A Million Little Things Round Table: Was Jon Into Something Shady?!
Jasmine Blu
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Apparently, pizza does make everything better.
On A Million Little Things Season 1 Episode 4, the friends were able to set aside their issues and even come together for their Friday night dinner, but did it all happen too quickly?
Join TV Fanatics Rachelle Lewis, Christine Orlando, and Jack Ori as they break down another emotional hour of A Million Little Things.
What was the most interesting piece of information you learned from the flashbacks?
Rachelle: The most interesting piece of information was that six months ago, Jon was up to something shady and extremely stressed out. When he took the phone call during pizza Friday you could tell it was business, and he was hoping it was something good.
Plus, he yelled at his father-in-law, who we all found out later was memory issue like Alzheimer’s, for offering Eddie alcohol. All signs that even then he was having some serious problems.
Christine: That Jon wasn’t perfect; everything besides the shady work stuff made him seem like it up to this point. Unfortunately, he was very dismissive of Delilah’s feelings and was quick to justify his bad behavior with her father by saying that everything he did was for his family. I’m curious to see how much farther Jon’s justifications go.
Delilah: Hey, you didn't have to embarrass my dad like that.
Jon: I was trying to keep him from giving a drink to my friend with a drinking problem.
Delilah: Oh, of course, answer the phone.
Jon: Hey, everything I do, I do for this family.
Jack: It's hard for me to choose just one. For me, that comment that everything Jon did was for his family was a major clue that he was doing something shady in order to try to pay for things for the family, maybe so he could get Delilah's father treatment?
Related: A Million Little Things Season 1 Episode 4 Review: Friday Night Dinner
I also thought that his father-in-law's Alzheimers was causing a lot of stress and tension in the marriage. Also, it seemed the family was hiding its problems under the guise of being a big happy family with the pizza night tradition.
Do you feel the friends coming together and resolving their issues happened too quickly?
Rachelle: Yes, especially when it comes to Delilah. I feel everyone forgave her too quickly. Eddie took the brunt of the affair, but it takes two to tango. I don’t think the betrayal can be resolved that fast.
Maybe because they lost Jon, it helped them realize they need each other, but I thought it deserved to play out a little more. I hope there will still be ramifications for the friends concerning these issues.
Yes, you need to be there to support your friends, but does a betrayal like Eddie and Delilah’s ever really get forgiven and forgotten? I don’t think so.
Christine: Yes, especially Katherine and Eddie both being at pizza night in Delilah’s home. I can’t imagine sitting in the same room with your husband and the woman he’s been sleeping with, even if she is a friend who just lost her own husband. I thought Katherine being that forgiving came much too quickly.
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Jack: Yes and no. I dislike the double standard that Gary articulated so well with his "bro code" comment. Eddie is getting a lot more of the blame for this than Delilah, and that's simply not fair. On the other hand, neither one of them cheated on Gina, so I was glad to see her let go of her anger towards Delilah.
I thought that Katherine was again putting on a brave face when she went to pizza night and that she was mainly doing it for Theo's sake. She and Eddie seem determined to pretend in front of their son that there are no problems between them.
It seemed like they were carrying on Jon's tradition of pretending everything was fine and could be smoothed over with pizza.
What are your thoughts on Rome quitting his job to pursue his passion and still keeping Regina in the dark about his depression?
Rachelle: I think it is great he was honest with her about wanting to quit his job and make his movie. She is willing to change their lifestyle to support him, as she should because she is his wife, but she does not know the whole truth.
It is not right that Rome is keeping Regina in the dark about his depression, but I find it realistic. I like that he isn’t just running and telling her because with depression you keep from those you love the most.
I also think Rome truly believes he is unhappy because he is not making his movie and now that he is on track to do that, he won’t be depressed anymore.
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Christine: At least he told her he was miserable at his job and that’s a start. I liked Regina’s reaction. She didn’t freak out or immediately think about her restaurant. They don’t have kids, and they can cut back to make this work, at least for a while.
