Warning: This post contains major spoilers for One Day
Netflix’s One Day still ends as tragically as David Nicholls’ book does. The limited series, adapted by Nicole Taylor, consisted of 14 episodes to tell its story, which was filled with heartache, love, humor, and deep bonds. In One Day’s penultimate episode, Emma Morley (Ambika Mod) is riding her bike in the rain trying to get to a house viewing appointment with Dexter Mayhew (Leo Woodall) when she is hit by an oncoming car and killed. On July 15 a year later, Dexter is still grieving, not taking Emma’s death well, getting drunk and starting fights in bars to deal.
Two years after Emma’s death, Dexter is visited by his dad, Tilly, Sylvie and Ian. They intend to make it an annual tradition to see each other on Emma’s death day and to offer Dexter comfort. When Dexter is alone, he sees Emma, who tells him that it’ll get easier. A few years later, Dexter takes Jasmin to Edinburgh to show her where he and Emma met and spent time together after graduation. One Day flashes back to Em and Dex’s first meeting, and the moment they decide to stay in touch, ending with a montage of all their kisses.
Emma’s Fate & Why She Had To Die In One Day Explained
Emma’s fate comes at a time when she and Dexter are planning to buy a bigger home, though she’s personally struggling with not being able to get pregnant. There’s an air of hopefulness before she dies, and, while One Day’s ending can be jarring because it seems like Emma and Dexter will get a happy ending, Emma’s fate was always going to end with her death. It gives One Day a bit more meaning because it’s unexpected, portraying life as beautiful but unfair, while showcasing how precious time with a loved one can be and how death can be abrupt.
One Day’s showrunner explained why Emma’s death remained in the show considering there was an opportunity to change it. It’s because death is weaved into the tapestry of Emma and Dexter’s journey, especially as July 15 becomes a full circle moment for them; it’s their meeting day, the day they decide to get together, and the day Emma dies. Emma’s death becomes the unknown anniversary hanging in the shadows, making every moment between Emma and Dexter all the more valuable and lovely.
What’s Next For Dexter After One Day’s Ending?
Dexter is still grieving Emma years after her death. His trip to Edinburgh with Jasmin is melancholic, but showcases that the pain of grief does get easier to handle with time, no longer as sharp as it once was. While Emma will always play a role in Dexter’s life, it goes one. And though One Day doesn’t reveal the day-to-day of Dexter’s life in the show’s final scenes, it’s likely he’s still running his coffee and deli shop and probably still lives in the home he moved into a couple of years after Emma’s death.
Dexter will continue raising his daughter, meet new people and forge a life for himself. Perhaps he’ll one day meet someone new to have a romantic relationship with, but it could be that he will avoid having long-term romances for a while. Either way, Dexter being able to even visit Edinburgh suggests he’s still grieving but is able to slowly but surely move forward, all while holding Emma close to his heart along the way.
The Real Meaning Of Emma’s Thomas Hardy Quote
In One Day’s series finale, Emma reads a passage from Thomas Hardy’s 19th century work, Tess of the D’Urbervilles. It’s about how death is “sly and unseen,” but is just as important a day in a person’s life, even if one doesn’t see it coming. This quote doesn’t foreshadow Emma’s death because it’s already happened, but it does reveal the importance of July 15. It becomes truly important as it marks the anniversary of Emma’s death, a date Dexter will remember every year.
It’s a date that, at the beginning of One Day seems relevant because it’s Emma and Dexter’s first meeting, but the quote alludes to the death “giving no sign or sound” before one gets to it. In short, July 15 was probably not all that important to Emma and Dexter until Emma’s death, in which every year before it becomes a memory of a lifetime gone by, its seemingly insignificant details becoming significant to the life they shared together leading up to her death day, and every July 15 that follows thereafter.
Why Ian Visited Dexter After Emma’s Death
Ian and Emma’s relationship fell apart, but Ian had genuinely loved Emma. Of course, he didn’t like Dexter so much, but he came to visit him after Emma’s death because he wanted to pay his respects and check in. Crucially, Ian wanted Dexter to know how much Emma loved him, and how much he had meant to her. It was something Dexter really needed to hear, and it was important that it came from someone who hadn’t particularly cared for Dexter but knew how much Emma and Dexter cared for each other, especially as Ian gained clarity over the years.
One Day’s Biggest Change From The Book Is Also Its Most Important
One Day reviews have noted how faithful the series is to the book, but there is one major change at the end that enhances the adaptation. While the book includes Dexter’s bar scene and the trip to Edinburgh with Jasmin, the Netflix series adds the second anniversary of Emma’s death. It may seem like a small moment, but the fact that audiences get to see Dexter in yet another state — as he begins to move forward in his life and the friends who continue supporting him — is crucial.
It elevates One Day’s ending even more, showcasing how difficult it is to let Emma go and how grief itself is a process that takes time, the sting of it still too real despite the passage of time. It also gives Dexter another moment with Emma, as he imagines talking to her while looking at her things in moving boxes. There is an emptiness and a sorrow that permeates these scenes, while also revealing Dexter’s emotions as yet another year passes without Emma.
Emma & Dexter’s Ending Proves Their Relationship Is More Than A Love Story
Emma and Dexter’s time together may have ended abruptly due to tragedy, but their relationship proves to be so much more than a simple love story. Their relationship, having been founded on friendship and mutual attraction, is a testament to the bonds and deep connections people can build over time. Emma and Dexter challenged each other, often saw through the other’s defenses, and that helped them grow and become better versions of themselves over time.
One Day’s ending ultimately reveals how two people can become so important to one another that it changes the course of their lives. Crucially, Emma and Dexter’s ending, though sad, shows the depth of their love for each other — as lovers and as friends — and how it withstands the test of time, obstacles, and the unpredictability of life. When one was faced with life’s ups and downs, Emma and Dexter always had each other despite their differences — socioeconomic and otherwise — and that in itself is a beautiful message One Day ends with.
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.
- Release Date
- February 8, 2024
- Cast
- Leo Woodall , Ambika Mod , Amber Grappy , Tim McInnerny , Jonny Weldon
- Seasons
- 1
- Creator(s)
- Nicole Taylor , David Nicholls
- Writers
- David Nicholls
- Directors
- Molly Manners
- Where To Watch
- Netflix
