Fans Have A LOT Of Thoughts After A Million Little Things Airs Its Heartbreaking Finale

James Roday Rodriguez as Gary Mendez and Allison Miller as Maggie Bloom on A Million Little Things.
(Image credit: ABC)

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

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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:  

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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

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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: 

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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: 

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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

Heidi Venable
Content Producer

Heidi Venable is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend, a mom of two and a hard-core '90s kid. She started freelancing for CinemaBlend in 2020 and officially came on board in 2021. Her job entails writing news stories and TV reactions from some of her favorite prime-time shows like Grey's Anatomy and The Bachelor. She graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a degree in Journalism and worked in the newspaper industry for almost two decades in multiple roles including Sports Editor, Page Designer and Online Editor. Unprovoked, will quote Friends in any situation. Thrives on New Orleans Saints football, The West Wing and taco trucks.