The ending seems obvious, I don't see why nobody got it...

Many fine observations in this thread. Perhaps, John just needed to see those taken from him; to know they are alive and well on the alternate Earth allowing him to get on with his own life back on his earth. As to self1 and self2 not being the same our only evidence from the movie (aside from the ending where there is noticeable difference) is the SETI scientist talking to her counterpart and finding an exact correlation.

And just to screw with everyone's head: how do you know which was the "real" Earth?

Rhoda2's reason for coming to Earth 1 was there all along: she has always been interested in outer space. They told us that at the beginning of the movie. And when John and Rhoda were talking about Earth2, she told him she would definitely go if she won the contest. It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with Rhoda2 wanting to check and see if John1 survived the accident or anything like that. Personally I don't think Rhoda2 ever even met John. She probably just won the contest because she's so passionate about space and articulated it into a good essay.

The reason I think there was no accident on Earth2 is because if John2's family is dead, then the whole concept of having a second Earth in the movie becomes pointless. That's the reason they had to say that there was a point of divergence when the planets became visible to each other. Otherwise John1 wouldn't even want to go up there, he would know the other family is also dead and Rhoda never gets her redemption. Also just by the subtle difference in physical appearance, Rhoda2 looks more like she has it together and never went through any accident-induced depression.

http://spikes-of-fury.blogspot.com

It didn't just leave one solar system and appear in ours, because Earth 2 would have thought the same thing, the guy on the radio said they just discovered it which would mean it just appeared meaning one day it was not there and the next it was, same for them with regards to us.

Secondly if the synchronization was gone the minute it appeared, then based on the clothes theory where Rhoda2 was dressed up which was done I believe to show they are at different points in their lives, the accident never happened.

well, i think the occurance of rhonda 2 (rhonda? rhoda?) just tells us
that things on earth 2 are/were different.
nothing else.

everything else ist left open and can be filled in by the viewer.


all those theories of john 1 going there to find his dead wife and kid back seem not very convincing, since he must know there is john 2 who would fight him to death.

and that john 1 is such an enlighted person that he just wants a glimpse on his living family on earth 2 and then, with ONLY this, is happy everafter is so strange and so unrealistic that i would never believe it.

ok, an earth 2 so close without visable effects on earth 1 is even more unrealistic, but thats the way the whole movie is.
it isnt and doesnt have to be realistic, it's just a movie, just a story.
just a phantasy.



but what i find really disturbing is that, as it looks, all or most of you find rhonda 2 better than rhonda 1.

i would say just the opposite is true.

look at the cuter rhonda 1 in her girly and lovable outfit and being,
just an open hearted sweet and lovely girl.

and then look at that standard and almoust male clothed rhonda 2, looking so uninteresting, so unsexy, just another dumbass bureaucrat with nothing loveable at her.
this individual seems rather a robot than a woman.
(at least from what she looks like in the seconds we see her and what this MIT astronomer career seems to promise).


obviously all of you think that economic success makes a person the better person ?
i can't tell you how far this is from truth.

[deleted]

I think from reading all of this (and several other threads), it's pretty obvious that you are viewing Rhoda 1 and Rhoda 2 at various times throughout the movie. The biggest clues to this are the black/white ticket (already mentioned elsewhere) and, more importantly (forgive me if this has been mentioned before) the fact that Rhoda 2 is opening her (white) ticket with all the 'release and waiver' forms yet to be signed AFTER Rhoda 1 had already spoken to John about completing her forms ("They made me sign this waiver; basically every line of it says 'If you die, it's your fault''").

For my 2 cents, I guess I agree with those who say that the crux of the issue is simply WHY Rhoda 2 didn't give her ticket to John, and that's simply because there was no John. I believe there WAS an accident, but whether you believe that killing one or more people, or even a child, makes it more or less bearable, I simply believe that, for the mirroring reasons discussed here and in other threads, John 2 was killed in the car accident and that Rhoda 2 still went to jail but probably for less time and then had more time to deal with everything. And psychologically, she didn't have to deal with as much (the accident scene shows her dwelling on the death of the child, after all).

Who knows really?

But to me, it is certainly satisfying that John 1 goes to Earth 2 and discovers his 'other' wife and child. And Rhoda 2 and Rhoda 1 meet and, despite not knowing what to say to each other as implied earlier in the film, this obviously will help each other cope better.