One of the major storylines in Firefly Lane Season 2 Part 1 is Tully’s mission to find out the identity of her dad. She searches for him in two timelines — the 1970s and the early 2000s. Her mother, Cloud, had always been reluctant to share anything about Tully’s father, but she finally eventually reveals the truth. So, who is Tully’s dad? Here’s what fans learn in season 2 part 1 on Netflix.
[Spoiler alert: The following story contains spoilers for Firefly Lane Season 2 Part 1.]
Tully begins the search for her father in the ’70s in ‘Firefly Lane’ Season 2
In Firefly Lane Season 1, Cloud (Beau Garrett) was arrested for selling drugs. As a result, Young Tully (Ali Skovbye) was taken away from Firefly Lane to live with her grandmother in Seattle. Season 2 picks up with Tully and Young Kate’s (Roan Curtis) long-distance friendship as they constantly write letters to each other. In one letter, Tully reveals that she found photos of Cloud with a mystery man who could have been her father.
Tully decides to visit Cloud in prison and ask her about the photos. However, Cloud refuses to talk about the man and tells Tully to leave it alone. Of course, the young aspiring journalist can’t do that. She runs away with Kate to find the location in the photos and, hopefully, her father. Unfortunately, they hit a dead end when they find the man and he reveals that Cloud worked at the bar with him while she was already pregnant.
Feeling disappointed, Tully gives up the search for her father — for now. Years later, in 2004, she becomes inspired to film a docu special about finding him once and for all.
The truth about Tully’s dad is uncovered in 2004
In a flashback to the ’60s, a young Cloud bangs on the door of Tully’s father’s family home and demands that they acknowledge her baby. The door opens to reveal Benedict Binswanger (Greg Germann), who later runs for governor and comes face-to-face with Tully in the ’80s. Initially, Firefly Lane fans are led to believe that Benedict could be Tully’s dad, but that’s not quite true.
As Tully (Katherine Heigl) begins filming her documentary in 2004, Cloud agrees to finally share the truth about her dad. She reveals that he is actually Benedict’s brother, Parker Binswanger. They planned to run away together, but Cloud received a letter from Parker stating he wanted to go to college instead. Cloud wanted answers, so she went to the Binswanger home. Benedict ultimately paid Cloud to keep quiet about Tully.
Tully also learns that Parker left his family’s corruption behind to open a restaurant called PJ Pelican’s. She and Kate (Sarah Chalke) head there with a film crew to find him, but it’s too late. His wife reveals that Parker died just six weeks earlier. He also never rejected Cloud; their families wrote letters to the teens that made Cloud and Parker think they rejected each other. Parker was about to reach out to Tully when he died.
Tully meets her dad once without knowing in ‘Firefly Lane’ Season 2
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While Tully never gets to formally meet her dad in Firefly Lane Season 2, she does unknowingly cross paths with him in the ’80s. Decades before her documentary, Tully visits PJ Pelican’s on a hunch that it has a connection to Benedict’s shady business. She comes up empty-handed, except for a burn due to a hot coffee spill. Her waiter fixes her up with aloe gel and a bandage. That waiter is actually the owner of the restaurant, her dad, Parker “PJ” Binswanger.
Firefly Lane Season 2 Part 1 is now streaming on Netflix. Season 2 Part 2 premieres on June 8, 2023.
