DAISY JONES & THE SIX: How Does the Ending Compare to the Book?

[Warning: This post contains spoilers for the DAISY JONES & THE SIX TV series and book.]

DAISY JONES & THE SIX wrapped up its 10-episode run on Thursday, March 23—and the Prime Video adaptation had a number of changes from its book counterpart.

What changed? What stayed the same? Read on…

Billy/Daisy/Camila: In the book, after the too-close encounter in Chicago, Daisy realized she needed to let Billy go—and a conversation with Camila sealed the deal. Camila made it clear she wasn’t going to leave Billy, and she wasn’t going to let him leave her, either, so it would need to be Daisy who walked away. (Camila was also clear she wanted good things for Daisy, and Daisy was clear she loved Camila and credited her for the good life she did get to lead.) Julia, who was only five at the time, remembered a bit of their conversation, and it was the only time in the book Julia really broke in and made herself a part of the story.

In the series, after catching Billy and Daisy in a close moment, Camila accused Billy of having an affair and loving Daisy; he denied they had an affair, but couldn’t say he didn’t love her. Camila and Daisy had their own confrontation in the hotel banquet room, as Daisy insisted Camila would always be the one Billy picked; a frustrated Camila said they deserve each other.

After getting loaded and making a move on Daisy, Show!Billy told her he wanted them to be broken together—which she rejected. Instead, she made it clear love should be about someone lifting you up to the light. Billy ran to reconcile with Camila…and they were interrupted by Julia, who remembered this part of the story.

In both the show and the series, Billy and Camila remained married until her death. In the book, Camila left an email for her kids to encourage Billy and Daisy to reunite. In the show, she left a video message, and we saw Daisy and Billy reunite for the first time in two decades.

Of note: Prior to their fracture, Billy told Daisy, “I think we will be together in 20 years. Writing songs, playing stadium shows. Sold out crowds.” Now, they’ve reunited 20 years later…

The Narrator, aka Julia: In the book, Julia wrote an oral history/book with the interviews versus the show’s video interviews. She spent 8 years talking to the members of the band and the people in their circle…but was limited in what she was able to talk to Camila about, given Camila’s death in 2012. (Julia was also one of three children Book!Billy and Camila had.)

Camila: In the book, Camila died at 63—and had been dead for five years by the time Billy spoke to Julia about the band’s breakup. The show was a bit vaguer about when Camila died, but it was pre-1997, when the interviews were conducted.

Billy: In the book, Billy briefly fell off the wagon after the Chicago concert—where he realized Daisy was giving him up so he could/would stay with his family. After Daisy quit the band, Book!Billy got a publishing deal and stayed in music writing songs. In the series, Billy fell off the wagon, hard, after a fight with Camila/thinking she was leaving him. Show!Billy eventually went to rehab and therapy, and though it “took years,” he won his wife back.

Daisy: In the book, Daisy got sober, left the music industry, published books, adopted sons, and opened the Wild Flower Initiative. In the show, Daisy did get sober, but she continued her music career, fell in love a couple of times, and had a daughter.

Karen: Like in the book, Karen had the abortion without really telling Graham. It led to their breakup in both versions of the story. In the book, she was in touring bands for two decades, but retired in the ’90s. In the series, she was a rock star, seemingly still going.

Graham: In both versions of the story, Graham fell in love and started a family. In the book, he had a hot sauce company, Dunne Burnt My Tongue Off.

Warren: In the series, he was a session drummer, married Lisa, and had two daughters. In the book, he married Lisa, and had a son and a daughter. (In both versions, she occasionally let him sign her chest.)

Eddie: In the book, he was a record producer, with his own recording studio. In the series, he formed his own band, and does gigs now. In the series, he also didn’t go to Camila’s funeral.

Simone: In the book, she got married, had a kid, and got divorced—but her grown daughter is a musician. In the series, she and Bernie stayed together and opened a club.

Teddy: In the book, Teddy’s heart attack post-SNL was fatal. In the series, he lived six years beyond his initial heart attack, and was found “hunched over a soundboard.”

Rod: Both versions of Rod quit after the band broke up—though TV series Rod acknowledged he never stopped falling in love with musical acts, though that was a story for another day.

DAISY JONES & THE SIX, Prime Video

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