A Million Little Things 1x05 Review: "the game of your life" (The Good Fight) [Contributor: Jenn]

(Image credit: ABC)

"the game of your life"

Original Airdate: October 24, 2018

We're all fighting for something — purpose, a promotion, love, belonging. We fight for our voices to be heard and for our marriages to be saved. We fight for silly things and profound things. For most people, when there's something significant at stake, they approach the situation with boxing gloves already on. They're ready for a fight. Even though "the game of your life" tells very different stories, the core of each of them is that people are willing to fight for the things they believe in. So let's take a look at what's worth the sacrifice, shall we?

THE MOST IMPORTANT BASKETBALL GAME

We'll start with Gary and Maggie's story, mostly because it was the most emotionally grounded one in the episode and had some pretty high stakes. As we remember from last week's episode, Gary found out from her ex-boyfriend that Maggie's cancer has returned. So in classic Gary fashion, he creates a special day to get Maggie to open up, instead of just revealing what he already knows. The couple spends most of the afternoon enjoying deep dish pizza... until Gary's cover is blown when Maggie notices he brought grape soda. His silence is telling enough, and Gary earnestly then tells Maggie that he'll be by her side as she fights cancer and goes through treatment.

But that's when Maggie drops her bombshell — she's done with treatments and chemo. If she's going to live or die, it will be on her own terms. James Roday does incredible work in the next scene as Gary earnestly pleads with Maggie to reconsider and finally storms off in anger because Maggie will not relent. He spends the rest of the afternoon angry, until he decides to make a bet with her: if he wins a basketball game they'll play, then she has to go to treatment. Maggie counters that she accepts his terms but if she wins their game, he can't bring up treatment anymore.

And while initially it seems like Gary might win the game, Maggie ends up with the victory! Of course, Gary is upset and the drive home is awkward. But then Gary and Maggie have an incredibly heartbreaking scene. Gary isn't the kind of guy who wears his heart on his sleeve. His go-to method of response to most situations is sarcasm. In the car, however, Gary begs and pleads with Maggie to not make him watch her die. I think for the first time, Maggie is incredibly hurt by this abandonment. She knew Gary wouldn't understand her decision, but expected him to stay by her. Gary and Maggie's moment is absolutely heartbreaking. Through tears, she thanks him for the day.

I cried. Obviously. Gary and Maggie's story is so sweet though! It's filled with genuine emotion in which Gary is becoming a better version of himself. With his decision to stay with Maggie at the end of the episode, my only hope is that Maggie continues to grow and let Gary be there for her.

BE THE TREE

Katherine and Eddie's story continues to develop — maybe not in the way Eddie expected though. After Katherine realizes that she'll be late to Theo's play, Eddie decides that he'll figure out a way to stall the play from starting until Katherine arrives. True to his word, Eddie comes through and gets the working moms to pester the principal until Katherine shows up. But when it's time for Theo to go on stage, he confesses that another kid teased him about being a tree. Trees aren't important, he was told. Katherine very sweetly tells Theo that sometimes she feels like a tree, too — a person who plays a very small role in a giant play. But trees matter, she assures him. People need them and the play needs Theo. It's a sweet moment of connection for Katherine and Theo, who you can tell comes to expect that his mom will FaceTime or "try her hardest" to make it to an important event. Eddie is seen as the primary parent, but how does that make Katherine feel? Pretty terrible, obviously. She wants more from her relationship with Theo than being seen as secondary.

At the end of the episode, Katherine and Eddie share a moment. If it was a rom-com, they would have kissed as Eddie wiped soap off her cheek. But Katherine is angry — all she could think of throughout the day was the fact that even though they seemed to click, she knew how broken they were as a couple. And she couldn't move past Eddie's infidelity. Worse though, Katherine wonders aloud why she doesn't feel like she deserves more from her relationship with Eddie. It's a heartbreaking moment for anyone watching who's ever felt that way about a relationship — that we've deserved more than we settle for.

Eddie moves in with Gary at the end of the episode, leaving Katherine to embrace the primary parent role. I'm interested to see how her relationship with Eddie and the rest of the group continues to develop.

