Quote:
Originally Posted by revots33
But she was caught between her rational mind and her all-consuming desire to see her kids and know they were OK. So she yelled stop because she didn't want to kill herself... but then invented the alternate story that she went through with it and her kids seemed happy, in order to be able to live with it.
You could actually play it the other way, too. That she had this realization of her family having moved on - where ever they are - beforehand and that's ultimately why she backed out. We see the flashbacks to her kids as she's walking up to the pod. And it's like, ok, what's the absolute best case scenario (from a rational, scientific standpoint) in terms of what this machine does to me? And she kinda lays it out at the end - some world exactly like our own only they're there and we're here. But even in that instance, it's like a monkey's paw sort of wish, because it's been so many years, and in that world, her kids are the lucky ones, and she has no place there.
It's like even her fantasy world wouldn't work out. So she dismantles the fantasy and becomes a recluse and tries to find some peace. And it's a nice connection with Kevin, who we just saw destroy his own fantasy world last week. I mean, that place he blew up with nukes probably doesn't actually exist, but do we "believe him" that he had that experience and his own realization? Well, sure. And that's the important part of Nora's story that he believes.
In fact, you could watch that last scene with the idea of like, Nora telling Kevin she was afraid he wouldn't believe her - but not the part about a fantastical sci-fi odyssey, but instead the part about where she moved past her children. "Why wouldn't I believe you? You're here." Whatever Nora went through in reality or not, this is where she is and it's where she belongs. And that's the part he believes.