S01.E06: Episode 6

[Scarlett45]

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As his wedding day with Clare approaches, an increasingly stressed Henry finds unexpected solace in his estranged father.

Air Date: June 19, 2022

[MzLiz]

This show is all kinds of messed up. Young Claire is in love with older Henry. Older Claire wants younger pre-vasectomy Henry to “come around.”

The pacing on this episode was crazy fast. They threw a lot of info at us yet I feel like a whole lot of the story just got left out. Was this really the series finale? That’s it? Color me surprised, puzzled and a bit underwhelmed. 

Well if that was it, the ending didn’t leave me balling my eyes out for which I’m thankful but it  felt like the car ran out of gas and just stopped in the middle of the road never arriving at the intended destination. 

I wonder how many bruises Theo got over the course of the series constantly falling down as Henry jumps thru time. 

Still was good if only half a story. And both Theo and Rose killed it. Great acting, IMO. 
 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Waiting in absolute fear for one entire hour, sometimes behind a blanket, for the "feet" moment to happen - all for it to not.  LOL!

That musical number wasted like 10 minutes!  I FF'd through the whole thing looking for the feet.

I guess I shouldn't complain, because I am a total fucking baby. But I'm sure people will call it a major red herring.

Edited June 20, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[dbklmt]

49 minutes ago, MzLiz said:

This show is all kinds of messed up. Young Claire is in love with older Henry. Older Claire wants younger pre-vasectomy Henry to “come around.”

The pacing on this episode was crazy fast. They threw a lot of info at us yet I feel like a whole lot of the story just got left out. Was this really the series finale? That’s it? Color me surprised, puzzled and a bit underwhelmed. 

Well if that was it, the ending didn’t leave me balling my eyes out for which I’m thankful but it  felt like the car ran out of gas and just stopped in the middle of the road never arriving at the intended destination. 

I wonder how many bruises Theo got over the course of the series constantly falling down as Henry jumps thru time. 

Still was good if only half a story. And both Theo and Rose killed it. Great acting, IMO. 
 

Your first sentence, "This show is all kinds of messed up" is exactly how I felt.

Right when it ended this appeared at TV Line stating that this would be a multi season show even though HBO MAX has not officially renewed it. https://tvline.com/2022/06/19/the-time-travelers-wife-recap-season-1-finale-renewed-cancelled/#more-1234842659    

[Enigma X]

Gomez is too much and the actor sucks.

I really wanted to like this more than I do but don't. Theo James is delightful and loved him. I like the actor who played Henry's dad. Rose Leslie was okay.  There was just something not clicking with me on this.

Edited June 20, 2022 by Enigma X

[meira.hand]

8 hours ago, MzLiz said:

I wonder how many bruises Theo got over the course of the series constantly falling down as Henry jumps thru time. 

I flinched every single time we heard the slap of naked flesh against hard surface. Couldn't figure out how come he was not covered in bruises.

[meira.hand]

8 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Waiting in absolute fear for one entire hour, sometimes behind a blanket, for the "feet" moment to happen - all for it to not.  LOL!

Well on the first jump to a young Claire he did not wear the shoes she left and was sitting crouched on the ground with no feet showing and they kept showing the wheelchair, so clearly they are hinting about it still happening in the future (season 2?)

[Whimsy]

I’m frustrated with how this ended because it seemed like HBO kept saying “only one season” but there’s SOOOOO much story left. I would have preferred if they either stuck with the one season and actually showed the whole story or admitted from the beginning that there were multiple seasons. I would have enjoyed this episode much more if either of those things had happened. As it was I was getting frustrated at how much they had to cram in to this episode and then when the credits started I was literally like WTF?

[Libby]

I knew that they were going to end this season with the wedding. I forget where I read it, but they did announce it previously. I just hope that we don't have to wait too long for season 2.

When Henry was in the drug dealer's apartment and was jumping and jumping and jumping time, I completely lost track of what time he was in. It was too much.

All and all I enjoyed this show very much and I'm eagerly awaiting season 2.

[LadyIrony]

11 hours ago, Enigma X said:

Gomez is too much and the actor sucks.

I really wanted to like this more than I do but don't. Theo James is delightful and loved him. I like the actor who played Henry's dad. Rose Leslie was okay.  There was just something not clicking with me on this.

He is seriously cheesy. I don't understand why anyone likes him and he doesn't come off as a lawyer either. Although if he has money that might be the only reason Charisse is with him. 

