madhaj

[madhaj]

ONE DAY (2024) | 1.01

[madhaj]

emma and dexter + kisses

ONE DAY (2024)

[madhaj]

Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall as Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew ONE DAY (2024)

[madhaj]

You know it’s St. Swithin’s Day? 15th of July. If it rains today, it’s gonna rain all summer. Something like that. 

ONE DAY (2024)

[madhaj]

You know it’s St. Swithin’s Day? 15th of July. If it rains today, it’s gonna rain all summer. Something like that. 

ONE DAY (2024)

[madhaj]

*One Day Netflix Spoilers*

You can interpret it however works for you, and I don’t know how it played out in the book, but I loved the scene where Em and Dex got together.

Because Emma *chose* Dexter. When she didn’t have to, when she had other options, knowing all of his baggage, and knowing that they would probably be able to stay friends if she didn’t. And she still chose to start something romantic with him.

Emma was at the highest point of her success: a published author, signed for a second book, sent to live abroad in an exciting new city. And she’d started seeing someone who (from the little we see) is kind, charming, and cares for her. Emma is winning in every sense!

And she initially rejects Dexter. Her reasons make sense; she doesn’t feel he truly *wants* to be with her, just that she’s there and he’s lonely. She is sure of herself and her place in the world, and turns down the man she used to crush on because she wants it to be real. When given this opportunity were not shown a knee jerk, desperate, ‘oh my god, finally, yes!’ moment when he says he wants to be with her. She was NOT waiting on this, and she’s not PINING for him. It actually shows huge strength that when the man she used to like finally wants to be with her, she has the inner strength to say no and stick to what she deserves; a proper relationship with someone who truly wants her, not a placeholder.

Dexter lays his heart on the line, leaves himself competent venerable, and Em says no.

You could interpret Em coming back as unsatisfactory: a woman in her prime, going back to the man she’s been pining over most of her adult life. But it can also be seen as an empowering moment.

Emma knows all of Dexters issues and chooses him anyway. Dexter has literally just laid out his current headspace and issues, and it’s clear she was supporting him as the divorce was announced and agreed upon. And previous episodes show they’ve been close throughout Dexters marriage and fatherhood, with Em stopping in at his job and answering his late night calls. She’s been his best friend again for several years and knows his struggles, so she is going in to any romantic relationship with her eyes open.

Reducing Emma’s choice to being a silly or naive one I think misses huge parts of who she is, things which are key to her characterisation. Throughout the series she’s shown as intelligent, savvy, switched on and determined. Even when she’s unhappy or trying different things, she is sure in her conviction to do *something*. When she’s unhappy at the restaurant and Dex suggests teaching she makes a career change and trains. When she’s at her lowest (post headteacher affair and loosing Dex) she turns rock bottom into a spring board and tries once again to write her novel.

Emma is the embodiment of conviction. Whether it’s knowing what she wants or just knowing what she doesn’t, she is decisive and commits to her path. She’s the perfect foil for Dex who’s lesson across the series is to stop running from difficult feelings, and learn to process unpleasant emotions.

So she didn’t choose Dexter on a whim, and I love that they showed that. Em leaves Dex, turns him down, and goes to dinner with her lover in the city she’s loving living in, while doing the job she always wanted.

And she could have left it like that and they would have likely remaking friends. They did after that kiss at Tilly’s wedding, and after they slept together. So she has nothing to loose by rejecting him.

But Emma *chooses* Dex. She knows herself and what she wants, she knows who she is and what she is now capable of. What she wants, if it’s on the table, is to be with Dexter. So she commits to it.

They could have made her jump at the option to be with Dex. The writer could have had them get together when Dex was at the height of his fame or Em at the lowest point of her life. And either of those could have easily had a sense of fear on Em’s part: to be equal to Dex, to be good enough for him (in her head), to finally make it. But doing it this way gives her all the power, all the agency. And I *love* that.

From comments later it’s clear their relationship was good, they do work well together and they make one another happy. We’ll never know how Emma’s life could have gone if she stayed with Jean-Pierre. But the life she chose with Dex *was* happy. As Ian said ‘[Dex] made her so so happy’: wether you think she could have done better or deserved more, a life with someone who makes you happy… isn’t an insignificant thing.

We’ll never know if it was *the right* choice to be with Dex. But seeing how happy she was it’s clear it was a *good* choice. And that’s all we can ever hope for.

