Why did Tully and Kate stop talking in Firefly Lane?

Firefly Lane’s Tully and Kate and their decades-long friendship have been just what we need to get us though these cold winter months. Bonded together in childhood after a traumatic incident, viewers have got to see their friendship grow throughout the years in the ten-episode Netflix show. Unlike the book by Kristin Hannah on which the show is based, the adaptation isn’t linear in its timeframe. 

This leaves viewers with an awful lot of hints, flashbacks and flashforwards to enjoy - and these certainly raise some questions. Not least - why did Tully and Kate stop talking in *that* cliffhanger finale?  

Why are Kate and Tully fighting in Firefly Lane? 

They may have been close since childhood, but as we all know, friendships have ups and downs no matter what. And it seems that Kate and Tully have hit a particularly bad patch in their relationship as Firefly Lane reached its shocking cliffhanger finale. It’s shown that the two have clearly fallen out over something, so much so that’s it’s shown the two have stopped speaking at some point over the years. 

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Some fans have speculated that it could be over Kate’s husband Johnny, who was seen injured in Iraq in the final episode, and who previously slept with Tully. Others have suggested it might follow the path of the book.

Speaking to OprahMag.com, star Katherine Heigl (who plays Tully) couldn’t confirm the source of the tension between her character and Kate. Though she did reportedly hope one option wouldn't turn out to be true.

"It cannot be that Tully sleeps with Johnny. I don't think any friendship would come back from that. I'll fight to the death that it not be that," she disclosed.

Either way, when Tully arrives at the funeral in the final episode, it seems enough is enough...

Why is Kate mad at Tully at the funeral? 

In what is already a very emotional episode, we see Tully turned away from Kate’s father Bud’s funeral. The women have been friends for decades, yet it seems that this time, Tully has gone too far. Turning on her former friend, Kate declares: "No one wants you here”. 

Tully was prepared to fight her corner, responding: "Don't you think you've punished me enough?”

But it seems that as far as Kate’s concerned, the answer to that is a very firm ‘no’. 

"When I said that I could never forgive you for what you did, what did you think that meant?" She says, adding: "Go home. Now. I don't ever want to see you again.”

This sudden falling out is made all the more dramatic given how invested viewers have become over the preceding episodes, watching their friendship develop throughout the years after Tully and Kate first met as children. 

But when it comes to the reason why, viewers were left desperate for confirmation of a Firefly Lane second season as we’re still no closer to the elusive answer.

Why did Tully and Kate stop talking in the book that inspired the hit Netflix show?

Whilst we may not have the answers we’re looking for in the show - or at least not yet - Kristin Hannah’s book certainly gives us all the details. In the Firefly Lane novel, the two friends fall out after Tully invites Kate and her daughter Marah onto her show, The Girlfriend Hour. This is apparently under the pretense of repairing their somewhat strained relationship.

However, the situation only becomes worse when the segment turns out to be about overprotective mothers, looking into how they damage their children. Believing herself to have been branded a bad mother on national TV, Kate is horrified and understandably furious at her once-best friend.

Whether or not Netflix’s Firefly Lane will choose to follow the same direction if there is a second season remains to be seen.

But who else can’t wait to find out?