Who Dies in the Final Season of 'Firefly Lane'? Prepare to Shed a Tear

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Firefly Lane Season 2, Part 1 and Part 2 on Netflix.

Kate Mularkey (Sarah Chalke) and Tully Hart (Katherine Heigl) thought they'd be friends forever after they formed a strong bond while growing up on Firefly Lane. While it sounds like a sweet story of friendship, there's a major mystery running as a dark undercurrent throughout the series — what caused a rift in Kate and Tully's friendship?

We've got an even bigger question for Firefly Lane fans — who dies in Firefly Lane? If the Netflix series follows Kristin Hannah's original novel of the same name, then we're in for a major, heartbreaking loss. Keep scrolling to find out which characters meet their demise at the end of the show.

Before we get to that major book spoiler, Firefly Lane Season 2, Part 1 reveals who died at the end of Firefly Lane Season 1. It turns out it was Kate's father, Bud.

We first learned of the major rift between Kate and Tully at Bud's funeral. Although Tully wanted to attend the funeral, Kate was hesitant. She blamed Tully for her daughter Marah (Yael Yurman) being hospitalized as the result of a bad car accident (even though Tully was also hospitalized due to the said accident).

Tully attempted to make amends with Kate, recognizing she had failed to look after Marah the way a responsible adult should. However, that was Kate's final straw with Tully. She felt like her friend only looked after her own interests (keep in mind that Kate also felt insecure about her on and off again guy Johnny sleeping with Tully before they got together) — but the car accident was her breaking point.

However, dramatic irony is cruel: Kate cuts Tully off just when she needs her best friend the most. After the death of their friendship, Kate notices a strange pain in her breast; it turns out she has Stage 3 cancer and has to be treated immediately.

Naturally, just when Kate sought out Tully once again, her bestie was gone. Tully agreed to shoot a documentary about helping the planet in Antarctica, so she was gone by the time Kate needed her. Because when has timing ever worked out in a show?

Although Kate does in fact die in the original Firefly Lane book (it's OK, we didn't need a box of tissues anyway! Why do all of these shows with awesome female friendships end with one of them dying anyway?), fans were hopeful the movie adaption wouldn't follow the same plot. Sadly, it does. Things begin taking a turn for the worst after Kate grows quite ill.

While Tully's boyfriend, Danny (yes, the two rekindle their friendship and start dating again), was able to get Kate into an experimental trial which she hoped would help, the cancer eventually spreads to her brain. Tully's childhood friend winds up suffering a seizure, ruining her chances of continuing with the trial. Tully ultimately decides to move in with Kate to assist her up until her death (tear).

Part 2 of Firefly Lane Season 2 released on Netflix on April 27, 2023. You can now stream all episodes of Firefly Lane Season 1 and Season 2 on Netflix.