The fallout from Eddie’s relapse is unfolding, and now the focus is on picking up the pieces.
Eddie went to rehab A Million Little Things Season 3 Episode 9, Katherine is reeling from the news, Jamie departed, and Sophie’s relationship with her music teacher is concerning.
Join TV Fanatics Christine Orlando, Jack Ori, and Meaghan Frey as they discuss an emotional hour.
How do you feel about Katherine’s reaction to Eddie’s relapse? Is it fair to compare this situation to previous Eddie mishaps?
Christine: Katherine has been through so much with Eddie. I don’t think this was so much a comparison as one more thing to pile on the betrayal and stress Katherine had to endure to save this marriage.
Katherine forgave him when he was too drunk to be there when Theo was born. She forgave him when he cheated on her with Delilah. She loves Delilah and Eddie’s baby and helps care for her.
She’s stood by Eddie throughout his recovery, only to find out he’s using again and lying to her. Only to find out that he let her blame Dakota for his pills. Only to learn he’s been high while he’s been taking care of Theo.
Add on Theo blaming Katherine for going back to work, something someone had to do for this family to survive, and I don’t blame Katherine a bit for being furious.
Jack: Addiction is a mental illness, and if Katherine is going to be with Eddie, she has to be prepared for relapses and destructive behavior. And as Christine pointed out above, she has forgiven Eddie for a lot in the past.
It comes down to what Theo said: there’s no guarantee Eddie will get better or won’t find something else to become addicted to later.
Meaghan: Exactly what Jack said, addiction is a disease, and she cannot compare him cheating on her to having a relapse. They aren’t even remotely the same, and it is a dangerous comparison to make.
Unfortunately, seeing it as a disease versus the choice when you are right in the thick of it is always difficult.
Ultimately, Katherine has to decide if she can continue to deal with the realities of addiction and all the baggage that comes with being the loved one of an addict.
It doesn’t make her weak if she can’t deal with it. Katherine also has to think about her own mental health.
Gary: Where’s Theo?
Katherine: oh, he’s upstairs. Angry at me.
Gary: At you?
Katherine: Yeah, I don’t want to talk about it.
Gary: OK. You want to talk about you?
Katherine: What’s to talk about? Same old story. Eddie breaks his promise, and I’m paying the price again. Theo blames me for working too much. What choice do I have? Mom’s coming over to help with his online school because someone needs to pay the mortgage. And my office. And the neighbor’s car, and now his rehab. I, uh, I don’t think I can do this anymore.
Gary: I get it. Only so much a person can take, right? Nobody’s going to blame you if you’ve reached your limit, Katherine.
As Christine and Jack said, she already has forgiven him for so much that she didn’t have to, so this might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
Also, if she distances herself from the situation, it might allow her to be there for Eddie in a more effective way.
If she doesn’t have to worry about trying to make their marriage work, then she can focus on being there for him as the father of her child.
At the end of the day, Eddie getting better is something Katherine will want because it affects Theo.
Between the latest stressor and that kiss with Alan, do you think Katherine and Eddie’s marriage can survive again?
Christine: I’m team Katherine, and I wouldn’t blame her at all if she’s reached her limit. The kiss with Alan was a tiny symptom caused by a huge problem which is Eddie’s betrayal.
I honestly wonder how Katherine can go back to this marriage when she’ll likely always be worried about Eddie lying to her again or whether she can trust him with their son.
Jack: Right now, it doesn’t look like it can. And maybe that’s for the best. I hope that whatever happens, Eddie and Katherine think about what’s best for Theo as they decide what the future holds for them.
Meaghan: Maybe down the road, but I think at this point, they need to take a break for everyone’s sake.
I was actually surprised that they had Alan reject the kiss and not immediately jump into an affair. This felt more realistic, and I think it leaves the door open for Katherine and Alan to have a potential relationship in some time.
Theo blames Katherine for not being there for him and Eddie. And Eddie blamed Gary for turning Katherine against him. React.
Christine: Theo is a kid, and he loves his father. He’s probably worried about losing Eddie, and he doesn’t necessarily understand addiction.
Theo [to Katherine]: This is all your fault. He needed you but you were too worried about going back to work.
Eddie: Theo, no, it is not her–
Theo: Yes, it is! You were supposed to take care of him. You were supposed to take care of all of us.
Eddie: No, Theo. Theo! Katherine…
Katherine: Don’t.
What Theo said was unfair, and someone needs to explain that to him, but I don’t blame Theo. On some level, I think he knows he can be angry at his mother, and she’ll still love him no matter what.
As for Eddie, he’s a typical addict. They’re very good at blaming everyone else for the mess they make of their lives and relationships, and that’s what we saw here with Eddie.
For years, no one from this friend group was there for Katherine, and Gary was trying to make sure that didn’t happen again.
Jack: I think Theo is angry that Eddie had to leave again, and he has probably been upset a while that Katherine is working so much. It all boiled over.
Eddie needed a shift in attitude. As the therapist pointed out, Eddie was thinking only about how to salvage his relationships with his family and not about how his behavior affected them.
Also, I don’t think his accusation that Gary was “trying to be Jon” was fair. Gary was trying to be a good friend to Katherine. And if Katherine’s reached her limit, encouraging her to keep trying with Eddie isn’t going to be good for anybody.
Meaghan: Theo lashing out at Katherine was to be expected. From his perspective, his dad is sick and hurting, and Katherine is pushing him away.
I think deep down he knows the truth, and he will get there, but he needs someone to be mad at in the moment. As Christine said, he knows that he can be mad at her, and she will still love him.
