Firefly Lane Episode 3 recap: What’s wrong with Tully?

Firefly Lane Episode 3, “Dancing Queens,” progresses the story in some surprising ways. As teenagers, we learn that Tully has previously betrayed Kate by lying about her mother, Cloud. In this episode, Kate’s mom figures out the truth about Cloud — she doesn’t have cancer, she’s an alcoholic with a bad drug habit. She tells Tully that she needs to tell Kate the truth, or she will. But Tully can’t bring herself to do it.

While it might seem like a minor betrayal, lying about cancer is a pretty big deal. And it shows that Tully had messed with Kate’s emotions before the entire birth control snafu with Marah ever happened. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more of these messy moments in the past leading up to the present as we progress through the episode.

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That said, Tully also proves herself as an incredibly loyal and trustworthy friend. When Kate admits her feelings for her brother’s friend, Robbie, Tully doesn’t out Kate’s brother.

Recall the first episode, Tully witnessed Sean and Robbie kissing, so she knows he’s gay. But in Episode 2, it was also a plot point that Kate didn’t know this yet about her brother. So Tully has kept that secret for decades. Even to the point that she lets Kate continue nursing her crush for Robbie, despite the fact it can’t go anywhere.

As for the title, “Dancing Queens,” along with being the name of yet another iconic song, it also seems to refer to a school dance Tully and Kate attend as teens, where Kate gets the chance to share a slow dance with her crush.

Firefly Lane Episode 3 recap: Tully gets revenge on Pat.

In this episode, the ’70s segment highlights Tully’s trauma over the assault. She and Kate decide to get revenge on Pat, but when Tully comes face-to-face with him, she can’t bring herself to say anything. He even makes a gross comment about how he meant to give her a call, and it pushes her over the edge. Tully gets back into the car with Kate and tries to rundown Pat and his friends. No one gets hurt, but it’s one of the early signs that Tully has always had a dark streak inside her. Not that Pat doesn’t deserve it!

Firefly Lane Episode 3 recap: Who is Chad Wiley?

During their years at the news broadcast station, Kate and Tully finally get the chance to chase down a hard-hitting story regarding the production of nuclear fallout shelters. Getting the information they need requires the duo to go undercover and stalk the mayor’s assistant. They sort of manage to pull off their task, convincing the assistant to chat with the mayor. Unfortunately, the lead talent, Carol, steals their story from them. It’s not the big win they’d hoped for, but it shows just how far Tully is willing to go to chase down a big story.

Later, the group heads to the bar, and Tully spontaneously starts making out with a newcomer named Chad Wiley. Johnny is shocked since, at this point, it’s obvious he has feelings for her. He’s not sure he could ever be with her because he sees Tully as a selfish individual, but he’s still not keen on seeing her swap spit with some random dude.

However, Kate points out that Tully actually knows Chad (Patrick Sabongui) very well. We just don’t know what their connection is just yet.

Firefly Lane Episode 3 recap: What’s wrong with Tully?

In the present, Tully and Kate plan to go on a relaxing girls trip. But then Marah gets sick, and Kate feels incredibly guilty leaving her behind. Tully convinces her to let Johnny take care of Marah since he is her father, after all.

Once they’re out and enjoying themselves, Kate notices the cute photographer from work, Gideon, and Tully plays wingwoman to get them chatting. Things get hot and heavy between Kate and Gideon for a while. Then, before they can take things any farther, Kate realizes she has Marah’s medicine and bails to bring it to her daughter.

As for Tully and Max, they’re struggling to get on the same page. Tully refers to their current situation as a “booty call” that’s gone on too long. While the episode opens with a montage of them having sex, it seems Tully is still struggling to open up emotionally to Max. By the end of the episode, they’ve broken things off, at least for now. Tully takes solace in some wine and suddenly collapses. Kate is shocked to find her best friend on the floor when she gets back. So, what the heck is going on with Tully?

Firefly Lane Season 1 is now streaming on Netflix.