In Netflix’s One Day, Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew meet at their graduation ball, have a steamy night together, and go their separate ways, only to meet each other on the same day every year that follows.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
On July 15, 1988, it was the night of their graduation when Emma and Dexter met for the first time.
An evening of almost romance, it becomes the most memorable one for the two of them for years that follow.
The series follows them on the same day every new year, as the two find themselves in different places, sometimes in the same one, together, going through different times.
In 1989, Dexter roams around the world while Em fails to make a dent with her flailing theatre endeavor in the Midlands.
In 1990, Em finds that life back in London isn’t what she thought it would be.
In a creative drought and working at a shabby restaurant, she is visited by Dexter and his new girlfriend.
In 1991, the two go on a holiday together in Greece, and spend a beautiful night together but also leave with some sour experiences.
The next year, Dexter finds himself coping with his alcoholism, while his mother contends with her last days battling cancer.
In 1993, Emma became a teacher and Dexter got his spotlight, but the negative reviews dealt a heavy blow to his confidence.
The next year sees the two falling out after Dexter, struggling to handle his mother’s loss and fame, says some very rude things to Emma.
In 1995, Emma breaks her relationship with Ian.
In 1996, Dexter has begun a relationship with Sylvie but fails to impress her aristocratic family.
In 1997, Em and Dex reunite at a university friend’s wedding.
They get talking and Em learns he’s going to marry Sylvie, who’s pregnant with their child.
One day, the very same day the next year; Dex is struggling with a failing marriage with Sylvie, who’s cheating on him with his friend Calum.
In 1999, Dexter, reeling from divorce and the fact that he has limited custody of his daughter Jasmine, visits Emma in Paris, who’s working on the sequel to her first hit novel.
He finally confesses and the two get into a relationship. He starts his own business and her writing is going well.
Their blissful time together comes to an end when one day, Emma dies in a car accident.
He struggles to cope with the loss as his family and friends, including Sylvie, help comfort him.
Three years after her death, Dexter visits the same spots with his daughter Jasmine, where he had first met and spent time together with Emma.
Ending explained:
Em, Dex & the tumultuous love story
Yes, Emma and Dexter do finally end up together, but their union comes about years of heartbreaks, reconciliations, platonic relationships, flirtations, expectations, and rejections.
Emma had a major crush on him after their first meeting during the Graduation night in 1988.
He also had feelings for her but throughout the years, he refused to share them.
Emma gets into a relationship with Ian, a comedian with confidence issues but a kind heart.
She then has an affair with the headmaster of the school she teaches in.
Meanwhile, Dexter has hookup after hookup, has a quasi-relationship with Suki Meadows, followed by many flings, and then Sylvie, a girl from an aristocratic family.
Things get serious with her and she even gets pregnant.
The two are already engaged when Dex and Emma reunite, months after she had broken the friendship one night during which Dex was incredibly rude to her.
Their reunion sparks something in Emma but she soon learns about his upcoming marriage with Sylvie and her pregnancy.
She later goes to Paris to write the sequel to her first successful novel.
There, she meets Jean-Pierre Dussollier and the two begin a relationship.
After his relationship with Sylvie comes to an end, Dex one day visits Emma, and finally confesses his love to her.
Upon seeing her going out with Jean-Pierre, he is shattered, but Emma soon returns home and decides to give Dex a chance.
The two finally get together and go on to enjoy a blissful relationship except for a few minor hitches and then a most unfortunate one day.
Emma’s arc
Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew are together finally, and while she enjoys a successful career, he looks ahead with hope as he opens a deli-café.
The two are happy together except for the fact that they can’t get pregnant.
Emma wants a child and it miffs her that their efforts have failed time and again.
One day, they have an appointment to see a house. Dex reaches their first, and Emma is on her way there on a bike.
On the way, she gets hit by a car and dies.
It destroys Dexter and he relapses into drugs and booze, getting into bar fights and drowning himself in despair.
Dexter’s path to figuring it out
Dexter spends most of the running time of One Day wandering about aimlessly.
He has no idea about what he wants to do and hears about it from many people.
He becomes a TV presenter, doing corny, dated shows that are beneath him.
Later, he gains some more popularity but his ego also takes a dent, thanks to the brutal reviews.
When his mother passes away, he collapses altogether and becomes a booze and coke-addled shell of a man.
One day, at a restaurant, he treats Emma most harshly and it leads to the two drifting away from each other.
He later meets Sylvie, a beautiful girl from a family of highly competitive and snooty aristocrats.
She falls pregnant and the two eventually get married.
Due to his aimless attitude that persists still, the marriage is in shambles and Sylvie can’t handle motherhood properly.
She gets into a sexual affair with Dexter’s friend and currently his boss at the café, Calum.
The two later divorce each other as he finds out about the affair.
He gets limited time with his daughter and it breaks him that he can’t be there for her during her most formative years.
He later finds stability when he finally gets into a relationship with Emma, and the two are not just happy but flourishing in their respective lanes.
That is until she dies in an accident and he falls into utter despair.
He gets into fights while drunk, quits working at his deli-café, and spends most of his time in grief and regrets.
He is comforted by his ex-wife Sylvie, who has divorced from Calum.
He is also comforted by his dad, his daughter Jasmine, and Emma’s friends, including her ex Ian.
Three years later, he visits London and the university he and Emma studied in.
He also climbs Arthur’s Seat with his daughter, like he did one day with Emma.
One Day concludes as Dexter retraces all the spots that he and Emma first spent their time in and around.