'A Million Little Things' Recap: The Barbara Morgan Fake-Out Explained?

By Dustin Rowles | TV | February 1, 2019 |

By Dustin Rowles | TV | February 1, 2019 |

Here’s what I think happened: I think that Jeri, the character played by Constance Zimmer, was originally supposed to be Barbara Morgan. A Million Little Things originally had a 13-episode order, and it was all working toward the Barbara Morgan reveal in the season finale. However, thanks to decent ratings, ABC extended A Million Little Things another four episodes, so the writers needed to postpone the reveal until the new end of the season, which meant rewriting on the fly.

All things considered, I thought the writers handled it well, likely recasting Constance Zimmer as a city councilwoman carrying some guilt over the fact that she was the one who made the call to Jon letting him know that the vote over the subway stop failed, sinking his financial future. To be honest, I would’ve been bummed if Barbara Morgan were just a councilwoman because it would have meant that Jon’s decision to make her a beneficiary in his life insurance would have basically been a bribe to ensure the votes.

In either respect, Zimmer’s Councilwoman did manage to put the vote back on, and she claimed to have the votes to put in the new subway stop, which would have meant that Delilah would’ve scored big on Jon’s real estate deals had she held on to the properties. The votes, however, didn’t come through. Fortunately, Delilah had a last-second change of heart and decided to sell Jon’s properties at a modest loss before the vote (I don’t know any real estate deal that can be conducted in the 15 minutes before a vote that would completely change the value of the property, but I’ll chalk that up to dramatic liberties).

The other ding on the storyline — that the writers thankfully salvaged — was leaving viewers with the impression that Jon killed himself solely because of a real-estate deal that went belly up. That would have done an injustice to Jon. Fortunately, the suicide note that Ashley finally gave to Delilah suggested there was more to it than a simple subway stop. Basically, Jon said in his letter that “the man he wanted to be died” long before he met Delilah and he couldn’t live with the guilt anymore, which deepened the mystery about Jon. Who was he? And what did that apartment have to do with the life he led before he met Delilah? And, again, who was Barbara Morgan, besides the woman who painted the picture of the view of Boston?

It looks like the show is set up to provide several more flashbacks that will answer the questions we have about Barbara Morgan, what kind of man Jon was before Delilah, and — I’m guessing — a Jon and Delilah origins story, which I am looking forward to. In the meantime, it looks like Adriana from The Sopranos will either be Barbara Morgan or help provide a connection to her.

As for the other storylines? Treatment for Maggie’s cancer has been successful, so far. I’m also guessing that in the original gameplan, Maggie was going to find out in the doctor’s office that she had kicked the cancer, but — to extend the storyline another month — the doc told her that her tumor had shrunk by 8 percent, punting the beat-cancer celebration to the season finale. Also, Rome and Regina had a weird, tacked-on side subplot about a wedding album that culminated in Regina telling Rome that she wanted him to go back on his anti-depressants because he is taking them not just for himself, but for her peace of mind.

Finally, Eddie. Ugh. Katherine slept with her co-worker, only to find out that he had been offered the partnership at the firm that she had turned down. Katherine was unhappy, telling the very charming and handsome co-worker that he was a jerk to wait until after they had sex to inform her. I’m not so sure that’s all there was to it, though. I think she might have been miffed not just that he took her partnership, but that — as a dude with no kids — he had the freedom to do that without other considerations. I like Katherine’s working-mom storyline a lot — it’s reminiscent of Julia’s on Parenthood — and I hope they spend some more time on it.

In any respect, Eddie — who paid a visit to Katherine the morning after her booty call — noticed that she had had company the night before and a conversation about establishing some certainty in their relationship for the benefit of Theo turned into a conversation about getting a divorce. Katherine, for some reason, was left reeling by this turn of events, and instead of saying, “Yes! Thank you! Finally!” she shed a few tears when Eddie left the room. Conversely, Eddie leaving the room is my favorite part of any episode.