A LITERAL FIGHT

Sophie gets suspended for punching a girl in this episode. Obviously Delilah is upset... until Sophie tells her the reason. A girl in Sophie's grade posted a prayer for Jon because she believes anyone who commits suicide is in hell. When Delilah tries to provide platitudes to her daughter, Sophie reminds Delilah that Jon was the only person who took them to church; Delilah doesn't even believe in God. The conflict between Sophie and Delilah in the episode was one that I was afraid the show would take to a trite, theological place. Thankfully, I was wrong. While their conversation about religion lasted exactly one scene, the two spend the rest of the episode being suspended and trying everything they can to make themselves feel better.

They eat junk food. They bring out an old punching dummy and Sophie hits it. They watch movies. But nothing seems to quite cure the feeling that both Sophie and Delilah have inside. That's because the catalyst isn't religion necessarily — it's unanswered questions. Delilah is 43 and doesn't know what she believes about God. Sophie isn't sure either, but both women can't turn to the person who had all the answers for them.

So what do they do now?

Delilah mentions something that initially seems like a throwaway line — a quote from "Rainbow Connection" (which apparently is what Jon would sing to Sophie before she was even born) — and tells her daughter that maybe they'll just have to be okay with not having answers. For now. They'll find them, someday. But it's okay that they don't know things. Their story ends with Sophie digging out her guitar, playing and singing "Rainbow Connection" to comfort her and her mom.

That song is about to become more poignant than we know.

More stuff:

• We find out who's pregnant in the episode and... dun, dun, dun! It's Delilah. 
• This episode also features Rome determining whether or not his family has a history of depression. Initially, his father denies experiencing the kind of darkness Rome describes. But Rome's mother catches him before he leaves to tell him otherwise. Turns out, depression is a part of Rome's family history.
• "I don't want to go to court. I want to watch my son be a tree."
• "I once backed his car into his OTHER car."
• "Sure you don't want kids? I'm having a sale."
• " ... Was that before or after you slept with other members of our friend group?"
• Well played delaying the school production, Eddie. Well played.
• WHY DOES GARY HATE DEEP-DISH PIZZA?
• "I don't know a Tom. I'm Gary with the grape soda."
• "With all due respect, that is the stupidest thing your face has ever said."
• "Why don't I feel like I deserve more?"
• It's cool, James Roday and Allison Miller made me ugly cry.
• "You're so nonchalantly touching the part of the stick Regina urinated on."

How about that twist, though? Stay tuned for the resolution in next week's episode!

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A Million Little Things 1x04 Review: "friday night dinner" (It All Started in an Airport) [Contributor: Jenn]

(Image credit: ABC)

“friday night dinner”

Original Airdate: October 17, 2018

When you look at an event — a fixed point in time — you can find yourself asking: “How did I get here?” All of the little decisions and moments seem just that in the moment: little. Insignificant. It’s just one drink. Just one time. Just one little white lie. But then those moments string together to form bigger moments and bigger decisions and soon, we end up sitting on the floor wondering how exactly our life turned out the way it did.

A Million Little Things is fixated on the little moments that lead to the bigger ones. And I, for one, am glad they are. It’s easy to focus on the big event of the series (Jon’s death), but it’s more important to understand how the characters became who they were when he died. This week’s episode focuses on little things about each character that led them to who they are in the present-day and who they might become in the future.

THE SOFTER SIDE

When A Million Little Things began, I was worried that Katherine would just become this demonized workaholic wife. I was also worried that we wouldn’t get much out of Eddie’s character other than “former musician who had an affair with Delilah.” This week, we got the chance to explore more of their characters — and I loved it. Eddie was having some existential moments, returning to a bar he used to frequent when he was an alcoholic and thinking about the feeling of being on stage performing. But we learn more about how bad Eddie’s drinking became; on the day his son was born, Eddie was drunk in the middle of the day at a bar. He hit bottom and he hit it hard.

In spite of his transgressions, Eddie admits that to Katherine. She had to be someone he never wanted her to be. It was his fault that he put her into that position, and he can’t blame her for it. While Katherine appreciates the sentiment, it’s clear that their road is still rocky. But she, too, admits that they were broken as a couple long before Eddie and Delilah began their affair. Katherine’s softness had to take a back seat in their lives — she was the one trying to hold their family together when Eddie was spiraling. When Sophie fights with Delilah, she comes to Eddie and Katherine’s for a guitar jam session. Katherine has the chance to speak wisdom and gentleness to Sophie, which is really beautiful.

