Gary and Maggie’s fertility journey may become tougher by the moment.
Meanwhile, Greta and Katherine overcome their first hurdle while Eddie faces a snag with his relationship with Anna on A Million Little Things Season 4 Episode 17.
Join Christine Orlando, Jack Ori, and Laura Nowak as they discuss the hour.
Are you happy Val is reconnecting with her daughter? How much did you enjoy Gina and Tyrrell spending time together?
Christine: I am happy that Val was able to begin rebuilding a relationship with her daughter. Val’s worked hard to put her life back together, and her daughter should know that.
But Gina and Tyrell were my favorite. Rome and Tyrell are so close, but it was nice to see how parenting Tyrell has affected Gina and how much she will miss him as he leaves for college. This was a sweet scene between the two of them.
Jack: Everything Christine said. I was thrilled that Tyrell got Val’s daughter to give her a chance finally, but Gina and Tyrell’s conversation brought tears to my eyes.
Laura: I agree with everybody. Val has waited a long time to connect with her daughter. I loved that Gina and Tyrell were involved. We don’t see as much of Gina with just Tyrell, but it’s obvious he’s cemented a place in her heart.
How much did you love Sophie and Gary’s race to the sperm bank shenanigans?
Christine: That was fantastic, funny, and oddly sweet. I laughed when Sophie said she tries to keep a quarter of a tank of fuel in her car because I was the same way at her age.
And Gary being willing to let the sperm go, so to speak, and be there for Sophie says so much about who he is and how strong a relationship the two have. It really shows what a great father Gary will make someday.
Jack: I guess I’m in the minority here because I didn’t enjoy most of it. I liked Gary and Sophie’s talk near the end, but the rest of it was silly and felt filler-ish to me.
Laura: I agree with Jack. I thought most of it cringey and silly until the end. Their heart-to-heart was so needed.
Do you think Rome is a suitable teacher? What are your thoughts on Maddox trusting Rome enough to share his truth?
Christine: Rome is a wonderful teacher. He just needed to let his students see who he was and why he was there. Once he opened up to them, they felt a connection to him.
Maddox has likely craved someone to trust enough to come out to, and Rome proved himself to be that person in one day. That was an incredibly powerful scene that made me want to hug them both.
Jack: OMG, I was so excited by Maddox’s film. I love it when there are authentic stories involving trans guys. We’re too underrepresented still. And I loved that he trusted Rome enough after what Rome said in class. It just goes to show that you never know who your words will affect.
I’m glad that Rome decided to start over and tell his story to the students. Once he did that, he made a real connection, and I got serious Dead Poets Society vibes from that scene.
I was angry on his behalf when students were texting and not paying attention during his first attempt. I’ve been in that situation as a new teacher, and it sucks.
Laura: Rome was a great teacher. He just needed to share something personal to get his students to relate and open up themselves.
I was not expecting that with Maddox’s coming out, but that was an interesting twist. I felt like he wanted to for a while, and something about Rome made him feel comfortable.
Katherine and Greta had their first significant spat as a couple and discussed her bipolar disorder. Discuss.
Christine: Katherine made a few missteps but owned up to them quickly. With Greta spending so much time with Theo, Eddie had every right to know about her bipolar disorder.
But as it is Greta’s mental health, Katherine should have let Greta know she’d be discussing it with Eddie.
But once Greta and Katherine cooled off a bit, they could see each other’s side of things and worked it out quickly, which bodes well for their relationship.
Jack: I’m glad that Greta and Katherine could talk this out. This is a tough issue. Greta’s bipolar disorder is always going to be part of her, but she is under a psychiatrist’s care, and her bipolar is under control.
She and Katherine needed to talk that through and also about how to talk to Theo about it. Katherine should have also talked to her before talking to Eddie about it.
I loved the scene where Greta and Katherine tried to explain bipolar disorder to Theo.
