Justin Hartley Talks Kevin and Cassidy After That Hospital Scene on This Is Us

Season 6, Episode 8 of This Is Us, which aired on Tuesday, March 15, was an emotional one. It was a deep-dive into Kevin's (Justin Hartley) life, specifically his evolution into fatherhood and his relationship with Cassidy (Jennifer Morrison). Full disclosure: We use the word relationship loosely. There's no confirmation that these two end up together in the end, but their bond certainly deepened after this new episode. There's no denying that. 

A quick recap on what happened: Kevin has recruited Cassidy to help on the construction of the house he's building for Rebecca (Mandy Moore) next to the Pearson cabin. Of course, she has her son, Matty, by her side, and Kevin arrives on the site with his twins. Oh, and Uncle Nicky (Griffin Dunne) and Edie (Vanessa Bell Calloway) are there, too. The result? A beautiful, blended, happy family—or so we think. 

In the evening, everyone is gathered around the living room, playing Monopoly. Cassidy and Kevin exchange sweet glances at each other, almost suggesting they could see themselves doing this for life. But all is not well with Cassidy: Later in the episode, she goes for a drive and crashes into a pole. Kevin and Uncle Nicky rush to the hospital; thankfully, Cassidy is fine, but Kevin hangs back and waits for her to wake up. Their conversation is emotional, and Kevin ends up saying that, aside from family, Cassidy is one of the only people he cares about. 

It's a super-charged episode, one that leaves viewers with many questions. Thankfully, Hartley has some answers. Read on. 

NBC Insider: What do you think Kevin and Cassidy were thinking as they were exchanging glances while everyone was playing Monopoly? 

Justin Hartley: Two totally different things. I think that Cassidy was in a place that was much darker, and it's something Kevin couldn’t even comprehend. And not only could he not comprehend it, he was quite frankly unaware of it. I think Kevin thought they were on the same page and that they were both kind of happy to be there and had peace in their lives. And then you see what happened and you go, "Oh, well, he was kind of way off." Two people sitting in a room sharing the exact same experience with other people can have completely different reactions because they’re in different places in their lives.

What can you tell us about where their relationship is headed?

I can tell you that as difficult as it is and as unique as it is, their relationship, they are definitely friends. They definitely do care for each other. And they both take care of each other. It's not a matter of effort or energy on the part of Kevin. It’s just a matter of he doesn’t know what to do. It’s not that he’s not interested or doesn’t  want to help, but he doesn’t know what to do. He's a grown man, and he’s stuck. I think that’s it. They’re definitely good friends. They care for each other. They love each other. But on the level that they end up loving each other, that’s something we’ll have to wait and see.

This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. Catch up now on NBC.com.