A Million Little Things Roundtable: “just in case”

We’ve reached the final episode of season 4. And we just got the news that the show has been renewed for season 5! Here is the official synopsis for this week’s episode (season 4, episode 20) of A Million Little Things entitled “just in case”:

The strength of Maggie and Gary’s relationship is put to the test once again. Rome makes a sacrifice for a student in distress; Theo turns to an unlikely source to help his mom through a rough patch, and Eddie learns a shocking secret about Anna

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

Cay: 

With the exception of one obvious Maggie-Gary revelation, this was actually a much more positive episode than we are used to seeing! Ok, some might argue that there were two sad revelations, but I’m not counting Anna as sad as I’m hoping that means we’re done with her and the Peter storyline forever. I’ll concede that I don’t think she’s guilty of killing Peter in the traditional sense and many other women might do the same thing that she did, but I’m really hoping this means that we won’t see her again.

The best part of the episode for me was finding out that Tyrell didn’t want to go to Yale because he felt like Regina and Rome needed him! That kind of devotion goes a long way to reinforce the kind of “good guy” he is, just when I was starting to doubt him. It also made Vali more likeable as she got to be the messenger.

It was also heartwarming to see Maddox’s father put aside his expectations and meet his son where he currently is. I can appreciate that these situations are hard on both the kids and the parents. Glad to see Rome be the one to trigger this reconsideration in light of his history with Maddox’s father. Presumably, Maddox’s mother will also start her own journey towards new expectations.

I started to wonder what was in the water in the Boston area when Katherine’s mother also had a change of heart! I’m not sure that I love the Greta character, but I definitely prefer her relationship with Katherine to mopey, conflicted Katherine. It was also nice to see Eddie join them for dinner even though we know he must be grieving for Anna.

Theo’s character is a good example of how well kids can adjust to changes in their lives if they feel loved and supported by their family. I often find myself wondering how old Theo is – he seems too young to want to be “more than friends” with Shanice’s daughter, but he could be 12 or so at this point, and I guess that is old enough for “puppy love”.

Maggie’s OB was particularly creepy in this episode. Ugh. And considering how many pregnancies end in miscarriage, was it appropriate for him to assure her that she was going to be a mother, versus just staying with “you’re pregnant!”? And seriously, Gary is getting treated for cancer again and they think that they can hide it from everyone? Obviously, they met in that cancer support group, but does that mean they have to always be connected by cancer? First Maggie, twice, and now Gary for the second time. Yes, it definitely happens to people, but it lacks creativity.

It was nice to see the season end on a generally positive note, but I really hope that season 5 can tap into some of the mystery/suspense that first attracted me to the show in the first place but that has been absent or fell flat in the seasons since.

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Rueben:

Yeah, I have to agree with what you said about the episode having a decent ending – albeit the reveal about Gary, of course. I kept wondering just how it was going to end, expecting something bad or violent to happen, and just really thankful that wasn’t the case.

I have to say that the whole scene with Gary and Maggie at that IKEA-like store was just kinda dumb. I get that it set up the fact that Maggie figured out she got her period, but couldn’t they have been anywhere else, and Gary recording every moment was just annoying too. I get that him recording everything led to the reveal at the end where Rome and Regina were watching Gary talk about being sick, and really hoping that he gets to meet his and Maggie’s child, but still… I just didn’t like how that whole thing played out.

Didn’t we both think that Anna had more to do with Peter’s death than was being shown? Granted, I wasn’t expecting it to be an accident of them arguing in their home, and that she simply pushed him away because she didn’t want him touching her. It wasn’t a deliberate or malicious action on her part, but she did just leave him there, lying on the floor. Like you, I really hope this is the last of the Peter and Anna storyline, and that the writers allow Eddie to move on with someone else.

I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting Vali to actually be supportive of Tyrell going to Yale because she sure did not come off as that in last week’s episode. I guess that’ll teach me to judge too quickly. And, I have to admit while it’s touching that Tyrell didn’t want to leave Regina alone to potentially have to deal with Rome’s depression alone – especially given all that they had done for Tyrell – but I was not expecting that to be the reason, and I’m not quite sure what I thought that reason was – beyond his relationship with Vali – but I wasn’t expecting that.

It was nice seeing Eddie with Katherine, Greta and Theo (and Katherine’s mom), but like you said, it was quite the reversal for Katherine’s mom. A lot of the Katherine storyline or extensions from her storyline were just a little too unbelievable and unrealistic. I can’t really say that I get the warm fuzzies with Katherine and Greta. Honestly, I think Katherine had more chemistry with Shanice, but I guess we’ll have to see what happens next since we know we’re getting another season of the show.

As for Gary wanting to keep this new mass in his lung a secret, we know that wouldn’t have been easy even if Regina and Rome hadn’t seen the recording. This is one group where secrets don’t stay secret for long at all.

[Photo Credit: ABC/Darko Sikman]

What did you think of this week’s episode? Please share your thoughts below.

The entire 4th season of A Million Little Things can be streamed on Hulu.