Netflix's One Day ending explained: What happens to Emma and what is St Swithin's Day?

 The ending of Netflix’s latest hit show, One Day, has left fans sobbing, but how does the story end, and what is the significance of St Swithin's Day? 

One Day is Netflix’s latest hit romantic drama which tells the story of university graduates Emma Morley (Ambika Mod) and Dexter Mayhew (Leo Woodall), who meet for the first time on 15th July, the night of their graduation. They spend the whole night talking, and by the time the morning comes, they decide to remain friends. As both are not ready for a serious relationship and are not really sure what they plan to do next, we witness the duo try and figure their lives out across almost 20 years. We see Emma and Dexter experience all the highs and lows of their personal and professional lives while also seeing how time affects their friendship and romantic bond. 

While some viewers were wondering if One Day is based on a true story, others were more concerned about understanding the surprising ending of the show. The 14-episode series took viewers on a roller coaster, but nothing could prepare viewers for that shocking and gutting twist at the end. So, what happened at the end?

One Day by David Nicholls, £9.19 | Amazon

David Nicholls' novel which inspired the 2024 Netflix series. The novel focuses on Emma and Dex and how their friendship and lives intertwine on July 15th every year over two decades.

What happens at the end of One Day on Netflix?

Do Emma and Dexter get together at the end of One Day?

After many missed opportunities, Emma and Dexter do finally get together. As Dexter loses his career and is still not on speaking terms with Emma, he finds himself in a relationship with Sylvie. But at Emma’s former roommate, Tilly’s wedding, Emma and Dexter reconcile and share a kiss, but it is again not their time as he is weeks away from getting married to Sylvie, who is also pregnant with his child. 

After the birth of Dexter’s daughter Jasmine, he ends up working in a café but his relationship with Sylvie is struggling as she is upset at his inability to provide the rich lifestyle she’s used to. Sylvie is also having an affair with Dexter’s old friend and current boss Callum. 

In episode 12, we see Dexter navigating his divorce with Sylvie, who has left him for Callum. Unemployed and overwhelmed by the cards he’s been dealt in the wake of his divorce, Dexter visits Emma in Paris, who is trying to write the sequel to her successful children’s novel. While in Paris, Dexter discusses how he rarely gets to see his daughter and also the night he and Emma spent together before she moved to Paris. Emma is dismissive of their night together and admits she’s met someone in Paris whom she has feelings for, but after Dexter expresses his desire for them to finally give things a proper go, Emma breaks off her relationship and she and Dexter finally get together.

In episode 13, we see Emma and Dexter finally together and content. The episode explores Dexter opening a deli-cafe, the couple moving in together, getting married and attempting to have a child together. 

For the most part, the couple is genuinely happy, apart from Emma’s frustration with her struggle to get pregnant. On their anniversary, Dexter and Emma have a house viewing to attend but as Dexter now owns his own business, he goes to work in the morning, and the two plan to meet at the house. However, as Emma is cycling on the way to the house viewing, she is hit by a car.

Does Emma die in One Day?

It is revealed that Emma died after being hit by a car. The final episode sees Dexter inconsolable over Emma’s death and viewers watch him go back to his old ways of drinking. He also begins provoking people to get beaten up. On the anniversary of Emma’s death, he gets drunk while taking his daughter to a children’s birthday party. Later that night, he ends up getting thrown out of a bar before Sylvie patches him up and his dad takes him back to his childhood home. Dex’s father tells him the best thing he can do is try to live his life as if Emma were still here, as that is what he’s been doing since Dexter’s mum died. The conversation seems to be exactly what Dexter needed to help him recover and move on. 

The following year, Emma and Dexter’s nearest and dearest (Tilly, Tilly’s partner Graham and their two kids, Dex's father Stephen, Ian, Sylvie and Jasmine) turn up to his new house to spend Emma’s death anniversary with him. After they leave, Dexter has a drink and hallucinates Emma is with him, it's another moment that brings him closure.  

In the show’s final moments, we see Dexter three years later as he takes his daughter to Edinburgh. They visit Arthur’s Seat, the same hill he and Emma climbed 19 years earlier, the first time they met. While up on the hill, Dexter reflects on his and Emma’s memories, of what happened after that day and all their missed moments. The reflection on their goodbye shows how even though he seems to have moved on, the pain of losing Emma still weighs a heavy burden on his heart.

What is the significance of St Swithin's Day in One Day?

St Swithin’s Day is a day often associated with the graduation season. It marks a new beginning for students as they finish their education and start the rest of their lives. 

In mythology, the day also has ties to themes of unpredictability, which features heavily in the book and the TV series. It’s believed if it rains on St. Swithin’s Day, it will rain for 40 days, which the series explores as Dexter tells Emma this fact while atop Arthur's seat in Edinburgh.

In the final moments of the show, it is revealed that St Swithin's Day was significant in Emma's life as it would become the anniversary of the day that she died. When Dex and Emma read a Tess of D'Urbevilles quote they talk about how people will pass the anniversary of their death every year, completely unaware of its significance until it's too late. It was this quote from Thomas Hardy that actually inspired David Nicholls to write the One Day novel.