Part of Katherine’s struggle is feeling like an outsider, and I think that “friday night dinner” demonstrated the fact that Jon never wanted people to feel unwelcome. No matter what, there would always be pizza on a Friday night if he could help it. And while Delilah’s memories and our flashbacks show us glimpses into other aspects of Jon’s personality (the darker side of hospitality is that you pour yourself out and there’s nothing left to give to those you love; your whole identity is helping people), it was nice to see that Katherine still felt welcome by the end of the episode.

Things aren’t perfect, of course, because how could they be? But it’s a start.

GARE BEAR

I love James Roday. The work he’s already doing with Gary’s nuances and complexities? It’s beautiful. This week, Gary and Maggie’s relationship is rocky. Maggie meets a former hookup of Gary’s at a meeting and accuses him of being a player (not entirely wrong), and Gary meets Maggie’s former boyfriend outside of her apartment where he learns that Maggie’s cancer is back. Speaking of, Maggie is such an interesting character. She has all of this head knowledge of why people react the way they do — she gives solid advice to Rome in the episode over lunch about people existing but not really living. That’s what Rome is doing, and that’s what Maggie has to decide between. From her perspective, another round of treatments would just be an existence: a cycle of chemo and radiation. But Maggie’s future doesn’t look promising without treatment. In fact, doctors seem surprised she’d even consider the option to refuse treatment.

Maggie wants to live, but she wants to do it on her own terms. And so she and Gary fight about his past and his gross desire to hook up with cancer survivors. She accuses him of not being serious, but he fires back that SHE claimed things weren’t serious either. Maggie won’t open up to Gary — not fully — and so Gary decides to be the one to take the first step. From her ex-boyfriend, he knows Maggie’s cancer is back but she won’t be the one to tell him. So when he shows up at her apartment to clear the air about his past, she surmises that he’ll tell her she’s different from all the other women. Instead, Gary claims that he’s different.

He takes off his shirt, and finally shows Maggie his scar. She’s stunned into silence, and it’s such an incredibly wonderful, wordless scene. Gary’s such a soft character who masks his vulnerabilities with sarcasm and one-night stands. It’s easier to detach that way, and I’m interested to know if this kind of defense mechanism really set in after his cancer diagnosis. I hope we’ll see that soon. But Gary clearly cares about Maggie and instead of waiting for her to let down a wall, he put his down. Maggie’s still in hiding, but Gary’s example of vulnerability and sacrifice is incredible; he had no expectations for how she’d respond, but he did it anyway.

That’s what being brave truly looks like.

More things:

• Rome is working through his struggles and making changes! He quits his job at the end of the episode because he wants to focus on making his movie. His whole family and crew are supportive of his decision.
• “There’ll be high fives and fist bumps all around. Unless they’re like you and then it’ll be a weird combination of both.”
• “I gave a Russian chick a backstage pass.” “That’s not a euphemism.”
• The Alzheimer’s/dementia story with Delilah’s father is so sad, especially at the end when her father doesn’t know Jon is dead. 
• “We don’t always get to choose who and how we love. Sometimes it chooses us.”
• Ooof, the fact that Eddie was drunk on the day his son was born though.
• Regina and Rome’s relationship is lovely; I just hope he tells Regina soon about his depression.
• “That’s what we’re doing now? Being big people?” “Yeah. Maybe you should try it.”
• I’m glad Eddie and Gary’s relationship isn’t entirely fixed yet.

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A Million Little Things 1x03 Review: "save the date" (The Struggle for Happiness) [Contributor: Jenn]

(Image credit: ABC)

“save the date”

Original Airdate: October 10, 2018

When things unravel, they often unravel badly. And messily. Have you ever experienced that before? Maybe the lies you’ve told or the secrets you’ve kept were stacked up like a poorly-constructed tower of Jenga blocks. But then the structure wobbled and shook — one block wiggled a little too much and the whole thing came crashing down.

A Million Little Things’ title comes from a line in the pilot: “Friendship isn’t one thing ... it’s a million little things.” And with that million little things comes inevitable lies and secrets, too. Friendship isn’t just the cushy, cozy times; it’s the rough stuff you have to wade through. It’s the moments you know you love the other person but you also really, really want to throttle them for the choices they’ve made. It’s the memories and the painful realizations. It’s everything in “save the date,” really. Because in this episode we get the juxtaposition of joy and pain; of intense happiness and also grief.

