Opposite of Always

The author makes a notable narrative choice via Jack’s revelation that he lived through over three dozen versions of the time loop rather than the four versions he described throughout the novel. This detail allows Reynolds to underscore Lessons Learned Through Facing Repeated Challenges. Jack must face the same challenges over and over, with no idea whether the cycle will ever end, yet he keeps trying. He realizes that, like life, obstacles change, but they continue to arise, one after another. He has no choice but to live through them. However, by learning and applying the lessons that arise throughout the process, he can achieve happiness by choosing love, honesty, and appreciation every day.

Another noteworthy authorial choice regarding the plot structure involves the story’s resolution. When Jack mentions living through the time loop over three dozen times, one may assume Kate’s survival is what finally ends the cycle. This isn’t stated explicitly, however, and there are a few details in the narrative that complicate that conclusion. Jack’s statement that he didn’t save Kate is one example. His point is not that she didn’t survive, but it emphasizes that saving her life wasn’t the purpose for which he was sent back in time: “I guess the reason I’m telling you all of this is because I don’t want you to misunderstand this story. Because it’s important for you to understand that I’m no hero. I didn’t save Kate. She didn’t need saving. If anything, she saved me” (444). He emphasizes the purpose was to teach him important life lessons, something Jack can do by the novel’s end. 

This section also brings the theme of Accountability in Interpersonal Conflict to its conclusion. Notably, in the last timeline, Jack asks Franny before having The Coupon place a bet for him. Where he previously lied or did not consider Franny’s feelings, this time, he considers his friend’s perspective and is mindful of how his actions affect others. In this way, Lessons Learned Through Facing Repeated Challenges does not only extend to the romantic realm; Jack can reflect on how he previously acted in interpersonal conflicts and learn from past mistakes when choosing how to make decisions in the present timeline. In doing so, he shows Franny that he is honest and respectful and values their friendship.

The ending of the novel brings the theme of Loving Someone with a Chronic Illness to a happy ending. After Kate survives, the narrative sees the characters eating cereal in the hospital—a recurring food of choice for the pair—and later watching joyful movies together. Jack alludes to his favorite aspect of Black family films, which zooms out to an aerial shot of people dancing. By ending the novel with Jack and Kate dancing, Reynolds replicates the joyful aspects Jack appreciates seeing on screen in his characters’ actions, and the two dance. This further creates a “happily ever after” mood to end on, as the partners are joyfully in love, dancing.