[madhaj]

If you love someone, please tell them

[madhaj]

I think he only began the process of healing when he was able to revisit the places he met Emma, with his daughter. Those moments killed me, it was sad and kinda bittersweet

Dexter's grief in 2003 was loud and roaring. He was drinking himself into passing out and engaging in the same self destructive behavior he did when he lost his mom as a coping mechanism. He was crying and openly grieving and so obviously in great pain that it was hard to watch. It felt like I was intruding in someone's deepest most private moment.

But to me, the portrayal of Dexter's grief in 2004 was more heartbreaking. Everything leading up to the box room scene was nerve-wracking. You could feel his pain simmering right under the surface. He didn't want to socialize with their loved ones on her death day. They try and try to engage him in the conversation and yes, you can feel his guard fall down for a moment and he relaxes. They joke around about his loft but he closes himself back up the moment he hears himself say her name out loud. That's when he remembers. They all can see it and he knows they can see it but he's not comfortable sharing his feelings with the others again. I think he was tired of being pitied and coddled when all he wanted was to be alone with his thoughts because that way, he could feel closer to her. He could see her and talk to her even in his imagination. He was barely holding it together during the entire conversation. That's why he ran for the bottle the moment the door closed.

2004 Dexter and 2003 Dexter are one and the same except he got better at masking his pain. Not for his own sake but for the others, and most definitely for his daughter. (edit: He even repeats the line “It’s just a day” when Sylvie and Ian ask him how he’s doing) That makes me terribly sad for him. How do you move on from such a great love without feeling guilty? How do you move on when all you want to do is live in your grief so her memory never leaves you?

This show ruined me.

[madhaj]

[madhaj]

kinda going crazy over how after the ep 7 fight, both em and dex actually worked on themselves, especially on the things they fought over. emma said she didn't remember the last time dexter was sober, so he worked on his overcoming his alcoholism. dexter claimed emma hadn't done anything with her life and that she's in an unhappy relationship, so she hit rock bottom but bounced right back up by ending her relationship and working on her book. i just love how even when they weren't around in each other's lives, these two were so intertwined and had such a major impact on each other. the distance was bittersweet but it also allowed them to grow into the people they were by the end. so yeah, they absolutely DID grow up together, even when they were apart.

[madhaj]

Something that's been on my mind since last night is the dialogue in One Day - I feel like shows and movies nowadays treat their audience like they're stupid and over-explain the most simple things rather than just showing us. What I like about One Day is that the subtext is there but they don't force it into the light, they let it linger. This is clearly noticed in the dialogue: in the episode where Em and Dex are arguing in Em's flat in Paris, Em's says something along the lines of "well isn't this ironic" and moves on with the discussion. Another show probably would have had Dexter ask "what" and then have Em go into a whole spiel about their decade-long friendship but that's not how normal people talk! They've known eachother for nearly twenty years, at that point in their relationship they have their own inside jokes, their own shorthand, and they know what the other person means without them having to spell it out. In this instance, I appreciate that as a viewer I have to stop and reflect on what she means and everything they've been through together in the last 11 episodes, but generally I appreciate that they kept the expositional dialogue to a minimum and so you get these moments that are that much more authentic and real-feeling!

[madhaj]

I have never seen the movie and I never read the book but holy shit is the tv show, One Day, incredible work.

Spoilers obviously!! I was shocked when Emma died and got really angry that I was watching another piece of media where the woman dies and the man lives on but when I watched the finale I quickly got over that and I'm here to tell you why!! Dexter didn't have something to overcome, grow from, learn from, that could only be accomplished by Emma dying. He didn't become a better person because she died, he became a better person to be with her years ago when they finally gave each other a chance at being together. The issue with women dying in media is to further the mans arc but Emma dies in the penultimate episode. We just have one episode without her and even that episode is about her. A lot of the show is about grief, it's a coming of age, it's romance, it's second chances, it's Dex and Emmas lives together and individually, it's about appreciating each day. It's not about how Dexter became a better person after his wife died. Idk I saw someone complain about her death and I get it but it's just not the same thing we've seen before.

I also wanna talk about the title! GAH!! Oh so simple but oh so much of everything

One Day - the day they met at the party

One Day - that same date becomes the day she dies

One Day - dex will move forward

And you'll feel guilty and hungover and just shit. All day. And it'll go on like that. Until it doesn't. Cause one day, it won't.