It’s incredibly real, raw, and ultimately satisfying.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GARY

The episode centers around Gary’s birthday, and the fact that each year Jon would do something elaborate to celebrate it. Gary hates his birthday (more on that later), but when Jon’s secret celebration is finally revealed and it’s a Bruins training camp... well, Gary can’t pass that up. There’s just one snafu in this otherwise perfect day — everyone finds out about Eddie and Delilah’s affair.

As someone who hoped this secret wouldn’t get drawn out for the entirety of the season, I’m relieved. I also find Gary and Rome’s reactions to be rather interesting. Until they knew the woman Eddie was sleeping with was Delilah, they were content to let him cheat on his wife; they believed he really cared about this woman and no one seems to be the biggest fan of Katherine to begin with. But when the group realizes who he’s sleeping with, suddenly everything changes because she’s the wife of their deceased friend (and wives are off limits, but only within the friend group? They were okay with Eddie cheating with — possibly, since they didn’t know — someone else’s wife?).

“save the date” is ultimately Gary’s story and so this episode was ultimately James Roday’s masterpiece. We ain’t seen nothing yet (as someone who loved how much of a triple threat he was on Psych — he can act, write, and direct you guys!), but this episode was a start. Gary’s not just devastated by the news; he’s absolutely enraged.

But let’s back up momentarily: how does Gary learn about the affair? When he and Eddie go to Eddie’s house to ask Katherine for a favor, Eddie leaves his phone behind by accident. He re-enters the house to retrieve it, and Katherine had picked up a call — from a hotel, notifying Eddie that they did not find the necklace he was missing. Eddie lies, of course, but Katherine catches him. She puts the pieces together pretty quickly and threatens Eddie, wanting to know the identity of the woman he was sleeping with. Off-camera, he tells her and we see her utter devastation and anger; Katherine is rightly humiliated that someone she was friends with was sleeping with her husband.

And that’s the moment Gary re-enters through the front door, wondering what’s taking Eddie so long.

Eddie’s affair blowing up in his face is sort of satisfying to me, as a viewer. We need to dismantle Eddie and Delilah’s characters in order to figure out who they are apart from the affair. With the secret out in the open, we can finally move into a space where we learn more about who they are and what led them to this. For Eddie? I want to see more of a dimension to his character — give me more about his addiction and what led him to becoming a music teacher. For Delilah? Let’s expand on the idea of loneliness she discussed at the end of the episode.

As you might surmise, the secret blows a hole in Gary’s birthday, but Eddie is persistent. He shows up at the Bruins’ training camp anyway, further angering both Gary and Rome. (And me. C’mon, Eddie, read the room.) While there’s an initial fistfight, Gary, Rome, and Eddie eventually win their scrimmage against the other hockey players.

But Gary — beautifully delivered by Roday — tells Eddie that their little victory doesn’t change anything. He still slept with Delilah, and in real life, there aren’t happy endings like there are in movies. You have to live with the consequences of your actions; Eddie needs to learn that his actions have them.

THE DELILAH OF IT ALL

Since the men find out, the women do too. Regina and Maggie are helping Delilah go through things at Jon’s office (she hasn’t had the strength to do that by herself) when they get the news from their respective partners. Delilah is, at first, hesitant and reserved. But she finally breaks down, frantically searching Jon’s belongings for a note. She yells at the women, demanding that they say what they are all clearly thinking — that she’s the reason Jon’s dead. That he found out about the affair, and that’s why he’s gone.

None of the women say anything, but their silence is probably more telling than anything. They’re hurting and processing Delilah’s revelation too, and as much as they love their friend, they know now that she’s no saint.

Later on, Delilah is at home when Gary stops to visit. He couldn’t be angry at her earlier because she wasn’t in front of him. But his emotional reaction toward her is one of intense disappointment and questioning. And it’s then that we learn something crucial about Jon — he was everything to everyone else. Except Delilah. He planned elaborate parties and cared about the people he loved, but when push came to shove, Delilah felt like she was always the last person to be cared for and about. Gary has never thought about that before. He idolized Jon; everyone did. But Delilah delivers the hard truth — when someone is there for everyone else, they have to make sacrifices somewhere.

