Every Dramatic Detail You Missed In the 'Firefly Lane' Finale

From The Pioneer Woman

Can we get you a tissue? Or a cup of tea? How about a hug? Because if you just finished watching Firefly Lane, you probably need all three.

The season finale of the new Netflix series had drama coming out of every decade—literally. Fans thought they'd seen everything from Tully (Katherine Heigl) and Kate (Sarah Chalke). From their angsty teen years in the '70s to their career-driven lives in the '80s to their complicated adulthoods in present-day, it didn't seem like things could get much more dramatic for the Firefly Lane girls. That is, until a few flash forwards to an unknown future proved otherwise.

Now, fans are left with more questions than answers about what happened in the past, what's going on in the present, and what's coming in the future. Read on for a full recap of everything you missed during the intense season 1 finale of Firefly Lane.

(Spoiler alert: It was way different than how the book ended!)

Kate's dad died.

Throughout season 1, we kept seeing flash-forwards to a mysterious funeral. The last episode finally reveals who died during a somber interaction between Kate and her brother, Sean.

"I can't believe Dad's gone," Kate says while they're standing outside of the church, smoking a cigarette. "It doesn't seem real."

RIP, Bud. 😭 We still don't know how he died, but something that happens later in the episode could be a hint.

Wilson King is Tully's new boss.

During a flashback to the '80s, Tully meets with Wilson King about a reporter job at KLET. He offers her double her current salary and a "fast-track" to an anchor position, but Tully not-so-subtly declines after Wilson makes an inappropriate pass at her.

Two decades later, Tully encounters Wilson again—and this time, he's her new boss on The Girlfriend Hour. With Johnny out of the picture as her producer, Tully is left to stand up to the slimy TV executive by herself. Things go from bad to worse when Wilson tells Tully that a young man named Brooks Banack is going to be her new co-host.

"It's my show, and I own it," he says. "So you'll do as I say."

Tully, staying true to herself, flips Wilson the bird and quits her own talkshow on the spot.

Margie comes clean about her affair.

A holiday celebration at the Mularkey household in the '70s goes horribly wrong when Cloud stirs up some drama between teenage Kate's parents. Bud and Margie have a blow-out fight that ends with Bud confronting his wife about her affair. (Apparently, Tully and Kate weren't the only ones who knew about the clandestine romance.)

"You have to choose, Margie," he says. "You can't have both."

All Kate's mom says is "okay," which kind of leaves their relationship up in the air. (But we do know they're still married in present-day, so that's a bit of a spoiler!)

Things heat up between Kate and Travis.

Back in 2003, Kate and Travis sneak in a steamy kitchen make-out sesh while their kids are working on a school project together upstairs. Unfortunately, ice is thrown on the fire when Kate calls Travis by her ex-husband's name between smooches. (Yikes!)

Finally, Kate admits to her PTA crush that she doesn't know what she's doing and "might be having a nervous breakdown." Travis responds in the sweetest way possible and assures Kate that he likes her, so they agree to take things slow.

Max and Tully break up.

Tully is still reeling from her traumatic miscarriage, but finally faces Max at her apartment. He says they "jumped into this whole marriage thing pretty fast" and suggests an annulment. With a single bag packed, the 29-year-old leaves Tully and their relationship behind.

A few days later, Tully calls Max for help after a fight with her boss led to a fight with a mirror. While Max removes broken glass from her hand (reminder: he's an EMT), Tully says she wants to put the miscarriage behind her and start over with him. She tells her husband that she'll be at the gazebo where they got married the next day, and he should meet her there if he wants a new beginning together.

Max doesn't show up—but Kate does, explaining that she was standing by "just in case." Best friends forever!

Johnny goes to Iraq.

Johnny leaves for his dangerous new job, but not before spending one final romantic night with Kate. Once overseas, we see him working on an article about how guerrilla attacks on the occupying forces have increased—and then he becomes a victim of one.

While Johnny's family is celebrating the holidays together at home, he sets off an explosive in the desert. He's shown lying on his back, covered in blood, and seemingly unconscious. Back in Washington, the phone rings at Kate's house—possibly to inform her about Johnny—but she's too busy with Tully to pick up.

Sean comes out to his family.

After decades of struggling with his identity, Sean tells his wife Julia that he's gay. She kicked him out the house, so he shows up at Kate's place to tell her and Tully what happened. Kate, who only recently found out the truth about her brother, agrees to let him stay with her.

We find out how Kate and Johnny got together.

It turns out that Kate has her dad to thank for bringing her and Johnny together. Bud had a heart attack (foreshadowing, perhaps?) on the night of Kate's office Christmas party in the '80s. She was supposed to go on a blind date, but ends up rushing to the hospital with Johnny instead.

After making sure Bud is okay, Kate's mom insists that Johnny stay at their house to look after Kate until the family gets home. The pair has a talk about what's going on between them, and Johnny says he doesn't want to ruin their friendship. But after they go to bed, Johnny knocks on Kate's bedroom door, kisses her, and tells her that he's in love with her.

We still don't know how they ended up married with a kid, but this is progress!

Tully asks Kate to be her new producer.

After quitting her job and ruining her relationship, Tully swears she's going to make a comeback—"only better this time." She asks Kate to be her new producer and Kate, who's currently unemployed, enthusiastically agrees. They toast to the new year and to the "Firefly Lane girls forever."

Tully and Kate's friendship seems stronger than ever, which makes the final scene of the episode even more confusing. More on that in a minute!

Cloud gets arrested.

Another flashback shows Cloud getting arrested in a raid set up by undercover cops. Since teenage Tully is a minor, the police take her away and say she's going to live with her grandmother. Despite their pleas for Tully to live with the Mularkeys, the Firefly Lane girls are separated.

Is someone chopping onions in here?! This was definitely one of the toughest moments of the entire season.

Tully and Kate have a tense encounter at Bud's funeral.

The very last scene of the finale brings viewers back to Bud's funeral, though we're not sure what year it is. Tully and Kate run into each other again, exchanging some harsh words the second time around.

"When I said I could never forgive you for what you did, what did you think that meant?" Kate demands.

Tully asks Kate how long she's going to keep "punishing" her, but doesn't explain what exactly she's being punished for. It must be pretty bad, because Kate makes her feelings towards Tully very clear: "I don't ever want to see you again," she says.

What happened to Firefly Lane girls forever?!