One Day stars Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall have defended the "shocking" ending for the Netflix series, calling the twist necessary to the story.
Netflix's latest adaptation of David Nicholls' 2009 novel sees Mod's Emma Morley suffer a shocking fate in a devastating car crash, with the streamer's decision to include the heartbreaking ending proving to be a divisive one.
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Discussing the ending in an interview with Radio Times, the pair explained why they believed keeping Emma's death in the story is so important.
"It is quite shocking," Mod said of the moment.
Related: One Day's ending misses the chance to correct a fatal mistake
She continued: "I think also especially in that period, and that chapter of the book and that episode, you're sort of lulled into a false sense of security, so it does come as a bit of a shock. I know it does make a lot of people angry."
While the pair noted that the ending will have upset the viewers, Mod called the decision to shift from telling Emma's to Dexter's story at the end a "really beautiful progression".
"It ends so wholesomely that I don't think people will feel too robbed," Woodall said of the show's final moments, while Mod added the move was "necessary for Dexter's arc and the way the story ends".
Set on the same day across several decades, the fourteen-part series follows the developing bond between Emma and Dexter as they grow older and closer together.
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Despite Emma's tragic death, the series has received a strong response from critics, landing a near perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes.
In its three-star-review of the series, Digital Spy called One Day "perfect for the streaming format" writing: "But here on the small screen, it's a comfortable fit, with each year taking up a single bite-sized episode.
"As the years start to gather pace, the episodes slip very easily by, in part aided by Netflix's hands-free Next Episode autoplay."
One Day is available to stream on Netflix.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Brenna Cooper is a freelance journalist, who currently specialises in entertainment reporting. She joined Digital Spy in 2022, writing TV and movies stories for the site. After graduating with an NCTJ accredited Journalism Masters from the University of Sheffield in 2020 she has since embarked on a freelance career.
Brenna previously produced lifestyle content for Checklists.co.uk and has a specific interest in music, reviewing live acts and interviewing bands such as Confidence Man and Amyl and the Sniffers.