Gary delivers a beautiful monologue to Delilah. He talks about how he didn’t always hate his birthday; there was a time he loved it. But then his parents got divorced, and instead of wishing they’d get back together, he just wished everyone would be happy. It’s a wish he continues to this day, and it’s a sweet reminder that Gary really is a soft teddy bear.

“save the date” brought the drama for a lot of our characters, and I’m interested in whether or not the fractured friend group will ever be fully whole again.

And now, bonus points:

• I’m glad we got a Katherine/Delilah conversation and that Katherine admitted to missing Jon — the only person who would understand why she works as hard as she does. I really want to know more about Katherine, because initially I was put off by her demeanor but now I think there’s more she’s not telling us. Additionally, I’m interested to see whether she stays with Eddie or not.
• Rome and Maggie bonding is so cute! I just don’t think it’s a good idea that she’s his therapist.
• In this episode, Rome mentions that he basically pushes through the days and fakes it until he makes it. It’s sad but it’s how a lot of us live our lives.

What did you think of this episode? Sound off in the comments below!

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A Million Little Things 1x02 Review: "band of dads" (Behind Every Smile is Another Story) [Contributor: Jenn]

(Image credit: ABC)

“band of dads”

Original Airdate: October 3, 2018

Friends are family too.

That’s something I’ve learned and leaned on as I’ve gotten older. Two of my best friends had babies nine months ago, and every time my friends talk to their little ones about me, they refer to me as “Auntie Jenn.” I’m not related to them by blood, but when you’ve been friends for seven years and have gone through ups and downs together, you’re bonded.

A Million Little Things is as much a show about friendship as it is about family. In fact, I think that the show has already argued that friends are family too. In “band of dads,” we get to witness this firsthand — with Jon’s death still fresh on everyone’s minds, our main men decide to step up and be there for Sophie and Danny. But with Gary, Eddie, and Rome each facing their own issues, it isn’t a smooth ride.

GARY: USING HUMOR TO DEFLECT SINCE BEFORE THE SHOW BEGAN

I feel like every episode review will contain some variation of: “James Roday is incredibly talented,” so prepare yourselves now. The thing about Roday is that he’s able to absolutely nail dry, sarcastic humor and balance it with deep, moving moments with relative ease. Gary is the kind of guy who’s a bit of a mess, and he’s okay with it. (He’s got four French fries and a single roll of paper towels in his car, after all.) But the one thing that’s important we know about Gary? He still shows up. Always.

In “band of dads,” we get to watch Gary and Maggie’s relationship unfurl a little bit more. Maggie, it turns out, is harboring a bit of a secret from her new bed buddy — she’s technically separated from her husband. Or maybe not legally separated, even. All we know is that she ran away from him because she couldn’t be what he needed her to be. But as Gary tries to be okay with the casual nature of their relationship, you can tell the secrecy bothers him. For all his deflection — and he’s very good at it — Gary is actually a big teddy bear. He has a great, compassionate heart for his friends. He’s the only one following up with Rome to make sure he’s okay.

He’s also the only one who notices when Danny lies. In an incredibly moving scene, Gary listens as Danny half-confesses that he has a crush on a boy in his grade. Danny worries that his dad might have taken his life because he knew. Gary gently and passionately reassures Danny that Jon loved him very, very much and that knowing this secret would have only made Jon love him more — just like Gary does.

I’m interested in seeing how the rest of Gary’s story unfolds. We’re beginning to see his true, vulnerable self peek through the humorous deflection little by little. I just worry with the weight of Maggie’s double secrets (the fact that her cancer is back and that she has a husband) will cause his heart to harden and suffer.

EDDIE: THE AWKWARD DAD

I am not the biggest fan of Eddie. I think the reason is obvious — most of Eddie’s personality so far has been wrapped up in his affair with Delilah. I really don’t know much about him apart from the fact that his relationship with his wife is terrible but he has an adorable son. We don’t get to know much more about Eddie in this episode, but we do get to sort of piece together some of the pieces of the affair puzzle.

