"But I was supposed to make you happy,"

"Who told you that?"

“We are getting married, we are actually getting married. We are not going on a hot date or vacation. We were not supposed to make each other happy. If we do, that's great and if we don't, that's not the point.”

“It's like setting sail in the storm, where we both know for a fact, we are not going to make it, so what we do? We cling on to each other because we know this as good it anything ever gets,”

“Make my happy days happier and the saddest days bearable and if you had the strength to forgive me if I ever hurt, I will do the same,"

It's the most realistic and romantic description of a relationship I've ever seen. Ah, people think romance movies and books give people unrealistic expectations, but the truth is under all the grand gestures. "I will do anything for you" really means it, and that's what I like about romance: the idea that you can find someone who accepts all of your flaws, mistakes, hurts, and damage. That's the real romance. It's not about making each other happy or expecting grand gestures; it's about making a haven so the worst days of our lives become a bit less painful and a little more bearable. Because we might not be sure about the happy days, but the bad days could be around the corner.

When I saw the new HBOmax Original streaming on Hotstar Disney Plus, I was once again hit with the nostalgia of one of my favorite stories and favorite premises. Time-traveling romance, Time Traveler's Wife, was the story that introduced me to the sub-genre.

Is it just me or after every introduction to the new premises of romance, it feels like the possibilities are endless? It is a story in itself about how I was introduced to it. Somehow, most simple things turn out to be quite unnecessarily complicated when it comes to me.

So, yeah, I first saw the movie, and then I wanted to read the book, but I somehow never ended up doing it until now. After watching the series, it was inevitable. It is impossible not to explore every aspect of the story that ends up making you feel so much, don’t you think?

This is my take on all three versions of it.

Don’t you feel like a book-to-screen adaptation is not really an adaptation? It is often the case that a story's outlook is altered by the people showing it because of a lack of screen time or by the general perspective of the story. Book and screen versions of it often developed from a variety of viewpoints, most notably the perspective of the representation or the audience at that time.

So let me put it like this:

If the Time Traveler's Wife book is an actual event, the movie is a fairy tale version of it, and the series is a more in-depth and realistic version of it.

The movie is a more romantic and fairy tale version, but there are many things left unexplored when compared to the book. Specifically, Henry's reaction to his condition, and the sperling's out-of-control behavior. The central struggle of their relationship was at the center stage, but it felt like it was over too fast. However, it did not affect its overall impact. It was, in its own right, a wholesome movie. It included all that was important to the story.

The series had the time and luxury to convey the depth, torments, and troubles of the characters, along with their flaws, mistakes, and general outlook on life. In the movie, Henry is shown tormented. In the series, he is a bit of a jerk. In the book, he is tormented and incredulous by the miracle Claire is. However, he has a past that he wants to clear out in the wake of Claire entering his life. In the series, this is more evident than in the movie. Claire's expectations of him, what she knows of him, and what he is when their timelines come to match. In the series, Claire's flaws, mistakes, trauma, and stubbornness are portrayed more closely from the book. At some point, there may even be an overdoing of it.

When the love is worth it, waiting can be romantic, and the movie highlights that aspect of their situation. The series gives these characters more depth, like extra light and shading in the drawing to make them deeper and more alive.