A Million Little Things Season 2 Episode 14 Review: The Sleepover
Jasmine Blu
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Your past will always catch up to and haunt you.
It'll also bond you with those you care about, and both examples were featured prominently on A Million Little Things Season 2 Episode 14.
Heck, maybe we can toss in a classic "be careful what you wish for," too, with Sophie's return.
The angst between Sophie and her mother was an issue for a bit, and Sophie's potentially inappropriate relationship with Jake, the older teen who works at Someday, got pushed aside for family reunions with Papa and forgiveness.
Except, now Sophie is back at the Dixon home and obsessing over her new boyfriend.
No one was paying too much attention to her typical teenage, starry-eyed infatuation with the busboy who probably smells like AXE and bad intentions. However, it all changed when Gary found the baggie of joints in Sophie's sleeping bag.
Sophie was so busy being awesome during A Million Little Things Season 2 Episode 13; it was easy to forget she's still in a bit of a rebellious phase and did things like got drunk off cheap liquor with her best friend before a game.
It's a sign of the times where Gary finding a bag of marijuana only elicited a shrug at most. We've become laxer about that particular recreational drug use, and it doesn't have the same shock value or come with the same level of concern as something else.
Colin, did you just hear what happened? D just gave Danny permission to have a sleepover with his boyfriend.
Gary
What do we do here? Ground her again and have the friendship group chill out at one of their houses and smoke them up themselves while being silly, talking about their feelings, and pigging out on Regina's food?
Sign me up for that, to be honest. It could be an amusing as hell hour, especially if Eddie has to be the only sober one in the bunch. You need a straight-man.
It could explain why Sophie was in hysterics about Jake's mishap of buying grapes instead of blueberries, but it's mostly headed toward the troubled boyfriend route.
Sophie should follow in her brother's footsteps and find a sweet boy to have such precious moments together that it forces Gary to reminisce on what he had with Maggie.
Delilah wasn't kidding when she said Danny was a young 13. Even though he lowkey manipulated her into having a sleepover with his boyfriend, one of those inevitable moments that will arise when you have a young LGBTQ child with same-sex friends, Danny wasn't setting out to do any hanky-panky.
He and Elliott are so pure and sweet. They transfer you to the wonder and beauty of young, first love, and the innocence of it.
Danny Dixon, you changed my life, and how I pack forever.
Elliott
Danny almost couldn't enjoy his sleepover that served as a final date with Elliott because of the news that Elliott was moving away. It was a bittersweet time for Danny, but they played it all so well.
Danny and Elliott holding hands in their sleep was adorable, and their final goodbye was charming enough to make you place your hand over your heart.
You understood why it got Gary in his feelings about Maggie, and there is something beautiful about the creative choice to make Danny and Elliott's relationship parallel Gary and Maggie's.
It's equally as poignant that a young Danny is someone who inspires Gary in a way no other adult can. No, they are not peers, but their bond has equity. Gary gets as much sage advice and life lessons from Danny as he does from Gary.
You know how hard it was to find someone who gets me?
Danny
It's why their relationship is so satisfactory.
Gary and Maggie are trying to do their best to keep boundaries with one another, but they can't stay away for long.
They dance somewhere in the middle of codependency and hopelessly in love. They can't avoid being in each other's lives, no matter how much they try.
Maggie was struggling, going through the testing for her six-month check-up and waiting for the results. She called Delilah for support, but it was Gary she wanted.
When you get there, please tell Maggie that I'm thinking about her. She made this appointment when she first went in remission, and I put it on my calendar because I thought I would be going with her.
Gary
He was her person for her entire battle with cancer since she moved to Boston. He was there every step of the way, so it didn't feel right not having him there for that too.
Little did she know, Gary was distracting himself at the Dixon house the whole day because of his worry and concern for her. He had the appointment marked down on his calendar.
They were behaving more like teenagers than Danny by using Delilah as their go-between, communicating through her rather than texting or calling each other directly.
Cancer is what bonded them. The foundation of their relationship rested on cancer, and Maggie didn't want it to be everything between them.
It gets easier, you know.
Gary
Living six months to six months.
It'll always be between them, though. For six months at a time, they'll keep facing it. It's nothing wrong with it being the thing that bonds them.
It's no way they can ever extricate themselves and their relationship from cancer. They have to learn to balance it better, but that's about all they can do.
They're slowly finding their way back to each other, though. Maggie and Gary are a case of two people who love each other but aren't together, and for the most part, they don't even know why they aren't together anymore.
Gary has a way of putting feelers out there. He spoke about Danny and Elliott when he talked to Maggie, but we all know they were referring to themselves.
Gary: Stay healthy, Bloom.
Maggie: You too, Mendez.
He doesn't know if he can find someone who understands him like Maggie. He doesn't think he'll find love again, and Maggie told him he can and would.
It's like they're at an emotional impasse.
Both of them want to move on, and they know it's the healthiest thing to do. They keep dancing around it.
Neither of them wants to move on.
Meanwhile, the Savilles are still trying to figure out how to do that.
The repercussions of Eddie's affair still linger, and they always will. It's a wound that heals, but there will always be a scar that serves as a reminder.
Are we rehearsing, or are we joking around?!
Theo
Katherine wanted everyone to live in their truth so they could all heal. It was reasonable, but she was unprepared for what the after-effects looked like.
It was time for Theo to show overt signs that he was disappointed in his parents for their actions.
Theo threw so much shade, I thought there was an eclipse. The Savilles have been stable and happy, and they're more enjoyable this way, but it doesn't mean Theo's irritation with his father wasn't delicious.
