Rohan Jain
Based on the eponymous novel by Kristin Hannah, ‘Firefly Lane’ is an emotional drama TV series created by Maggie Friedman. The story follows childhood best friends Tully Hart and Kate Mularkey from their teens to adulthood as they go through various ups and downs of life from the 1970s to the early 2000s. At different stages, Tully and Kate try to figure out relationships, careers, past trauma, and more. But, certain incidents change their life forever, putting their bond to the test.
Season 2, part 1, picks up immediately after season 1’s events and makes us wonder why Kate and Tully stop talking. But toward the end of season 2, part 1, we discover something more shocking. It leaves us with several questions about Kate, Tully, and Johnny. So, here’s everything you need to know about the ending of ‘Firefly Lane‘ season 2, part 1. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Firefly Lane Recap
In season 2, part 1, Kate and Tully are not on talking terms due to some accident involving Tully. Following this, the narrative cuts back to the past, and we see Kate and Tully lead their lives as high schoolers, journalists at KPOC, and middle-aged women. During their high school period, Tully and Kate spend some time apart because the latter is living with her grandma. The two write to each other, but it isn’t enough for Tully, who feels lonely. One day Tully sees a photograph of her mom, Cloud, and another man. Tully realizes the man could be her father and sets out to find him. On her way, she picks up Kate, who wants to go on a hitchhiking trip to get the “cool” status at school. Things turn out disappointing when Tully cannot find her dad.
In addition, Kate and Tully are stuck at a restaurant without money. A fight breaks out between the besties as Kate blames Tully for being irresponsible and reckless. The two decide to break their friendship, but after a year, they patch up again. During the KPOC phase of their lives, Tully and Kate’s life is far more happening. Kate and Johnny are in their dating phase but have different ideas about their future together. While Kate wants a marriage and a few kids, Johnny doesn’t subscribe to the conventional concept of their relationship. As a result, the two break up, and Kate starts seeing Theo, a guy she meets at a bar. When Johnny figures out how much he loves Kate and tries to profess his feelings, he realizes he might have missed his chance.
Meanwhile, Tully is busy trying to become the next Jean Enersen. But, a new competitive reporter, Danny, enters the picture and gives her a run for her money. Despite being work rivals, the two form a physical relationship and start liking each other. However, Danny moves to New York after getting a better job, which makes Tully sad. Following this, Tully’s weekend show’s ratings begin to drop, and she tries everything she can to improve. One night when Kate and Tully are at the office, the latter unwittingly starts a fire and burns the office down. Kate takes the blame because she knows how much the job means to Tully. As a result, Kate gets fired.
As middle-aged women, Tully and Kate deal with numerous things. Tully starts her blog, where Kate produces her content, and the two again embark on the quest to find Tully’s father. This time, Tully does get an answer, but somehow she still feels lonely. In the meantime, Johnny and Kate realize they still have feelings for each other. As the narrative progresses, the two finally admit their feelings and begin having honest conversations. One night when they want some alone time, they send their daughter Marah to Kate’s place, where an unfortunate incident occurs. Due to this, Kate and Tully have a fallout, and the former is not ready to forgive the latter anytime soon.
As the year passes, Johnny and Kate get closer and feel ready to cement their relationship. However, Kate discovers something shocking about herself, which might derail all her plans for a future with Johnny. The show fast-forwards ten years into the future, where Johnny is standing at a wedding and wonders where the bride is. The way the narrative unfolds with these three characters, we wonder about several arcs and subplots. Who is getting married in the end? What happened to Kate? Did Tully and Kate ever patch up? Well, allow us to shed some light on all these questions.
Firefly Lane Ending: Who is Getting Married in the End? Theories
Tully, or Kate and Johnny’s daughter, Marah, is getting married in the end. There are two plausible theories behind the previous statement. In the first theory, Tully is getting married to someone she truly loves, whereas according to the second theory, it is Marah’s wedding day. Let us explore both options and see which is the more probable one.
In the climax scene, Kate’s brother Sean asks Johnny if he’s ready for the big day. An anxious Johnny nervously replies that he is ready, but the bride is nowhere to be seen. Following this, we see Tully in a room in front of a mirror, wearing a silky white robe, and checking herself out. We hear two knocks, and she says that the day cannot begin without her. The statement hints that Tully could be the bride, and it’s her wedding. We also see a cloth hanging behind her door, which looks like a veil. Considering Tully has always pushed people away from her life, she likely took ten more years to find and marry the right man.
Alternatively, the entire scene might be set up to deceive the audience. Here are a few things that make us wonder if it is Tully’s wedding. Firstly, Sean mentions that it is Johnny’s big day. Although Tully and Johnny have had a fling, it was almost over two decades ago. The two never saw each other that way after Johnny married Kate. So, it is unlikely that Tully and Johnny will get married after ten years.
Secondly, in season 1, the audience believes that Johnny is the person who is going to die. We see Johnny get into a blast while he’s in Iraq. We also see Kate and Tully exchange words at a funeral. These two scenes lead us to the false conclusion that Johnny dies in the show. However, we only later discover that the funeral was for Kate’s father, Bud. Similarly, season 2, part 1, might also be trying to divert our attention.
