Do you consider yourself a hopeless romantic? Do you long for the emotional depth of shows like Normal People or Fleabag? Or perhaps you simply crave a cathartic release? Even if none of these descriptions resonate with you, you still need to watch One Day, the most heartbreaking show I have seen in a minute. Consider it a must-watch – no negotiations.
One Day, which aired on Netflix this February, is a limited series based on the hit novel by David Nicholls.The story follows two university students in Edinburgh, Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morely, whose lives intersect when they lock eyes on the day of their graduation, setting the course for their entwined futures. After spending a (platonic) night together, we follow these characters for the course of 20 years, where they weave in and out of each other’s lives following their friendship, friendship-breakup, reunion, long-awaited romance, and, the end… which, I won’t spoil for you. The chemistry and simple love radiates off the screen from these two incredible up-and-coming actors, who you may have seen already: Dexter Mayhew is played by White Lotus’ Leo Woodall, who is both eye-candy and my newest internet boyfriend, and Emma Morely is This Is Going to Hurt’s Ambika Mod, a simply incredible actress. All in all, without getting into the details, this is a beautiful, emotional, and excruciating-to-watch love story that will make you feel horrible in the BEST way. If you get it, you get it. If you don’t, I’ll go ahead and explain…
Why is this show so good? One reason is the timeline. The whole concept of One Day revolves around the idea of “one day,” as it tracks only the same day of every year starting 1988 and ending in 2007. It starts with the day they met on graduation, and follows a series of other encounters, including their holiday trip to Greece, a major fight, their separate careers taking off, a night together in Paris, et cetera. I love this form of storytelling because it is not only unique, but it allows us to see a lot more character development in comparison to a normal show that goes day by day or follows a shorter timeline. I was also thinking the whole time, “when are they going to get together?!” And the answer is, one day! I was also impressed about how their age and the trends of the year were also reflected as time passed; for example, their fashion styles or (small spoiler!) how Dexter transforms from a cocky college kid to a dad. The date’s significance, July 15th, is only revealed at the end, and really serves to tie the whole reasoning for this timeline together in an incredibly, incredibly depressing yet well-rounded way. You’ll have to watch it yourself to figure out why, but stay off the TikTok edits for now so it doesn’t get spoiled!
This show is without a doubt guaranteed to make you either sob uncontrollably, shed some tears, or at the very least stare off into space blankly for quite a while as you contemplate everything.There’s something about a show or movie that can move me to tears that really deepens my affection for it. Maybe it’s because experiencing emotions is fundamental to being human, or perhaps it’s the profound sense of love that accompanies caring deeply about something, even when it brings sadness. When I started the first few episodes, I’m not going to lie, I was not convinced I would love the show. But by the time I got deeper into it, I was hooked, and watched about five episodes in a row. While Episode 13 had me tearing up from happiness, the final episode had me crying quite literally the entire time from emotion.
The cinematography, and the significance of the cinematography throughout the show and especially in the last episode, is another major factor of this show that makes it both binge-worthy and bawl-worthy. Minor spoiler warning, but when Dex and Jasmine are climbing Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh (a place I’ve actually been to!) and he trails behind her, and when they hold hands and you see the red ribbon in her hair, all actions mirroring his beginnings with Emma… wow. Chef’s kiss. The mere thought of this show brings tears to my eyes.
As an avid reader that (regrettably) often decides to watch a TV show rather than read a book, I’m excited to go ahead and read One Day now in its original form. Oftentimes the book is better than its TV adaption, but we’ll have to see if the book can do an even greater job than the show did (I wouldn’t be shocked). One Day is also a 2011 movie starring Ann Hathaway and Jim Sturgess. While the reviews aren’t amazing, TikTok and social media seem to love this movie, so, I’ll give it a try, and maybe you should too. Also, did you know that the author Nicholls is coming out with a new book that will be released in April, and that Netflix is already in the works of signing a new deal for it? One Day’s sequel is in the near future, so be sure to watch the show first to prepare for another whirlwind of emotions in whatever the newest novel, You Are Here, has to offer.
I rarely rewatch shows because I usually don’t feel the urge to. One Day is the exception. This is truly a wonderful show if you enjoy love stories and are okay with feeling some intense emotions. Your reward for going through this difficult watching experience is the host of TikTok edits and Instagram photos that will flood your feed, and a renewed appreciation for the little time we have in our lives.