‘This Is Us’ Introduces New Love Interest for Kevin

This Is Us character Kevin Pearson (Justin Hartley) got an unexpected new love interest during the season 2 finale.

At the end of the episode, Kevin and his brother Randall (Sterling K. Brown) are giving speeches at their sister Kate’s (Chrissy Metz) wedding reception. Kevin speech is all about moving on from the past, and Randall’s speech is all about looking towards the future.

As Randall speaks, various glimpses of the future are shown. While two of the three flash-forwards shown are troublesome, Kevin’s is quite joyous.

Kevin is shown on a plane headed to Vietnam. He is holding a photo of his late father Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) taken during his time in the Vietnam War. With Kevin on the plane is a surprising face: his sister-in-law Beth’s cousin, Zoe.

Zoe was introduced earlier in the finale as the wedding’s photographer. The two are seen cuddling up on the plane and are clearly romantically involved.

The last shots connect with the glimpse of Kevin’s future.

At the reception, Zoe walks up to Kevin and begins to have a conversation with him.

“I liked your toast. I’ve always been a sucker for a good toast,” she says.

Kevin thanks her and cracks a smile as the episode ends.

This shows that Kevin’s future is not far from coming true, as this is presumably how the romance begins.

As for why the couple might be travelling to Vietnam, the key is in the photograph Kevin holds.

This photo was first shown in an earlier season 2 flashback during the “Brothers” episode. It shows Jack with his fellow troops, including his brother Nicky. Nicky remains one of the show’s biggest mysteries, as the family never speaks about him. It is presumed he died in Vietnam.

Kevin could be looking to visit the place his father served and possibly unravel the mystery of his uncle.

This Is Us is now off-season, but past episodes can be found on Hulu.

Photo Credit: NBC / Ron Batzdorff