Spoiler Warning: This article contains spoilers for Netflix’s One Day.
One of the best elements of One Day‘s storytelling is how it handles relationships, but the big question remains regarding Dexter “Dex” Mayhew and Sylvie’s relationship status. One Day‘s complex characters and realistic depictions of relationships are among its greatest strengths, and the romances shared between its protagonists and supporting characters significantly contribute to maintaining its high level of audience engagement. While Netflix’s One Day makes changes to the book, the prominent theme maintained across both mediums is the level of grief that Dex endures from 1988 to 2008.
Despite the series of unfortunate events that Dex endures, they prove to be necessary as they help him grow from a self-assured and overconfident young man to a more subdued and perceptive individual with a greater lease on life. The tragedy in Dex’s life resonates with audiences because it demonstrates that in the midst of pleasure lies pain, and if examined properly, it can be used to help people grow into better versions of themselves. Regarding Dex’s relationship with Sylvie, One Day goes to great lengths to explore its key theme via their tumultuous relationship.
10 Biggest Changes Netflix’s One Day Makes To The 2009 Book
One Day is a poignant romance series from Netflix that makes some careful changes to the book of the same name, usually for the better.
Dex & Sylvie Don’t Get Back Together After One Day
One Day’s eleventh episode reveals that Sylvie is cheating on Dex with Callum.
One of One Day‘s saddest moments sees Dex’s wife, Sylvie, and his former best friend Callum engaging in an extramarital affair. What’s worse about the transgression is the fact that it occurred while Dex was doing the best he could to support Sylvie and their infant daughter. Although Dex and Emma had an instant attraction to each other on the night that they met, Dex eventually marries Sylvie while he is out of touch with Emma. While issues between Dex and Sylvie’s family and two completely different personalities imply the marriage might not last, Emma supports his decision.
With the added stress of becoming a young mother combined with Dex’s burnout from his professional life and from tending to the couple’s daughter, the marriage undergoes a series of complications that puts insurmountable stress on them. Since Callum is more confident and successful at this juncture in Dex and Sylvie’s life, she sleeps with him as a moment of reprieve from her stuffy life. Although Dex and Sylvie eventually work through it, she divorces him, and they decide to remain friends. While the relationship itself is tumultuous, it still remains one of the best in One Day.
Dex & Sylvie’s Relationship Is One Of One Day’s Best
The relationship is a more realistic depiction of the complex nature of love.
Dex and Sylvie’s relationship experiences a series of twists and turns that speaks volumes to their individual wants and needs, inability to be a cohesive family unit, an ability to still remain cordial with each other moving forward. Dex and Sylvie’s marriage wasn’t the best, but their decision to choose love again with different people highlights the reality of romance for some people. While Dex’s meeting with Sylvie’s family foreshadowed their eventual divorce, it also suggested that the character would be able to grow and evolve from his experience, which he eventually did.
Dex gets back in touch with Emma after the divorce, and all seems to go well between them. However, in one of the saddest episodes of Day One, audiences soon witness Emma’s tragic and sudden death via a car accident that turns Dex’s life upside down. While Dex and Sylvie’s relationship wasn’t perfect, it helped develop his character, which was instrumental in helping him find the strength to move on and take better care of himself. With Emma, Dex was comfortable, and after her death, he spiraled down a dark path of substance abuse before getting himself together again.
Who Dex Ends Up With In The One Day Book
Dex ends up with Maddy in the One Day Book.
One of the biggest Netflix One Day changes is its ending. In the book, Dex, now in his early forties, eventually processes his grief and enters into a relationship with Maddy, the manager of his café who is ten years his junior. Although Netflix’s ending polarized audiences, it demonstrates that Dex is capable of processing his grief and moving on all by himself. Dex and Maddy’s relationship in One Day works because Dex spends most of it chasing love with mostly the wrong women. To finally see him move on again with a good woman feels appropriate.
On the other hand, the message of people taking inventory of themselves in their darkest moments, and eventually deciding to improve themselves without necessarily relying on someone else to help them is also a good theme to center a story around. From Dex’s multiple failed relationships to Emma’s death to overcoming substance abuse and building himself into a better man, his character arc feels more authentic to the TV shows’ vision. One Day makes numerous changes to the book, but its decision not to have Dex and Maddy get together works for the framework of its storytelling.
One Day
Based on the novel by David Nicholls, One Day is a 2024 romantic drama series created by Nicole Taylor. Despite their lives drifting apart after high school, Dex and Emma reunite one day every year as their lives run parallel. Love, heartbreak, and the experience of growing apart together lie at the center of this decade-spanning love story.
- Cast
- Leo Woodall , Ambika Mod , Amber Grappy , Tim McInnerny , Jonny Weldon
- Release Date
- February 8, 2024
- Seasons
- 1
- Where To Watch
- Netflix
