Spoilers ahead for One Day on Netflix.
In the age of social media, it can be hard to watch a movie or television show without some aspect getting spoiled. It’s even harder to do when said show or movie is adapted from another form of media like Netflix’s new limited series One Day, which is a book-to-screen adaptation of the David Nicholls novel that also inspired the Anne Hathaway romantic drama. And yet, somehow, I managed to go into the show without knowing anything about it... and I wasn't ready.
Like the movie and the book, the limited series follows Emma (Ambika Mod) and Dexter (Leo Woodall), two strangers who meet on their college graduation day and forge a bond that spans almost three decades. Told in a vignette style with each episode revolving around the same day (July 15th) of different years, viewers get to see Emma and Dexter navigate the pains of growing up and the evolution of their friendship.
One Day Looked Like A Typical Slow-Burn Romance
As I’m sure many Netflix subscribers can relate to, I stumbled on the show one night while looking for something to watch. The trailer set up the slow burn friends-to-lovers romance between Emma and Dex so well that I knew I had to watch it. I didn’t even do my usual research before hitting play – that’s how much the trailer worked on me!
With fourteen episodes to get through, I paced myself falling in love with Emma and Dexter’s complicated relationship just as slowly as they were coming to terms with their own feelings. I felt Dex’s longing for Emma from the very first episode and understood her apprehensions when it came to opening her heart to him out of fear. I found myself reaching for tissues when Dex’s life took a turn after the loss of his mother and couldn’t help but cheer Emma on when she found herself on the right path. There was also a lot of yelling about the amount of cheating, both physically and emotionally, these two were doing, but that’s a topic for an entirely different discussion.
The fact of the matter is that One Day did deliver on its slow-burn romance that the trailer promised, but it just also took a dark turn that ruined my (and several other fans of the show) life.
I Was Not Prepared For The Tragic Ending
It became clear to me that One Day was not a romantic comedy around the time Dex’s life started to fall apart. And I was okay with that, because not every romance needs to be a rom-com. I’m a girl who loves a little bit of angst now and then. However, I was definitely not expecting the limited series to take such a dark turn in the penultimate episode.
The episode begins with Dex and Emma finally romantically together. They get married, have successful, healthy careers, and are trying to have a baby of their own. And then disaster strikes on July 15, 2002, when Emma and Dex are set to check out a potential house to purchase. On her way over, Emma gets hit by a reckless driver while riding her bike and dies.
I can’t even begin to describe how loud I was shouting when the credits started to roll on the episode. And then, as if that’s not bad enough, the final episode opens with Dex relapsing while trying to drown his grief on the one-year anniversary. It was brutal! Luckily, Dex managed to work through his grief over the next two years, but the journey was gut-wrenching and I definitely worked my way through an entire tissue box watching the 36-minute episode.
A character's death can be shocking and gut-wrenching 90% of the time, but in the case of One Day, it’s even worse because of how much viewers have watched the characters grow. Emma and Dex were finally happy and where they belonged, and everything was ripped from them in a second without any prior warning. It all felt a little too grounded in reality for my taste.
On one hand, I’m glad I went into the limited series completely blind because had I known that tragedy was waiting for me, I probably never would have hit play. On the other hand, it would have been nice to have some kind of warning that One Day wasn’t going to have a traditional happily-ever-after ending.
If you need a good cry I definitely recommend you check out One Day, which is streaming now with an active Netflix subscription. After putting yourself through the pain, you’ll probably need a pick-me-up, so check out what else is new and coming soon to Netflix or take a look at our 2024 TV schedule.
