A Million Little Things Round Table: What Did Jon's Message Really Mean?
Jasmine Blu
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The guys stepped up for the Dixon children in the wake of Jon's absence.
On A Million Little Things Season 1 Episode 2 Gary and Rome stepped up for Danny and Sophia. Meanwhile, Eddie worked up the nerve to listen to Jon's voicemail.
Join TV Fanatics Christine Orlando, Rachelle Lewis, and Jack Ori as they discuss "Band of Dads."
Why do you think Jon was trying to hide his insurance policy from Ashley? Who is Barbara Morgan?
Christine: I wish I knew! Jon obviously had a lot of secrets, and Ashley must have known about some of them or, she wouldn’t have been going through his private documents and deleting files. I’m all the more curious to find out what these two were up to.
As for Barbara Morgan? I don’t know if she’s a real person or a made up name designed to hide more secrets.
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Rachelle: I have no idea at all! I was shocked by the insurance policy revelation. I agree with Christine, she knew about a lot of his secrets, but he didn’t trust her with everything. It makes me wonder if when Ashley was deleting the files, she was doing that to protect herself, not Jon.
I don’t necessarily think Barbara Morgan is a real person. I think it could be a fake name to protect someone else but not sure who it is. Jon appears to have had numerous secrets; it makes me wonder if anyone really knew him at all.
Maybe, he had another family, or maybe he was not really Jon Dixon? Whatever the secret, I think it will be something fans least expect.
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Jack: I'm with Christine and Rachelle on this. I'm totally in the dark about what's going on here and can't wait to find out. I thought Barbara Morgan might be a code name for Delilah herself, but that doesn't make any sense.
Eddie admitted he doesn't love himself right now. Do you find him sympathetic?
Christine: Marginally. He’s a part of a bad marriage that involves a young child. What he should do is either work on the marriage or work on ending it.
Having an affair never makes things better, and he can’t expect that being with Delilah will magically make his life better. It feels like Eddie isn’t working towards fixing anything, which makes it difficult to feel sympathy towards him.
Rachelle: There were moments in the episode where I found myself sympathetic to Eddie. I do not condone him having an affair, or his pushing to be with Delilah right now.
Eddie has issues of his own to work on, being in a loveless marriage for one, but it seems like he just wants a quick fix for his unhappiness. The fact that he is so miserable makes me feel for him because that is no way to live, but his actions dealing with his unhappiness are making me not like him.
Jack: I guess I'm the only one who finds Eddie sympathetic, but I do. I think he feels a lot of guilt about not being faithful and about Jon's death. I don't think it's cool for him to keep approaching Delilah and he has to decide on his marriage, but I do think he's trying to do the best he can in the situation.
Plus, it's not as if Delilah is blameless in this. She initiated it, and now that Jon is gone seems to be punishing Eddie by trying to exclude him from the group.
What do you think Jon meant in the voicemail he left for Eddie?
Christine: It could have been a general message to the entire group about loving one another once Jon was gone, but Eddie’s guilty conscience is making it much more personal.
Rachelle: I think it was about loving the whole group. If he were speaking about his family specifically, Jon would not have been so vague. To me, it was more of a general message. For all we know, he could have been telling Eddie to love his wife and child.
Jack: I agree, it was a general message. It was sort of like an audio suicide note. I do wonder what would have happened if Eddie had picked up -- would he have realized Jon was about to kill himself, and would it have made a difference if he had?
Jon seemed to have put all his affairs in order before his suicide, so he had been planning this a while.
What would you grade the guys on their first run as the Dixon kids' "band of dads?"
Christine: They get a solid B. Eddie may have bailed in the end, but Rome stepped up, and Gary is turning out to be a great support system for Danny.
Rachelle: They were amazing! I give them a B as well. Even though there were stumbling blocks, the guys stepped up and are at least making an effort.
They are going to make mistakes, but the fact they are taking on the responsibility is great. I look forward to seeing more of the moments like the dance recital, as well as Gary’s talks with Danny.
Jack: I would give them an A-. They put their all into stepping up, and I think if Eddie didn't have this Delilah situation he wouldn't have bailed.
Did Gary make the right call giving Rome an ultimatum? Do you think Rome will follow up?
Christine: Yes. Someone needs to push Rome to get help because the things that drove him to try and kill himself aren’t just going to disappear because Jon is dead. Rome needs help, and I’m glad Gary is pushing him to get it.
Rachelle: 100% yes, he made the right call. Right now, Rome is pushing aside his own issues because of Jon’s death, but his problem will catch up to him.
I like that Gary, who seems less responsible and goofier, was the one to give him the ultimatum. I know it is not ethical, but I hope Rome keeps seeing Maggie, he seemed comfortable with her, and maybe they can help each other.
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Jack: Absolutely yes.
I think the fact that Rome gave Gary the name of the therapist Maggie referred him to is a good sign that he intends to follow up. I also liked that Maggie followed ethical guidelines and referred him elsewhere after making sure he wasn't actively suicidal instead of ignoring the conflict of interest for the sake of convenience.
Anyway, Rome was still thinking about it since he imagined jumping as Jon did, so he needed help, and I'm glad Gary pushed him. I found Gary annoying during the first episode, but he was much more likable now, and seeing him support Rome helped with that.
What was your favorite scene and/or quote?
Christine: When Danny wondered if he was the reason why his father killed himself, I got teary-eyed. I was so relieved he had Gary to open up to, and that Gary not only wasn’t surprised to find out that Danny likes boys, but that he was incredibly supportive. I wanted to hug them both.
Rachelle: I agree with Christine. All of the Danny and Gary moments were amazing, and I too wanted to hug them. I also loved when Sophie realized Jon had not forgotten about her. Jon made sure she had the best partner at the recital in Rome, and the moment she understood that was so precious it made me tear up,
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Jack: All of the above, but for me, the scene that did it was when Sophie mentioned having no one to dance with at the father/daughter dance and Danny offered to dance with her. It was such a sweet moment.
It's your turn, Million Little Things Fanatics! Do you agree or disagree with our panel? Hit the comment below!
If you missed anything, you can watch A Million Little Thing online here at TV Fanatic.
A Million Little Things continues Wednesday 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.
