Netflix's Firefly Lane is a twisty family and friendship drama that takes viewers on a whirlwind trip through the decades. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Kristin Hannah, the series follows the friendship of Kate Mularkey and Tully Hart over three decades, from 1974 to 2003. But it also ended on a pair of giant cliffhangers, leaving fans to speculate what could happen in a potential second season. These Firefly Lane Season 2 theories are a reminder that the novel still has many pages left to adapt.
Warning: Major spoilers for the novel Firefly Lane (and potential Season 2 spoilers) are included in these theories. At 500 pages, Firefly Lane is Hannah's longest work, covering the full scope of Tully and Kate's relationship through to one of their deaths. This might come as a surprise to viewers, since the show didn't get anywhere near the latter part. The series barely covered half of the novel, leaving hundreds of pages to go for another season, should Netflix choose to renew the show.
That means theories for a Season 2 have a jumping-off point, but perhaps not as big of one as fans might think. The Netflix series already changed significant plot points throughout Season 1. (Tully does not get married in the book, for example.) So, even though fans have an outline to follow, all of these theories of how the show will play out the second half of the book are speculative.
Despite the cliffhanger nature of the ending, it's hard for fans to imagine the show will actually kill off Johnny Ryan. They have a good reason for their doubt, too: He doesn't die in the book.
That's not to say the Netflix series can't deviate from Johnny's plot in the novel. For example, both the divorce between him and Kate and the whole "embedded reporter in Iraq" subplot are not in the novel. But it's hard to imagine the series will deviate from the source material to the point that it would kill the character off altogether.
Season 1 ended with Tully declaring she's hiring Kate to produce her show, without stopping to consider if Kate is even right for the job. That exact kind of thoughtlessness is also in keeping with how Tully operates and exactly how something in their friendship could split the two apart, especially if Kate does a terrible job, reigniting all her insecurities once more.
Another central plot point from the books is Marah's rebellion. Throughout 2003, she increasingly turns to Tully as a confidante, making Kate feel helpless as a mother and angry that her BFF is overstepping boundaries.
Season 1 of the show already set this dynamic up with the birth control pills subplot. With her dad now in Iraq (likely badly injured or possibly even dead), Marah's actions may get worse. If so, Tully might find herself trying to be well-meaning, only to have it backfire all over again.
The most significant change the show has made from the books is what sparks Kate and Tully's falling out. In the novels, it's a regretful decision by Johnny to put the two together on a segment for Tully's show. When their resentments toward each other bubble to the surface, they end up saying some pretty unforgivable stuff live on air, derailing Tully's career and their friendship at the same time.
That's still a possibility in Season 2. But by adding in both Wilson as the current show boss and Kate as Tully's possible producer, the show presents different configurations that could lead to this final fall out, especially if Kate tries and fails to be Tully's right-hand woman. Either way, fans are convinced the fallout, when it comes, will happen while the cameras roll.
Season 1's intertwined timelines hid two reveals. The first was whose funeral they were attending, and the second was the reason behind Kate and Tully's fallout. Fans are betting Season 2 will pull the same trick, but this time with a much more tragic angle: Kate discovering she has inoperable cancer (a major plot point in the novel) and how she and Tully get back together during her final months alive.
