S01.E05: Episode 5

[Scarlett45]

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Henry is finally able to get to know Clare's family better when he visits her childhood home for the first time. Henry and Gomez's friendship isn't going as they imagined.

Air Date: June 12, 2022

[MzLiz]

This show has been so heart breaking, today’s episode was no different. I feel so badly for them all. Though that last moment when Henry cut his hair and met her in the clearing….you can see the love and it was so sweet. Henry is definitely growing up. 

I’m very curious who they are making the videos for. According to Henry at one point they don’t have any children, so who are the videos for?

I’m also curious how Gomez and Henry 1st met. I feel like this is going to come into play somehow next week. 

There is only one episode left. I’d really prefer that they not end it with Henry’s death but how else could they not. I can see tears in the future. As I keep saying both Theo and Rose are absolutely killing it. 
 

On occasion Henry goes to the future. I wonder if one of those is to comfort Clare when he dies? Just a thought. 
 

Edited June 13, 2022 by MzLiz

[Ms Blue Jay]

The Gomez actor is really hammy.  I was kind of okay with it by the end of the episode but for the first half I found it annoying.

I'm really liking Theo James in this.  I think he really anchors it.  It's hard to understand Claire's motivations sometimes.  She's so flippant about everything.  The title refers to her but I actually feel like we're seeing things from his perspective.

Edited June 13, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[pwdrpuff]

I’ve not read the book or remember watching the movie but it feels sort of wrong that she’s so transfixed with older Henry that he thinks that changing himself is the only way for her to love him. I also missed the part where he fell in love. They didn’t show why younger Henry loves her when he didn’t want much from her in the beginning. Only one episode left, like that’s it or is there another season after?

[CattyK]

This episode was beautiful.  
Claire’s family is effed up, except her sister.  claire needed someone to accept her for who she is not who she “should” be which her parents seem fixated on, and her brother is just a prick.  in that sense Henry saved her. 
I liked young Henry with the longer hair but I can see Claire’s point of view, he does look really different  with short hair.  
Loved the incident with Gomez and the bikers, Gomez is cool.  I really like that actor.  
kudos to 28 year old Henry for being able to calmly say “my mother died when I was young” considering how traumatic that was for him and how he narrowly missed being killed too.  
I thought this was just going to be one season but I can’t imagine how they will wrap it all up in one more episode.  

[Ms Blue Jay]

41 minutes ago, pwdrpuff said:

I’ve not read the book or remember watching the movie but it feels sort of wrong that she’s so transfixed with older Henry that he thinks that changing himself is the only way for her to love him. I also missed the part where he fell in love. They didn’t show why younger Henry loves her when he didn’t want much from her in the beginning. Only one episode left, like that’s it or is there another season after?

Yes!  He went from one scene saying "I want to sleep with Claire" to Gomez in that restaurant to all of a sudden trying to be the man she loves when he was in the clearing 🥴

I have this thing against productions casting actors who look way too young to be other actors' parents.  The actors playing Claire's parents look like Rose Leslie's contemporaries.  Hard to buy Rose as 20 there and her parents as around 40.  🙄. I get that they greyed up the father but the actors looked so young to me.

Edited June 13, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[meira.hand]

4 hours ago, MzLiz said:

I’m also curious how Gomez and Henry 1st met. I feel like this is going to come into play somehow next week. 

Didn't we already see it in a previous episode? Some time before they first met, Gomez saw Henry in a violent physical fight with his previous girlfriend in the street. Gomez broke the fight and released her. This was why he was suspicious of him with Clare, even without the jealousy.

[Badlands]

2 hours ago, meira.hand said:

Didn't we already see it in a previous episode? Some time before they first met, Gomez saw Henry in a violent physical fight with his previous girlfriend in the street. Gomez broke the fight and released her. This was why he was suspicious of him with Clare, even without the jealousy.

Yes, but when Henry said he was drunk, Gomez said there was a time before that where they met.

I noticed they called next week's episode the "season finale" instead of the series finale. That makes me wonder if they will leave things open to another season. I think they would have to deviate quite a bit from the book and add a lot of original material for that to happen.

[meira.hand]

53 minutes ago, Badlands said:

3 hours ago, meira.hand said:

Didn't we already see it in a previous episode? Some time before they first met, Gomez saw Henry in a violent physical fight with his previous girlfriend in the street. Gomez broke the fight and released her. This was why he was suspicious of him with Clare, even without the jealousy.

Yes, but when Henry said he was drunk, Gomez said there was a time before that where they met.

I posted this before the end of the episode and then I realized he looked familiar because he saw Clare's painting before they met. No wonder he found it hard to make the connection :)

[iMonrey]

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This show has been so heart breaking, today’s episode was no different.

It really is a sad story when you break it down. I do feel for Clare. She's been in love with this guy since she was a kid and she finally meets him and he's not that guy yet. Even when she's with him she's pining for the older version she was in love with. It's him but it's not him. It's weird.

