In Netflix’s Firefly Lane season 2 part 2, Kate and Tully navigate the final chapter of the friendship while contending with grief, mortality, and celebration of life.
Story
Kate’s cancer takes a toll on her and it becomes too much for her to beat without her best friend. After a lot of calls that go directly to the voicemail, Tully finally returns to civilization and rushes off to Kate as fast as she can.
Kate’s breasts have been a subject of insecurity and struggles for her throughout her life, and now she must part ways with her right breast due to the cancer, while Tully helps her through the various challenges that her treatment is presenting her.
Kate’s chemotherapy is a success and it’s time for her to get married to Johnny again. Meanwhile, in the 80’s, her marriage with Theo is called off by him when he suffers an injury after Kate and Johnny’s adulterous-ish sex. Johnny and Kate then go on to get married.
In the 70’s, Kate gets in a relationship with the school’s hottest guy, Coop, but she breaks up with him after his hesitation to be public with the relationship humiliates her many times. Meanwhile, Tully’s adolescent love life is not really smooth-sailing as it dodges an age-inappropriate relationship, thanks to her teacher.
Kate and Johnny get married again but they also learn that Kate’s cancer has come back and spread to her bones and liver. Kate tries her hardest to get Kate the best treatment but it’s all too late and all that’s left is to spend Kate’s last days on Earth with peace, love, and comfort, in the company of the people she loves most.
Johnny, Marah, Tully, Sean, and Kate’s mother among others try to cope with the mortality of their loved one in their own ways. Before Kate takes her last breath, she finishes her novel titled Firefly Lane and leaves it for her best friend and daughter as something to remember her by.
Performances
Sarah Chalke renders a beautiful portrait of a woman afflicted with a terminal condition that’s painful and extremely touching. While her bald cap distracts at first, it’s through the sheer talent put on-screen that Chalke manages to blur the distractions and lend believability in her role.
Katherine Heigl really triggers the tear ducts with her emotional moments, especially in the final episode when she lets out her frustrations with Kate’s impending mortality.
Performances have been one of the stronger suits of Firefly Lane, and they all shine in this final chapter of the series just as brightly as they did before. From Ben Lawson’s endearing Johnny, to the adolescent adorables Tully and Kate portrayed by Ali Skovbye and Roan Curtis, there’s no deficit of talent and proper utilization of said talents.
Positives
Firefly Lane season 2’s final batch of episodes keeps the consistency in terms of the emotions and the maturity with which it handles them.
The series finale is rife with knockout performances, thanks to an amazing ensemble that has kept the show together more than anything else.
Mortality is a universal fear and an existential dread so humane it automatically becomes a subject deserving of a mature and delicate treatment, especially when the mortality in question is an end point to a terminal condition.
Kate’s cancer, recovery, and remission paint a more realistic picture of what it’s like to contend with said situations, and the show handle the themes surrounding it really well.
Meanwhile, Kate’s journey and the acceptance of said journey is truly heart-rending, made more painful by the difficulty that her loved ones face while trying to make peace with her passing.
The storytelling is smooth as always and the switch between the three/four time periods rarely feels abrupt.
Negatives
Kate and Theo’s breakup as well as Celeste and Danny’s breakup are kind of hastily developed, as both of them involve a humoros turn of events that takes away from what could be fleshed-out parting of ways that also tackles in detail the elements that led to Kate and Johnny’s breakup as well as Danny and Celeste’s falling out.
The teenage years in Firefly Lane season 2 part 2 don’t quite feel as important as the other timelines. Additionally, Johnny’s coming to terms with the sudden parenthood seems improperly baked, with an iffy little confrontation with his father thrown in there that feels all too clichéd and safe as an explanation for his fears about future and parenting.
Verdict
Firefly Lane season 2 part 2 is an extremely emotional send off to the titular best friends forever, as they contend with their greatest fears — parting ways.
Whereas drifting apart and getting back together is the constant journey that the protagonists embark on throughout the show, this chapter introduces a finality to this trope that Kate and Tully are not familiar with.
Emotional outbursts, elation, misery, joy, sorrow, grief, celebration, and reminiscence aplenty, Firefly Lane season 2 part 2 is the perfect conclusion to a heartwarming drama.
Firefly Lane season 2 part 2
Director: Monika Mitchell, Sarah Wayne Callies, Winnifred Jong, Michael Spiller
Date Created: 2023-04-27 12:30
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