Definition of Heartache: David Nicholls’s One Day
One Day masquerades as a light-hearted predictable romance that normally has a happy ending. But it's quite complex and deep. If you can sit through 4 episodes of slow character-building and dense conversations, this is the show for you. Over the last 13 years, there have been 2 screen adaptations of David Nicholls's 2009 novel One Day: One Day (2011) movie directed by Lone Scherfig featuring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess, and One Day (2024) show produced by David Nicholls himself, Roanna Benn and more featuring Leo Woodall and Ambika Mod. Compared to the movie adaptation, the show's adaptation of the novel allows the plot to build their incompatible friendship in a natural way that doesn’t make viewers wonder how on earth a character could suddenly be falling in love or, how could two days be enough to find your soulmate? It's very unrealistic, but sometimes I prefer it if I need a simple movie to follow along.
“What are days for? Days are where we live. They come. They wake us. Time and time over. They are to be happy. Where can we live but days?” says Emma as she introduces the show. The thought of life after college, can be daunting for some people. Have you ever wondered where you want to be in 10, or 20 years? What is your “purpose,” essentially? What if you meet your best friend at your university graduation party? The last day before “one day” becomes real and you start… adulthood. Emma and Dex are the exact examples of the right person, wrong time.
Emma and Dex are students at the University of Edinburgh who meet for the first time on the last day of university only to realize their compatibility. We follow their journey at an odd time when everything is new and exciting with the world at their fingertips. Of course, these new experiences can be tainted with feelings of doubt and loss of purpose. Whether you are a witty writer finding your voice like Emma–who tried screenwriting, acting, and waiting before finding her calling in teaching– or a privileged, lost, and vain (yet charming) Dexter, who galavantes around the world but shuts down in the face of reality.
Did One Day deserve the twist it got? If you haven’t watched the show, don’t read past this sentence. It was a complete shock when Emma died just as she and Dex were finally in a good place and happy. The car accident abruptly destroyed Dex’s growth and happiness driven by Emma. How gut-wrenching and solemn it is to see Dex sitting in a room full of Emma’s belongings in boxes while his imagination brings Emma back to life. She reminds him that he will learn to love the world again, especially with his daughter, from his previous marriage before Emma.
Emma works hard for what she accomplishes in university but self-doubt hinders her from seeing the bigger picture of what she is capable of by grabbing opportunities. Executing her plans to change the world has been a road of trials. Dex is the opposite of Emma; he doesn’t have to work so hard. He experiments as an entertainer and becomes famous, which worsens his character. He distances himself from Emma, never letting go of his alcoholic crutch. He never learned to control his emotions, preferring to numb them instead.
The message of the show isn’t just about how precious time is. I wonder if Dex should have been in Emma’s life at all. He kept her lingering, giving her false hope of him ever reciprocating her feelings. Emma is deterred from her love of writing and passion to change the world because of her desire to help Dex find his purpose. But why keep someone, who needs more patience, help, and affirmation in your life, knowing yours stopped progressing? I wonder if the storyline intended for Dexter to finally be happy or show him the purpose he could have discovered within himself.
They meet and change each other’s lives for the better. They challenge each other because they both represent something that went against their mortal beings: Emma taught Dex the simplicity of happiness outside of money. Dex taught Emma to embrace herself and her insecurities. Yet, by the workings of the world, Dex didn’t need her anymore and she was gone.