Critic Reviews

The idea of different chronological variants of the same character wandering the same timeline would be a forbidden paradox in most time-travel tales. But The Time Traveler's Wife embraces it. Because highly emotional moments in his life act as a kind of magnet for Henry's temporal tumbles, there are certain moments—the awful ones, mostly, like the death of his mother—where there are as many as 20 versions of him looking on, all as dumbstruck with horror as they were the first time they witnessed it.

Moffat has rediscovered his mojo here. A mind-bending weepy, The Time Traveler’s Wife delivers chills and spills while also saying something profound about human existence and the eternal shadows cast by trauma and heartache.

Taking certain story weaknesses into account, this version absolutely comes the closest to replicating the feeling one can get from reading Niffenegger's book, which had its own addictive qualities.

Delivers a welcome fairytale with a “Pushing Daisies” vibe, but with such a tight initial focus on just these two characters, one wonders if it can go the distance.

Every time it feels as though the show might actually want to have a real conversation about fate, free will, or consequences, it slides away from the implication without ever fully looking it in the face.

Stars Rose Leslie and Theo James have an easygoing bicker-banter chemistry that lets this fantasy rom-com slide past its many ridiculous and overtly sentimental moments. No, it’s not a show for the ages, but it works as a ray of empty-headed spring-summer sunny optimism.

Sometimes these efforts are awkward. Sometimes these efforts are outright corny. But occasionally—and especially when Moffat and Nutter are willing to take their hands off the throttle and let the show live in the weird emotional intricacies of the relationship it’s supposed to be about—James and especially Leslie manage to make you understand why Henry and Claire’s love is so compelling.

The finished product is full of contradictions and clunky moments, but also a lot of heart and ingenuity. It’ll be interesting to see whether it satisfies book purists and newcomers alike, or struggles to thread the needle with either of them.

[Steven Moffat] takes the melodrama down a notch and salts the schmaltz with wit where he can. ... But it has two intrinsic problems to overcome – and hurdles one more successfully than the other. The first is the ick factor occasioned by Henry’s many visits as a grown man to Clare as a child. ... The other problem is more deep-rooted. Niffenegger’s story is built around Clare’s passivity. Her life, while not static or unfulfilled professionally, is defined by waiting for Henry.

The Time Traveler’s Wife does not have the power of the unexpected. But it has a modest, formulaic appeal that will likely keep you going back (and back) for more.