This show was fucking beautiful and it crushed me and god did I miss good CHEMISTRY. Between this and Rye Lane, the younger brits are doing right by me lol keep em coming!

[madhaj]

I need some One Day fanfics to fill in the gaps of the missed moments. I want their first time, their time in Paris, their engagement, their wedding, the immediate aftermath of the accident. Please talented writers of the internet, expand on their stories.

[madhaj]

ONE DAY ↳book > screen

In truth, he had never seen the point of cuddling. Cuddling was for great aunts and teddy bears. Cuddling gave him cramp.

He pressed his mouth against the top of her head and thought this must never, ever happen again. - One Day, Chapter 1

[madhaj]

Well said

*spoilers for One Day*

For people saying ‘it’s tragic, Dex and Em only got 3 years together’ no. They got 15 years together.

Glossing over the span of their life together to sum it up as ‘only 3 years together’ misses all the love and time they had together that wasn’t solely romantic.

Why is their relationship only ‘important’ or ‘counts’ when it’s a romantic one? Maybe there was always romantic love buried in there or growing steadily but there was a whole lot of platonic love there too.

For 15 years they were the most important person in the world to one another, they described each other as their ‘best friend’ and the person they reached out to at every high and low moment. And for the last 3 of those years they were also a couple.

There are loads of examples of Dex reaching out to Em when he’s at his lowest: the last birthday with his mum, then he’s reeling from his divorce, when he’s scared people will hate him on TV. And you *could* read that as pathetic and Em being his emotional crutch, with Dex latching into her. But you could *also* see that as when you’re struggling and low, you just want your best friend. Because they *get* you. And part of being a best friend is being there in those low moments.

And Em has done the same with Dex, just in different ways. That first year out of uni Em had no idea what she was doing; in a job she couldn’t wait to leave, a relationship that didn’t make her happy, not sure where she was going in life or what she was doing. Em writes to Dex often, and doesn’t need him to reply to her, just to read her letters and be *her* emotional crutch and person to vent to.

Even at that breakup-dinner, Em has things she ‘needs to talk about’ and she’s reached out to Dex to do it. We don’t see her discussing it with Tilly, we see her trying to talk about it with Dex. She’s at arguably her lowest moment (hates her job, hates her partner, hates her home) and she wants her best friend to listen to her. Just like he did when she was 24 and thinking about giving up and leaving London, and Dex convinced her to stay and keep going.

So they are emotional crutches *to one another*. That’s also part of being someone’s best friend.

And for all the low moments Dex also wanted to share his best moments with her too: when he’s excited about the TV pilot he calls Em to say ‘the only person I want to share this with is you’, and begs Em to find a way to be there. Yes this is also him dismissing and ignoring her achievements, yes this is self absorbed and rude and at the height of his egomania, but in that moment of triumph he only wants his best friend there with him.

When they see one another again at Tilly’s wedding Em is brave and self assured when she reveals she’s ‘thought of you every day, missed you every day’, and that even though they are friends again now the fact that Dex will have a wife and child ‘feels a bit like loosing you all over again. Because people with families have different priorities…’ That’s how close they were before.

The sentiment that ‘we grew up together’ is really true, for the both of them. They were very different people throughout their lives, and if they had tried to be a romantic couple earlier there is no guarantee that version of them would have lasted the course.

Would Emma have stayed with a peak-of-his-tv-fame Dex, partying and living life ‘to the full’? Or would they have explosively ended and decided they were too different for one another for it to ever work?

Would Dex have even tried for a career in TV or a full year of travelling if he’d become a couple with Emma after Uni? Or would he have done something else but grown resentful of what-could-have-been?

If they had sorted out their issues and apologised after their fight and Em had left Ian, would Em have found the strength to turn rock bottom into a spring board and finally write her book? Would she have even hit that bottom at all? Or would the hook have remained a pipe dream while she continued as a teacher, happy with Dex but professionally unfulfilled?

We will never know what could have been, and that doesn’t necessarily make those alternatives the ‘better’ option that they ‘missed out on’.

Maybe they would only ever have had 3 years together as a couple and getting it in their mid 30’s the way they did was their most mature and peaceful version.

So yes at times their relationship feels like it’s moving toward the inevitable conclusion of a romantic partnership. But the time before they get there wasn’t wasted or unimportant or unnecessary. And they were always together.

[madhaj]

That's the best way to describe her 🤩

I’m Felicity. I’m the wife of the freaking Green Arrow.

[madhaj]