'This Is Us' season 1 spoilers: Series creator addresses major cliffhanger; Randall–William story arc to be explored in next episode
"This Is Us" wrapped up its winter finale with a dramatic cliffhanger featuring one character's life in danger. In a recent interview, creator Dan Fogelman shared teasers on what lies ahead for the Pearson clan and the people around them when the series returns next month.
Titled "Last Christmas," the winter finale saw two Christmas celebrations from the past and present time. At the end of the episode, Toby (Chris Sullivan) made a romantic gesture and tried to win Kate (Chrissy Metz) back. While Kate's family was having dinner and waiting for Toby, he suddenly collapsed onto the living room coffee table.
Speaking with Deadline, Fogelman addressed the major cliffhanger involving Toby and if he will ever make it. "Well you're gonna have to wait 3.5 weeks or so to find out what happened to Toby. Hopefully by now we've shown that we're not scared to make a big choice," he said.
One of the biggest revelations from the last episode is that William (Ron Cephas Jones) is gay. His boyfriend was also introduced in the story, which completely changes his dynamic with his son and his family. According to Fogelman, it is a big story arc that the show will explore in the next episode.
"It's not that William is gay (or bi) that throws Randall, particularly (although it does shock the hell out of him)," he explained. "It's that suddenly he's losing time with his father (and there may not be much time left) to another person. It's a very sweet father-son story," he went on to say.
In the show's present timeline, William is dying of cancer and only has a few days to live. However, Jones said viewers will see more of his character through flashbacks. "Whatever you might think, the character could still survive based on flashbacks," he stated and added, "Sort of like what they're doing in the first story with Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore."
"This Is Us" season 1 returns on Tuesday, Jan. 10, at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.
