Katherine may have found herself in a love triangle.
Shanice’s return brought about some complex feelings for Katherine on A Million Little Things Season 4 Episode 18 and challenged her relationship with Greta. Meanwhile, a mysterious redhead elicits some questions.
Join TV Fanatics Christine Orlando, Laura Nowak, and Jack Ori as they discuss everything.
Are Tyrrell and Vali moving too fast? How do you think their relationship will affect Gina and Val?
Christine: Yes, but they’re young and have obviously fallen hard for one another. With Tyrell going off to Yale in a few months, that could be the inevitable end to this relationship, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be messy or painful.
Hopefully, Gina and Val can help guide their kids while still keeping enough distance that their friendship doesn’t get sucked into the impending drama…but that won’t be easy.
Laura: I suspected they might be dating after the last episode. First, teen love always seems fast, but Tyrell did promise they were being safe. I enjoy Val and Gina’s friendship, but it might, since she is just starting to communicate with her daughter again, and raising a teenager is new territory for Gina and Rome, too.
Jack: It is a little fast, but they are teenagers. I hope Val didn’t expect Gina to put her foot down and forbid Tyrell from dating Vali.
I’m sure this has to be overwhelming for Val. She had no relationship with Vali until last week’s episode.
But I’m afraid that she’ll lose Vali again if she pushes too hard, and I’m more concerned about that than her friendship with Gina.
She and Gina got through Gina outing her as having been in prison, and that was worse than this conflict, so their friendship should survive this, too.
Patricia returned and gave input on Maggie and Gary’s pregnancy plans, and she and Maggie made amends. Discuss.
Christine: I’m happy that Maggie and Patricia have finally cleared the air and found a bit of understanding. After everything they’ve been through, it’s wonderful that they can be together during Maggie and Gary’s journey to have a baby.
Laura: I think Patricia meant well. It’s difficult that she seems to get along better with Gary than her own daughter at times. However, that may have worked in her favor since she got Gary to agree to go to IVF and Gary got Maggie to soften towards her mom.
Jack: I’m glad that Patricia and Maggie made amends. Sometimes it takes someone outside a relationship to help people see where they’ve gone wrong. I’m glad Gary was able to do that for Patricia.
I’m also glad that Patricia can be there for Maggie as she and Gary work through IVF and whatever else they need to do. Fertility issues aren’t easy, and Maggie may need all the support she gets if it either doesn’t work or she ends up pregnant with many children.
Maddox officially came out at school, but things didn’t go well at home. React.
Christine: Unfortunately, this isn’t unusual. In my experience, teens are far more accepting of these changes than their parents. And parents being supportive makes all the difference in their child’s mental health.
Hopefully, Maddox can find a place where he feels accepted for who he is, even if that isn’t at home. I doubt he’s the only trans kid in that school. But his life would be much happier if his parents would allow him to figure out who he is in his own way.
Laura: Sometimes kids can be more accepting than parents stuck in old-fashioned ways. Hopefully, we’ll learn about what happened at home and see Maddox with friends at school.
Jack: Sadly, this is all too common. When I worked on an LGBTQ crisis line, I spoke with many people who were out at school but couldn’t be at home because of their parents’ attitudes.
Some of these kids were hiding clothes in their backpacks and changing in school bathrooms, then changing back at the end of the day, while others were miserable because they felt they had to give up being their true selves altogether because of their parents.
It’s hard to be in, and I’m glad Maddox has Rome in his corner. However, I’ve been getting serious Dead Poets Society vibes from that school, which makes me worry that the parents will complain to the administration that Rome put ideas about being trans into their child’s head.
Should Katherine have told Greta about her previous feelings for Shanice?
Christine: Yes, especially since she knew she’d be spending time with Shanice and her daughter.
But she really should have told Shanice she had a girlfriend. It was clear Shanice still had feelings for Katherine. Katherine could have told Shanice about Greta when Shanice noticed the tattoo or when she gave her the bracelet. The fact that she didn’t is worrisome.
Laura: Absolutely! She should have been honest with both ladies since, as Christine said, it’s obvious Shanice still has feelings for Katherine and truly wanted to make it a “sleepover,” while Greta thought Katherine was catching up with a friend.
Jack: I think she should have told both women the truth. I was frustrated with where this seemed to be going and relieved when Theo told Shanice about Greta. But it shouldn’t have been up to a child to do that. Katherine should have been honest.
I realize that Katherine and Greta are not married. But since Katherine and Eddie’s relationship began to implode after Eddie cheated on Katherine, it bothered me a lot that Katherine entertained the idea of cheating on Greta with Shanice for even a second.
Now that Shanice has publicly come out, what does this mean for the love triangle?
