A Million Little Things Review: Guilty (Season 2 Episode 12)
A big thread through A Million Little Things Season 2 Episode 12, “Guilty,” is that perspective matters. Everyone’s individual truth matters and no one has the right to invalidate yours.
These conflicting perspectives often lead to heartbreak or triumph. We learn from our characters that sometimes there is no in-between.
Every storyline on the show carries this message in its own unique way and two of them involve race.
A Million Little Things has black writers in its writers’ room. So, it’s unclear why Regina doesn’t instantly shut her mother’s “I don’t see color” narrative down.
“Not seeing color” is impossible and not a well-meaning, good behavior.
Generally, marginalized individuals need people to see the trait that causes them to be discriminated against because it informs their life story.
So, Regina’s scenes with her mother are confusing. The message of “you may not see color but everyone else does” is slightly different than, “I need you to see my race, please.”
Shelly learns the lesson she is meant to by the end of the episode. She knows it’s not OK to “just ignore” how Regina is treated. But her journey to that place would’ve been a lot easier to follow if the dialogue were more direct.
I say that as a white-passing, Latinx, disabled woman; it’s important to know my identifiers within this discussion.
Shelly absolutely sees color, there is no way not to and that is okay. However, it’s strange that Shelly is so taken aback by the fact that Rome and Regina want to adopt a black child.
In order to understand what Shelly means when she mentions that her friends’ adoption process took so long because they wanted a child who looked like “them”, we need to know explicitly what race Shelly’s friends are or that she wants Regina to adopt a white child.
As the plot stands, it’s difficult to understand what we’re watching, almost as if A Million Little Things is scared to say it all out loud. It’s a similar problem to the one we discuss in our review of A Million Little Things Season 2 Episode 12, “We’re the Howards”.
Rome’s conflict with Todd over his movie is much more successful. It’s important that Rome will be working with Isaac on the movie because he’s another black man. Together, they’ll be able to do more than just tell Rome’s story. They’ll be able to destroy some of the harmful tropes in Hollywood about black men.
For the record, as a member of the disability community, I know disabled people are happy to see Todd’s premise for “Unseen” get trashed. Paralyzed people don’t exist to be inspirational porn for the non-disabled.
We can’t ignore the aspects of “Guilty” that truly shine. However, it’s odd that most of those stories exclusively involve the guest stars.
Sutton Foster as Chloe in flashbacks makes Jason Ritter’s Eric a better character. It’s such a shame that there isn’t a pilot based solely on them.
It must be said that Eric lying about being the recipient of Chad’s heart when Chloe is the person who received it is a disappointing bait-and-switch. It’s similar to the story about PJ searching to figure out if his father is Jon or Dave that viewers have already seen at the beginning of Season 2.
Whether viewers guess the endings to these stories or not, they are emotionally manipulative with weak payoffs. They aren’t the great mysteries A Million Little Things thinks it is building.
A Million Little Things is wonderful when it follows the natural curve of its stories. It doesn’t need to force twists and turns. Relying on steller acting from guest stars cannot sustain the quality of the material forever.
A Million Little Thoughts:
- Marcia Gay Harden is another guest star who shines. She plays cold and uncaring well. It’s so selfish to decide for your children that they would be better off without you.
- It’s so sad to watch Gary realize who his mother is and that he can never change her.
- Perhaps they are getting there, but Maggie and Eric are not in love despite what Eric tells us. It’s not as heartbreaking to watch Eric leave as it’s meant to be.
- Grace Park requesting more time with her son is understandable. It’s just sad for the character of Katherine because she deserves to be actually treated as part of the group.
- Characters don’t have to be on every episode, but when she is back on our screens Katherine deserves a triumph.
What did you think of this episode of A Million Little Things? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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A Million Little Things airs Thursdays at 10/9c on ABC.
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Esme Mazzeo
Esme Mazzeo is a lifestyle and entertainment journalist from Long Island. When she's not writing for work, she's writing for fun, or searching for something to satisfy her sweet tooth. She thinks rainy days are the best kind of days. Certified night owl.