Theo’s joking aside; I think that the fact that he knows that both alcoholism and bipolar disorder are mental illnesses is awesome. Few shows normalize mental health issues, and we need more of that.
Laura: I’m also relieved that A Million Little Things actually discusses mental illnesses realistically. It’s awesome that Katherine and Greta could discuss their spat calmly and realize that Theo needed to know if she’ll be in his life too.
Are you surprised that Eddie and Katherine managed to communicate with minimal drama effectively?
Christine: These two have come a long way since their divorce! Eddie was right to be upset. Katherine should have talked to him about Greta moving in, even if it is temporary. Katherine would have freaked if Anna moved in with Eddie and Eddie failed to tell her about it.
But Katherine owned her mistake and apologized, which paved the way for a civil discussion. It took Katherine and Eddie years of marriage, therapy, and divorce, but they’ve finally figured out how to be there for one another.
Jack: I was, and that the show conveyed both points of view so well.
Katherine and Eddie aren’t married anymore, so she has the right to date whoever she wants, but they share a son, so in some ways, she’s not fully free to do as she pleases, and Eddie has a right to be concerned about his son.
I’m glad they could get on the same page about this without a long, drawn-out argument. Katherine saw Eddie’s point, and they could even laugh about it.
Laura: It saddens me that they never could communicate this well when they were married. Now that they’re divorced and friends again, they show their first priority is always Theo, but they care about each other’s happiness, too.
Should Eddie have covered for Anna? How do you feel about the latest development in their relationship and her drinking issue?
Christine: Eddie got blindsided, so I understand why he lied to the detective. He cares about Anna and wanted to talk to her about why she lied to the police.
But even if Anna wasn’t involved in Peter’s death, she got black-out drunk for most of a day, and that’s a problem. Couple that with Eddie’s own addiction issues, and these two have a tough road ahead.
Jack: I have a bad feeling this could come back to bite Eddie.
Anna being blacked out drunk means that she doesn’t know for sure that she didn’t do anything to Peter. And if the detective finds out that Eddie lied, which is bound to happen on a show like this, Eddie could be in huge trouble.
I hope this is Anna’s rock bottom. If Anna is willing to do what it takes to sober up now, she and Eddie still have a chance.
Otherwise, this development is bad news. Eddie is a recovering alcoholic/addict, and the last thing he needs is to deal with Anna’s addiction on top of his own recovery.
Laura: I also have a bad feeling since Eddie had worked so hard on his sobriety, and regardless if she killed Peter or not, Anna was so drunk that she blacked out and lost her memory.
What was your favorite moment, storyline, character, etc., from the hour?
Christine: I loved how open and honest Greta was when she explained what her bipolar disorder felt like to Theo. The world would be a much better, kinder place if we could talk openly about mental illness.
And I couldn’t help but laugh when Gary needed to provide the sperm sample and told Maggie he had been practicing for this since he was 13. Leave it to Gary to make that line work.
Jack: I also loved Greta and Theo’s talk, though my favorite moment of the hour was Maddox coming out to Rome on that video.
Laura: I loved all of those, but my favorite was Val and her daughter and Regina and Tyrell, such sweet mother-child bonding.
Is there anything else you’d love to address?
Christine: I’m curious if Regina and Rome would consider becoming foster parents again now that Tyrell will be heading off to college. There are so few foster homes for teenagers, and this experience has been so positive for them that I’d like to see them do it again because if they’re willing, they could have a much bigger family than they ever expected.
Jack: Ooh, I also wonder if Regina and Rome will foster more children. I’m curious as to where Rome being Maddox’s confidante will go, and whether Maddox will experience transphobic bullying considering the general environment of that school.
ᐧLaura: That’s a good one, Christine. I’m sure Rome and Regina will stay close to Tyrell, but I do wonder if they’ll foster another teenager. They were so good for him.
Over to you, AMLT Fanatics. Do you agree with our round table? Do you disagree? Sound off below!
A Million Little Things airs Wednesdays on ABC.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.