Summary
“Auld Lang Syne” drops unanswered bombshells and leaves the audience asking for more — the ending is explosive, and if popular, there’s a guarantee that audiences will be asking for a continuation.
This recap of Netflix’s Firefly Lane season 1, episode 10, “Auld Lang Syne” — the ending explained — contains significant spoilers.
Well, A LOT happens in the ending, so let’s break it down for you the best we can. One thing is sure — audiences will be screaming for Season 2 after what occurred here. This soapy type of series tend to have that effect on people. “Auld Lang Syne” starts at the funeral, with Kate smoking a cigarette outside. Sean joins her. It’s revealed that their father Bud has died — so that answers whose funeral it is. Kate cannot believe he’s died. A flashback to her teens shows her father showing her the telescope outside. There’s plenty of tension between her parents, who were over an hour-long at the grocery store. Meanwhile, at Tully’s house, they’ve run out of money — Cloud plans to sell the stash of weed Leon left her.
Kate wants to make Johnny jealous by bringing a hunk to the Christmas party
The series has had its ups and downs for Kate and Johnny, but the ending of Firefly Lane season 1 shows how much they really mean to each other. Back to the 80s; Kate, Tully and the team are brainstorming for Carol. Noticeably, Johnny and Kate are very friendly with each other. Tully watches on and mentions the chemistry after the meeting. She tells Kate her nipples are hard. Kate denies anything is happening and that she’s going on a blind date, and bringing a hunk to the Christmas party. She’s obviously trying to make Johnny jealous.
Wilson King returns and wants to revamp Tully’s show
Remaining in the 80s, Tully meets Wilson King again, and he offers her double the money and airtime, but he wants to celebrate with champagne. He asks her to do a twirl to get a “sense of what he’s paying for”. He then references her breasts, so Tully tries to walk out. Wilson King says she makes the news dirty and tries kissing her. Tully kicks him in the balls and walks out. In the present day, Wilson King apologises to Tully for how he treated her back then, but he says The Girlfriend Hour has lost its lustre. He wants to revamp her show. Afterwards, Tully tells Johnny that she has to work with him but the difference is she’s a big shot now, and “It’s not the 80s anymore”. But what’s audacious about this storyline is that it’s indicative of the present-day; how predators with power can remain at the top, regardless of everyone knowing what’s going on. Wilson King still has power.
Kate uses a slip of the tongue
Travis is a nice prospect for Kate, but the issue is, Johnny is still on her mind. In the present day, Travis kisses Kate, and she says, “Oh, Johnny,” as she was turned on. This is an awkward moment, but then their children walk in, so they never speak about it. She speaks to Tully about it and believes it was a “slip of the tongue”. Tully tells her to ring Travis and make it into a joke and then invite him over to seduce him. Tully then mentions that she said some terrible things to Max about the marriage and the miscarriage and misses him. Kate tells Tully to apologise to him. Both women are still unsure what their future involves; both are still not settled down.
Max has already planned an annulment
And Tully tries to make amends straight away with her husband. Tully bumps into Max in her apartment. She admits she wanted to call him, but she doesn’t know what to say. Max brings up getting an annulment as soon as possible. He confirms that he’s leaving and that he doesn’t fit in her world. Tully says that isn’t true, but Max wants to leave — as he leaves, Tully cries. Tully asks Kate if she can sleepover at her place. She tells her that Max has left and that they broke up. Kate brings up that they are in love and married and need to give it a day to cool off. Kate tells her best friend that she deserves to be happy. And she’s right. If any character deserves to be happy, it’s Tully.
Leaving awkward voicemails
In the present day, Kate keeps leaving voicemails for Travis explaining what happened when she said Johnny’s name. She goes into detail about the kissing and how erotic it feels with their tongues. What she doesn’t realise is that Marah and Travis’s daughter are listening to the house phone and hear all the detail. Marah brings up to Kate the erotic tongue kissing description that she heard. She tells Kate that her father is leaving, and she doesn’t care. Her daughter then walks out. Kate has had some classic comedy moments, and the best ones come up in the finale.
A male perspective
With Wilson King taking over The Girlfriend Hour, he wants to introduce a male guest to the show, so it has a male perspective. After the show, Tully tells Wilson that she wants to pick the guests, but he reminds her that she has a contract. She punches the mirror and hurts herself as he walks out.
Cloud causes an upset in Kate’s family home
Firefly Lane season 1, episode 10 reminds the audience of how destructive Cloud is, even socially and when people are welcoming.
