The Missed-Train timeline is created by a wish James makes when Helen dies in the Caught-Train timeline
- In the hospital, James says he's glad Helen caught that train, but when she actually flatlines, this troper theorizes he makes a desperate, selfless wish that she didn't catch the train because he truly loves her and would rather she hadn't met him at all rather than it lead to her premature death. The wish works, and Helen now missed that train. We don't see anything more of the Caught-Train timeline after that moment, because that's the moment James' wish prevented it from ever happening. The Missed-Train timeline then plays out, with Helen having occasional flashbacks and deja-vu from the Caught-Train timeline (remembering there'd be a rowing match in the river with purple rowers, remembering the Spanish Inquisition line, etc.) because that timeline is what played out first. There's thus no separate darker universe where she tragically dies and leaves James and her friends heartbroken; it's the same universe with history having been rewritten for the better. Hooray!
The Caught-Train timeline was remembered through a dream by Helen in the Missed-Train timeline
- Helen is implied to have been Asleep for Days after her accident, and might have remembered the timeline where she caught the train during this time, which is why she knows about the Spanish Inquisition line. She might have had a few brief memories before, but then dreamt the whole thing later, making everything much clearer to her.