Eddie is just upset that things didn’t go the way he wanted. He wanted to be able to tell everyone the truth and have no repercussion for his actions. Similarly, Theo knows Katherine loves him and will still be there no matter how much Theo lashes out at her. Eddie knows he can do the same with Gary and Rome.
Do you think Sophie and her adult music teacher, Peter, are having an affair? Did you see that twist coming?
Christine: I hope not! I’m hoping that Sophie just snuck out to have music lessons, but even if that’s all it is, it doesn’t say much for the maturity level of her music teacher.
Either way, I feel for Gary having to deal with all of this. Things like this are difficult enough when it’s your kid, never mind your best friend’s child.
Jack: I am really hoping that Sophie just wanted to have her music lesson. Peter asked, “Did you forget something?” when he picked up the phone, so I assumed that meant she wasn’t there and whoever is in the bedroom is not her.
I don’t like adult/teen romance stories if they aren’t treated as sexual exploitation stories, and I don’t want to see one here.
Meaghan: I want to say no, but the fact that she had him listed under her ex-boyfriend’s name in her phone so that if anyone ever looked at her texts, they wouldn’t think they were inappropriate?
Yeah, that is just too sketchy to ignore. Maybe she has inappropriate feelings for him and is misreading the signals, but I think there could definitely be more to it.
Will you miss Jamie? Do you agree with his reasoning for leaving Maggie?
Christine: No! I kept hoping that he’d get to the airport and learn he couldn’t fly back to the UK. Maggie and Jamie are such a charming couple. I really hope he was more than just her Mary Poppins.
Jack: I was so disappointed. I was hoping Jamie and Maggie would continue to grow as a couple. I wonder if Jamie left because the actor needed to leave to do his stint on This Is Us and hope that he will be back later.
Meaghan: I’m definitely going to miss him! I love that actor, and he has brought such a great fun energy to the show and to Maggie’s storyline.
Hopefully, with Jamie gone, Maggie will lean on Regina as a support system and not Gary. Even if it is just from a friendship perspective, being back in Gary’s life without Jamie is more than likely going to cause problems with Darcy.
It is easy (well, not easy but easier) to accept your boyfriend’s ex being in his life when they aren’t available.
Should Rome let Walter grieve as he deems fit?
Christine: Yes. Everyone should be allowed to grieve and keep their own faith, no matter what it is or isn’t. It wasn’t right for Walter to try and shame Rome into believing in God, but it also wasn’t right for Rome to tell Walter what he believed in was nonsense. Faith, or even the lack of it, is very personal and should be kept that way.
Jack: Of course. Everyone grieves differently, and if Walter needs to believe that his wife is in heaven to keep moving forward, so be it.
Religion/faith is a difficult subject. It seems like both people who believe and people who don’t sometimes think the whole world should feel about it the way they do.
If believing that pennies in the wash were a sign helps Walter, what does it hurt for Rome to respect that belief?
Meaghan: Absolutely! Rome doesn’t need to share the same beliefs as Walter. Faith is a very personal subject and is not up to someone else to determine for you.
Rome needs to think about what the consequences of Walter losing that faith would be. He lost the love of his life, and that leaves a dark hole. He needs to have something to help him continue to move forward.
Do you have any other thoughts you’d like to share?
Christine: OMG! Regina’s Yoda impersonation was priceless. But they really need to have Tyrell watch the original trilogy, starting with Star Wars: A New Hope.
Jumping straight into Empire Strikes Back is doing a complete disservice to the series. And, of course, Regina was right. Billy Dee Williams will always be the OG Lando.
Jack: I don’t know enough about Star Wars to comment, so I’m going to leave that whole thing alone. LOL
Anyway, when Eddie was in the bathroom prior to leaving with Gary, my first thought was that I hoped he wasn’t using one last time. That’s a very common thing for addicts to do, though it would not be a good way to start rehab.
Also, it was sadly ironic that Katherine was drinking to relieve her stress over the whole thing. I was wondered if maybe that would help her understand what’s going on with Eddie a little better. She’s not an alcoholic, but she did drink and embarrass herself, after all.
Meaghan: In such a heavy episode, Danny’s appearance felt much needed for me. Trying to walk the line of being a good brother and be a good friend to Gary and helping him out was hilarious.
We don’t get nearly enough Danny and Gary time these days, and I would like them to remedy that as soon as humanly possible.
What was your favorite moment, quote, character from the hour?
Christine: My favorite quote was from Gary, “I’m with Darcy, and you’re with Jamie, and he’s with Nora.” That was funny and so very Gary. And I hope it means we can stop worrying about a Gary and Maggie reunion.
Maggie: Gary, I really like what we’re becoming, and I know that you got that ring because you didn’t think that I would make it, and if that year had been the last year of my life, it would’ve been a really amazing way for it to have ended.
Gary: Well, I’m glad it wasn’t. So I guess I’m glad you didn’t get this.
Maggie: We’ve both come a long way.
Gary: We really have. I’m with Darcy. And you’re with Jamie. And he’s with Nora.
And Katherine was the MVP of the episode.
Between Eddie’s lies, Theo’s anger towards her, and her mother trying to justify Eddie’s behavior, I really felt Katherine’s fury, depression, and hopelessness. She’s worked so hard for this family, but it just seems to never be enough.
Jack: The whole Eddie/Katherine/Theo storyline was heartbreaking this week, and from the first scene, I thought it was one of the most powerful storylines we’ve had for a while.
Meaghan: Katherine was 1000% the star of this episode. She nailed every emotion from the anger to the hurt to the drinking away of her feelings. She was incredible.
Over to you, AMLT Fanatics! Sound off below!
A Million Little Things airs on Wednesdays on ABC.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.