I was really keen to watch this show as well but I am finding it meanders too much. I think it should be a little tighter story wise. Rose seems to be polarizing as Claire. I'm not a fan myself. 

I feel like they can't decide if this is meant to be funny or serious, dark or romantic etc. 

1 hour ago, Whimsy said:

I’m frustrated with how this ended because it seemed like HBO kept saying “only one season” but there’s SOOOOO much story left. I would have preferred if they either stuck with the one season and actually showed the whole story or admitted from the beginning that there were multiple seasons. I would have enjoyed this episode much more if either of those things had happened. As it was I was getting frustrated at how much they had to cram in to this episode and then when the credits started I was literally like WTF?

Yeah I was starting to wonder too as I thought it was a mini series but them it seemed to not really be headed anywhere. They spent a lot of time replaying events and showing how many Henry's they could throw in a time period. I just wonder how many seasons they really hope to squeeze out of this concept. I don't think it is suited to a long run. 

[iMonrey]

Definitely a season-ending cliffhanger and not a series finale. There is still so much story to tell, basically the entirety of their marriage. Sad about the miscarriages, but I don't know why she thinks sleeping with a younger Henry will make any difference. Strange that Henry himself didn't start time traveling until he was eight years old though.

I kept wondering what they meant when they said they weren't technically married, but they are. It doesn't really matter in the eyes of the law which version of Henry she married, they are all one person.

I enjoyed this overall, I hope it gets renewed. If it doesn't they really failed to tell a complete story.

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Rose seems to be polarizing as Claire. I'm not a fan myself. 

I like her just fine and had no issues with her characterization. That said, I did wonder from the start why they cast two Brits as Americans. The show isn't filmed in the UK as far as I can tell. 

Edited June 20, 2022 by iMonrey

[Anela]

I haven't watched this yet. I'm disappointed that they decided to stretch it into at least one more season. 

[PurpleTentacle]

I had heard this was a limited series. Evidently not. I haven't read the book, but I feel if they had tightened this up a bit, they really should have gotten through one book in 6 ~45 minute episodes. That's 4 and a half hours! I mean there is a movie that does this in 1 hour 45 minutes (probably not well, since movies usually leave too much out, but still).

5 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Sad about the miscarriages, but I don't know why she thinks sleeping with a younger Henry will make any difference.

Well for one, young Henry isn't shooting blanks. And she said she wanted to keep trying, so there is her chance, I guess.

5 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I kept wondering what they meant when they said they weren't technically married, but they are. It doesn't really matter in the eyes of the law which version of Henry she married, they are all one person.

It's a bit complicated. You can't really be held to a contract before you've signed it, right? Henry hasn't signed that contract yet and won't for a long time.

[meira.hand]

5 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Sad about the miscarriages, but I don't know why she thinks sleeping with a younger Henry will make any difference.

She was still hopeful that she can carry to term but older Henry has given up and had the vasectomy. This is why she wants to try getting pregnant again with the younger pre-vasectomy Henry.

[Snow Fairy]

40 minutes ago, PurpleTentacle said:

Well for one, young Henry isn't shooting blanks. And she said she wanted to keep trying, so there is her chance, I guess.

My husband said, so-older Henry gets married to young Claire, and young Henry makes a baby to older Claire?

[LadyIrony]

13 hours ago, Snow Fairy said:

My husband said, so-older Henry gets married to young Claire, and young Henry makes a baby to older Claire?

Even though it's the older version of Henry that she's obsessed and fell in love with.

I'm not too sure if this story does a lot of service to promote women as rational thinkers...

Edited June 21, 2022 by LadyIrony

[Snow Fairy]

As I think about it now - young Claire has been waiting for older Henry since she was a child. But older Claire was happy to see young Henry again.

So Claire, you actually don't know what you want? Like she wants something she can't get at that exact moment

[Haleth]

It seems like the producers were hedging their bets.  If there is to be a season 2?  Great!  Lots of story yet to tell.  If it is cancelled after season 1?  Too bad, but at least it ended on a happy(ish) note.  Maybe they expected to have 8 or 9 episodes instead of 6?

18 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Sad about the miscarriages, but I don't know why she thinks sleeping with a younger Henry will make any difference.

Even without the time travelling I know women who keep trying on the hopes that this one is the one that will survive.

18 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I kept wondering what they meant when they said they weren't technically married, but they are. It doesn't really matter in the eyes of the law which version of Henry she married, they are all one person.

