What Netflix’s Firefly Lane Teaches Us About Female Friendships

Warning: Minor spoilers ahead!

There are so many different reasons why we keep returning to the same frameworks in entertainment, but they can all be boiled down to one simple reason: it just feels good. It feels good to see the familiar plotline of a meet cute, conflict arising, ending with the forgiving hug of happily ever after. It feels good to turn on the TV and see two best friends conquering the world together. 

Netflix’s new show Firefly Lane brings its audience into the lives of Tully and Kate, two best friends who meet as children and become inseparable, continuing their friendship into their early 40s. When I first saw the trailer for this show, I initially had my doubts. How will it be any different than any other show with two strong female leads? After finishing the first season, I can confidently say that it’s not. And that’s not a bad thing at all. 

The show teaches us about the importance of having female friendships in our lives, but it also gives us insight into the dangers of being too dependent on one another. It teaches us the value of individuality while holding someone close to share the deepest discussions of your trauma with. Throughout season one, the show brings its audience through three different decades: the 1970s, the 1980s, and the mid-2000s. The girls develop their bond in the 70s as they confide in each other about their home life traumas, work to pursue their dreams to be journalists in the 80s, and deal with serious issues as adults such as divorce and miscarriage. Although the women appear to be able to conquer all kinds of arguments involving love triangles, jealousy, and lying, the end of the season shows an end to TullyAndKate, the adorable nickname that the two were known for since they were so close. 

I think that there needs to be a wider acceptance that it’s okay for the two women not to be friends anymore and I think that’s what the show teaches women at the end of the day. Of course, this applies to all relationships, platonic or not, but it especially applies in female friendships. As we all grow older and grow apart, it’s amazing that we had people along the way who understood exactly what we went through because they were going through it too. It’s not necessarily a bad thing to grow apart from a former friend. 

The end of season one leaves the audience with the feeling that the friendship will likely be restored in the seasons to come. Perhaps Tully and Kate will find their way back to one another in a satisfying and comforting ending that we all hope for. Perhaps they won’t. One thing is for certain, the impact that they have on each other will last forever even if their friendship might not. 

• Female
• Female friendship
• firefly lane
• Netflix
• show