. Sophie really wanted to be with someone who would show up for her, while Kevin was historically quite self-centered and couldn’t show up for her. She found this in Grant, but unfortunately she just wasn’t in love with him. She was in love with Kevin. So, I think that’s where she is. When we get into the episode, I think she’s really going in there with hope. Although Kevin has broken her heart twice, she still hopes that maybe… and obviously, he does too.
Although at first she thinks she is married. I am really happy that they managed to find their way back to each other and that this time it made sense in a way that I think is sustainable.
TVLINE There are very long, longing looks between you and Justin Hartley in the episode. How much is written in the script, how much is out of your work history? And do you ever fall apart, do you start laughing? We definitely giggle a lot. [Laughs] I mean, he’s a lot of fun and it’s hard not to laugh. When we are in these moments, part of it is in the script, and part of it is in directing. In this episode, there’s a scene where we walk through a grocery store and Justin burns. He said, “You just have to put all this random nonsense in your basket.” He says, “Just when you’re here talking, just put some tape in there.” And I can’t explain how funny that was right now, but for some reason it was so, so, so funny that Sophie was just going to grab a few. adhesive tape boxes for no reason. So while we’re doing this scene, I’m trying to do it with the right face. And I just look at him and he looks at me, and then I put a few cans of adhesive tape in the basket, trying to break it so badly. [Laughs] We almost started laughing, but we succeeded.
TVLINE It was important to me that Rebecca recognized Sophie, even at this stage of her dementia. It was a reminder that whatever Sophie was to Kevin, she was also a touchstone in the Pearson family’s life. Tell me about Sophie’s thoughts while Rebecca talks to her. At that moment, she changed Sophie’s decision. Sophie doesn’t know what to do. She is so torn. And Rebecca comes with this wisdom that Rebecca doesn’t even know she has, because for her it is in the past. So it really is almost as if she sees in the future what is the present. It’s really wonderful the way they wrote this scene. Sophie grew up with [Rebecca] as part of her extended family from a young age, apparently. So they have this family thing, and I think it makes sense for Rebecca to recognize her. And yes, it was a very important moment for Sophie to hear these words from Rebecca, because it solidified her next move.
TVLINE Sophie’s speech at the end of the episode is great. This is one of the rare times when a non-Pearson manages to control the emotional flow! You know, when I read the episode, when I share the moment in the bedroom with Justin, I start this whole monologue. There was actually a lot more in the monologue at the time, but the part they cut out made perfect sense in the flow of the show, and I’m actually glad they brought out those scenes. So, I have these two very meaningful powerful speeches I’ve had, and I’ve been incredibly nervous about it, coming from an actor’s point of view. Going back to the show … you know, I’m not on the show all the time. For all intents and purposes, I’m a guest star, and entering a show that is so extremely successful with all these actors who are incredibly talented, to be given this moment at the end of this episode that has been awaited for so long, I was like, damn it. !! [Laughs] I was like oh, s-t. What will I do? So I was excited, nervous and half terrified.
We did it in several different ways. There were different iterations in the tempo and overall tone of the moment, but in the end they complied with my first instinct, for which I was so incredibly grateful, and it was like really confirming when I watched the episode that they did something that is how I saw it. It was great for Sophie to come and say that after all this time, a huge place for her to get to with him. It was huge…
We did the scene, and then when we did the kissing part, then everyone was there. It was a little strange and awkward at first. As everyone registered, we looked, “Isn’t that weird, boys?” They just watched us kiss. The children are there. We’re like oh, that’s weird. But I think the way he played was sweet. The whole family rebuked them to some extent to find their way back to each other. It was sweet.
TVLINE Do you appear quite regularly for the rest of the season? I mean, Sophie isn’t disappearing. I’ll tell you that.
TVLINE She does not say: “I have to go and finish things in Berlin! See you in a few months! ”[Laughs] Yes. The rest is that they are all episodes of FaceTime. She just goes to FaceTime with him, I guess. “I have to go, darling. This man is bleeding. I’m sorry! ” [Laughs]
TVLINE Are any of the other episodes difficult for Kevin / Sophie? There are so few episodes after that. Coming to Rebecca’s deathbed is a big deal. For Sophie, Beth and Philip, they are the support system and support team for Pearson’s children as they deal with this truly turbulent, terrifying illness and their mother, who is such a huge figure in the family.
TVLINE My last question: Has Kevin never given Sophie this Valentine? Why did he have it when it was for her? Well, he gives her Valentine’s Day and he says, “Will you be my Valentine? Fence yes or no. ” So she bypassed the “yes” and returned it to him.
TVLINE Oh yeah.
TVLINE I like that you had to explain Valentine’s Day to me in elementary school.[Laughs] Well, that’s something I hadn’t thought of. It just made sense. I didn’t even think about it, but what someone said earlier was that did Kevin carry this in his wallet the whole time he was dating other women? As if this is a really good question! [Laughs]
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