Fans Of Netflix's One Day Are Not Holding Back Their Feelings About How The Show 'Ruined' Their Lives

Spoiler alert! This story contains major spoilers for the Netflix series One Day, which is based on the book by David Nicholls. You have been warned.

The best plot twists in movies and on TV are always the ones that catch you off guard, that you never could have seen coming. Often, the unexpected change can alter the way you see the project overall, whether that’s a huge “OMG” moment like Eleanor discovering the secret of The Good Place at the end of the first season or pure devastation like realizing John Doe’s true identity on one of the best episodes of Grey’s Anatomy. Emotional wreckage similar to the latter scenario is what viewers of the new Netflix series One Day are experiencing, and people are not holding back about how the book-to-screen adaptation has “ruined” them.

One Day — the David Nicholls book that inspired both the Anne Hathaway romantic drama and the Netflix series — revolves around Emma (played in the show by Ambika Mod) and Dexter (Leo Woodall), who meet on the day of their college graduation and continue to reunite on the same day each year after. Each episode (available to stream with a Netflix subscription) takes place on July 15 of a different year, showing how their friendship and longing for each other evolves over the course of two decades. In the penultimate offering of the 14-episode series, tragedy strikes, leading to this type of reaction from fans: 

This is your last chance to avoid spoilers!

The series sees Emma and Dexter unable to take their friendship to the next level for years, whether that’s because of another relationship, Dexter’s struggles with substance abuse or other circumstantial events. However, toward the end of the season, Dexter finally tells Emma how he feels, and they get married. Episode 13 sees the two going to look at a house to buy together, but on the way there, Emma is hit by a car while riding her bike and dies. One X (Twitter) user had this to say:

I personally experienced the One Day gut punch when reading the 2009 novel by David Nicholls, so I empathize with unsuspecting Netflix viewers. It’s absolutely excruciating to go on this journey with Emma and Dexter only to have our happy ending cruelly snatched away JUST as they were able to figure things out. I totally get fans’ compulsion to make others experience what they did, as this person posted: 

Thirteen episodes — even at just 30-ish minutes apiece — is a commitment, so by the time that twist rolls around, you’ve become fully invested in what happens to Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall’s characters. The final episode of One Day shows Dexter, who has fallen back into his old bad habits, struggling with the grief of losing Emma and trying to move forward without her. This fan doesn’t seem to know quite what to do with it all: 

Once you’ve experienced One Day, you are a changed person. Happily ever after isn’t guaranteed, and Netflix viewers are likely to continue to tweet about their emotional distress, like this person, who writes: 

If you are in the throes of One Day-induced grief, just know that you are not alone. The pain that fans of the TV series are feeling is familiar to those who read the book and witnessed the 2011 movie. If you need something to take your mind off of Emma and Dexter, check out what else is new and coming soon to Netflix with a Netflix subscription, or take a look at our 2024 TV schedule to see what premieres are coming soon.