Since it’s Johnny’s big day, let’s narrow down our prospects to those closest to him – Kate, Marah, and Tully. Kate is probably not marrying Johnny on the big day because they wouldn’t have waited ten years to cement their relationship. Tully is out of the question in this theory, which leaves us with Marah. Johnny loves Marah to death, and after the blast in Iraq, he envisioned her in the red dress. Johnny is also a protective father, which indicates why he is nervous about the big day. Finally, Tully’s statement is akin to how she usually talks. She and Marah are quite close, which means, without Tully, the wedding will not begin. Thus, all these aspects lead us to conclude that Marah is getting married in the end.
Did Kate Die?
Kate discovers she has a rare type of breast cancer that spreads rapidly. The doctor tells her she needs to start treatment immediately, and the news devastates her. Although the show doesn’t reveal whether Kate dies, she might likely die for two significant reasons. The doctor mentions how dangerously fast her cancer spreads, which means she has a lesser chance of mitigating its effects and overcoming the illness. Furthermore, when the show skips ten years ahead, we see Johnny but not Kate. While these two are major clues, the third is the most important. In the books, Kate eventually succumbs to her illness and passes away. Thus, there’s a great chance she dies in the show as well.
Did Johnny and Kate Remarry?
Johnny proposes to Kate after several discussions, and the latter says yes. The two decide to remarry and begin a new chapter in their life. However, Kate soon learns that she has breast cancer. Marriage might be off the table, considering the couple must figure out many other crucial things. These include treatment, the money for it, the struggle for survival, Marah’s college fee, and more. Despite this, we believe that Johnny and Kate might remarry to celebrate their relationship and how it has evolved over the years.
In the show, when Johnny and Kate get back together, they sort out many things. Firstly, they begin communicating how they feel and are brutally honest about everything. The conversation takes their relationship to the next level, and the two become more understanding. Toward the season’s end, Johnny asks Kate to remarry multiple times. While Kate is hesitant, Johnny seems sure that this time around, they’ll stick together for good.
Thus, in the end, when he proposes, she says yes, because she wants to celebrate how far they have come as individuals and as a couple. They are healthy as individuals, understand boundaries, and communicate well. Johnny and Kate want to honor their progress with a marriage. When Johnny hears about cancer, his heart will sink, and he will not know what to do. But, this time, he’ll stay with Kate no matter how difficult it gets. In fact, he’ll try to make things as easy as possible for Kate and might want to give her more happiness than ever. So, Johnny will likely ask Kate to remarry him and have a wedding in an intimate setting before she leaves the world.
Did Tully and Kate Become Friends Again?
Tully and Kate might most likely become friends again. The two have fought many times during their lives but always managed to stick together. Although things are different this time, Kate’s illness will bring the two childhood friends together. The night Tully and Marah spend time at her apartment, Marah asks the former permission to go to the movies with a girl called Ashley. Although Tully is reluctant, she allows Marah to go and have some fun. Later, Marah calls Tully in a frazzled state and tells her that she’s hiding in a closet at a frat party. Instead of going to the movies, Ashley took Marah to a frat party to meet her ex-boyfriend. Ashley left Marah alone at the party, and some boy started groping the latter.
Hearing all this, Tully grabs her car keys and rescues Marah. However, she has consumed alcohol above the permissible limit. Tully reaches in time and picks up Marah from the party. However, on their way back, when Tully crosses a signal, while it is green, another car collides with Tully’s. Due to the accident, Marah has multiple injuries, which makes Johnny and Kate quite angry with Tully. While Tully explains how she acted instinctively, Kate isn’t ready to forgive her. Kate talks about all the times when she’s had to cover for Tully’s mistakes and clean up her mess.
There are several instances where Tully messes things up, and Kate tries to fix everything. It’s one of the key aspects of their relationship. In addition, Tully is too dependent on Kate, takes her for granted, and rarely takes accountability for her mistakes. In this case, she tries to do the right thing, and technically it wasn’t her fault because the signal was green. But Kate isn’t ready to forgive her best friend because of how severely injured her daughter is. Kate blames Tully for letting Marah leave the house in the first place, and the two do not reconcile.
As the story progresses, we realize how Kate misses a friend, and even though she tries to make one, nobody can replace Tully Hart. After all, the two have spent over three decades together. Toward the end, when Tully and Kate cross each other, they exchange glances but do not talk. The two miss each other more than anything but aren’t ready to accept it. Due to her unresolved emotions toward Kate, Tully decides to take up a documentary gig in Antarctica.
When Kate discovers she has cancer, she first goes to Tully’s apartment because she needs her best friend. But, she misses Tully in just a few seconds, who leaves the apartment and is on her way to the airport. Despite these occurrences, there’s a good chance that Tully might never go to Antarctica as she will somehow find out about Kate and her illness. Kate will likely call Tully on her phone and tell her everything. This would lead to Tully dropping all her plans and devoting all her time, energy, and resources to Kate’s recovery.
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