HBO's The Time Traveler's Wife episode 1 ended with a dramatic hint at Henry's fate as he looked at his own severed feet.

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[{"selector":"#anim-eebc4198-4c77-4385-b220-33004016fca6 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate(0%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":3500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-4e6e2ab6-9dba-4fb1-8751-a095947c550c","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":4000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-e5d733b9-4e9b-4e55-9086-7080248867fb","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-115.2381%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":4000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Based on the bestselling novel by Audrey Niffenegger and written by Steven Moffat, The Time Traveler's Wife exploits time travel in a rather unusual manner.

[{"selector":"#anim-c06da746-ed15-4dfb-8a65-604842e46dcf [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-33.74940687951145%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":5000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-ff81156f-2926-464d-873d-8f8c62927930","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-7890e9cd-82c7-4c4e-b638-941b7df769c8","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -390.30183%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Time travel serves as the central plot device for a love story in which a time traveler named Henry DeTamble (Theo James) encounters the woman he is destined to marry, Clare Abshire (Rose Leslie).

The Time Traveler's Wife episode 1 sets up the premise of the entire show, explaining how its time travel works and introducing viewers to various iterations of Henry

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The time travel narrative reveals that Henry essentially lives his life in the shadow of his future; he will marry Clare because he was always destined to do so

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The Time Traveler's Wife episode 1's cliffhanger ending he even sees his own severed feet - identifiable because of a distinctively shaped birthmark.

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The addition is a smart one, though, because it allows Stephen Moffat's storytelling to emphasize the sense of predetermined fate that governs Henry's life.

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[{"selector":"#anim-6be1d4c9-66f4-4fcf-835f-73a4db992459 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate(0%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-2406797b-9152-4bdc-ac0d-e98cfe3bc299","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":4000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-f48c4886-2c1f-4db1-ae1d-3b31051ac844","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(0.3333333333333333)","scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":4000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"forwards"}] There's a sense in which this version of The Time Traveler's Wife is not a love story at all, but rather it's a tale of fate, where its stars have no agency at all.