Motherhood, what a complex, scary, and beautiful thing all wrapped up into one.
Firefly Lane Season 1 Episode 5 digs into the idea of motherhood, the stages of motherhood, and the different mother’s in this world in a beautifully crafted and highly-emotional episode.
It also observes the idea of birth, death, and rebirth through several characters, even the four-legged friend ones.
I’ve been waiting to see Johnny and Kate in their “prime” when they welcomed Marah and started this new life together, and this episode delivered all that and more. Though, I’m still hoping we get to see the moment the duo decided they had feelings for each other back at the station as we’ve only seen Kate “crushing” on Johnny.
In the flashbacks, Kate went through the typical range of emotions for a pregnant woman — she was terrified of losing herself, her career, and the life that she’s grown accustomed to. As Tully put it, there’s nothing more terrifying than getting your heart’s desire (Brooke Davis taught me that one). However, all of Kate’s problems just disappeared the moment she went into labor — she drove herself because Tully was tequila-drunk, naturally — and when she held her baby girl in her arms.
Tully was supportive throughout Kate’s entire pregnancy, but it was heartbreaking to see that little girl who got lost at the protest come to the surface once the baby was born.
She’s been so dependent on Kate throughout her life, and now Kate was moving into this new chapter that didn’t necessarily prioritize her.
Kate had the husband, the baby, the family, while Tully was left all alone.
But the episode also showed the ebbs and flows of life, which come at you hard and unexpectedly.
In the present-day, Tully was the one who had it “all” — the career, the guy, and the pregnancy, while Kate was left all alone. The life that she knew and was used to was falling apart, and that was underscored even more profoundly by the death of their dog.
Dog scenes hit me in a different way, and if you’re a dog-lover and/or owner, you were likely in shambles watching the Ryan family say goodbye to their long time friend.
After they put him to sleep, Marah decided she wanted to go to her best friend’s house, while Johnny packed up his things and went back to his bachelor pad. And Kate was left all by herself for the first time ever.
While I fully expected her to grab a glass of wine and cry it out by the fireplace, she did something more liberating instead: she went skinny dipping in her pool. It was a change of pace for the usually conservative Kate.
It was also symbolic of rebirth as she entered this new chapter in her life.
Also entering a new chapter was Tully and she had some big decisions. Between puking sessions, she had to decide if she was going to keep this baby and be a mother, which is something she seems to have avoided all her life out of the fear of repeating her mother’s mistakes.
In the same way that she was there for Kate, Kate was now there for her all these years later.
The only way Tully would arrive at the right decision was by reaching out to the father, Max, and when she did, she was pleasantly surprised.
Tully kept herself pretty closed off from emotions and feelings while with Max previously, but this time, she really gave it a shot and got to know him. They went on a date and held hands and enjoyed each other’s company. I liked Max from the beginning because he brings out a more vulnerable side of Tully, but after seeing them spend the day together, I like him even more. He’s the perfect gentleman and cares about her a lot.
It seemed as though Tully wasn’t going to drop the bomb on him after their perfect day, but then she blurted out “I’m pregnant” as the elevator doors began to close, and well, Max’s reaction was exactly what you’d expect.
It’s good that we know he and his ex broke up because he wanted a family because knowing Tully is pregnant is going to allow him to embrace the part of his life that he’s always wanted. That is if Tully can come to terms with it.
Tully also agreed to do the interview with Kimber Watts, Kate’s boss, and it seems we all underestimated her talents and how determined she is to get ahead. We’ve seen that kind of determination and dedication from Tully back in the day when she wanted her “big break,” so we have to admire it, but there’s no excuse for going behind Kate’s back and putting Tully on blast like that. At least not without giving Tully the opportunity to provide a comment or defend herself and her character.
Though, I have to toot my own horn and tap myself on the shoulder for correctly guessing that Cloud was still alive and simply “dead” to Tully metaphorically.
Do you think Kimber overstepped? Or is this her being a good journalist?
In a flashback scene to Kate’s baby shower, we also see Sean’s wife/ baby momma, who explains that the duo had trouble conceiving and that he always said it felt like work, which I don’t doubt, but that means that Sean’s been repressing his truth since about the late 80s/early 90s as it looks to be the same woman he showed up to the recital with.
He’s clearly tortured by having to pretend to be someone he’s not, and I can’t wait till he finally comes clean and comes out to his family!
