A Million Little Things Round Table: Can Gary Respect Maggie's Decision and Stand By Her?
Jasmine Blu
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Rome is taking the necessary steps toward getting himself the help that he needs.
On A Million Little Things Season 1 Episode 5, Rome sat down with Dr. Heller, spoke to his parents, and he chose to take anti-depressants. He's well on his way to helping himself.
Meanwhile, Gary came around to accepting Maggie's devastating decision to forego treatment. Eddie and Katherine called it quits, and Delilah found out some shocking news.
Join TV Fanatics Christine Orlando, Rachelle Lewis, and Jack Ori as they discuss an emotional hour.
Was there any part of you that hoped Eddie and Katherine could work things out after his grand gesture with the school play?
Christine: Winning Katherine back with one, big, grand gesture would be far too easy and unrealistic, not to mention that she deserves much more from Eddie. That said, I was almost rooting for it to work, not for Eddie’s sake, but for Theo’s. Instead of working on his marriage, Eddie made selfish choices that will impact Theo's life forever.
Rachelle: I never thought Eddie and Katherine would work things out. There has been too much damage for the years.
What I think the grand gesture showed was that, despite their differences, they can work together to co-parent Theo. Eddie knew that not only was it important for Katherine to not miss the play, but it was also important to Theo.
Jack: It wouldn't have been realistic if everything was perfect after the one grand gesture, but I was hoping for it to be a step towards reconciliation.
I loved Katherine questioning why she didn't feel she deserved more, but I also thought that maybe with marriage counseling (and individual counseling for both of them) they could eventually fully resolve the problems in their marriage.
Will Gary be able to stand by Maggie even though he doesn't understand her decision? Do you think a part of Maggie is reconsidering things because of Gary?
Christine: I hope she’s reconsidering because she’s so young, and I want her to have a chance, but cancer treatments can completely take over your life. If she really feels like she doesn’t have much of a chance, I can understand her making the most of the time she has left.
I think Gary is far stronger than he believes, and he can be there for Maggie through this, no matter what she decides…but it’s going to hurt like hell if she doesn’t make it.
Rachelle: I don’t think Gary will be able to stand by Maggie if she doesn’t get treatment. He doesn’t understand her decision, he doesn’t agree with it, and he cares too much about losing her. I think for a little while, he can put his own feelings aside, but in the end, he won’t be able to stand by and watch her die.
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I agree with Christine. I hope Maggie is reconsidering getting treatment. I think the way she feels about Gary is having an impact on her choice.
I really like Maggie and Gary together, so I want her to get treatment and live. I think it would prove to both of them how strong they are, as well as how this fun hook-up has turned into a real meaningful relationship they both needed.
Jack: I don't think Gary can do it. I think from his perspective, he already lost a friend to suicide and now his girlfriend is asking him to support her doing the same thing.
I'm hoping Maggie reconsiders because I love her and Gary together. It would suck for him to finally grow past meaningless sex and develop a real relationship, only for the first woman he allowed himself to be intimate with to die a slow, painful death.
Also, I understand Maggie's decision to a point, but I kept thinking when she said that she wants to enjoy the quality of life she has left, that at a certain point, she's going to be very sick and not have much quality of life left, and as a viewer I selfishly do not want to see that any more than Gary does.
What did you enjoy most about Rome's arc during this episode?
Christine: I loved when his mother came to him and encouraged him to take care of himself and admitted that Rome’s father has had his own issues over the years.
It’s not unusual for the older generation to think that dealing with depression and other mental health issues are just being whiny or weak, so I was happy that Rome didn’t appear to let his father influence his decision to get help.
Rachelle: Rome’s arc was amazing. It speaks to how families, especially older generations don’t talk about sadness and depression. People put on a brave face as opposed to admitting they are sad.
I loved the moment when Rome’s mom told him his father had issues. She encouraged her son to seek the help her husband never did. Plus, she didn’t want Rome to hide his feelings the way her husband did.
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I think that gave Rome a sense of validation that it was OK for him to take care of himself. Even though he originally was looking for validation from his dad, it still meant a lot to get it from his mom.
