MovieChat Forums > Somewhere in Time (1980) Discussion > Why did she want him to go back?!

Why did she want him to go back?!

posted 3 years ago by Ant1238 (916)
6 replies | jump to latest

Just watched this for the first time and ended up really enjoying it (that moment near the end with the penny was legitimately heart-stopping), but thinking about it afterwards, you have to wonder just WHY she wanted him to go back in time in the first place? If you think about it, Plummer's character was absolutely correct--this guy comes back in time and literally ruins her life (after just one day--haha, I think she'd probably get over it a little better IRL). This one day ruins both of their lives forever. Why, then, when she's near-death, does she find him and give him the watch, asking him to come find her? She knows how it will end for her; shouldn't she just ignore him, then he would never have come and met her in the first place, and her entire future would be changed for the better?

[–] Ldlamb (642) 3 years ago

love

[–] Ant1238 (916) 3 years ago

😮

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

It's a paradox, though. He never would have gone back in time in the first place if she didn't find him and tell him to. But she never would have met him in her younger days if he hadn't gone back in time at the request of her older self.

[–] Ant1238 (916) 3 years ago

Right--but knowing what she does now about her life of pain and misery since he disappeared, why would she want to go find him and tell him to come see her? She must realize if she DOESN'T do that, and just lives her life without ever approaching him, both their futures would be changed for the better.

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

Maybe she thinks that somehow things will work out differently "this time" and he will manage to stay in the past permanently instead of being snapped back to the 1970s. She should have warned him about the penny, though.

[–] KinkyInk (1694) 3 years ago

At it's heart, this is a romance movie, so it's going to follow those rules. And viewed through the romance paradigm, the day or two of happiness they shared while together made it worthwhile.

Of course, if you step out of that perspective and view it as regular sci-fi time travel story, it's eacy to come to the conclusion that a lifetime of loneliness was too much of a cost to pay.

But then again, if you look at it from her perspective, what does she think is going to happen if she doesn't tell him to go back? Does she get a do-over from the point he didn't show up? Or is she suddenly transformed into that life she would've had without him? It's interesting to think about.

Seems like she should have told him to come back, and also tell him to make sure to not have any pennies in his pocket.