I can’t think it was lost on her that Jon must have been secretly miserable to commit suicide, so I think she was relieved that Rome admitted how he really felt. She had to feel a bit guilty that she never realized how bad things were for him.
Jack: I could really relate to Rome's feelings about his job, and I loved how supportive Gina was of his desire to quit.
I don't like that he's not telling her about his depression and his sessions with Maggie (please let's not have any storyline where Gina thinks he's having an affair with Maggie!). When she said she didn't realize how bad it was, I got the sense she kind of knew how serious his depression was.
Gary knows the truth about Maggie's diagnosis, and she has decided to refuse treatment. React.
Rachelle: I feel for Maggie. It is an awful predicament to be in, and I can understand why she does not want treatment. However, Gary needs to tell her he knows the truth. Living in this bubble is not going to help either one of them.
Even if she pushes him away, I hope he sticks around to find out what her story is and the real reason she does not want treatment. This is such a powerful story, and I like that Gary found out she relapsed.
Christine: Maggie is struggling right now, and I hope she turns to Gary for help. She has to be able to trust him and finding out he was sleeping his way through “women with an expiration date” didn’t help that.
Now that he knows her cancer is back, I’m hoping he can find ways to make inroads with her because he seems to care more about Maggie than he ever expected to, and she needs him more than she realizes.
Jack: I was disappointed that Gary and Maggie went so quickly from not talking to each other to more sex. I think Gary has deeper feelings for Maggie, and them jumping into bed again is going to reinforce her belief that she's just another woman with cancer for him to bed.
And I really wish that he'd told her about running into Tom. I agree that Gary needs to tell her what he knows, and I hope that he can be supportive of her decision once they actually talk about it.
Which character would you like to see more of or learn more about?
Rachelle: I would like to know more about Regina. We know she is Rome’s wife, had a failed restaurant, and is besties with Delilah, but that is it.
I would like to find out who Regina really is, and how she came into the group. What are her secrets or issues? I like her a lot, so I want to know more.
Christine: I want to find out more about Eddie and Katherine. In the pilot they let the audience assume that Eddie decided to step back and be the stay-at-home dad so that Katherine could pursue her law career.
In reality, it looks like it was something very different. I’m very curious to see how things went sideways for this couple after their son was born.
Jack: I'd like to see more of how Eddie gave up alcohol and what his addiction did to his marriage. I think in the pilot, he said something about Jon convincing him to sober up, and I'm curious how that all happened and how bad things got before.
What was your favorite scene/quote/dynamic from the episode?
Rachelle: There were a couple, but if I had to pick one it would be Eddie realizing the position he put Katherine in by making her be the strong one. He gave her no choice but to be the one to take care of the family for years. He owned that, and I thought that was a great moment.
I also liked Sophie going to Eddie to jam and Theo asking why they couldn’t stay for pizza night. Those two moments forced the adults to put their crap aside for the kids. It was a great example of kids always coming first no matter what is going on with adults.
Christine: This episode had Gerald McRaney as Lenny, Delilah’s father! He’s one of my favorite actors, so I was thrilled to see him, and as much as I didn’t like how Jon spoke to the man or spoke about him as though he wasn’t in the room, I did find that realistic.
I also appreciated that Katherine, despite everything, tried to make Sophie see that her mother is doing the best she can:
It's not easy being the strong one, the responsible one, but I promise you, everything your mom does, she does out of love. And sometimes putting on a brave face and pretending everything is fine, that's the hardest job of all.
Katherine
Jack: I loved every scene with Katherine, and I also liked the flashbacks with Eddie from his drinking days.
But my favorite subplot in this episode was definitely the story of Delilah's father developing Alzheimer's. I could relate to that, having seen it happen to my own grandfather, and it was such a sad moment in the end when he didn't remember Jon had died.
Do you agree with us, Things Fanatics? It's your turn, so hit the comments.
If you need to catch up, you can watch A Million Little Things online here via TV Fanatic.
A Million Little Things airs Wednesdays on ABC.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You'll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.
