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What the Hell is Ashley Hiding on 'A Million Little Things'?

By Dustin Rowles | TV | November 1, 2018 |

By Dustin Rowles | TV | November 1, 2018 |


ashley-a-million-little-things.jpg

In this week’s episode of A Million Little Things, “Unexpected,” we return to the mystery of Jon’s suicide, but before we go there, the bulk of the episode dealt with Delilah’s pregnancy and the identity of the father. The pregnancy secret slips out during an aborted game night, which is disappointing because I really did want to see the “Game Night” episode of A Million Little Things. Eddie is heartened by the news and then devastated when Delilah tells him that the baby is Jon’s, because everything is about Eddie and Eddie thought if Delilah was pregnant with his child that he could live in the fantasy land he’s concocted in his head (Eddie is still the worst where it concerns relationships, but I’ll concede that he’s a good father).

Soon thereafter, however, Delilah calls Gary and asks for a lift because she needs a ride home after her “procedure,” but in the moment — and much to Gary’s relief — Delilah doesn’t go through with the abortion. We all assume that she can’t go through with the abortion because the baby inside her is the last bit of Jon in her life, and we all get caught up in romantic notions about Jon continuing to live through this child. Alas, at the end of the episode — after Eddie pulls off his first sober performance in front of a live audience in years — Delilah comes clean. The baby is Eddie’s, but they can’t tell anyone. Delilah is going through with having Eddie’s baby but they plan to let everyone believe it is Jon’s baby, which is a secret they’ll be able to keep maybe until the third trimester, because everyone on this show is terrible at secrets, except for Ashley.

Speaking of Ashley, that preview we saw of her handing Jon’s suicide note over to Delilah was a fantasy sequence. Damnit. She continues to hang on to it, though she is now trying to figure out who Barbara Morgan is — she’s the the fourth beneficiary on Jon’s life insurance policy, aside from Eddie, Gary, and Rome (again, why isn’t Delilah the beneficiary?). Ashley’s mentions Barbara Morgan’s name in front of Delilah, who has no idea who that is, while neither Gary or Eddie know, either. We still think it’s the character played by Constance Zimmer, who is expected to return to the show soon.

In the meantime, we also learn that the bank denied the restaurant loan Jon had arranged for Delilah and Regina, and that Ashley is having her own financial problems. What is she hiding? Did a “Rutledge deal” go bad? Was Jon drowning in debt, and is Ashley trying to figure out how to resolve those financial matters before telling Delilah the truth? It seems to be something along those lines, according a TV Guide interview with the show’s creator, DJ Nash. “I think she believes that all of the things she’s doing are honoring Jon. In terms of Ashley, there’s stuff going on about Jon that the rest of the group of friends wasn’t aware of, and we’re going to learn more about that as the season progresses.” I suspect, also, that Ashley’s own financial straits are connected to Jon’s problems.

The lack of a bank loan will surely create some added pressures on Regina and Rome so soon after Rome quit his job. This week, Rome also reveals to Regina’s mother that he does want a family, though this is not news he has shared with Regina yet. In the meantime, Regina gets into a huge fight with her mother because she tries to pressure Regina into having a kid, but the long and short of this is that Regina finds Rome’s crumpled up suicide note. It leads to the best moment of the episode. Rome confesses to Regina that he suffers from depression, and Regina tearfully insists to Rome, “You are not the best part of my life. You are my life, and I will not lose you.” I love these two. That’s how you marriage, folks.

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Good news for fans of the series, too; last week, ABC extended the season order to 17 episodes. That also bodes well for a second season.