A Million Little Things Round Table: Hospital or Home Birth?

Was Maggie or Gary right about doing a home birth? Or were they both acting like children on A Million Little Things Season 5 Episode 5?

Our TV Fanatics, Jack, Jasmine, and Christine, are here to debate Gary and Maggie’s argument, the Professor’s attitude toward Eddie, and if Greta is putting more into their relationship than Katherine.

Also, are Walter and Sophie perhaps the best friend pairing on the show? Read on to find out.

Was the Professor’s treatment of Eddie understandable or unprofessional? Have you ever encountered a teacher or Professor like that?

Jack: She was unprofessional. She didn’t like that Eddie had added her class and deliberately acted like he wasn’t in the room while doing student introductions, and it got worse from there.

Eddie shouldn’t have been texting in her class, but she acted like a high school teacher confronting a teenager; college professors don’t act like that.

And acting like not being familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs was a dealbreaker was ridiculous; the theory is not complicated, and Eddie can probably read about it in his textbook or Google it to get up to speed.

I’ve never had a teacher that was quite like THAT, and I am grateful that I haven’t had one that bad! I did have a science teacher in high school who loved making sarcastic comments about everyone’s abilities; I based a teacher in my novel on him.

Jasmine: She was totally unprofessional, and it was irritating to me. The fact of the matter is she has no idea why Eddie ended up in her class, but if she had an issue with it, it’s something she should’ve taken up with the admin office or the dean or something.

Taking it out on him and making broad assumptions that he got a sympathy spot because he’s in a wheelchair was not only unprofessional but incredibly bigoted too. I thought she was very childish.

And yeah, any student would need a refresher course on something like the Maslow Hierarchy, and it’s not even that difficult to grasp. Also, considering that he just got added and he was coming in a wheelchair, it was ridiculous that she made a big deal about him being a few minutes late.

Given that she DOESN’T know anything about him, she had no idea if he may have a specific plan that gives him more time to get to class. I can go on about this.

Jack, I love that! The best revenge. But, yeah. Most of my college professors were cool, but I had a couple here and there that were similar.

I definitely had some high school teachers like that, though not specifically with me. It made me angry watching them speak and treat certain students certain ways, or even my brother a certain way, because of his learning disability.

Christine: She was unprofessional. Extra people get added to classes all the time for a myriad of reasons. And her assumption that Eddie played the sympathy card because of his wheelchair was mean and offensive.

I have had professors with similar attitudes. One Professor would mock students who said they had trouble understanding the material. It didn’t take long to realize that he was offended because he literally wrote the textbook we were using!

Or another professor who would lock the door the exact minute class started. That was frustrating as a commuter who had to run from work and then fight for a parking spot just to get to class.

Does it feel like Greta is going overboard to be an invaluable part of Katherine’s life? Do you think she is working harder than Katherine to make this relationship work?

Jack: I don’t think she’s going overboard, but I’m not sure Katherine is as invested in the relationship as she is.

Something felt off in that last scene when Theo came in. I felt like Katherine wasn’t totally happy with the way things were going or with Theo’s attachment to Greta.

Jasmine: Greta seems fine. I like her well enough as a character, but I’m still not invested in her and Katherine’s relationship. And it does feel like Greta is more invested in their relationship than Katherine is.

Things with Katherine are so weird to me this season because I feel like we center Greta more than Katherine, a main character.

Katherine feels checked out and absent. I feel like we’re supposed to view them as an endgame pairing, but I’m just not invested in it, and it feels like a lot of going through the motions.

Christine: Almost overnight, it feels like Greta is running the household and a step-parent to Theo.

It felt like Greta was working extra hard to make herself invaluable to Katherine, and it didn’t feel like Katherine was giving quite as much the other way. I loved Greta’s joy when Theo said he loved them, and Katherine seemed happy to me, but she can be harder to read.

Was Regina overstepping when she got Dustin and Daniella a hotel room? What happens when her airline miles run out?

Jack: Gina was overstepping this whole time. I understand this guy, who she barely knows, helped inspire her once, but she kept trying to offer help that he didn’t need or want.

I hope she wasn’t lying about the airline miles.

I’m worried that Rome may think she is having an affair with Dustin because of the amount of time and energy she is putting into this.

Jasmine: Regina has definitely been overstepping this entire time. I’m still struggling with this storyline, how it randomly popped up, and where it could even be going.

Dustin was embarrassed and wary of Gina and didn’t want help. She keeps forcing herself on him. And her trying to play savior just highlights how out of touch and privileged she is.

Christine: Yes, Regina overstepped. She was making decisions for Dustin without his okay.

Regina’s offering of the hotel room was generous, and since Daniella is involved, I can understand her desire to get them off the street. But without a long-term plan that includes getting Duncan a job, they will end up right back there again.

Did you agree with Sophie’s advice to Rome about trying to live in Walter’s reality rather than correcting him and forcing him to live in theirs?

Jack: Yes! One of the first things I learned in my counseling classes is not to try to argue with people’s delusions and to get into their worlds.

While dementia isn’t the same as psychosis, the same advice applies.

