Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke are back. In the Netflix series “Always there for you”, the two power women embody the best friends Tully and Kate, who have unconditionally mastered the ups and downs of life together since they met at the age of 14.
The second half of the meanwhile second season of the Netflix series has been available since the end of April, in which the story about the friendship of women is continued in seven episodes. After the tragic end of season 2, fans are now wondering how the series could continue.
Tully and Kate meet in 1974 when Tully and her drug-addicted mother move into Kate’s family’s house next door on Firefly Lane. While the reserved Kate with oversized glasses lives a sheltered life with her parents and brother, Tully is very much on her own right from the start. As the daughter of a hippie mother who neglects her daughter most of the time, Tully quickly learns to assert herself. Self-confident, strong-willed and very mature, she stands alongside the rather shy, dreamy and childlike Kate.
The girls, who are fundamentally different, soon develop an intimate friendship that will accompany them well into adulthood. Because even if Tully and Kate develop in completely different directions – Tully makes a career as a well-known TV journalist, while Kate is a housewife and mother – they take every obstacle in life together.
Based on the novel by Kristin Hannah, director Peter O’Fallon tells the story of their friendship full of feeling and with plenty of emotions and charm on a total of three levels: in the past, once in 1974 and in 1985, and once in the present, in the 2000s.
The leaps in time between the present and the past reveal dynamics in the relationship between the women that seem to repeat themselves constantly. Until the very end, Tully remains the self-confident, well-loved and strong part of the relationship who repeatedly (unconsciously) overshadows Kate. But the show is not just about the importance of friendship. The mixture of drama, coming-of-age story and comedy combines the themes of feminism, sexism and emancipation in the 80s and the constant challenge in life to make the right decisions.
And so Tully and Kate regularly bear the consequences of their actions – and give the viewer a message with every decision they make. Do I choose family or career? Do I let my girlfriend go first or do I finally dare to put my “little gray mouse” existence away? What are my priorities in life? Am I staying true to myself or am I succumbing to societal standards? How important is friendship to me?
However, one insight remains the same with every challenge: true friendship can hardly bring anything apart with the right attitude. But in the face of severe blows of fate, even best friends ultimately lack the power. After a serious argument with Tully, Kate is diagnosed with breast cancer. The friends pull themselves together, but ultimately lose the long battle against metastases. Kate dies, but before she dies, she gives Tully a box of memorabilia, which also includes a book called Firefly Lane. In this she recorded all the years of their friendship.
The novel by Kristin Hannah is written by Kate herself in the series. And since the real book also ends with Kate’s death, Netflix announced last year that the series would not be continued. “I knew I wanted to tell the full story of Kate and Tully and that it feels like someone who hasn’t seen the show and wants to sit down and watch all the episodes and then the story is complete.” says screenwriter Maggie Friedman about “The Wrap”.
Still, there’s hope to learn what’s next for Tully and Kate’s family after Kate’s death. Hannah wrote down the years after the stroke of fate in her follow-up novel “Like a Star in the Night”. It is the official sequel to The Girls from Firefly Lane. While it’s unclear if this will also be made into a film, the book gives fans an idea of how Tully and Kate’s surviving family are faring following the death of their best friend.
In the sequel, Tully once again chooses friendship and sacrifices everything to fulfill Kate’s dying wish and take care of her surviving daughter, Marah. But as life goes, the next challenges are not long in coming. While Marah, despite Tully’s support, continues to slip and associate with the wrong people, Tully is involved in a serious car accident. She falls into a coma, with only the memory of Kate giving her the strength to want to go on living. Because in the parallel world she keeps in touch with her deceased friend – the friendship wins again.
Quelle:”The Wrap”