It sounds silly for Claire refer to the different Henrys as different people, like she is married to the older Henry but not the younger one.  He's still the same person.  (Although it made me laugh every time mature Henry called the younger one Junior.)

I'm just happy Henry didn't have shoe polish running down his face during the wedding.

[PurpleTentacle]

6 hours ago, LadyIrony said:

I'm not too sure if this story does a lot of service to promote women as rational thinkers...

Well, this is pron for women. Not that much rational thinking going on when the genitals get invloved, for any gender.

4 hours ago, Snow Fairy said:

So Claire, you actually don't know what you want? Like she wants something she can't get at that exact moment

Grass is always greener, I guess. Or she is lying so she can get young Henry into bed.

23 minutes ago, Haleth said:

It sounds silly for Claire refer to the different Henrys as different people, like she is married to the older Henry but not the younger one.  He's still the same person.  (Although it made me laugh every time mature Henry called the younger one Junior.)

 I could see an argument that she is married to Henry, but Henry isn't married to her (yet). Afterall, she said "I do", but he will only in like 10 years.

27 minutes ago, Haleth said:

I'm just happy Henry didn't have shoe polish running down his face during the wedding.

Clare came very close to his hair with her hands a few times. Was waiting for her to have black hands.

[catsitter]

I don't really understand why every foetus has the time traveller gene instead of only 50% of them, but if it is impossible for Henry to father a child who isn't a time traveller, I think they should consider using a sperm donor. It seems like a really bad idea to make another Henry.

[MzLiz]

52 minutes ago, catsitter said:

I don't really understand why every foetus has the time traveller gene instead of only 50% of them, but if it is impossible for Henry to father a child who isn't a time traveller, I think they should consider using a sperm donor. It seems like a really bad idea to make another Henry.

Exactly. Why subject someone else to that life that is mentally and physically damaging to Henry. It’s literally (apparently) going to get him killed. 

[iMonrey]

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She was still hopeful that she can carry to term but older Henry has given up and had the vasectomy. This is why she wants to try getting pregnant again with the younger pre-vasectomy Henry.

No, I get that, what I'm saying is that every pregnancy has resulted in a time-traveling fetus that doesn't survive. Trying over and over again hoping one will stick seems like she's setting herself up for failure, not to mention the implications for the fetus. As pointed out above, it doesn't seem like a good idea to make another Henry, why subject someone to that kind of existence? It's almost cruel in its selfishness.

Quote

It's a bit complicated. You can't really be held to a contract before you've signed it, right? Henry hasn't signed that contract yet and won't for a long time.

Technically the wedding ceremony itself is just that - a ceremony. Young Henry would have, presumably, already signed the marriage license before the wedding. Or after the ceremony when he's back.

[Starchild]

5 hours ago, catsitter said:

I don't really understand why every foetus has the time traveller gene instead of only 50% of them, 

It could be a dominant gene mutation, expressed in every offspring. But that doesn't explain why he himself didn't time travel out of the womb.

Possibilities?

• it's not dominant, it's just how his genes combine with hers specifically
• it's dominant (which is why occurs in 100% of offspring), but it didn't activate in him until he experienced some combination of environmental influences -- question is why did he get to childhood before it triggered for the first time, but all of his offspring are getting triggered in utero
• although I studied some genetics in university, I don't know enough to speculate about some of the possible nuances
  • can a dominant gene be unexpressed (i.e. dormant)?
  • can a dormant gene be passed to an offspring, whose copy activates in the womb?
  • can an active dominant gene be passed to an offspring, whose copy remains dormant in the womb? this could be the only way her baby survives to term

Henry says he's the only one in the world with a time traveler gene. Maybe this does happen to a lot more people, it's just that the vast majority travel outside the womb before they're viable. By some miracle, he didn't.

She is definitely not thinking this through. After 5 miscarriages, she should assume every child will have this affliction. Even if the fetus does survive long enough to be born (Henry did, after all, so we know it's possible), the child could time travel at any time. As a newborn, an infant, a toddler. Terrible things could happen to a defenseless child that appears somewhere out of nowhere. Henry doesn't appear to travel far into the past or future, or outside of his own country, but babies get stressed all time; can you imagine a baby dropping into some back alley in the middle of winter?

If Claire thinks losing a time traveling fetus is bad, imagine the guilt associated with losing a child old enough to feel pain and fear. 

