You Say It’s Your Birthday?!
2003
Episode 9 of Firefly Lane begins with Tully having a bad dream about losing her baby. Blood patches on the bedsheets pave way for Cloud showing up to comfort her daughter while Kate arrives. When Tully awakens, she learns that she’s lost the baby. Well, Tully is in no mood to mope around though, as she immediately heads out to start working.
At the Girlfriend Hour, Tully puts on a brave face and flamboyantly gives away a whole bunch of expensive gifts to her audience. When she picks up a photo framer to sell, a picture of a baby on the front stops her in her tracks. This immediately hits home for Tully and she blanks out for a second.
When she returns to Earth, she changes tact and goes off-script, asking about miscarriages and opening up to the audience about her woes. It’s an empowering moment, one that sees all the girls share their stories with her.
After ending the broadcast, Kate congratulates her but is called away with Johnny on account of Marah getting into trouble at school. She’s disrupted her biology class again but mainly as an act of defiance against animal cruelty.
She and Travis’ daughter have splashed paint everywhere, unwilling to cut open frogs. Both Travis and Johnny are on the same page here, believing a more suitable punishment may be keeping them at school. Thankfully, the trio convince the teacher not to expel Marah. In fact, Travis and Kate even go out together to blow off some steam.
Back at the studio, Tully sits with Johnny and they discuss her marriage. Right now, Tully is unable to face her husband after the miscarriage but when she heads home, Max is sat waiting for her. He tries to open up and talk to Tully but she’s having none of it.
An angry and hurt Tully lashes out, telling Max she only married him because she was pregnant. Now that she doesn’t have a baby, she doesn’t want him there. After admitting she would be a terrible Mother, she forces Max out the house, pushing away the one man in her life who truly cares.
1970’s
In the 70’s, Tully’s birthday is mired in disappointment too. After Kate’s wonderful gift featuring a necklace for the pair (which they still have in the present), Tully’s Mother has a less-than-ideal present.
Cloud makes things all about her as she celebrates her birth day, as in the day she gave birth. To celebrate this (and y’know, an actual birthday for her daughter) Cloud encourages the kids to join her for a big, fancy dinner that night
The trio show up and immediately start drinking cocktails as things start to look up for the group… until Cloud gets up and starts singing. She makes the entire evening about herself, embarrassing Tully in front of all these people. Even worse, she has no money to pay for their drinks or food.
Cloud makes a big scene in front of everyone, splashing a drink over the owner before being escorted out by security. As she lashes out, like an enraged animal, Tully and Kate follow her as security drag the woman out the restaurant.
1980’s
In the 80s, Tully receives a whole bunch of gifts on her birthday, including dinner with the prolific Wilson King from KPOC network. Thinking nothing of it, Tully shows up that evening for a one-on-one dinner. The restaurant they’re in just so happens to be the same one she visited with Cloud 10 years prior. What are the odds!
After a nice meal, Wilson offers his hotel room and an opportunity to be a star… but only if she sleeps with him. For now she deliberates over what to do.
As the episode closes out, we cut back to 2003 momentarily as Tully learns the show has been dropped and there’s a new boss now. His name? Wilson King.
The Episode Review
The penultimate episode of Firefly Lane builds up the drama in Tully’s life as she struggles to deal with her newfound situation – on her birthday no less.
After the miscarriage, she’s obviously heartbroken and takes out her anger on everyone around her. More specifically though she takes it out on Max by kicking him out her apartment. It’s a perfect example of how toxic her relationships have been over the years, stemming all the way back to Pat in school.
Despite things momentarily looking up, the introduction of Wilson King showing up as her boss looks to descend back down that nightmarish path again.
While the idea of tying a birthday across three timelines is a good one, it’s also coupled with a fair amount of filler too, including the karaoke sessions and singing which really doesn’t contribute a whole lot to the show.
Still, the ending promises lots of drama to come as Firefly Lane leaves the door wide open for its season 1 finale.
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Episode Rating
(3)
I admired Lucette Lagnado a great deal and was devastated to hear of her passing. This was an award-winning author and journalists, so what was the reason for the gratuitous trashing of her name in this series?? I feel terrible that her sister had to hear this completely unwarranted trashing of her sister’s name.
I am a great fan of the amazing writer and journalist Lucette Lagnado and I had the honour and luck to meet her in Cairo (my city) for the book signing of “the man with the white sharkskin suit “and “the arrogant years “.
It was a full room in the Diwan bookshop , everyone loved her even more when they saw her in reality . A smart , eloquent and above all a modest human being with great talent .
I was shocked to hear her name in the series and could not get or appreciate the reason for the mention.
@suzette, I am so sorry for your loss. I found your review by Googling your sister’s name + Firefly Lane. It was the first result I clicked on. I know it must have hurt to hear your sister’s name in this context. The way I interrupted it was that they were referencing a journalist with integrity, that WOULDN’T sleep with someone to gain on their career, if given a choice like Tully Hart. I also believe her name was mentioned to honor her, because now, people like me who have never heard of your sister, Google her, read about her life, and now WILL KNOW HER NAME AND SAY HER NAME with honor. Take solace in knowing that more people will know her and respect her because her name was mentioned and they took the time to wonder who she was.
I would like to know why the name of an actual, real person was mentioned in this episode. I was shocked to hear Wilson King tell Tully that she must choose whether to be a “superstar or Lucette Lagnado”; to which Tully asks: “Who is Lucette Lagnado?” And Wilson King retorts: “Exactly!”
Lucette Lagnado was aside from a celebrated writer and journalist, my dear little sister who died tragically in 2019.
I miss her every day and this gratuitous, petty and malicious mention of her name is supremely hurtful. I deserve an explanation, to say the least!