Walter is in a different reality where his wife is still alive at times. It will only confuse and upset him to try to convince him otherwise.

Jasmine: Absolutely. It was easily one of my favorite moments and quotes from the episode. She got that exactly right.

Christine: Years back, a doctor recommended always correcting dementia patients to try and keep them in the present as long as possible.

But at some point, that becomes a losing battle that just leaves both parties exhausted and agitated.

Walter was having a good day, and Sophie allowed him to have that, even if part of him was living in the past. This disease will rob Walter of plenty, so they need to enjoy all the good moments they can.

What did you think about Maggie and Gary’s argument over having a home or hospital birth? Was one right and the other wrong? Discuss!

Jack: This storyline annoyed me.

I understand Maggie’s fears after her experience with chemo, but I felt like this was a rerun of when she was going to stop chemo and let the cancer kill her. She wasn’t considering anything but her emotional reactions.

I’m glad she wasn’t angry that Gary went to the doctor about this. I felt like he was overstepping in a way.

The midwife did say that Maggie would have to be cleared medically for home birth and that the hospital would be on standby in case of any problems, so that should have reassured Gary, but he wasn’t listening either.

I guess what I felt was that both Gary and Maggie wanted their way and only cared about their own feelings at the moment. I’d have liked for them to talk about it like rational adults. How are they going to parent their son if everything devolves into a shouting match like this?

Jasmine: They both got on my freaking nerves, and it’s hitting me that they’ve been getting on my nerves for a while now since before they got back together.

They were both annoying about this. I felt like neither of them was communicating properly, and they also weren’t addressing what should have been the issues.

Maggie came off like a petulant child copying off her friend with no grasp of what she actually wanted and this fear of the hospital that she should be passed at this stage of someone who knows they had to deal with them.

And Gary didn’t bring up the legitimate reasons why he should feel as he does and instead went on this whole ignorant thing about midwives. His desire to ensure Maggie and the baby were okay because she should be a high-risk pregnancy is logical, but his disrespect for midwifery boiled my blood.

In all his research, he should’ve seen that our country’s maternal, pre-natal, and natal care is abysmal considering our status. Home births are actually incredibly safe.

And maybe it’s because I’m a woman of color, specifically a Black woman, all too familiar with how biases in the medical field have specifically harmed and killed Black women, especially in regard to maternal care. I almost lost my own mother because of that.

But Gary’s illusion that only doctors and hospitals are the bastion of peak care when midwives are highly trained professionals working in tandem with hospitals ground my gears. Anyway. They both got on my nerves.

Christine: What is it with Maggie and this pregnancy that everything seems so last minute? First, she never talked to her employer about maternity leave and any preparations for her time off. And now it’s deciding to have a home birth at eight months pregnant.

This is something Maggie should have been researching for months, talking to her doctor, other mothers who have had home births, and interviewing midwives. Instead, this feels like Maggie heard about some cool thing from her new bestie, and she wants to do it too.

And Gary coming up with every doomsday scenario and then “putting his foot down” wasn’t helpful, either.

They both acted like children, which makes it all the more worrisome that they’re about to have one and are still having stupid arguments instead of gathering information and making decisions like a team.

What, if anything, disappointed you during this installment?

Jack: Gary and Maggie are always like this, so I guess I shouldn’t have been disappointed! I also wasn’t a huge fan of Gina obsessively trying to help Dustin when he didn’t want her to.

Separately, I wish we’d seen Sophie’s date rather than only hearing her tell Walter she didn’t think it was great.

Jasmine: I agree about Gary and Maggie, and Gina.

Christine: I kept wanting Regina to have a real conversation with Duncan about what obstacles he was facing and what would help him instead of her making decisions for him at every turn.

And Maggie and Gary’s bickering wasn’t fun.

Also, I laughed when someone mentioned how helpful Delilah was, and she’s been offscreen all season.

What was your favorite quote, scene, or storyline from “No Place Like Home”?

Jack: I loved Sophie bonding with Walter over old music! His lucid moment, where he told her the story of how he met his wife and encouraged her not to settle, was a wonderful moment.

I also liked the scene at the end where Walter admitted he was afraid of forgetting where he was when he woke up, and Rome offered to hang photos. It felt like they were both beginning to accept the situation for what it was.

Jasmine: EVERYTHING with Sophie and Walter made me smile. I loved them together.

Christine: I loved that Carter was back! I’ve missed him. And the story he shared about how important having the right to marry was, even if it only lasted a week, was heartwarming. 

Also, Walter and Sophie are the new pairing I didn’t know I needed. I loved the advice he gave her on dating. She needed someone to tell her that it shouldn’t feel like work; it should be fun! And it’s okay to hold out until she finds the one that’s unforgettable.

Now it’s your turn, TV Fanatics. Hit that SHOW COMMENTS button below to tell us if you were as annoyed by Gary and Maggie as we were. Should Eddie have dropped that class or stuck it out? And what was your favorite moment from this episode?

Then check out Jasmine’s A Million Little Things Season 5 Episode 5 review. And you can watch A Million Little Things online here at TV Fanatic.

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C. Orlando is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.

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