The Time Traveler's Wife: Two Sides Of The Same Coin

Now that the second episode of The Time Traveler’s Wife has aired, we have a better idea of what the show could be about. As the story starts to unfold, we see the life that Henry has to keep reliving, but we’re seeing it from different perspectives. It tells his story through different stages of his life from youth to adult, but there’s more to it than that. So far, the audience has been focused on the time travel and love story as the story of Henry and Clare is being told. However, if you get too caught up in the Hallmark moments, you’re missing out on both sides of the story.

The most essential parts of Henry’s story were laid out in episode two which gives the audience more connection to the character(s). Episode 2 is all about the balance that life hands us. His story is more than just his love for Clare and how it develops into a timeless love.

(spoilers for episode 2 past the break)

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There’s plenty of reason to buy into this love story. After all, it is about Henry and how he travels through time and falls for the woman of his dream. Despite all that, the other side of the coin showed what he had to go through to get there. The second episode deals with the death of his mother and the emotional toll it has taken on him throughout his life. The writers do a careful job of emphasizing the “you can’t change the past” of it all. Henry goes back and no matter what he does, the accident always happens. His mother always dies.

But in the same sense, they also push the fact that you can’t change the future either. When Clare decides that the current Henry isn’t the Henry she fell in love with she tries to break the cycle, but she ends up right where she always has. Being handed a drink she didn’t order and hearing a story she’d always waited to hear. Henry’s pain pushes her closer to him in these moments.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Henry just so happens to travel through time just as he becomes too emotionally overwhelmed. We see a few different instances where he has to deal with very intimate moments throughout his life that trigger him shuffling through time. This is intentional. Telling a story that stands the test of time, needs the ups and downs. Henry has to go back in time to see the bad moments that make him appreciate the good. He also needs good moments to heal his wounds from the bad.

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Despite the central plot being the love between Henry and Clare, the underlying theme is life’s balance. The universe is giving Henry exactly what he needs at exactly the right moment. All of his running and fighting has led him to Clare. All of his love and loss teach him to be a better man for her. So far, The Time Traveler’s Wife is about appreciating what you have, a theme that most audiences can relate to.