Big Mood Season 1 Recap: What Happens To Eddie And Maggie In The End?

Camilla Whitehill’s “Big Mood” revolves around two friends, Maggie and Eddie, and shows how their friendship goes through hell. They both live in East London where Maggie, who’s a playwright struggling with bipolar disorder, lives in a one bedroom apartment while Eddie owns a vintage bar she has inherited from her late father. Technically though, she inherited only half of it because the other half is owned by Eddie’s brother, Jay. Eddie loves Maggie dearly and tries to be there for her no matter what. Maggie’s mother, Gillian, loves her dearly but she is intrusive and doesn’t trust her daughter at all. Initially, we see Maggie stepping into Eddie’s bar before just casually giving away her brand new scooter to some passer-by. Eddie gets a bit shocked at it but after a conversation, they decide to go back to Maggie’s old college where she will be giving a speech to some of her juniors. Maggie gets a bit enthusiastic but Eddie questions her dress as she thinks it might be a bit too revealing for the younger audience.

Spoilers Ahead

Maggie’s Worst And Best Day Out

Maggie is enthusiastic about going back to her college because she finds it as the perfect opportunity to fix her confidence and move past her traumas. When she was a child, Maggie used to get cold feet when it came to public speaking (I’m sure some of you can relate to this, and that’s okay, trust me). She thinks that if she is able to deliver an impactful speech to the audience, it will change her course of life, but her enthusiasm is fueled by another big factor. During her days as a student, Maggie used to have this huge crush on her history teacher, Mr. Wilson, and even though she doesn’t mention it to Eddie, she expects him there. Upon arriving, Maggie spots Mr. Philips, her former Mathematics teacher, who tried to assault her at the school’s prom. It was Mr. Wilson, who saved her that day, and since then he became her knight in shining armor. Maggie is surprised (and angry) to see Mr. Philips is still working there and even Mr. Wilson, who is the principal, cannot do anything about it. Initially, I hope you have noticed how Maggie hates to be inside the auditorium and it reflects in her speech because she keeps messing up her lines. The whole thing is an impromptu effort and it only gets messier because of the students’ reactions. 

Still, Maggie refuses to give up and starts swear words in her speech, basically downplaying the significance of colleges. The students love it, she gets her confidence back, and it’s a win-win, right? To her surprise, Mr. Wilson gets enraged by her actions but his anger melts when Maggie comes into his chamber. They start to get intimate but soon, she discovers that he is married. What makes it further worse for Maggie is Mr. Wilson being married to Alison, who was a student in Maggie’s class. Maggie tries to smile through the disappointment but after returning home, she breaks down.

Why Did Maggie And Johnny Break Up?

Maggie was not always like this. Years ago, she had a normal life, living her days carefree and without worrying about herself before getting diagnosed with bipolar. Maggie’s life changed overnight because she could not handle the effects, and started depending on drugs. She started harming herself and those suicidal tendencies were reflected by deep cuts on her arms. Johnny was her boyfriend, or rather, a fling at that time who was a fitness freak and way too obsessed with his sculpted body. He was never sympathetic towards Maggie and did not understand the pain she went through, which eventually caused their separation. That said, she still remembers him to this day and is somewhat attracted to the idea of his presence in her life. I wouldn’t say it’s an obsession of hers because Maggie never moved on from that heartbreak. Eddie notices this the moment she steps into her best friend’s house and when she sees Maggie tearing herself up, she tries cheering her up.

What Is Wrong With Maggie?

Eddie arranges for the perfect birthday party that Maggie can expect from their best friend but she does not appear happy at all. She is heavily fixated on the idea of staying home even though she should just go out there, celebrate and be with her loved ones. All thanks to Gillian and Maggie’s friends, Eddie, Gillian, Anya, Will, Klent, Ryan who shows up. But all Maggie wants is to run away and just disappear. She is suffering from the consequences of her own actions because for weeks, Maggie has stopped taking Lithium, something that her psychiatrist has prescribed. Instead, she is relying on dangerous stuff like mushroom oil which gives her temporary relief but is not at all a long term fix.. Maggie is enraged at Eddie for arranging the birthday party against her will and the moment she spots Johnny in the crowd, things go out of hand. Maggie tries to escape out of anxiety, again, but Klent and Eddie manage to stop her right away. If you were in Maggie’s place, would you have stayed there after getting confronted about your malpractices in public, that too, in the middle of your own birthday party? Gillian is way too cruel for bringing that up and Eddie’s actions were a bit out of line. Maggie lets the rats run free in the bar to take revenge on Eddie and ultimately it ends the birthday party right away.

Why Is Eddie So Forceful?

Eddie was facing serious problems with her bar because you remember the beginning of “Big Mood” correctly, there were almost no customers. The whole place was infested with rats and Klent, instead of exterminating them, held those inside a closet (which Maggie unlocked). When Eddie saw Johnny’s photo on Maggie’s phone, she wanted to invite him since he owned Ball In The Wall which happened to be an adult pit ball game, and the bar has an empty basement, perfect for renting out. Eddie was desperate to keep the bar because Jay already knew about her losses and some days back, he was sniffing around the bar with a surveyor. Her idea worked perfectly till the chaos broke out and Johnny lost his interest in owning the basement of Eddie’s bar. Eddie thinks that she knows what’s best for Maggie but she has her own interest too despite her playwright friend’s depressed state of mind. She projects her ideas of wellness onto her which prevents her from understanding the cons of bringing an intrusive mother like Gillian presence in the party. Maggie feels claustrophobic at what Eddie does to her but she can’t do much because at the end of the day, she is still her best friend; only friend, rather.