When they were teens, Cloud goes over to Kate’s house for a Christmas get-together. Cloud mentions that she saw Kate’s mother in town with another man, but Margie denies it. She then argues with Kate’s father about the wars and violence America inflicts on other countries. The father gets angry, and Margie tells him to calm down because of his blood pressure. When Margie joins the father outside, he asks her to choose which man she wants because she cannot have both. Margie agrees to make a choice. This is the first time that the couple has acknowledged that one of them is cheating, and ironically, it was spurred on by Cloud.
Kate’s father has a heart attack
In the 80s, Kate brings Mark to the work Christmas party. Johnny seems jealous as Mark comes to pick her up. Suddenly, Tully picks up the phone; her father is in hospital. This event turns out to be a turning point at the beginning of Johnny and Kate’s relationship.
Tully asks Max if they can start over
You have to bless Tully’s soul in the finale because she is well and truly allowing herself to be “all in” with Max. And despite being “all in”, her efforts are not working, making it more painful. In the present day, Tully asks for Max’s help with her bloody hand from punching the mirror. She apologises to him and asks if they can start over. She’s unsure if trying for another baby is a great idea, but she wants to put the miscarriage behind her. Max reminds her that he lost a baby too, and they never dealt with it together. He’s sick of chasing her. Tully tells him that she will be at the gazebo where they got married the next day and asks him to join her to start a “new beginning”. Max’s face says it all — he will not be there.
Kate wants to seduce Travis, but it goes horribly wrong
And the second comedic moment for Kate arrives, which brings on a chuckle. Kate takes Tully’s advice and invites Travis over and answers the door naked. This turns into a funny scene, as Travis brought his mother. The mother waits in the car. Travis tells Kate not to worry about what just happened and that she doesn’t have to try so hard.
Kate goes in for a kiss with Johnny
Firefly Lane enjoys merging past and present for key moments, and “Auld Lang Syne” brings a pivotal moment as we reach the ending.
In the 80s, Johnny tells Kate that her father will be okay. He drops her off at home and offers to stay over. The pair have a drink, and Kate kisses him and then apologises. Johnny says he doesn’t want to take advantage of her as she’s upset about her father. He then references how she was about to go on a date with another man. Kate tells Johnny that she can’t wait for him forever. She also believes he isn’t interested. Johnny believes he’s lost her chance with her, doesn’t want to make it worse, and cares about their friendship. Kate goes to bed, but then opens her bedroom door, and Johnny is stood there — he tells her he’s in love with her.
In the present day, Kate can’t stop thinking about Johnny, and she heads out to see him before he leaves to be a war correspondent, but as she opens the door, Johnny is already there. He wanted to see her too—both in the past and present, the couple sleep with each other.
The next day, Kate tells Tully that she’s dropped Johnny off at the airport — she admits she is still in love with him. Tully can tell they’ve just had sex and reminds Kate that he will be back.
Tully quits, and Max doesn’t show up
The final episode of Season 1 sees Tully standing up for herself to an abusive executive and being burned by her own husband. In the present day, Wilson King tells Tully that she has a new male co-host due to good ratings. Tully tells her he doesn’t have a show without her and quits — she sticks two fingers up at him while walking out; this was a great moment of empowerment, and taking back control. Afterwards, she heads to the gazebo to meet Max, but he doesn’t show up. Kate shows up as she was standing by just in case he didn’t show.
The ending
During the Christmas holidays in the present, Kate’s family gets together, and Cloud is invited. However, to end Season 1, tragedy occurs as Johnny and his squad step on a mine in a war zone. The phone rings in Kate’s home, and no-one is answering it because Tully and Kate are outside drinking champagne calling 2003 a sh*t year. Tully asks Kate to be her new producer — it isn’t clear if Johnny has died or not.
The scene then flits to the funeral that is slightly in the future; Tully is outside the church building, and Kate says she can never forgive her for what she did and never wants to see her again; she asks her to leave, and Kate heads inside the church.
What did Tully do? It could be linked to Johnny — maybe she didn’t tell Kate what happened to him? We can assume, for now, that Johnny isn’t dead as there’s no reference that he is, and also the funeral was for Kate’s father, Bud. He’s likely in hospital, recovering. There’s plenty of other questions — will Kate end her romance with Travis now Johnny is back in the fold? Will Max forgive Tully? Plenty of the ending for Firefly Lane Season 1 brings a basis for Season 2 — “Auld Lang Syne” is explosive.
Firefly Lane season 1, episode 10 drops unanswered bombshells and leaves the audience asking for more — the ending is explosive, and if popular, there’s a guarantee that audiences will be asking for a continuation.
Additional points
- In the present day, Sean tells Kate and Tully that he came out of the closest to his wife and asks if he can stay over.
- In the past, in the teen days, the police arrest Cloud for drug dealing. Kate asks the police if Tully can stay with her, but the police drag her away. She will have to stay at her grandma’s. Kate and Tully are heartbroken.
