‘A Million Little Things’ Season 1 Finale Recap: Goodbye Jon

It took this long but, A Million Little Things has finally answered that big fat question it threw in our faces in that pilot episode. Technically, the show’s title in itself is the answer to the mystery in its premise. But, in the finale episode titled ‘Goodbye,’ we’re given a more specific reason to Jon’s death. And just as Gary (James Roday) has insinuated, this goodbye isn’t as it seems.

Eddie (David Giuntoli) and Katherine (Grace Park) have signed the divorce papers. But ever since their interrupted kiss, things have shifted between them and things are looking up for the better. Though they’re still waiting for Maggie’s green light, it also seems that way for Maggie (Allison Miller) and Gary.

Meanwhile, Rome (Romany Malco) has gained confidence in his script, and Regina’s (Christina Marie Moses) restaurant is doing fantastic. However, Rome realizes he’s missing something, and it’s not something Regina wants. Delilah (Stephanie Szostak), on the other hand, confronts Barbara Morgan. And she finally finds out what broke Jon before she even met him.

Giving Away Memories

Maggie finally moves in with Gary. But, in exchange for Eddie moving out and moving to Maggie’s old place. Rome, on the other hand, kept in touch with the kid who read his script at the hospital, PJ (Chandler Riggs). Rome checks up on him, and PJ assures him that he has called Maggie and has set an appointment with her.

Jack Rowand/ABC

Later on, the gang gathers at the Dixon’s household. And the family announces that each of the group gets something cherished of Jon’s. Gary gets Jon’s prized Harvard jacket. Gina gets Jon’s first ever real estate award. Next, Sophie presents Rome with the cufflinks she got for Jon on fathers day. And Eddie gets Jon’s most prized hockey possession that isn’t from the Bruins—a Blackhawk hockey stick.

The story with this Blackhawk stick is that Jon bought the gang tickets for the Stanley cup Bruins game. And Eddie handled the itinerary which ended up having them getting a delayed flight at O’Hare back at 2011. To kill time, the four men played hockey with Blackhawk sticks and a penguin stuff toy at the airport lobby.

Maggie’s a part of the gang as much as anyone else, so Danny (Chance Hurstfield) presents a signed album from Colin Hay to Maggie as well. As they’re filing out of the house, Eddie finds out that Delilah chose Gina to be in the room with her when she gives birth. And Eddie later assures her it’s ok. Sophie suddenly calls out to Delilah and tells her that Gary knows the woman in the photo in Jon’s photo album – Barbara Morgan (Drea de Matteo). However, despite the clarity, Delilah refuses to confront Barbara or let anyone face her for that matter. Sophie tries to talk to her but, Delilah remains fearful.

Second Hope

Eddie heads on home to deliver the news to Theo with Katherine. However, Katherine stops him and confronts him about the almost kiss they had before Theo’s sleepwalking interrupted. And she admits that she has been thinking about it ever since. As soon as the words are out, Eddie swoops in and kisses her. As they part, Katherine also admits not filling the divorce papers in hope. And she urges Eddie to come home. Before they can continue smooching in the kitchen any further, the fire alarm ticks because of the forgotten grilled cheese sandwich. And they move any further plans to dinner.

Jack Rowand/ ABC

Meanwhile, Gary and Maggie wait in suspense for Maggie’s results. Gary promises to love Maggie no matter how long their forever is. And when the doctor comes in, he makes it nice and quick – Maggie is in remission. Filled with intense relief, Maggie starts laughing uncontrollably. And though not knowing why, Gary soon follows.

Later on back at Gary’s apartment, Maggie finally assembles the dresser and starts unpacking her boxes, something she’s never done in earnest before. As Gary helps her unpack, the emotions get to Maggie. She packed her whole life into those boxes so no one would have to do it. But now, she’s unpacking them herself because of Gary.

On the other hand, Gina and Rome are out to test drive cars. Rome is talking all about practicality. But, when his dream sports car comes into view, that practicality resolve quickly crumbles with Gina’s urging. After an exciting test drive, Gina nudges Rome to take the dive and buy the car. Rome finally gives in but, only if they could get a very good deal for it which Gina assures him she’ll get.

September 11, 2001

Contrary to her first thoughts, Delilah goes ahead and knocks on Barbara Morgan’s door. Mitch Nelson (Rhys Coiro), the man of the house, tries to deny that Barbara lives there. But, Barbara speaks up from the inside and lets Delilah in. Mitch reminds Barbara that Patrick would be home in 20 minutes and Delilah needs to be gone by then.

Jack Rowand/ ABC

Barbara explains that she dated Jon’s roommate Dave way back when they were still living in the apartment Jon couldn’t let go. And one time, Jon convinced Dave to tag along to a real estate conference. The pair was supposed to fly out on September 11, 2001. But just before the flight, Jon went out to buy some wine. He came back to find the door closing on him. And despite his best efforts to convince the stewardess Sophie to let him in, she firmly refused. Jon called Dave. And moments later, Jon realized that was the last time he was ever going to talk to his friend ever again. Dave’s flight was one of the planes hijacked and crashed into one of the Twin Towers. And Jon missed it by mere seconds.

