"}Concept: A streaming service releases a movie\nabout a person caught in a time loop that ends not with breaking the time loop,\nbut with the protagonist reaching peace with the new condition of their life,\nmaking a point of finding joy in small things and doing good works even if they\ndon\u2019t last.
It was a pretty good movie, so when you have a\nfriend over who you think would like it, you watch the movie again. About 2/3\nway through the movie, something starts feeling off. You didn\u2019t exactly\nmemorize the movie the first time, but it feels like some scenes are going\ndifferently. As the movie goes on, you become more and more certain that it\u2019s\nnot the same. The ending is definitely different. The protagonist still ends\nthe film trapped in the time loop, but this time they\u2019re in despair about it.\nThis ending emphasizes the futility of trying to change controlling systems and\nthe way people\u2019s fundamental natures trap them in destructive cycles.
\u00a0You\u2019re initially shocked not to see the movie\nyou expected, but you realize that it must have two alternate versions, shown\neither randomly or in some designated order depending on how many times you\u2019ve\nviewed the film. You wonder if there\u2019s more than two versions, so you watch it\nagain.
Broadly speaking, it seems like the same film\nyou watched the first time, but even though you can\u2019t put your finger on any\nspecific changes, it feels a bit different, like maybe the film\u2019s editor used\ndifferent takes. In the jubilant final scene, you realize that the protagonist\nisn\u2019t wearing a snazzy leather jacket like you remember, but instead a\nbutton-down shirt with sleeves rolled up their forearms.
\u00a0The fourth time you watch it, you get the grim\nending again, except this time in the final scene the protagonist isn\u2019t crying\nsilently while staring into the distance, but wailing while covering their face\nwith their hands.
\u00a0The fifth viewing, the protagonist goes mad by\nthe end, though the film is clear that they\u2019re mad within a time loop rather\nthan imagining a time loop due to madness. The sixth time, the mood of the\nending is stoic resignation.
\u00a0You finally get online to look for information\nabout this film. There\u2019s plenty of people talking about the film and its\ndifferent versions. The streaming service has implemented some super-advanced\nanti-piracy technology, so no one can save clips, and even trying to use another\ndevice to film a tv showing the movie seems to just result in weird static. That makes it impossible for people to compare footage from their versions and figure\nout exactly how many there are, but it\u2019s clear there are lots.
The director and cast did some publicity before\nthe film was released, talking about the characters and the setting, but there\nwas no mention of alternate versions. They haven\u2019t done any press since the\nrelease. One person online claims to have run into the director at a Starbucks\nin Malibu and asked whether there were any alternate endings where the movie\u2019s\nprotagonist escapes the time loop.
\u201cThe structure of storytelling, at least as we\nunderstand it in Western culture, always calls for an ending,\u201d the director\nsaid with a wink, then slipped out the door, clutching a triple-shot hazelnut\nlatte. The online person reporting this encounter didn\u2019t realize until too late\nthat that wasn\u2019t actually an answer.
You watch the movie again and again, usually\nseveral times a week. You take notes each time so you can better spot the\ndifferences. You start changing how you watch it: different times of day, on\ndifferent devices, with different settings. Maybe there\u2019s a trick to control which\nversion you\u2019ll get. It\u2019s never exactly the same twice. (Just how long did they\nspend filming all these versions? You can\u2019t find any information about the lead\nactors working on any new projects.) The repetition and lack of resolution are\nmaddening, but every time you decide you\u2019re done with watching this movie you\nonly make it a few days before you give in and watch it again. You keep hoping\nto find the ending where the time loop breaks, but it never happens.
Finally, in frustration, you open a document on\nyour computer. You stay up until 4 am furiously typing. Eventually you have it:\na new version of the latter half of the movie where the protagonist\nsuccessfully breaks the time loop. Your ending is true to both with the film\u2019s\nworldbuilding and the protagonist\u2019s character. It\u2019s big and triumphant. You\ncan\u2019t remember the last time you felt so satisfied.
You go to sleep. The next day, you open up the\nstreaming site. Your cursor lingers on the time loop movie you\u2019ve watched so\nmany times before, but instead you select a teen rom com that looks like it\nwill take absolutely no narrative risks. You feel free.
The day after that, you have an idea for how\nthe time loop film\u2019s protagonist could break out of the loop in a super\nridiculous way. Just thinking about it cracks you up. You don\u2019t want to forget\nany part of this hilarious idea. You open another document and type it out.
Three weeks later you\u2019re sitting in a Starbucks. You have another\nidea for how the protagonist can break out of the loop but with absolutely\nheartbreaking consequences. It\u2019s painful to consider, but the idea won\u2019t let\nyou rest. You open your laptop and go to the folder already growing crowded with\nversion after version of the protagonist\u2019s escape from the time loop. You take\na sip of triple-shot hazelnut latte and begin again.