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‘This Is Us’ Season 5 Episode 4 'Honestly': Will 'single mom' Ellie crush Kate and Toby's dreams to adopt a baby?

As the new episode rolls out, what can we expect from the characters? Will Kate and Toby's dreams to have a baby be crushed?

With familial drama and personal battles, ‘This Is Us’ fittingly peels out every single character's struggles. The last episode ‘Changes’ delved deeper into Kate Pearson (Chrissy Metz) and Toby Damon's (Chris Sullivan) quest to find a new baby. The pair stumble upon a “single mother” named Ellie (Annie Funke) who bonds with Kate over ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ characters. Meanwhile, Kevin (Justin Hartley) and Madison (Caitlin Thompson) come clean about all the stuff that bothers them and try to take their relationship to the next level. 

As the new episode rolls out, what can we expect from the characters? Are Kevin and Madison really meant to be? Will Kate and Toby's dreams to have a baby be crushed? Titled ‘Honestly’, the summary of the next episode reads: “Malik shadows Randall at work. Kevin struggles to connect with his new movie director. Jack and Rebecca struggle to sleep train their babies.”

A new 16-second promo begins with Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) telling Rebecca (Mandy Moore): “I want our kids to know their dad sees greatness in them.” In another snippet, Kevin meets the director of his new movie and tells him, “You were pretty rough on me in there,” who, in turn, replies, “You are a good actor or you could be one of the greatest.” The real twist comes into play when Kate meets Ellie again and asks her: “Are you having second thoughts?”

When the couple meets her, we also find out about Ellie's backstory and why she is placing her baby girl for adoption. Her husband Doug, who is their daughter Willow's father, died of cancer and, soon after, a horror Match.com date-turned-one-night stand got Ellie pregnant.

If Ellie decides to change her mind, Kate would be shattered. She seemed to have pinned down a lot of hopes from their meeting even as Toby warned her to be just the right amount of “terrified”. What will happen if the mother backtracks? “I really hope this Kate and Toby adoption plotline doesn’t end up with the birth mom changing her mind after having the baby. That plot is so overdone and sad. I understand it happens in real life, but it doesn’t have to be in every show or film,” one fan posted.

Another said, “Yeah, it’s weird this potential mother is ticking ALL the boxes. I won’t hurt a pregnant woman, but if she’s using Kate and Toby, imma be real mad.” And a third said, “This girl better not be messing with Kate & Toby, I have a bad feeling about her.” One fan dropped a bombshell of a theory: “#ThisIsUs here’s my theory. Kate and Toby’s possible adoption opportunity falls through, and their Hailey is their biological daughter. I mean, think about it. That actress from the future looks a WHOLE lot like Kate AND Rebecca!”

When asked if fans should be worried and if there are bad times ahead, Chris Sullivan — who plays Toby — told People: “That's the interesting part of this show, it portrays the cycle of life in a way that, I think, is very realistic and very optimistic. There will always be good times and there will always be bad times. They will always rotate around each other. I think the challenge is to figure out how to enjoy the benefits of having made it through the dark times into the light and then preparing ourselves when they return because they always do. It really comes down to how we hold them and how we address them when they arise.”

In Ellie's last scene with Kate and Toby, she tells them: “I have a strong feeling about you guys.” When Sullivan was asked if he could share anything about what's to come in Kate and Toby's adoption process, he retorted, I don't think you can assume anything with ‘This Is Us’ (laughs). Even being on the inside of ‘This Is Us’ I can never assume anything with the show. Even we've been surprised by our writers after we think things are going to go one way. That's kind of the wonderful thing about this show. No matter how things turn out, they seem to turn out okay — good, bad or otherwise.”

The two-hour episode of ‘This Is Us’ premiered on Tuesday, October 27 at 9 pm ET on NBC. Following that, one-hour episodes will air weekly starting at 9 pm from November 10, 2020. Catch the fourth episode ‘Honestly’ once it drops on November 17, 2020, on NBC.