What's In Store For Toby on This Is Us? We've Got Some Ideas

This one seems like a no-brainer: flushing meds in the present + appearing weary and alone in the future = Toby relapsing. A trailer clip also shows Toby reading a medical pamphlet about antidepressant withdrawal symptoms. Going off antidepressants without a doctor's advice and without a slow withdrawal plan is about as bad a decision as a patient can make, so there's definitely going to be consequences in future episodes. We know already that the ending of his first marriage sent Toby into a depression, which leads us to our next theory . . .

Toby and Kate's marriage may not be in a great place by the time the series reaches its flash-forward part of the timeline. Fertility challenges and mental health aren't easy on any relationship, and we know already that both of those are in store for the pair. The final moments of the season premiere, however, seem to include the most telling clues about the future of their marriage. When Toby gets a call from Randall to visit "her," he's seen alone in bed and not wearing a wedding ring — probably not a great sign for the couple.

The flash-forward storyline, up til now, only featured two characters: an adult Tess and an older Randall, who are hesitantly going to visit an as-yet-unnamed "her." But in the season three premiere, Toby gets drawn into this storyline too, when Randall calls him and asks if he's coming to visit "her" too.

"She wants you to be there," Randall tells a hesitant Toby over the phone. This seems to suggest that Toby's arc this season is somehow tied to whoever "she" is — and that they are (or were) close enough that she would want to see him. Is "she" Kate, perhaps, or Rebecca? Or is it possible that the "she" Randall and Tess are visiting is separate from the "she" Randall is talking about to Toby? Either way, the "her" mystery is definitely connected to Toby's storyline now.

Toby's decision to dump his meds was directly linked to his desire to be a dad — so what if that actually does come true? It's definitely still a theory in progress, but since we know Toby is linked to the "her" mystery (and that This Is Us likes to subvert expectations), is it possible that "her" is not Kate or Beth or Rebecca, but a daughter of Kate and Toby? If this is the case, then something still goes horribly wrong along the way, given how sad Toby is in the flash-forward. There's not much evidence one way or another on this theory yet, but it's a theory to keep an eye on for sure.