I can't decide how I feel about the sister cutting Henry's hair. It's kind of cool but it also feels like they made a point of her being a hair stylist just for that moment. 

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I noticed they called next week's episode the "season finale" instead of the series finale. That makes me wonder if they will leave things open to another season. 

I noticed that too. I wouldn't mind if they deviated from the book and let the story continue. One thing that's strange is that we've seen Henry at 41 and he says he's never seen himself older than 42, but the guy making the video looks considerably older than that. 

[Anela]

That was so romantic. The haircut being his transition to doing better than he was, although her family sucked, for the most part. My teenage self would be swooning right now. 

Her parents appear to be rich. Wouldn't she have some sort of inheritance, or fund that becomes available when she's 25? I don't see that as being any worse than their wanting her to marry rich. 

[LadyIrony]

On 6/13/2022 at 12:41 PM, MzLiz said:

I’m also curious how Gomez and Henry 1st met. I feel like this is going to come into play somehow next week. 

Didn't they show that last ep?

I feel like they are going to rush the ending in this show. 

[meira.hand]

23 hours ago, iMonrey said:

One thing that's strange is that we've seen Henry at 41 and he says he's never seen himself older than 42, but the guy making the video looks considerably older than that. 

I have been wondering about that for several episodes now. However. he does look more sick than old in the video. The whole aging effects is really not done very well in this series.

[iMonrey]

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I’m also curious how Gomez and Henry 1st met. I feel like this is going to come into play somehow next week. 

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Didn't they show that last ep?

I think there was some confusion because there was a scene last week with Gomez running into a drunken Henry and Ingrid out on the street, and then this week Gomez says that wasn't actually the first time he saw Henry. Turns out what he meant was that he saw the drawing Clare made of Henry in the clearing. That's the first time he "saw" Henry. But when he said it, it sounded like they had met some other time.

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I feel like they are going to rush the ending in this show. 

It feels like there's still a lot more story to tell In Clare's (linear) timeline, she is still only 20-21, she has more than a decade to come with Henry in her life. If they're going to jump straight to Henry's (presumed) death in the next episode then it'll feel like we missed out on a huge part of their lives together.

That's why I suspect they are angling for another season.

[Anela]

I think getting the sister to cut his hair, was when he really knew that he was in love with Claire. She ran away, wanting older Henry, and he wanted to be there for her. He didn't make any snarky comments, or run away himself. 

[MzLiz]

Aha. That makes sense. Gomez saw the drawing. I took what he said as they met before. Got it. Thanks!

[LadyIrony]

12 hours ago, iMonrey said:

It feels like there's still a lot more story to tell In Clare's (linear) timeline, she is still only 20-21, she has more than a decade to come with Henry in her life. If they're going to jump straight to Henry's (presumed) death in the next episode then it'll feel like we missed out on a huge part of their lives together.

That's why I suspect they are angling for another season.

I was told it was a mini series but if so it does not seem near at all to a logical ending. The series doesn't seem to have focused story line as per a mini series, it seems to meander more so they probably hoping for a second and perhaps longer season. 

[Clawdette]

I have enjoyed this series but, I have to admit that, to me, Rose Leslie appears miscast.  I don't have a problem with her at all - loved her role in Game of Thrones.  I just don't feel a connection between her and Theo James.  I don't know whether it's the way her character is written or the way Rose has chosen to portray her.  Something feels off to me.

[LadyIrony]

1 hour ago, Clawdette said:

I have enjoyed this series but, I have to admit that, to me, Rose Leslie appears miscast.  I don't have a problem with her at all - loved her role in Game of Thrones.  I just don't feel a connection between her and Theo James.  I don't know whether it's the way her character is written or the way Rose has chosen to portray her.  Something feels off to me.

Whether it is or Rose or the way she is being told to play Claire comes across as very serious and I have trouble believing as some kind of doe eyed hopeless romantic. She is more sexually aggressive.

Edited June 15, 2022 by LadyIrony

[Snow Fairy]

5 hours ago, Clawdette said:

I have enjoyed this series but, I have to admit that, to me, Rose Leslie appears miscast.  ...... 

Something feels off to me.

True, I have been thinking that from episode one.

[Haleth]

The one thing about a show about time travel is there is no end to how much can be filled in at a later time.  Even after the source material is exhausted the writers can always come up with additional situations that bounce all over the time lines without having to worry too much about being consistent with the first season.  (If either character claims ignorance about something it's because it hasn't happened yet from their PoV.)  That said, I do hope they wrap it up next week.

I like Gomez.  That was quick thinking getting the bikers to back off and then making sure Henry tells Claire to note the time and date so he (Gomez) will be in the right place when the time comes.

[LadyIrony]

I'm thinking Taylor Richardson who played the sister Alicia would have been a better Claire. She is more feminine, and soft, looks more vulnerable than the harsher looking and acting Rose Leslie. 

I guess they wanted a "name" for the role but I don't think Rose was the right choice. 