Does Maggie Manipulate Eddie?

Eddie looks forward to fixing the situation regarding her bar and after Johnny’s exit, things only get harder for her business. When she comes across Jonah, one of her exes who mistreated her in the past, Eddie agrees to talk when he shows interest in fixing the bar. I guess we all know what happens in Eddie’s mind when she comes across an old flame like Jonah. She starts to hang around with Jonah while spending nights with him and this irritates Maggie. Initially, you might not blame her because Eddie has never abandoned Maggie and that sort of justifies having expectations from her best friend. Maggie wants Eddie to always be there for her and her only, and it is quite problematic in the long run. That’s also the reason why Maggie does not like Will, who is secretly in love with Eddie, and cannot stand his existence in her life. When she comes to know that Eddie has mended her relationship with Jonah, Maggie decides to take her away to Godling and approaches Will to look after the bar. He misses a meetup with a friend but agrees since he loves Eddie. We are well aware of the fact that Eddie has no intention to participate in Ostara, the Pagan festival but Maggie drags her there where they meet Toad, one of the organizers. Maggie does not know but Jonah is in talks with some stakeholders for the bar deal and blocks him from Eddie’s phone when she is not looking. She is so manipulative that in order to do so, Maggie distracts Eddie with a pack of weed gummies, I mean, how can someone do that to their best friend?

Why Does Maggie Go Back To Dr. Burrows?

All this time, Maggie resisted taking treatment from Dr. Burrows who became her psychiatrist after her previous doctor met with an accident. Burrows strongly suggested she get back to Lithium, but Maggie rejected it, blaming the drug for apparently reducing her thinking capacity. As a result, her condition worsened over time and when her agent, Vanessa, demanded a script from her to save Maggie’s contract with the drama company, she completely lost it. Maggie hired a teenager, Jane, to ghostwrite for her and simultaneously, recruited her friends to edit her image into yoga sessions because Burrows was strict about it. To her surprise, Vanessa came to visit Maggie while Jane and her friends were still there. Maggie was holding a party with Anya, Eddie and the rest of them and all of a sudden, Jane revealed to Vanessa that she was writing a drama for her. Quite obviously, Vanessa was not going to stay but when she walked out of the door, Maggie got busy with her newfound love, Brian before passing out on alcohol. 

What Makes Eddie Push Maggie Away?

After Maggie comes clean about what she did with Eddie’s phone, the latter walks out of the Pagan festival with a heavy heart. By then, she has gotten pregnant with Jonah’s child, broken up with him upon discovering that he is cheating and loses every hope of reviving the bar due to Maggie. Eddie’s frustration with reality itself is natural because she does not even have the money to do an abortion. Eddie faces rude behavior from her mother, Clara, who probably have millions, but cannot lend her eight hundred dollars. Things worsen after she wants money from Jay and ultimately has to sell the bar off to him. All this time, Eddie pushes Maggie away because she despises the very sight of her. However, she leans onto Maggie for the abortion money because Eddie has no one else to depend upon. Things are going well, Maggie even signs up to accompany Eddie in the abortion clinic but ultimately abandons her for the final session, which is pretty crucial. It breaks Eddie’s heart and once again, she sees Maggie was an escapist.

Is Maggie Alive?

Maggie made a terrible mistake when she returned to Dr. Burrows’ chamber for the lithium. She unknowingly messed up her usual dose she was prescribed before. After that, when she went to the Pagan festival, Maggie spotted a demon child staring at her in the forest. After she returned to the city, she saw two demon children looking at her from the opposite side of the street. What made it more scary was they only appeared to Maggie, no one else could see them, not even Eddie. These were hallucinations which Maggie mistook as symptoms of schizophrenia and quite naturally, ignored the real problems. Eddie missed Maggie’s presence because she was knocked out for a whole day. The scene where she enters her room after washing her hair marks the first time she passes out. She thought that she visited Coco, who is a former schizophrenic, but actually it was on a Tuesday. Maggie thought that she was transported to the dark forest after coming out of Coco’s house but it was a temporary black out. “Big Mood” did a great job in portraying the challenges of bipolar disorder and irregular lithium dosage with utmost clarity here. Maggi is definitely alive after all these but her brain is clouded with confusion, still healing from the huge time gap. 

What Happens To Eddie And Maggie?

Eddie now knows what Maggi is going through since she is busy dealing with her abortion. She is confused by her best friend’s attitude and does not think that she is in danger because she believes Maggie is safe in Dr Burrow’s hands. Maggie’s repeated absence ultimately frustrates Eddie to the point where she decides to cut Maggie off, an idea that Will also supports (poor lad did not get to meet his Australian friend since Maggie forced him to manage the bar). I think she gets hurt more since she heavily depended on Maggie for getting herself out of the pregnancy situation anyhow. By the time Maggie finally makes it to Eddie’s bar, the damage is already done. It has been days since she has come home after abortion, thanks to Will who has stood by Eddie, taking care of her in the best way possible. In the end, we see Maggie and Eddie standing on the sidewalk, staring at each other. The distance between them is a few meters but actually, it’s worlds apart. 

Eddie is not cruel to walk away, it’s an act of preserving her sanity. Maggie’s silence and helpless gaze proves that she is slowly getting the idea of surviving her demons in absence of her North Star, for the very first time in her life. They undergo what seems like a burnout, something that is unusual for a “ride or die” bond like theirs. Their struggles with mental health, professional growth and personal issues collided in the worst way possible, ultimately breaking the string of co-dependency between them. Does the bittersweet, or mostly, bitter ending of season 1 prove that there’s always a chance for Eddie’s comeback? Or, will Maggie have to survive her battle alone?

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