Loveday Writing

This series isn’t the only adaptation of the novel. A film by the same name was released in 2009. While I felt that the movie did a good job of bringing the story to life, considering how complex the novel was, it really only hit on the tip of the iceberg and could only gloss over the story, as you can only cover so much and expect so much from audience in two hours or less. When I found out about the series, I thought that it would be a better opportunity to bring the story, its concept, and characters to life, as it gives the writers more time (no pun intended) to flesh it out and work with more of its source material. Steven Moffatt, famed Doctor Who writer, wrote each episode.

The series was six episodes long with the pilot establishing Henry’s time travelling condition and meeting Clare for the first time both when she is a child and an adult, before he has started travelling to her. It also explores Henry running into different versions of himself, and the fate that awaits him.

The series goes on to show how Henry was impacted by witnessing his mother’s death both when it happened and when he’s older, as multiple versions of himself keep travelling back to it.

The third episode explores Clare’s perspective of Henry’s condition and their relationship, revealing that she found out she was going to marry him when he blurted it out whilst getting revenge on a classmate who had beaten and raped her (although she never told him she was raped).

The fourth episode has Henry meeting Gomez and Charisse, Clare’s friends, and Henry having to reveal his condition to them as an older version of himself shows up and needs help. We also meet Ingrid, Henry’s girlfriend before Clare, as she crashes the dinner that Henry is making for them.  

The fifth episode has Henry meeting Clare’s family and travelling to the future during the visit, where Gomez saves him from being beaten up by a group of bikers. It also explores the issue of Clare falling in love with an older version of Henry that the Henry she is dating hasn’t become yet.

The finale revolves around Henry and Clare’s wedding, with the stress causing Henry to travel more frequently, which culminates in 28-year-old Henry coming face-to-face with his 36-year-old self, discovering that his condition causes Clare to have multiple miscarriages and his older self getting a vasectomy without telling her. Older Henry has to take Younger Henry’s place at the altar where the Younger Clare tells Older Henry she’s missed him, and Older Clare tells Younger Henry she misses that version of himself.

As well as the main story arcs, the series also explores themes established in the novel, such as free will and determinism.

I wrote in my review of the finale that I appreciated how loyal Moffatt was to the novel (in every review I wrote, I noted what pages from the novel were portrayed), which didn’t surprise me as one of his biggest Doctor Who story arcs was based on the novel due to his love for it. I also wrote in my review of the finale that I hoped this wouldn’t be the last season.

Unfortunately, HBO announced the series was cancelled on 1 July 2022. While HBO didn’t say so, The Time Traveler’s Wife did receive poor reviews from critics, although the audience gave it more favourable reviews with a high score on Rotten Tomatoes. It was also revealed that Moffatt had intended for the series to last for multiple seasons, which was shown through the finale beginning to explore the idea of Henry and Clare having children.

There have been shows out there that have been cancelled by one network and picked up by another, going on to last for years, I’m hoping (but not holding my breath) that this could be the case for The Time Traveler’s Wife.

Behind the Reviews – Edition #30 will be released next week and will focus on The Wrong Girl.