Firefly Lane season 2 part 1 recap guide: All 9 episodes explained

Firefly Lane season 2, episode 2 recap: On the Road

Everyone is on a fool’s journey in Firefly Lane season 2, episode 2. Instead of starting in one of the decades we’ve already gotten acquainted with, the show skips way back in time to when Tully was just a baby, and a desperate Cloud is shown knocking on someone’s door, telling whoever lives there that they can’t ignore her and her daughter.

Before we can find out anything for sure, we skip back to the present, where Kate and Tully have a conversation that seems to function solely to wrap up some season 1 plotlines, specifically regarding Tully and Max (remember him?). Their marriage has officially been annulled, and Kate also points out that they’re just a day away from what was going to be Tully’s original due date before she had the miscarriage. Tully claims she’s fine and has moved on from everything.

1970s

Kate goes on a road trip in all three decades in “On the Road,” starting with hitchhiking across town to the restaurant pictured in a photo Tully has of Cloud with her as a baby. On the way to the diner, Tully and Kate hitch a ride with some hippies, nuns, and a surprisingly nice and normal dude with a tarot card tattoo of the fool, hence the fool’s journey theme that runs through this episode.

Once they get to the restaurant, Tully is disappointed when the owner tells her he recognized Cloud but doesn’t know anything about her dad. Kate tries to cheer Tully up, but all she wants to do is run away–for good, and she wants Kate to come with her. Kate tells her she can’t, and Tully storms out.

Apparently, the “money” the nuns gave the girls is fake, so when they walk out, the waitress assumes they’re trying to dine and dash and calls their parents. Tully and Kate get into a nasty, friendship-ending fight before going their separate ways when Kate’s parents and Tully’s grandma arrive to pick them up.

1980s

Tully continues her free-spirited sexcapades in the 1980s. Johnny teases her about her inability to commit and the speech she gives to every guy after they spend the night together. During their conversation, Tully lets it slip that Kate was a virgin before hooking up with Johnny, something she apparently didn’t tell him.

Continuing the protest/Binswanger thread, the KPOC team heads to a press conference for Benedict Binswanger in honor of his candidacy for governor. Tully even gets to ask him a question about the logging protests, but Benedict shuts her down in the most patronizing and sexist way possible.

Kate and Johnny’s romantic weekend getaway sours when Johnny starts acting weird around Kate, rebuffing all of her advances in light of the whole “virgin” thing. Kate thinks she did something wrong, but Johnny finally admits that he just doesn’t want her to think he’s pressuring her into anything. He doesn’t want to mess this up because he’s in love with her. They share a big romantic kiss in the rain after that confession.

Danny and Tully continue to hit it off in this episode after their initial introduction at the protest. Danny was also at the press conference, and the pair banter throughout as Danny repeatedly tries to flirt with Tully. Ultimately, they end up sleeping together, and Danny gives Tully the “I’m not looking for anything serious” speech. It’s almost verbatim what Tully usually says to guys in a hilarious twist of fate.

Complicating matters, when Tully gets to work the next day, she sees Danny there. He just got hired at KPOC and will be working on the Binswanger beat with her.

2000s

After leaving the hospital, Johnny stays with Kate and Marah (Yael Yurman) while he recuperates. Kate comes home to find Charlie (Charlotte) hanging out at her house. Apparently, she and Johnny are continuing to work closely together on a book about their experience in Iraq. Charlie can’t stop gushing about how great of a guy Johnny is, and Kate is clearly a little peeved, but she doesn’t say anything.

The good news is, Kate knows she’s going to get some family time soon as she, Johnny, and Marah plan a family day trip to the hot springs, the same place they went in the 1980s. Sadly, this trip doesn’t end as well as the 1980s one did. Johnny has started showing signs of PTSD, flashing back to Iraq and lashing out over something as small as someone bumping into them on the trail.

At the hot springs, Johnny tells Kate that he’s ready to move on from their marriage. Kate asks if he’s dating Charlie, but he doesn’t really confirm or deny it, just says it’s not about that. It’s about him and their marriage ending for good.

While Kate and Johnny are trying to navigate their divorce, Tully is dealing with the aftermath of the lawsuit. She and her new agent Jolene try to figure out what her next step should be career-wise. But Tully is struggling with a lot right now, including the due date for the baby she never had, her annulled marriage, and the lawsuit. Not wanting to be alone, Tully picks up Cloud after her shift and asks her to come to stay with her for a while.

The episode ends with a continuation of the opening flashback, with Cloud and baby Tully standing on someone’s doorstep. Then Benedict Binswanger opens the door and tells her to come inside so they can “work something out.” Is Benedict Tully’s dad?!