A couple of months later, he met up with Barbara on Dave’s birthday. She was already visibly pregnant and engaged to Mitch, a first responder firefighter back then. Unlike her, Jon couldn’t get past Dave. And instead of being happy for Barbara, he left her with some hurtful words. At the airport bar, he dropped the plane ticket he never got to use, and a woman plucked it off the ground for him. That’s when he met Delilah.

Revelation

All that and a thousand tearful apologies was what was in the memory card that Jon sent to Barbara. Not being able to bear any more, Delilah stops the video. And Barbara tells her that she let Jon live for those 17 years until she couldn’t anymore as Delilah admitted. When Delilah asks why Mitch didn’t want Barbara telling her all this, she realizes that Delilah’s child doesn’t know what happened to his father. Suddenly, Mitch barges in and tells Delilah to go since his “son” is home.

Jack Rowand/ ABC

Back home, Delilah tells Gary and Maggie everything. It turns out, Jon’s guilt has driven him to keep his grief from everyone and try to save them in retaliation to how he couldn’t save Dave. As Gary notes, finding out this truth doesn’t make him feel any better or any more fulfilled. And Maggie tells him he might never probably feel better about it at all. She reminds them that it’s not just one stone but, a lot of them stacked on top of one another that drove Jon to do what he did.

Meanwhile, Katherine prepares to head home when Hunter (Henderson Wade) stops her. He said he wants to clear the air and get rid of the awkwardness between them that came from him making partner to the firm. As he tells Katherine that he’s concerned it’s starting to affect her work, her eyebrows shoot up (I mean, come on. Really?). With a smile, Katherine clarifies that he made partner because she turned it down. And maybe even a lot more candidates came after before Hunter finally said yes to the offer.  With a pat on his arm, she leaves to have dinner with her family.

Unfulfilled

On a chipper note, Gina successfully gets Rome’s dream car for an excellent deal. As they wait for the staff to prep the car, the couple gets into a normal family car. Rome looks to the other car beside them and sees a family with a child playing with the steering wheel. And with Jon’s cufflinks in sight, he turns to Gina and suggests they get the family car instead. Gina points out the obvious and zeroes in on the fact that it’s for people with kids. And to her surprise, Rome stands firm on his decision.

Jack Rowand/ ABC

Gary, on the other hand, is still on a damper. As he watches Maggie plug in her phone to charge, he reminisces his last conversation with Jon. They got into a fight because Gary broke up with a woman who was trying to leave her charger at his place. And the only thing he wishes is for Jon to be there as he admits that Jon did take care of them all. Maggie agrees but also warns Gary that he might be doing the same thing Jon did. And with Gary still in the dumps, Maggie decides to take things to her own hands and tells Gary to grab his coat.

Meanwhile, Delilah wanders into Jon’s office. She finds the framed piece of paper where she wrote her number the first time she and Jon met. Turning it around, she discovers it was the ticket Jon was supposed to use on the flight with Dave. And also on the wall is a jersey hung and framed shown to be what Jon was wearing on that fateful day. As the realizations settle in, Delilah feels the first pang of a contraction.

Goodbye

As Gina turns to her husband surprised of his sudden change of mind, Rome finally admits that he wants a kid with her. But, Gina reminds him that it was their agreement when they got married that they didn’t want kids. She also points out that they had too much on their plate and that she’s still worried about Rome. However, Rome takes all the responsibility and assures her that they’ll make it work. Unfortunately, the argument is cut short with Delilah’s call.

Jack Rowand/ ABC

Rome and Gina rush to Delilah’s and take her to the hospital with the kids. As they wait, Sophie and Danny comfort their mother. And when Delilah’s finally wheeled in, Gina takes a moment to have a word with her husband. Though she wants to fully support whatever Rome wants, having a child would be her limit. And that is her final decision.

The tension isn’t toned down either at Katherine’s end. As she’s preparing dinner, waiting for Eddie to come home, she gets a call from him. Then she hears his anxious voice telling her to meet him outside. To truly commit to their fresh start, Eddie decides to stick to his promise and tell her the truth about Delilah’s baby.

On the other hand, Maggie takes Gary to Jon’s grave. Alone in front of a tombstone, Gary tells Jon everything he’s been wanting to say. And while standing there in the cold air, Gary finally says the one thing he didn’t get to say – goodbye.

Back at the Nelson’s, a boy sits at the couch intently listening to the voice of the man who is in the middle of all this. And as his mother calls out to him for dinner, PJ quickly shuts the laptop and cuts Jon’s video off.

‘A Million Little Things’ Season 1: Overall Verdict

In the beginning, the show seemed no more than a bolder and heavier This Is Us: Friends version drama to me. What sealed the deal for me, however, was the upfront yet thoughtful way it dealt with a key point of its premise—mental illness. And guilty as charged, at the start, I was simply waiting for the show to blow off the trigger. Thankfully, it came nowhere near that.

Though not as grand as what one would expect of a first season finale, “Goodbye” closed off in solemn success. Jon’s story is closing and thought it’s not as fulfilling; it reminds us that nothing almost ever really is as such when it comes to stories like these. But, it did leave plenty of open doors for the next season to play around with. Hopefully, A Million Little Things season 2 would stick to its bold streak. And hopefully, as well, the story would build a more solid style and consistency to keep its episodes closer together the next season around. Until then, it’s time to live our own little lives with our own million little things.