I mentioned in my review of the pilot that the soapy elements of A Million Little Things set this apart from This Is Us; Eddie and Delilah’s affair storyline is definitely the major factor in this. In “band of dads,” we can safely assume that Jon knew about Eddie’s affair with Delilah and that, at the end of his life, he was okay with it. (This is based on Delilah discovering that Jon found Eddie’s necklace.) Jon’s voicemail to Eddie instructing them love each other could obviously be taken to meant that the group should love each other; but Eddie knows the subliminal message there could be an instruction for Eddie to love Delilah well.

Sophie and Eddie are forced to bond (kinda) in the episode when he becomes the one to take Jon’s place in the father/daughter dance competition. But Eddie isn’t as skilled a dancer as he’d like, and between the frustration of not really getting the routine and the awkwardness of dancing with a girl whose dad just died — and also the fact that Eddie was sleeping with Sophie’s mom — he eventually realizes he’s not meant to dance with Sophie after all.

In flashbacks, we watch Sophie’s softball game take place and it seems to be the precursor to Eddie and Delilah’s affair, where the two set up plans for dinner without their respective spouses or kids.

I don’t think Eddie is a terrible person necessarily, but I’m struggling to connect with him beyond just being Delilah’s affair partner. I hope this changes.

ROME: JUST KEEP SMILING

Rome is the most interesting character in the show to me. Early in the episode, he visits Jon’s office because he can’t sleep. There, he imagines himself in Jon’s shoes — right until the moment he jumped. It’s jarring and yet also telling in terms of Rome’s mental state. Gary keeps checking up on Rome and is more than a little disappointed when the man says he hasn’t told his wife, Regina, about attempting to take his own life.

Like most of us do, Rome insists he has everything figured out and he’s fine. But we know that’s further from the truth in Rome’s case than most of us. While at a commercial shoot, Rome begins to have a little bit of a breakdown (the editing of the scene captured Rome’s fried emotional state pretty well), and becomes increasingly frustrated when he can’t seem to find any footage of Jon smiling. Why? Because Rome knows that behind every smile is another story. He plastered on a smile at work, but inside he’s melting down. And he now knows that Jon did the exact same thing.

So Rome goes to talk to Maggie. And although she advises him that she cannot and will not be his therapist, it seems like we might not have seen the last of these two people talk about mental health. Even though Regina doesn’t yet know about Rome’s depression and its depth, I do appreciate the fact that Rome is actively pursuing help — even if he doesn’t know quite what it looks like yet.

The crux of “band of dads” is a breakdown Sophie has about how her dad provided for so many people — he left a restaurant for Regina and wrote out his will — but it seems like he left her without a dance partner. She was the only one he didn’t seem to plan for.

But that’s not the truth. At the end of the episode, Rome realizes that Jon prepared him to take his place at Sophie’s dance; Rome was the one helping Jon learn the steps to begin with. As Sophie and Rome dance, they realize that Jon knew what they both needed.

While the concept is lovely out of context, I do worry that the sentimentalization of suicide (the notion that Jon had a plan all along to provide for his family and friends, and that “everything happens for a reason”) is just as problematic as the message 13 Reasons Why sends (that you can still be connected to the people you love from beyond the grave if you take your own life).

There are so many things about A Million Little Things that are great — the cast is stellar and the music is beautiful — but its central premise unsettles me just enough to leave me questioning what kind of messages I’m truly buying into.

Quotable things and points to ponder:

• “Waffles and war. Can’t wait.”
• Okay, something is sketchy with Jon’s secretary. You all agree, right?
• “Stop covering with jokes.” “It’s literally all you ever do.”
• “We gotta do what men do. We gotta deflect.” “That’s right.”
• “... Can you tear me off a tiny sheet?” “I’ll have one.” That was a super realistic scene of me whenever anything sweet and/or emotional happens, y’all.
• “You guys don’t need to come.” “That’s what makes it such a sweet gesture.”

Stay tuned next week for another A Million Little Things review!

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A Million Little Things is No This Is Us — But That's Not a Bad Thing [Contributor: Jenn]

(Image credit: ABC)

Trigger warning: Brief discussions of depression and suicide to follow.

If you're anything like me, you probably watched the first trailer for A Million Little Things and thought: "Did ABC assume I needed another This Is Us in my life to emotionally compromise me each week?" The good news that I have for you with this advanced review of the new drama series is that while there are shades of a This Is Us-esque penchant for making you reach for the tissues, that's about where the similarities end.