This ep was more fun although I still feel like their wasting time, I had the impression it was a mini series so expected it to be more focused but it is looking like what they hope will become a regular series. I could be wrong but I am still not seeing much meaningful progression. 

I'm not so sure the bikers would have cared about CCTV coverage and cameras tend not be as far away as what Gomez was suggesting. I think Bikers would know that as well. It seemed like a comical and somewhat naive rescue.  It was funny watching Henry suffer foot in mouth disease around Claire's parents, her brother seems like a complete arsehole but he was funny.

[Scarlett45]

On 6/17/2022 at 3:15 AM, LadyIrony said:

I'm thinking Taylor Richardson who played the sister Alicia would have been a better Claire. She is more feminine, and soft, looks more vulnerable than the harsher looking and acting Rose Leslie. 

I guess they wanted a "name" for the role but I don't think Rose was the right choice. 

I kind of like that Claire is harsher and edgier. Often women with that personality type are seen as “unfeminine” and people are surprised when they have strong emotional attachments to people. Not everyone expresses love the same way.
 

I like seeing a different personality type for a woman in a hetero love story. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Sure, but I don't remember Claire being written that way in the book.  I guess I would like to reread it someday and it will be interesting to see how I reconcile the two.

[millennium]

On 6/17/2022 at 4:15 AM, LadyIrony said:

I'm thinking Taylor Richardson who played the sister Alicia would have been a better Claire. She is more feminine, and soft, looks more vulnerable than the harsher looking and acting Rose Leslie. 

Rose Leslie has a timeless beauty (no pun intended).   Kit Harington should thank his lucky stars.

The show occasionally nudges us to remember that it's about the time-traveler's wife.   I haven't read the book, and probably won't, but Clare as written here seems like a secondary character.   Henry is far more interesting, especially since he presents different aspects of his personality depending on his age.   Personally,  I liked long-haired Henry.  Later Henry is a bit too ... tamed.

The desecration of the grove was unnecessary, I thought.   I have revisited childhood haunts and discovered that they are smaller and less enchanted than they once seemed, but turning the grove into a Superfund site with a fine view of a Dickensian factory was overkill.

[LadyIrony]

On 7/23/2022 at 9:13 AM, millennium said:

Rose Leslie has a timeless beauty (no pun intended).   Kit Harington should thank his lucky stars.

The show occasionally nudges us to remember that it's about the time-traveler's wife.   I haven't read the book, and probably won't, but Clare as written here seems like a secondary character.   Henry is far more interesting, especially since he presents different aspects of his personality depending on his age.   Personally,  I liked long-haired Henry.  Later Henry is a bit too ... tamed.

The desecration of the grove was unnecessary, I thought.   I have revisited childhood haunts and discovered that they are smaller and less enchanted than they once seemed, but turning the grove into a Superfund site with a fine view of a Dickensian factory was overkill.

Rose has the basic features, red hair, pale skin but she is somewhat harsh all the same*, whether it was the way she was told to play her character or the way she chose to play Claire, I don't know. I recall in Game of Thrones she had a more endearing quality about her. The problem with "strong" women who then get emotional about things is they start to look very manic and unstable. That is how I saw Claire in this series. Pining for the older Henry, sleeping with both her housemates. A lot of instability. 

I do agree it was more about Henry than Claire. Perhaps the writers found the time travel angle more interesting than Claire. I think they over did it with the amount of Henry's travelling around time and it started to become rather stupid mid point through the season. I think a more structured and defined mini series would have suited the concept better than hoping for an infinite amount of seasons. 

I preferred long hair Henry too, he was more passionate and fun whereas older Henry is quite tired and over it all. Perhaps it was Claire who made him so! 

* The actress playing her sister has similar features but in a more feminine way. I can't help but wonder if that actress auditioned for the role of Claire. 

Edited July 27, 2022 by LadyIrony

[lucindabelle]

I agree rose Leslie seems a bit too harsh. It’s interesting because she does not seem like that in the behind the scenes. My theory is that in doing the American accent she overcompensates and comes across as strident.

i found the brothers rudeness hilarious and UTTERLY UNBELIEVABLE in a waspy family. No. Effing. Way. He would hint not needle that blatantly. I was amazed his parents allowed it.

the fake fire, Nell not caring deeply, the meadow not being as big as it seemed (even to us in the credits), the view of the road and factory chimneys- all heartbreaking.

[Mvnl]

On 8/8/2022 at 7:42 AM, lucindabelle said:

I agree rose Leslie seems a bit too harsh. It’s interesting because she does not seem like that in the behind the scenes. My theory is that in doing the American accent she overcompensates and comes across as strident.

i found the brothers rudeness hilarious and UTTERLY UNBELIEVABLE in a waspy family. No. Effing. Way. He would hint not needle that blatantly. I was amazed his parents allowed it.

the fake fire, Nell not caring deeply, the meadow not being as big as it seemed (even to us in the credits), the view of the road and factory chimneys- all heartbreaking.

Wait was there a credits scene?

episode 6 was the first time I noticed one