Side note: imagine walking around minding your own business when a fetus suddenly lands on the street in front of you. :(

[gallimaufry]

Have to say, I loved this episode.  And the show overall has been tremendous.  Theo James and Rose Leslie are absolutely perfect and the blend of comedy and romance is lovely.  There are some awkward bits which are basically a holdover from the book which, love it though I do, is not perfect.  But whereas adaptations almost always disappoint, this one actually feels close to the best realisation of the idea.  I'll be gutted if it doesn't get S2, especially since it seems like it would be just the one final season and I'm sure the show will have a long shelf-life.

[iMonrey]

Clare asked Henry in this episode if he ever though about seeing a doctor and he objected on the basis that they would "dissect" him. I'd argue that unless he's able to time travel on command they're more likely to refer him to a psychiatrist, but I understand his concern even if the notion of the big, bad government getting their hands on him and experimenting on him is a bit tropey. 

I do wonder, though, if his "condition" is genetic, where it came from. I assume most genetic conditions are inherited, so somewhere in his family tree there must have been another time traveler. I'd be all over 23 and Me and Ancestry.com if I were Henry.

[Starchild]

Genes are passed down, but mutations arise spontaneously. The ones that stick and are then propagated are those that are advantageous in prolonging/advancing the species.

That doesn't seem to be the case for Henry, as evidenced by the 5 miscarriages. I'd bet he was the first (and likely last) of his family born with this mutation.

[Quickbeam]

I really didn’t like this episode although I have enjoyed the show. I think Theo James is amazingly brave….that’s a lot of nude scenes….plus his American English is flawless. I felt like the tone of this episode was all over the place. I didn’t like the dance scene at the end at all. It was as if a different show had been spliced onto what I had been watching. I could use another season, overall it was great viewing. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

5 minutes ago, Quickbeam said:

I really didn’t like this episode although I have enjoyed the show. I think Theo James is amazingly brave….that’s a lot of nude scenes….plus his American English is flawless. I felt like the tone of this episode was all over the place. I didn’t like the dance scene at the end at all. It was as if a different show had been spliced onto what I had been watching. I could use another season, overall it was great viewing. 

You're right!  It sounds like they decided or found out last minute they were doing Season 2 and cut out important plot points to insert a 10 minute dance scene!  Ridiculous.

[iMonrey]

Quote

ou're right!  It sounds like they decided or found out last minute they were doing Season 2 and cut out important plot points to insert a 10 minute dance scene!  Ridiculous.

I didn't mind it, but in hindsight, it did feel like something that was tacked on at the last minute to give the finale a somewhat happy ending in case it didn't get renewed - or to serve as an alternate ending in case it did. It did seem kind of out of place.

I kind of like the idea that ever since Clare first met 28-year old Henry in the library she'd been pining for his older self that she knew from childhood and that's the version she ended up marrying.

Edited June 23, 2022 by iMonrey

[LadyIrony]

Finally got to watch this ep properly. x2 dick shots of Henry. Had a feeling we would get there eventually. 

Gomez just turning up to save the day is a bit cheap in my opinion. May as well just give him and Henry masks and make them crime fighters or something. It seems out of place in a story like this. 

Must be weird for young Henry to see that he will end up in a wheel chair and possibly not be able to change/avoid it. 

For a season finale this ep seemed really weak. I will probably watch Season 2 if it gets one but they need to really tighten up the story lines. 

The end seemed out of place, I get the wedding and maybe even a bridal dance, it was just more the way it was done with the song and the way the cast break character (to me anyway) to celebrate at the end. As if it were a film wrap or something. 

Edited June 26, 2022 by LadyIrony

[Enigma X]

15 minutes ago, LadyIrony said:

 The end seemed out of place, I get the wedding and maybe even a bridal dance, it was just more the way it was done with the song and the way the cast break character (to me anyway) to celebrate at the end. As if it were a film wrap or something. 

The whole breaking out in song just seemed really out of place and just goofy.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Finally got to watch this ep properly. x2 dick shots of Henry. Had a feeling we would get there eventually. 

Having closely (ahem) examined both those shots I'm pretty sure it was a body double. You cannot see Theo's face in either shot, and a stunt double almost certainly would have been doing the tumbling down the stairs and throwing to the floor. Also the hair wasn't quite right.