Because where This Is Us is all about what connects us, A Million Little Things is all about the secrets we carry — and how they separate us from people. Now, don't get me wrong: that might seem like a cynical reading of the new ABC show, but it's not. I quite enjoyed the pilot, in spite of some of its issues. While both dramas tackle similar topics, tonally, the execution of A Million Little Things is distinct enough from This Is Us that you can watch both shows without a feeling of whiplash or deja vu. Within A Million Little Things' pilot alone, you'll be able to feel the weight of soapy drama — a titular feel for most ABC dramas.

I'm getting ahead of myself, though: let's backtrack momentarily to discuss the plot of the pilot. A Million Little Things focuses on four people who became friends because they were trapped in an elevator together years prior. The group consists of Gary (James Roday), who has battled cancer, Rome (Romany Malco), an aspiring filmmaker, Eddie (David Giuntoli), a recovering addict and guitar teacher, and Jon (Ron Livingston) who, as you might know from the trailer, takes his own life at the start of the series.

Most of the pilot hinges on Jon's suicide and how it impacts his friends and family, including wife and two children. In the pilot, at least, Jon's decision to take his own life seems to be linked to depression, and there is a scene featuring a frank discussion between the core characters about how they could have missed depression and its signs in Jon's life. Some characters acknowledge that depression doesn't often manifest itself in the ways that we expect and we can't blame ourselves for not seeing or noticing signs.

I'd forewarn anyone who is sensitive to suicide and/or discussions of it and depression — or any similar subject matter — to avoid watching the pilot. Though A Million Little Things doesn't necessarily try to sensationalize suicide (this certainly is not 13 Reasons Why), the show does fall back on a character's cliche of, "everything happens for a reason" in order to make sense of silent struggles and Jon's death. While it was a trait and line given to the character, I might be a bit too cynical in hearing it associated with suicide and mental health to see it as significant. To me, that statement is just as empty as "thoughts and prayers" are without action tied to them.

Speaking of cynical: Gary is the group cynic, but Jon's death causes him to make a pretty bold statement about the friendship between him, Rome, and Eddie — they're only friends because they (along with Jon) got trapped in an elevator one day, and that since that day, they never talk about anything real with one another; they haven't in years. A Million Little Things is centered on friendship and connection in relationships: it opens with a quote that says, "Friendship isn't one big thing... it's a million little things." While that sentiment is accurate and pretty, Gary is also right when he drives home his cynicism in the pilot. Each member of the group has kept their fair share of secrets; their friendship, while real, has become more shallow over time — and Jon's death is Gary's reminder of that.

(Image credit: ABC)

Jon's life and death affect everyone differently. As the series progresses, I am sure we'll begin to learn the extent to which his life impacted others, but in the pilot we get glimpses into how each friend and family member handles his passing. And this is where ABC's knack for soapy drama and air of mystery kick in. Though I won't spoil exactly what each person's dark secrets are (some you know through the trailer, others you might be surprised by), A Million Little Things is as much about what happens when we don't share our burdens as what happens when we do. While Gary notes that the group has slipped into surface-level friendship pretty easily (and surmises that this is why none of them knew or saw what Jon was going through), it'd be easy to end the narrative there.

But when people unburden themselves to those they're closest to, healing and transformation happens. There's an especially powerful scene toward the end of the pilot that's evidence of this. The characters we meet at the beginning of the pilot are a lot more complex than just their baggage or issues; you might form different opinions about them by the end of the episode, honestly. And though I'm not entirely sure exactly how far down this road of soapy drama the show is headed (but because of the network and the set-up in the pilot, I suspect my answer is "pretty dang far"), the drama is also not without purpose. Secrets and lies (even ones of omission) will illuminate the character of these individuals.

By far, the performances of James Roday (those who watched him in Psych will notice a similar biting sarcasm and wit of Shawn Spencer; I'm beginning to assume this is just Roday's natural persona because of the ease with which he slips into it) and Romany Malco are stand-outs, and I look forward to seeing them grow in these roles.

A Million Little Things is not a perfect series, and it'd be easy to write it off as a series trying to be This Is Us. But because there are so many little intricacies and complexities to the new ABC series, give it a chance — as long as you feel you are able to do so, safely.

Pilot Grade: B+

A Million Little Things premieres September 26 at 10 p.m. on ABC.

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