Jack: I loved the scenes with Rome's parents and agree with what everyone else said.
I also loved the scene where he decided to take the anti-depressant. That was something he had seemed resistant to before, and I was glad he was beginning to accept the need for help. I thought it must be especially hard for him to take a pill when the last time he had a pill bottle in his hand he was trying to kill himself.
Delilah is pregnant, and it's possible that Eddie is the father. React.
Christine: First off, I was crushed for Rome. He and Regina made the decision not to have kids, but he seemed so hopeful when he thought she was pregnant.
Delilah is in quite a quandary. She seems financially stable enough to raise another child, but I do wonder if things will fall apart once whatever Jon was into at work comes to light.
Also, a pregnancy will mean that her kids will learn about her affair, and that’s the last thing they need to be dealing with after losing their dad. How soon can you get a DNA test?
Also, if she decides to keep the pregnancy and it's Eddie's, it wouldn’t surprise me if he instantly decides he’s back in love with Delilah again. Eddie seems to want whatever he thinks he can’t have.
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He switched from being head over heels for Delilah to going all out to win back Katherine pretty quickly. I don’t doubt he’d swing back the other way just as easily.
Rachelle: Ditto. I was crushed when Rome found out Regina wasn’t pregnant. He looked so heartbroken. Even though they had decided never to have kids, he got excited about the possibility of being a father. I think it was something he always kind of wanted but never admitted to anyone including himself.
I do not like that Delilah is pregnant. There is already so much drama going on, and the friends are just starting to heal. I feel it was an unnecessary plot to have a "who is the daddy" storyline.
It honestly made me upset the show went this route. I would rather have seen more of Delilah interacting with her kids, then now being pregnant and having to tell them the baby might not be their dad's. I can’t get on board with this storyline at all.
Jack: I don't like "who's the daddy" storylines thanks to too much soap viewing where it happens way too much. And I'm not sure there's any way it could possibly be Jon's.
I was also crushed by Rome learning he wasn't going to be a father. I don't think having a baby is a way to solve depression, but he did seem like once he got over the initial shock he was hopeful about it.
Who was the MVP of the episode?
Christine: Can I pick two? Gary and Maggie made my heart ache in this episode. I could see both sides and all of it hurt. The scene where Gary begged her not to get out of the car was one of the best of the series.
Rachelle: I think both Katherine and Eddie were the MVPs. She worked so hard to make it to Theo’s play, and he worked so hard to delay so she could make it. I also think the decision to divorce was a smart one but not an easy one for either of them.
It made me a little sad to see Eddie move out, but I loved the moment where she told Gary to take care of him. It showed not only that she still loves Eddie, but despite her dislike of Gary, she knows he is the one who can help Eddie right now.
Jack: This was such a heartbreaking episode. I was in tears when Gary begged Maggie not to get out of the car and when he realized what her winning the basketball game meant.
But I thought Sophie was the MVP, dealing with so many deep and conflicting emotions about her dad's death on top of the normal intense emotions of teenager-hood.
What was your favorite scene and/or quote?
Christine: Since I already mentioned Gary and Maggie for MVP, I’m going to go with Sophie’s story. The 15-year-old is struggling with her father’s suicide, and to have some other teenager say those things only added to her pain and anger.
Although I don’t condone violence, I completely understand Sophie punching Chloe, and I liked how Delilah handled the situation with punching the dummy, ice cream, and lots of talking.
Rachelle: Gary and Maggie playing basketball. He totally thought he would school her, but little did he know, she played in college. It was great to watch them try to outplay each other. Maggie’s reaction when she won was hilarious but also sad because it meant she was not getting treatment.
Jack: There were a lot of scenes I loved here, but for me, one of the most emotional was that little scene where Katherine and Eddie told Theo about the divorce. Theo's tears as he asked Eddie to FaceTime with him were so real, and it was such an authentic moment.
It's your turn Million Things Fanatics! Hit the comments with your thought!
You can watch A Million Little Things online 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.