[Scarlett45]

Last night during our Sunday evening show watching (which we started March 2020) my Mom said “aren’t we supposed to watch The Time Travelers Wife?” And I said “it’s over Mommy.” “That was it???”

I thought you guys would find that humorous. 

[LadyIrony]

On 6/27/2022 at 2:16 AM, iMonrey said:

Having closely (ahem) examined both those shots I'm pretty sure it was a body double. You cannot see Theo's face in either shot, and a stunt double almost certainly would have been doing the tumbling down the stairs and throwing to the floor. Also the hair wasn't quite right.

Well, it did seem smaller than expected... 

On 6/28/2022 at 5:22 AM, Scarlett45 said:

Last night during our Sunday evening show watching (which we started March 2020) my Mom said “aren’t we supposed to watch The Time Travelers Wife?” And I said “it’s over Mommy.” “That was it???”

I thought you guys would find that humorous. 

Not sure if this is the right spot but it seems related to comment above. 

The show has been cancelled. Given the crappy ending I do feel rather cheated. 

https://ew.com/tv/the-time-travelers-wife-canceled-hbo/#:~:text=James and Leslie starred as,and his wife%2C Clare Abshire.

Quote

EW's television critic Darren Franich gave the HBO series a D, citing an awkward meet-weird and a lack of chemistry between Leslie and James, alongside "bad wigs, limp characterization, indifferent plotting." Though he also noted, "Come for the ass," referring to James' many nude scenes.

Edited July 2, 2022 by LadyIrony

[Notwisconsin]

It's been cancelled. Sorry folks.

[millennium]

It was a pleasant dream while it lasted.

But sure, HBO, renew And Just Like That.

[lucindabelle]

On 6/19/2022 at 10:58 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

Waiting in absolute fear for one entire hour, sometimes behind a blanket, for the "feet" moment to happen - all for it to not.  LOL!

That musical number wasted like 10 minutes!  I FF'd through the whole thing looking for the feet.

I guess I shouldn't complain, because I am a total fucking baby. But I'm sure people will call it a major red herring.

HATED the musical number. It fucking stole focus from the  bride? Who DOES that? Yes I get that we saw the bride and everyone loving it but it felt manipulative and fake as the day is long. Not surprised at all the director thought this would end it on a good note. IGH. Waspy parents would be horrified not charmed. Ar LEAST save it for the reception. She hadn’t even gotten out the door!!!!  It upstaged her. And honestly why all the weird “I’ve heard that song before”? Are we supposed to think people don’t know MY FAIR LADY?

ugj.

i HATE that the show ended without getting to address some of the things it teased like the feet, the walkers and wheelchairs, the little girl. 
 

im one who thinks that just about any book can be told in six hours long episodes. My friend thinks it’s perfect but come on 5$343 we’re long dreamy set ups we didn’t need. The party Claire went to could have been half again as long. And so on. Almost every scene could have lost a page and before you know it the whole episode is shorter. I’m annoyed. 
 

Edited August 8, 2022 by lucindabelle

[LadyIrony]

On 8/8/2022 at 3:45 PM, lucindabelle said:

HATED the musical number. It fucking stole focus from the  bride? Who DOES that? Yes I get that we saw the bride and everyone loving it but it felt manipulative and fake as the day is long. Not surprised at all the director thought this would end it on a good note. IGH. Waspy parents would be horrified not charmed. Ar LEAST save it for the reception. She hadn’t even gotten out the door!!!!  It upstaged her. And honestly why all the weird “I’ve heard that song before”? Are we supposed to think people don’t know MY FAIR LADY?

ugj.

i HATE that the show ended without getting to address some of the things it teased like the feet, the walkers and wheelchairs, the little girl. 
 

im one who thinks that just about any book can be told in six hours long episodes. My friend thinks it’s perfect but come on 5$343 we’re long dreamy set ups we didn’t need. The party Claire went to could have been half again as long. And so on. Almost every scene could have lost a page and before you know it the whole episode is shorter. I’m annoyed. 
 

I still believe they started off with the intention of it being a mini series and then decided to try and make it ongoing.

The first couple of episodes were tight, after that they meander and we get Gomez and hi jinks. 
 

They wasted so much time and went over the top with too many things in what is already incredulous premise. The story deserved better but we still have the film. https://www.laughingplace.com/w/articles/2022/05/14/telling-the-whole-story-how-the-time-travelers-wife-became-an-hbo-mini-series/

Edited August 10, 2022 by LadyIrony