Christine: Katherine has a decision to make. She’s in a relationship with Greta. Does that change because Shanice is openly available? That’s a question that Greta must be asking, and no one likes to feel like someone’s second choice.
Whomever Katherine chooses to be with, she needs to do it quickly because the longer this goes on, the more emotional damage will be done to all three.
Laura: Katherine is playing with fire. She and Shanice sizzle with chemistry, and they were always the what-if couple. Katherine needs to choose before someone gets hurt now that there is a chance.
Jack: I had this feeling that Shanice didn’t come out just to be true to herself or because she’s ready to find whatever woman she’s meant to be with.
Katherine made it clear that Shanice being closeted at work was a dealbreaker, and Shanice likely thinks that coming out now allows her to be with Katherine after all.
Katherine will need to be honest with Greta about her past with Shanice and the fact that Shanice still has feelings for her. Then she needs to decide what she wants to do.
I’m afraid that this story will go the way of Katherine trying to be with two women at once or Greta thinking Katherine and Shanice are cheating on her when they’re not, and neither of those options is good news.
What are your thoughts on Anna attending the meeting for Peter’s victims instead of AA?
Christine: Ugh. First, Anna has a drinking problem that she’s not taking seriously.
If she were, she would have been at an AA meeting or gotten some other type of counseling. It’s concerning that Eddie is taking her issue more seriously than she is.
Second, the meeting was for Peter’s young victims. Those girls needed to tell their stories to one another and realize they weren’t alone. Anna meant well, but this wasn’t the time or place for her apologies. Anna placed the focus on herself instead of on them.
Laura: That was not the right place for Anna to apologize. She meant well, but the other young victims built a rapport and finally opened up to Sophie.
Plus, it’s worrisome that she won’t go to an AA meeting, and she lied to Eddie that she did by the fact that she brought the donuts home.
Jack: I didn’t think it was appropriate for Anna to be at that meeting. She is Peter’s victim only because he lied to her about what he was doing to those girls.
Even more importantly than that is that she lied to Eddie. People who lie about going to AA meetings are people who are at risk of drinking again, and even if she never touches another drop, she’s now created a situation where Eddie doesn’t know the truth about what’s going on.
That said, AA isn’t for everyone and isn’t the only way to deal with a drinking problem.
There are other types of support out there, and I wish TV would showcase other kinds of groups and counseling aimed at helping the person manage a drinking problem more often. Too often, it’s AA or getting drunk, which is not realistic either.
Getting off my soapbox, if Anna had gone to a different support group or counseling and lied because she was afraid Eddie would pressure her into AA instead, that might be forgivable. Going to apologize to Sophie and the other girls and lying about it is far less so.
What are your theories on Tye, the redhead, and her attending the meeting and now stalking Anna?
Christine: Is she one of Peter’s victims? Was she somehow involved in Peter’s death?
Did she witness Anna leaving Peter’s place on the day of his death? Could she be Peter’s long-lost daughter and just find out her father was a monster who abused other girls?
I don’t know, but Tye looked angry, and she was fixating on Anna. No good comes of that.
Laura: I think she has something on Anna. She looks irate and obsessed with her.
Jack: My first thought was that she is Peter’s daughter, either from another marriage, or Anna gave up at birth because she didn’t think Peter wanted a baby.
Or she’s Anna’s daughter. Maybe Peter molested her while living with Anna, and she’s angry that her own mother didn’t believe her. The possibilities are really endless.
What was your favorite moment from the hour? Do you have anything else you’d like to address?
Christine: I loved when Theo spilled the beans about his mom having a new girlfriend because it was inevitable. How could Katherine not realize Theo would mention Greta when Greta’s living with them?
And it worried me that Sophie was all alone in that venue after publically posting that any of Peter’s victims were welcomed.
Anyone could have shown up, including people angry with Sophie for posting her podcast. I was surprised and disappointed that Gary didn’t insist that he or someone else be there to monitor things and make sure nothing went wrong.
Laura: I also loved when Theo spilled the beans. Kids have no filter. I also liked when Val and Gina realized their kids were dating. Oh, the drama!
Jack: Christine, I thought the same thing about Sophie’s meeting. She mentioned that someone commented on the podcast post accusing her of lying. I was worried that someone would show up to attack her, verbally or physically, and couldn’t believe that no adults Sophie talked to were concerned about that.
I also enjoyed Theo spilling the beans about Greta, which Katherine should definitely have anticipated.
I loved Gary and Patricia’s talk. Gary was kind and empathetic and pointed out that Maggie had been making all the effort in the relationship.
He was right when he implied to Maggie that he took her side but that Patricia didn’t know it. ᐧ
Over to you, AMLT Fanatics. Do you agree with our round table? Do you disagree? Sound off below!
A Million Little Things airs Wednesdays on ABC.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.