The Time Traveler’s Wife Ending Explained: Wedding & Baby Bells

HBO Max’s limited series The Time Traveler’s Wife ended with an exciting song that hints at a season renewal news soon.

Based on Audrey Niffeneger’s 2003 novel of the same name, the show takes certain liberties to make it a tad bit different from the source.

The Time Traveler’s Wife aired its finale episode on June 19.

It gave more riddles, answered some of them, and left us with an open ending that makes many (us too) think that the story is far from over.

In the final episode, Henry (Theo James) is jittery and nervous about his wedding to Clare (Rose Leslie). He ends up time-traveling multiple times and each time, sees a vague clue that makes him more worried about the future than before.

The time jumps happen more often as the wedding nears too. In the first jump, the present 28-year-old Henry travels to the future Henry and Clare’s home. He finds the wheelchair of Older Henry, a blanket and a video camera.

The opening credits of the video show 42-year-old Henry visiting 14-year-old Clare. He talks to her and, with a tear falling down his face, mentions a “Shoe Polish Day.”

In another time jump, he sees Older Clare watching the wedding video and weeping. Before he could talk to her, he snaps back to the present time.

Watching Clare cry makes Henry get cold feet, and he wonders if getting married is right if he can’t even keep Clare happy.

Before another time jump, Henry introduces Clare to his father (finally!). The conversation between them is anything but awkward. It is at least this one relationship where we see some amends being made.

Several jumps into the future, and Henry has seen all the gloomy, miserable future – Clare’s multiple miscarriages, Older Henry keeping his vasectomy a secret so as to not make his wife go through irreparable pain again, and naturally, his death.

In the present, we also see Clare looking at kids’ clothes, hopeful about the future.

In turn, Henry too, is hopeful about a family – but this was before jumping in time to find Older Clare absolutely miserable and crying her eyes out with a keepsake of positive pregnancy tests.

The reason for Clare’s miscarriages, as per Older Henry, is the fetus’ ability to time travel directly out of the womb.

Instincts and countless hours of drama make me wonder that present Henry’s jitters and increasingly worsening medical conditions (popping a less-legal drug to prevent it even), might be the cause of the fetus’ special ability.

The cold feet don’t stop even on the wedding day. Henry, unable to gain control over his random time jumps, disappears on the D-day.  After arriving in the future, he lands up in a confrontation with Older Henry.

Thankfully, Henry arrives in the present just in time for the wedding. But as luck would have it, the 36-year-old Henry travels back in time. The 28-year-old Henry sits beside Older Clare and watches his older self marry Younger Clare.

To hide his gray hair, Older Henry uses shoe polish. He then takes the place of the younger Henry and marries Clare.

For the 28-year-old Henry, who was always jittery, watching the wedding in a future video seems the perfect solution to me.

All this time, Older Clare dotes on the younger Henry. Towards the end, she asks him to visit her sometimes.

When Henry says that it might be weird to, what with all her being angry with the guy who got a vasectomy without telling her, she gives a reassuring smile saying – “Not yet, you’re not.”

The smile gives a major clue – despite her best, Older Clare knows she can’t conceive with Older Henry. But through Younger Henry, she can.

This way, both Older Clare and Younger Henry get what they want – a lifetime of happiness arriving after a terrible storm.

In the source material, the novel, Older Clare was eager to have sex with the Younger Henry but wouldn’t tell him why.

The creators make it clearly known in the show that everyone is aware of what’s happening. Though the 28-year-old Henry would still probably not know that Older Clare finally had a successful pregnancy – but that’s a tale for season 2.

The Time Traveler’s Wife season 2 has not yet been officially renewed, but with many theories and positive reviews flying around, it might be soon.

About The Time Traveler’s Wife

The Time Traveler’s Wife is a limited sci-fi HBO Max series centered around a love story. The show is based on the 2003 best-selling novel of the same name by Audrey Niffenegger and is developed by Steven Moffat. He also serves as the writer for the series.

The romantic series revolves around Henry, an ordinary man with the exceptional gift of time-travel and his love story with Clare Abshire. Henry has a genetic disorder which makes him travel through time for short periods. 

The show stars Rose Leslie as Clare and Theo James as Henry. The six-part series premiered on May 15, 2022 and aired its finale on June 19, 2022. 

News Source: The Time Traveler’s Wife