*Spoiler Alert*
The first season of A Million Little Things has just recently begun and already many conflicts in the plot have been introduced. I highly suggest watching this show, but it is NOT for the weak at heart. I have cried during each episode and there have only been about five or six so far! Now, as some may have seen in commercials about this new series, the main and initial conflict revolves around a group of four best friends. Each of whom has their own set of issues that are told in further detail as episodes progress.
The main character, Jonathan Dixon, seems to be a successful businessman with a loving family and amazing life until he jumps off the balcony of his company building, landing on a car stories below. Moments before, he hands a worker of his a letter and he calls his friend, Eddie, who does not pick up. As the storyline moves forward we learn that Eddie, who is also Jonathan’s daughter’s guitar teacher, has been having an affair with John’s wife, Delilah. I have been curious if this was one of the reasons why he chose to end his life, but this has yet to be identified. Although, we do know that John knew about his wife’s affair because of the message left on Eddie’s phone before taking his own life. I will not spoil this detail, but what John says in his last few moments portrays the amazing individual that he was.
The other friends, Gary and Rome have problems of their own, too. Gary is in remission from having breast cancer, while Rome is battling with depression. Coincidentally, on the day of John’s suicide, Rome was about to swallow a container’s worth of pills before he got a phone call about John’s suicide. If it had not been for this phone call about the loss of his friend, he, too, would have taken his own life. I personally enjoy watching this show because many real-world problems are spoken about that are not normally addressed. For one, suicide and depression tend to be very touchy subjects, but more people are affected by this disease than people realize.
This show brings about real-life situations that families deal with after losing loved ones. For example, his daughter had a father-daughter dance that they had been practicing for for an upcoming recital. Days before the recital, John took his own life and his daughter felt as though he had forgotten about her, but he did not. Rome had been there all along watching the dance choreography to make sure she had a partner at this dance. Obviously, during this scene, I had odd liquid pouring from my eyes… In addition, this show depicts the reality of life and how we all have our own battles that we must face, but sometimes we do not need to face them on our own. We have people around us who are happy to help if you let them in on your life even just a little. Jonathan would always say, “It’s a million little things.” What I take that he means from this is that the little things in life make up the big picture. Asking about one’s day, saying good morning, knowing your friend’s favorite candy. Sometimes it is the million little gestures that someone does that count the most. It is important to take this message and practice it in your everyday routine. Think of the little things that you can do for others to make their day a little better. You never know how helpful one nice thing could be to a person.
Another note that I feel is important to address is that this show portrays how selfless suicide is. Although John had taken his own life based on issues he was facing that have yet to be discussed, he had a plan to make sure his loved ones still felt his presence. He bought his wife a building for a restaurant she has always wanted to start, and he had a limo arrive at his friend’s apartment to take the three of them to a hockey training camp of their favorite team. Even when he was not physically around, he was still around.
So, the next time you see someone having a bad day or even a good day, know that there are a million little things that you can do to change their life.