Netflix’s One Day writer explains why they didn’t change the ending of the divisive shocker

February 16, 2024, 5:29 p.m.

The ending of One Day was heavily criticized when the original novel was first released in 2009.

So you looked A day on Netflix and now you’re deep in your feelings about Dexter and Emma, ​​​​and absolutely sorry because of this devastating ending… You are not the only one.

A day, starring Leo Woodall and Ambika Mod, became a hit for the streaming platform in the weeks following its release. Viewers became obsessed with the beautiful love story that unfolded between Dex and Em over the course of twenty years.

Unfortunately, this beautiful love story ends in a brutal and incredibly abrupt way, and it has divided readers of David Nicholls’ original novel since 2009.

Now, the head writer of the Netflix series has explained why it was important that the series not change or adapt this shock ending twist in any way, in order to stay true to the book.

WARNING: Major spoilers ahead for the Netflix ending A day!

In episode 13, the penultimate episode, viewers finally get to see Emma and Dexter as a couple. They are married, trying for a baby and working on purchasing their first family home. But the end of this episode deals an absolutely devastating blow as Emma is killed after being hit by a car.

This sudden, horrific moment is faithful to the original novel, which received widespread criticism in 2009 when it was first released.

At the time, David Nicholls defended the endexplaining that he keeps A day to become too predictable. “You have to do something shocking, otherwise it’s just a story about best friends who could be something more, and that’s the oldest story there is,” he told Vulture in 2011. .

Asked if he was pressured by Hollywood to change the ending of the 2011 film adaptation starring Anne Hathaway, Nicholls added: “No one ever suggested changing the ending. I don’t think we can do it any other way.”

Now, editor Nicole Taylor has explained the thought process behind keeping the same ending in the Netflix series.

Watch Netflix’s One Day Trailer

In an interview with Weekly EntertainmentTaylor reveals that she and the writing team “entirely debated” whether or not to keep the devastating twist of Emma’s brutal death in the series.

“I didn’t feel any pressure to change the ending or to keep it,” she said. “I just wanted to re-interview him for his place in the room.”

Ultimately, it was decided that it was necessary to include it, for the series to maintain “its structural and thematic integrity”.

“Once you take that away, you better have something as good, if not better, in terms of the meaning of the piece as a whole and the enduring cosmic nature of love and friendship and how your entire life can be defined by chance,” she explained.

David Nicholls actually wrote episode 13 of the Netflix series, and Emma’s on-screen death here is just as brutal as in the book.

Learn more about A day here:

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