‘Firefly Lane’ Ending Explained: What Happens to Kate and Tully in the Series Finale?
We hope you had your Kleenex handy. The final episodes of Netflix’s Firefly Lane have arrived, and they packed a serious emotional punch. The time-hopping drama about the decades-long friendship between bookish and awkward Kate Mularkey (Sarah Chalke) and the outgoing and ambitious Tully Hart (Katherine Heigl) went out with a heartbreaking episode that brought the two besties’ story to a fitting close. We break down the ending of Firefly Lane Season 2 and what happened in episode 16, “This Must Be the Place.”
[Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Firefly Lane Season 2 Part 2.]
The ‘Firefly Lane’ series finale reveals Marah is the one getting married in 2016
The first half of Firefly Lane’s second (and final) season concluded with a serious teaser for the show’s last seven episodes. A flash-forward to 2016 at the end of episode nine showed Kate’s husband Johnny (Ben Lawson) and Tully preparing for a wedding at Kate and Johnny’s gorgeous waterfront home. The show continued to tease the big day throughout the remaining episodes, but without revealing who was getting hitched.
The answer to the mystery finally came in the opening moments of the series finale. Kate and Johnny’s daughter Marah (Yael Yurman), who is now a lawyer, is getting married to her doctor girlfriend. Of course, her godmother Tully is on hand for the event. And at first, it seems that Kate is there as well, suggesting that she’s survived her battle with breast cancer. The old friends reflect on their ups and downs and the challenges of raising Marah.
“Thank you for sticking with her, through all of it,” Kate says as she and Tully look at each other in the mirror. But then we see that Tully is the only one in the mirror’s reflection. She’s imagining the conversation with Kate, confirming what we suspected was coming: Kate has died.
Kate (Sarah Chalke) learns her cancer has spread to her brain
In the 2006 timeline, Kate had been fighting breast cancer. Unfortunately, all the medical treatments (and Johnny’s green smoothies) aren’t enough. In the finale, she learns that the cancer has spread to her brain. Her doctor says she has, at most, a few months to live.
At first, Tully lashes out in anger. She’s been pouring her energy into finding a clinical trial that will take her best friend, and she’s not willing to give up hope. But Kate has come to terms with the inevitable, and she needs Tully to do the same.
“I just need to go home,” she tearfully tells her friend.
Kate spends her last weeks at home, surrounded by her friends and family. She pours her remaining energy into finally finishing the book she’s always wanted to write.
Meanwhile, Kate is forced to confront the reality that she’ll soon have to face life without the one person who has always been there for her.
“We were gonna be old ladies together,” she tearfully tells Kate. “You can’t die. You can’t. I don’t know who I am without you.”
Kate reassures her friend she’ll be alright without her. She also makes Tully promise that she’ll call Danny (Ignacio Serricchio) and tell him how she really feels.
Tully takes Kate’s advice and rekindles her romance with Danny. (In the 2016 scenes, we learn that she’s still with Danny a decade later.) Afterward, she and Kate sit outside on the back deck as she shares the story of her night with Danny. When Tully goes inside to refill her tea, Kate looks out over the ocean and imagines she’s riding a horse before closing her eyes one last time.
Kate has one last gift for Tully at the end of ‘Firefly Lane’ Season 2
Tully is devastated by Kate’s death. She arrives at the funeral, but she’s unable to go inside the church. Kate anticipated that her best friend wouldn’t be able to handle the service. She’s prepared a gift for Tully, which Johnny hands to her.
Inside the box is a collection of items, including an iPod with their favorite songs and a “beyond the grave” letter from Kate in which she reflects on their complicated friendship. There’s also a copy of the manuscript of Kate’s book about her life, titled “Firefly Lane.”
“I know that you’ll think that I left you,” Kate writes in the letter. “But it’s not true. All you have to do is open this book and you’ll find me.”
The episode ends with an emotional Tully dancing to Abba’s “Dancing Queen” outside of Kate’s funeral. While we don’t know exactly what’s next for Kate, the scenes at Marah’s wedding indicate that she remained an important part of Kate’s daughter’s life and that — thanks to Kate’s help — she finally found a fulfilling relationship with Danny.
All episodes of Firefly Lane Season 2 are now streaming on Netflix.
For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s YouTube channel.
