This Is Us fan theory: Kate and Toby’s baby drama

With the newest episode of This Is Us set to premiere tomorrow, speculation is flying about what will happen with Kate and Toby’s baby as the promo shows Kate being wheeled into the ER. Here’s my theory about what we can expect going forward.

In true This Is Us fashion, Kate and Toby’s journey as a couple has not always been easy, especially when it comes to trying to be parents. Not only was it difficult for them to conceive in the first place, Kate has already faced a miscarriage and had trouble convincing a doctor to brave the liabilities involved in accepting a potential mother with such high risk factors into the IVF program. But Kate’s passion and authenticy prevailed against more pragmatic considerations and the couple has been cautiously optimistic following the resultant pregancy. Things have been moving along pretty smoothly since then as Kate and Toby prepare the nursery and dream about movie nights with their son.

But it looks like things might take a turn next week, as Kate is shown being wheeled into the ER, accompanied by Kevin and greeted by a harried Toby who is waiting for her at the hospital. Considering Kate seems to have come from a party of some kind – perhaps her baby shower – this hardly seems to have been planned. I don’t know how close Kate is to her due date, but I’m guessing it wasn’t meant to be that weekend. So if the baby is born now, it will at least be slightly pre-mature.

But what else might be in store for the expectant parents? In an interview she gave late last year, Chrissy Metz teased that Kate and Toby are in for a unique and challenging parenting experience. “It’s going to be challenging for me as an actress, which I’m excited about — scared but excited,” she says. “It’s something I don’t think we’ve ever seen, at least not on network television.” So assuming that Kate doesn’t lose the baby, what kind of situation might she be hinting at? According to executive producer Elizabeth Berger, this is a storyline that showrunners have been carefully plotting for some time.

If we wanted to take a turn into the realm of soap opera cliches, I could say that there was a mix up at the lab and they end up with a baby that’s not biologically theirs. I don’t think this is what will happen as that’s probably not a super common situation. There is, however, a slightly higher chance for birth defects in babies conceived through IVF than through natural means and life with a differently abled child is certainly something that is not commonly portrayed on network television. If I were to make a bet, I think this is what will happen with Kate and Toby’s baby. I think that both Kate and the baby will survive delivery, but I think that Kate and Toby will have the parental challenge of raising a child with some kind of significant birth defect.

If this turns out to be true, this could be a really amazing opportunity to demystify and reduce the stigma around differently abled children. It is certainly something that is white washed or glossed over in popular entertainment, so this could be a groundbreaking chance to explore a topic that is all too often simply brushed under the carpet.

The newest episode of This Is Us will air Tuesday, March 5 at 9pm ET on NBC.