It was a bit corny—the clapping was over the top. But as corny as it was, the flashbacks to them as little kids and high school boyfriend/girlfriend were effective.
I like the fact that Kevin ended up with someone the same age and who loved him before he was famous.
Good episode!!
The writers have spent time fleshing out Kate’s and Kevin’s stories this season. Not as much Randall. Interesting choices.
Justin Hartley and Mandy Moore imo have really delivered performances this season. Making Kevin this character we are all rooting for has been impressive.
I loved this episode, I loved that from the beginning. It was Sophie, it was always Sophie and it’s always going to be Sophie.
From the article
“ “I painted this because I felt like the play was about life. And life is full of color and we each get to come along and we add our own color to the painting. And even though it’s not very big, you sort of have to figure that it goes on forever in each direction. ‘Cause that’s kinda like life. It’s really crazy, if you think about it, that a hundred years ago some guy that I never met came to this country with a suitcase. He has a son, who has a son, who has me. So at first when I was painting I was thinking, maybe that was that guy’s part of the painting and then down here that’s my part of the painting. And then I started to think, well, what if we’re all in the painting everywhere? And what if we’re in the painting before we’re born? What if we’re in it after we die? And these colors that we keep adding, what if they just keep getting added on top of one another, ’til eventually we’re not even different colors anymore. We’re just one thing. One painting. My dad, he’s not with us anymore. He’s not alive, but he’s with us. He’s with me every day. It all just sort of fits somehow, even if you don’t understand how yet. People will die in our lives, people that we love. In the future. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe years from now. I mean, it’s kind of beautiful, if you think about it. The fact that just because someone dies, just because you can’t see them or talk to them anymore, it doesn’t mean they’re not still in the painting. I think maybe that’s the point of the whole thing. There’s no dying. There’s no ‘you’ or ‘me’ or ‘them.’ It’s just ‘us.’ And this sloppy, wild, colorful, magical thing that has no beginning, has no end, it’s right here. I think it’s us.”
I thought it was brilliant to have the wedding singer cast as a semi recognizable actress. Definitely was a red herring and threw off the fans who thought that she might be the one.
I read somewhere that the creators always wanted Sophie as Kevin’s forever but the actress was in another show and wasn’t available. Glad she was able to come back for the last episodes and for Kevin to get his happily ever after. I also thought it was nice for us fans to have Kevin end up with a character that we the fans have history with and a story. Unlike Phillip where I’m left shaking my head with not a lot of background to root for his ever after with Kate. I also think that Chrissy Metz and Chris Greere have no chemistry together.
Definitely tears and smiles. It had to be Sophie. The red herring when he made the hair comment made me wonder, but made sense in the end. Having Rebecca talk to Sophie as if she was still 20 was a bit cheesy but effective. Very glad to see that Kevin has truly grown up and found his love and life. And their chemistry seemed quite real.
Also loved how they tied up the Cassidy-Kevin friendship - friends, work partners, but not life partners.
Just read that the actress that played Sophie might not have been able to come back to the show if Virgin River filming hadn’t been pushed to July. In that case, it would not have been Sophie.
It took less time to get Randall’s life to a good place than it did Kevin and Kate. Made sense because Randall has pretty much always had it more together than the other 2/3rd of the Big 3. And they spent a lot of time in earlier seasons with William and Randall’s birth mom.
I viewed the wedding singer more as everyone else. Was it Sophie, Cassidy or someone else. Wedding singer represented everyone else.
Without the strength of Cassidy (with her second stiff arm to Kevin this season), Sophie/Kevin Part Deux doesn’t happen I guess.
Kevin never gave Sophie the Valentine? Including before they got married the first time? Or she gave it back and he kept it? He was prepared to walk down the aisle with Madison with it still in his wallet? Guess it explains why he couldn’t say he loved Madison. And he had the Valentine in his pocket when he asked Cassidy if they could be more than friends and business partners?
I noticed when little Kevin was writing the valentines, they had ‘Circle your answer’ with a Yes and No at the bottom.
I didn’t notice if the one Kevin Kept from Sophie had a response.
Thanks. Missed that originally. Looking back, it looks like Kevin hand wrote in “Yes or No” at the bottom of each Valentine. And looking back at the one he took from his wallet to show adult Sophie, Yes as circled. Still carried it for all those years so no wonder he had issues with women. LOL
It’s been this entire season since I cried during an episode, and last night got me. Wonderful episode all around.
I’ve found myself liking Kevin more and more as the season progressed.
Kevin said this to Tess and Annie while explaining his painting when they are young girls in a previous episode. I think it’s Annie who grows up to be a therapist. She has the painting framed and hanging on the wall in her office.
I was so happy and crying with last nights episode. I have been Team Sophie and was glad it addressed the growth of Kevin. Sophie was leaps and bounds beyond him and finally he grew up!
I would have liked the makeup artist to age Sophie to 45. She looked much younger than that. Otherwise, a great episode.
Alexandra is 39. Likely production said “close enough.”
I guess we also have to take it on blind faith that he got his wallet back after he lost it on his way back from Vancouver last year. 
Good catch!
Loved it 
Just finished watching it. You guys said it all!
It was like a rom-com in the very best way. I was hanging onto my seat with the chemistry between them. I was so drawn in with the scenes of them taking a walk , in the dry cleaners, at the grocery store that if that was a cover up I would have thrown things at the tv!!!
Kevin’s kids seem to have really grounded him. I guess Sophie gets to be a step mom now. Her chance to be a mom. I hope they work it out so she can still do the nursing she loves.
Could we have a redo and see her and Kevin’s 2nd wedding instead of Kate and Phillip?! 
This show does so many things very well. The way so many things are wound together between all the seasons - like the painting thing mentioned above - is impressive.
But the one thing they KILL at SOOOO well, is the pairing of music - kind of hippy-dippy songs of old - that SOOOO perfectly match the scenes. The music on this show has caused me many, many, MANY tears!
“Only Love Can Break Your Heart.”. Brilliant use of a classic Neil Young song.