NOTE: this post contains spoilers for the A Million Little Things season 5 finale.
After five incredibly emotional seasons, A Million Little Things has made us sob harder than ever with the series finale, “One Big Thing." It’s been a long journey for this friend group, but that’s life. It’s better to have loved and lost than never love at all, which is one takeaway everyone will be left with by the time the series ends.
So how does it all end? What happens with Gary and all the rest of your favorite characters? We break down where everyone ends up in A Million Little Things season 5 right here.
Does Gary survive?
Unfortunately, despite trying everything possible and fighting until the very end, Gary (James Roday Rodriguez) is unable to beat the cancer this time. While we had a feeling this would be the outcome at the beginning of the season, it's still extremely difficult to watch and accept, especially after the cancer spreads. It also results in what can be considered the most devastating two episodes of the entire show, which happen to be the penultimate and finale episodes.
Throughout the season, we saw Gary's excitement to be a father as well as his dedication to ensuring that his son would know him if he didn’t make it. He gets to be there when his son is born and celebrates his first birthday. He very clearly treasures every moment with Javi and Maggie (Allison Miller), who he ends up marrying in the penultimate episode. The wedding was beautiful, but one can’t help but wish it was under different circumstances. We also got to see him reconnect with his aunt, which was a beautiful storyline for the character after losing his own father.
In the end, Gary wants to die with dignity and all his loved ones can do is support him. He's comfortable as he passes away with Maggie whispering reassurances to her husband. Out of all the characters, Gary was the one to always bring light and humor to the show. To end the show by losing him is the most effective way to say goodbye and ensure it sticks with audiences.
Of course, the ideal ending would have been Gary beating the cancer, but this show has always been true to life and life isn’t a fairytale.
What happens to our favorite group of friends?
What happens to Maggie?
After a 15 year time jump, we see Maggie has accepted she did everything in her power for Gary and it's okay to be happy now. She and Javi don't shy away from talking about Gary, both of them watching a video he made for his son's 16th birthday. Additionally, we see her teaching him how to drive and visiting her late husband's grave.
It's a reminder that even if we "move on," we never forget those we have lost. She has a date coming up with a dad at Javi's school, so it seems like she's ready to try a new relationship. Considering there was a point where we weren't sure if Maggie would survive, her story is a true beacon of hope for anyone who was or is in her position.
What happens with Rome and Regina?
Rome (Romany Malco) had a difficult season, facing his father's Alzheimer's diagnosis and ensuring he was taken care of while also taking care of his own mental health. The biggest change for them since the beginning was seeing him and Regina (Christina Moses) take on the role of parents when welcoming Tyrell into their home, who quickly became a member of their family.
Regina has shown her strength over and over again, constantly rebuilding when something doesn’t go her way. This is shown when her restaurant is closed and she later opens a food truck. While her most recent run for city council didn't work out, a scene in the finale when a voter comes up to her hints that maybe she will try again in the future.
What happens with Eddie and Delilah?
After everything they've been through, which included Delilah (Stephanie Szostak) moving to Paris, Gary's final push to Eddie (David Giuntoli) at Kathrine's (Grace Park) wedding was a wakeup call for them. The two of them end up together and happy. Since they never had a real chance to be together, it is nice to see that full circle moment for them, even if big mistakes were made along the way to get there.
It's also nice to know Delilah came back home and see Eddie get past what happened to him after his accident. He is definitely a completely different character than we saw in the pilot episode in the best way possible.
What happened with Katherine and Greta?
Katherine came a long way from the first season. From everything falling apart at the reveal of Eddie's affair with Delilah, we see her grow into her own, being an incredible mother while balancing a successful career. She also embraces her sexuality, which led her back to Greta (Cameron Esposito), who was her best friend in high school.
It was rewarding to see her get remarried and have a second child with Greta, getting her well deserved happy ending.
All episodes of A Million Little Things are streaming on-demand on Hulu.
