Warning: SPOILERS for Firefly Lane season 1.
Firefly Lane season 1 ended on a huge cliffhanger that left fans wondering whether Johnny Ryan dies. The final scenes of Firefly Lane season 1 are actually a double cliffhanger since the show depicted Kate and Tully in the aftermath of a massive, friendship-ending fight, but didn’t show what happened between Kate and Tully that broke them apart. The novel that Firefly Lane is based on sheds some light on both mysteries, but the more distressing matter is whether or not Kate’s husband, Johnny, dies.
In the show, Kate and Tully are childhood BFFs who do everything together. They attend the same college and later work together at the same news studio where they meet Johnny Ryan. Johnny and Kate get married, but, in the present day (2003), they’re separated. Johnny is Tully’s producer on her talk show, but he quits his job to become a war correspondent in Mosul. Firefly Lane, season 1, episode 10, “Auld Lang Syne,” shows that Johnny (Ben Lawson) was the victim of a bombing, yet doesn’t reveal whether he survived. Something similar happens to Johnny in the book – but with a few notable changes.
In the book, Johnny goes to Baghdad in February 1991. At the time, Marah is only a baby and Kate begs Johnny not to go, but Johnny feels it’s his duty. While Tully is at lunch with a colleague, they get a call about a breaking story – a reporter and producer from Seattle were casualties in a bombing. Tully learns that the reporter has died and Johnny is in critical condition at a hospital in Germany. Tully goes with Kate to Germany where they care for Johnny together until he’s able to come home where he eventually makes a full recovery.
If the show follows the book (assuming it’s renewed for a second season), Johnny will survive. Johnny could return home with severe injuries and likely PTSD, which would be another challenging topic for the show to examine. But Firefly Lane has proven it can take on hard topics with empathy and sincerity, from Tully’s sexual assault as a teen, to Cloud’s drug addiction, Tully’s miscarriage, and Kate’s divorce. Firefly Lane doesn’t shy away from depicting trauma – and the impact of Johnny’s trauma would obviously affect Kate, Tully, and Marah, too.
Since Firefly Lane has already made significant changes to the book, it’s possible that Firefly Lane season 2 could change Johnny’s fate, though that would likely upset fans of both the book and the show. Kate and Johnny have a fraught relationship, but it’s hard not to root for them. The tension between Kate and Johnny balances the love and attraction they clearly feel, making them the perfect TV couple. Hopefully, Johnny will survive so he and Kate get the chance to be a happy couple once again.
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