A Million Little Things has come to an end after five seasons, closing the book on the found family of Boston residents who met on a stuck elevator and banded together following the suicide of their friend Jon. Showrunner Terrence Coli promised a full-circle ending, and unfortunately that means we said goodbye to Gary (James Roday Rodriguez) in the series finale, as he ended his pain amid a fight with terminal lung cancer. The consistent comic relief of the group was rendered speechless in the series finale, highlighting just how big of a loss it was, and heartbroken fans had lots of things to say about how everything went down.
Gary’s death was not a surprise to Millionaires, as it was learned in the penultimate episode that his lung cancer was terminal. Rather than spend his remaining days undergoing trials to try to prolong his life, he chose to stay in Boston with the support of his found family. What was a surprise, however, was that Gary had made a plan to end his suffering, and he enlisted the help of Rome (Romany Malco), Eddie (David Giuntoli) and ultimately his wife Maggie (Allison Miller) to help him die with dignity. Several fans found it a satisfying, if devastating, ending to the ABC series, with one tweeting:
that really was a perfect series finale for a million little things it was a giant love letter to friendship and it showcased how much gary meant to the friend group and how he positively affected all their lives i’m blown away with all the parallels and full circle momentsMay 4, 2023
The final minutes featured a flash forward that showed 16-year-old Javi Mendez watching a video his dad had made for him 15 years prior. Gary’s voiceover assured his son that he would always be with him, and we got small glimpses of what the future would hold for the rest of the characters. While I could have used a bit more closure on the surviving “band of dads” members, there’s no denying the emotional impact of the final words of the series, as one Twitter user pointed out:
the best last line of any television series ever created a million little things you will always be loved pic.twitter.com/3d93BOHhHUMay 4, 2023
Several fans compared A Million Little Things’ final episode to other tear-jerkers, including the NBC dramas Parenthood and This Is Us, as one tweeted:
I thought the Parenthood finale broke me but that's nothing compared to A Million Little Things pic.twitter.com/lSwLHn9u4jMay 4, 2023
There was plenty of love for the series’ writing — likely a result of creator DJ Nash having a complete vision for the series when it premiered five years ago — but it seemed like mostly fans were just kind of destroyed by the loss of Gary and the loss of AMLT in general, with one saying there should be some kind of warning that comes with the show:
they warn you about drugs they warn you about alcohol but nobody warns you about the show a million little things that shit will destroy you pic.twitter.com/xfVyP1l89vApril 27, 2023
If you haven’t witnessed the series finale for yourself, be sure to stock up on tissues beforehand, and it’s probably best to have your own supportive friend group available as well, as one Millionaire declared themselves a mess:
not sure if any of you watch this, but i just genuinely SOBBED through the series finale of a million little things and have truly never cried that much at tv 😭😭😭 it was heartbreaking and beautiful and and and… i’m a messMay 4, 2023
A Million Little Things may have come to an end, but the writers did leave the door open for a spinoff down the line, with Jon, Gary, Eddie and Rome’s sons continuing their dads’ tradition of Bruins hockey outings. That is definitely a show I’d watch. In the meantime, though, there are still plenty of series on the 2023 TV schedule to get the emotional juices flowing, and Millionaires can revisit all five seasons of the series with a Hulu subscription.