Yes, I know this annoys some of you, but I am petty, this is entertainment, and it's my kind of drama under these circumstances. Sorry, not sorry.
Eddie: Hey T, that was really rude. I thought you were excited to work with Dakota. What changed?
Theo: I realized I don't like her.
Eddie: And why not?
Theo: I don't know. I just don't.
Eddie: But that doesn't mean you can't be nice. She's a friend.
Theo: Friends like you and Aunt Delilah? Are you going to have a baby with her too?
Interestingly enough, Eddie and Dakota's relationship feels more like a sibling bond.
If Eddie used to be as close to his sister as implied, Dakota may have stirred up those fraternal feelings in him. God knows he doesn't view the women in the group as sisters, and he isn't close to anyone else outside of them.
All the musically inclined people jamming out in the garage was cute. Eddie went out of his way to incorporate Theo into the process.
Theo and Dakota got along well, and their interactions made you smile. Dakota and Eddie's interactions didn't make Theo smile, though.
You know I saw how the truth affected Delilah and her kids. I guess I just wasn't prepared for how it was going to affect Theo. But this is part of our story now, and it always will be.
Katherine
He's a smart kid, and he pays attention to everything even if he doesn't say anything. Theo side-eying any woman Eddie interacts with was bound to come up.
He doesn't want a repeat of his father cheating on his mom or having another baby, but he also doesn't want his mother to go away again.
He knew his mother took a break because of what happened with Eddie and finding out Charlie was his.
Theo was able to put it aside when he didn't have to see his father interacting with another woman, but Dakota's presence brought it all back.
Katherine: What's on your mind, T?
Theo: Dad and Aunt Delilah had Charlie. What if the same thing happens with Dakota?
He put a wall up, and he shut his father out. It was brutal, but Theo's entitled to his feelings.
It also was another reminder of how much Theo is like Katherine. It wasn't a surprise that Theo was probably behaving as though he could respond to Eddie on Katherine's behalf.
Katherine speaking to Theo about how close she was to Jon was sweet. She brought it up again with Eddie too, and one of the biggest shames is that we never got to physically see their relationship in any of the flashbacks.
She considered Jon her person, and she thought about him every day after he died. We don't always have access to Katherine's feelings; it's a recent development, so we didn't get to see any of that.
Katherine's words were nice, but they weren't persuasive. Eddie talking to Theo was more effective.
Katherine forgave him, and she's giving him another chance to honor his promises, but Eddie had to have a separate exchange with Theo.
The Savilles do a decent job of including Theo in conversations and explaining things to him in an age-appropriate manner.
Theo: Hey, that's my mom's mug.
Dakota: What?
Theo: K is for Katherine.
Dakota: I'm sorry. I didn't know.
Theo: E is for Eddie.
Dakota: If you want to use a mug, use one of the blank ones nobody cares about.
And they respect his feelings. Sometimes parents have a habit of dismissing their children's feelings, but theirs are just as valid as an adult.
The Savilles are hitting some patches, but they've done well.
Did anyone catch that Rome referred to Katherine as one of his best friends? My first reaction was "since when." Katherine is still mostly the friend everyone else calls when they need something, but whatever.
It helps to have a friend who practices law and has connections to lawyers in all the applicable fields. Rome and Gina needed someone to help Eve file a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend.
Everything was going well. They saw their baby on the sonogram, and they heard the heartbeat. They have bonded with Eve, and she trusts that they will be the best parents for her baby. But them noticing the burns on her shoulder changed things, and then her freakout opened the floodgates.
Gina: Well, you're safe here, honey.
Eve: No, I'm not. He traveled all the way from Philly to find me. You don't know what he's capable of. If he can find me at the diner, he can find me anywhere. It was boiling water, my scar. I was making tea; he picked it up off the stove and threw the whole thing at me. That was the night I decided to leave.
Her abusive boyfriend tracked her down. She's terrified, and she wanted to run again.
Rome went into protective mode. He wanted to not only help Eve, but he wants the mother of their child to stay in town. But Regina was right about making decisions for Eve. They couldn't do that for her.
They were able to encourage her to file a suit, and Katherine is doing it on her own dime and time because of course, she is.
Katherine is the best, but like she said, "we all know an Eve."
Gina: I can't tell you how much I appreciate this Katherine. It's really cool your firm does so much pro bono work.
Katherine: They don't. But I wish they did.
Gina: Thank you.
Katherine: We all know an Eve.
The problem with filing a restraining order is it still alerts the person where their target is.
To take steps toward feeling safe, you have to put yourself in an unsafe position in a way.
Your heart breaks for Eve and the constant state of fear she lives in. Rome empathized as much as anyone who hasn't endured what she has could, and Regina shared her traumatic past with Eve.
Gina couldn't sit back and not take action, so in the end, the Howards reached a foregone conclusion that they must protect Eve right now.
I know we promised Eve we would love and protect the baby, but right now, the person we need to protect is Eve.
Gina
We knew it would happen. They're beautiful, kindhearted people.
Eve does need to move into a safe house. It's better equipped for these situations, and they can protect her better than the Howards can in their apartment.
But they did hire her at Someday. I'm uneasy about the situation. We know he's coming back.
It'll probably mean Eve gets to confront her abuser, which is something Regina never got to do. It'll be gratifying when that happens, but it's terrifying nonetheless.
Over to you, AMLT Fanatics. Which storyline has gripped you the most? Sound off below with all of your thoughts.
You can watch A Million Little Things online here via TV Fanatic.
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.
