This article contains spoilers of "One Day."

Netflix has been releasing original television series consistently over the past few years. Not only is Netflix reliable, but it is also keen to its multiple audiences’ interests. The company creates series that suit several different ideas of entertainment, and one of the most recent examples of this is a show called “One Day” with actors Amika Mod and Leo Woodall. Though it is classified as a romance, it can be enjoyable to everybody. 

“One Day” is set over a period of time from 1988 until 2007 in London. There are two main characters, Dexter and Emma, who provide viewers with a gut wrenching and edge-of-your-seat companionship. Throughout the show, viewers are tormented by the ideology of “right person, wrong time” and feelings of undeserved trauma. Regardless of the fact that the series is heartbreaking, it is still a very inspirational show for many reasons. 

Dexter and Emma met on the last day of their college experience. Though Emma had known about Dexter prior, he did not know of her. After they met, they decided to go back to Emma’s apartment. Emma assumed this to be a one-night-stand; however, it was not. That night, they talked about themselves, their interests and lives, and on the next day, they picked up where they left off and traveled around London. A spark caught ablaze, but they didn’t know what direction it was pointing to. 

For the next few years, Dexter and Emma remained friends. Dexter was going through a debilitating experience, as his mother had cancer. Emma was understanding of his situation and gave him space because she knew what it was like to grieve the loss of parents; hers were not a part of her life. In between several years, Dexter had become an addict to pills and alcohol. Emma realized that she had not seen Dexter sober in a plentiful amount of time, and this made her upset. 

As they grew up and grew apart, there was always an interest in how the other’s life was going; they would occasionally speak or meet up. During their conversations, it was discussed that Emma had gained her dream career, which was being a teacher, playwright and novelist. Dexter had become a television personality. Behind the chaos of their small talk, they were even more frightened by the thought of them becoming solely acquaintances. 

As the show progresses, Emma gets into a relationship with a man named Ian, and Dexter marries a woman named Sylvie. An unexpected turn occurred at Emma’s best friend’s wedding when she and Dexter kissed; Dexter was still married and having a child with Sylvie. They both knew that this was wrong, so they lost contact afterward. We later found out that Sylvie was also cheating on Dexter with his boss, which was ultimately the demise of their marriage. 

As Dexter and Sylvie followed through with their divorce, Dexter made a return to substance abuse. Emma was his biggest support throughout this time, and she encouraged him to get clean again. As every love story goes, this led to their spark finally pointing directly at one another. They realized that the reason they could not stay away from each other was because they were truly meant to be. They were written in the stars. 

Emma never wanted to be a mother. She grieved the thought of having children, as she was never given the opportunity to have her own mother figure; however, falling in love with Dexter and becoming a stepmother made her realize that she was more nurturing than she’d ever believed herself to be. Emma and Dexter got married, and her biggest dream became motherhood. She craved the idea of family. 

Two years of trying for children passed. They could not get pregnant, and this deteriorated Emma – as it would for anybody. She did not understand why they had been brought together by such unruly chemistry just to be mocked by the idea of failed pregnancy time after time. Dexter understood and felt her frustration, so he stuck by her side and supported her every step of the way. Their relationship, though upsetting, was inspirational. 

It was a rainy day. Emma was riding her bike. A car hit her, which ultimately resulted in her death. It was incredibly tragic and agonizing, and fans of the show did not expect the passing of Emma to be included. It seemed as if the series was going to follow the genre rules of a “happily ever after” (HEA), but they did not. Dexter and Emma were finally happy and right where they were supposed to be, and then she died. How could she die? 

Dexter, obviously, was destroyed. He became addicted to substances once more, but this time he felt as if he had no support system. Along with his relapse, he developed mental illness; he showed signs of schizophrenia, as he would see and talk to Emma even though she was deceased. After years of mental turmoil, he turned to his friends, ex-wife and daughter to move him through his depression.

The show ends with flashbacks of Emma and Dexter’s long and heroic relationship. A scene of Dexter and his daughter climbing a mountain with an overlook of London that he and Emma used to look at together shed light onto his memories of Emma, which he used to keep her alive. The show is a metaphor for being out of control of what we want to control most. Always be grateful for what you have, as one day you may lose it. 

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