ABC

A Million Little Things Roundtable: “the things we keep inside”

By Cay | December 3, 2021

After a two week break, A Million Little Things returned with another new episode from its fourth season on ABC. This episode is the fall finale, so the expectations are high!

Here is the official synopsis for the episode (season 4, episode 8) entitled “the things we keep inside”:

Rome and Regina finally reunite after months apart only to find that things feel off. Maggie does some research as her stalker situation intensifies, while Sophie plays Eddie a song she wrote. Gary helps an old friend

Nice Girls Cay and Rueben share their thoughts on this episode [spoiler alert]:

Cay:

So glad that Sophie got into MMI and that she did it using a song that she wrote after her experience with Peter. I really didn’t expect her to go back to Anna to tell her first! I guess I like the mending bridges, especially as it seems that both of them were Peter’s victims, although in different ways. It seems way too weird for her to end up with Eddie, though, so I hope we don’t end up there, but it sure looks like that’s where things are headed. It is nice to see Eddie being a functional human, though.

It’s kind of frustrating for Sophie to finally get into MMI…then decide not to go! The “joining a band” is such a cliché and almost never leads to gainful employment IRL, so it just seems a bit immature of Sophie to take that route. I guess Delilah would likely be supporting her if she went to MMI, the same as she’ll need to support her to play in a band, but it just seems like such a short-thinking idea and I expect more from Sophie. Her decision not to go to MMI would make a lot more sense if she had a different, realistic dream for herself – “I am going to get a social work degree and help victims of sexual assault” rather than “I’m going to turn down music school to play in a garage band”.

I still don’t understand how Gary has not faced any legal consequences for Peter’s attack, but as long as I suspend my disbelief on that point, I’m really liking the new Gary. While I’m not a Liam fan, I liked that Liam came back to him because it makes sense based on their relationship – he and Gary had really gotten close and of course he would be grieving the loss of Gary as well as struggling to adjust to a new house, school, his parents suddenly back together, and a new baby sister on the way. That is a LOT for a kid, so I’m glad for Gary to provide him with some comfort and perhaps teach Liam’s dad a thing or two as well.

I am loving Maggie and Camden! I really hope that they aren’t going to break them up and put Maggie back with Gary as a result on their road trip to talk to her dead stalker’s mother. Yes, I can’t believe I just typed that sentence! Maggie is too nice, tries too hard to help everyone, often at her own expense. I want to see her stronger, enjoying her success, not always getting pulled into gloom and doom. We can only hope that the story here ends up being worth the trip in the end because had this been a “choose your own adventure” story, Maggie would totally be in a hotel with Camden and a private investigator would be checking things out in Albany. Maybe this is why I’m not a screenwriter?

Thank goodness there is an explanation for the distance between Regina and Rome all this time, even if it isn’t a happy one. Let’s hope that now that Rome sold the movie that Cassandra will be out of the picture and he can really work on his mental health. It really feels like they are the one couple who keeps having one setback after another thrust in front of them while the other characters all seem to have positive arcs. At least they are talking to each other!

As I think about it, it seems like this episode was sort of a “return to the past” – Eddie gets his life back, Gary reunites with Liam, Sophie is back auditioning for MMI, Regina and Rome are back together and he’s back to struggling with his mental health, and Gary and Maggie are back “together”, at least in for one road trip.

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Rueben:

There was a lot to unravel in this episode even with the Sophie cliché with the garage band. Granted much of what happened was predictable, but that seems to be the curse of this show much of the time. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy the “getting parent trapped” restaurant scene between Eddie and Anna – although I agree with you, Cay – I’m not sure if I want to see them as a couple when this season returns for its next new episode. I appreciated that Rome’s movie was picked up by PBS after the successful pitch meeting; but I do not want to see Cassandra back in the picture now that they’ve revealed Rome is dealing with his depression again. He had come so far that I’m sad to see him struggle again.

I have been surprised to see Ryan Hansen, who plays Cam (and is best known as Dick Casablancas in Veronica Mars, the guy that everybody loved to hate) to play a character that I can actually like. I just keep waiting for Cam to do something that resembles him being a ‘tool,’ but perhaps – for once – we’ll see him play a well-rounded adult. I also actually like him and Maggie together. I, quite honestly, wasn’t expecting that. I am curious what the writers are planning with Gary taking Maggie to Albany; but hopefully it’s just him being a temporary “bodyguard” – just like when he and Colin stayed over night at Maggie’s apartment when she first learned about the stalker.

You are completely right, Cay, about Maggie always trying too hard to help people. She could not only jeopardize her career, but also her life, by going to a woman who clearly holds her in contempt for the death of her son. This cannot end well for any of them. I just hope it doesn’t turn too ugly.

I too loved that Sophie nailed her audition – even with the flashbacks to Peter – but you’re right that she’s making a poor decision. Quite honest she’s being a hapless teenager who has a little too much independence and not enough tough love at home. I can’t imagine that Delilah will be happy with this news any more than any of the other adults in her life. She has come so far in that time to just drop it.

You are also correct that it’s hard to believe that Gary (and the other dad) have not had to face any kind of repercussions for what they did to Peter. That whole thing is extremely unrealistic. I also agree that Liam was never my favorite person, but at least this was some kind of closure for the young kid; and hopefully this will keep Gary on the path to putting Darcy in his rearview mirror.

It will be very interesting to see how things play out when the show returns that’s for sure.