Relationships, it is said, can be like ships passing in the night: a chance greeting and perhaps a quick spark between two people before fading away into the foggy horizon, never to see each other again.
Some might say that’s what happened to William and Willa. While in their 20s, the two fell deeply in love. They gave it a shot, and it didn’t work out. And as time passed, so too did the one from the other’s memory.
But sometimes, far in the future, ships may chance upon each other again, offering a second opportunity to rekindle that passing relationship. They’ll greet each other with fond and sour memories of their previous connection, and they’ll learn of all the new scars and paint jobs that countless unseen voyages have conjured.
In this case, while trying to catch connecting flights going opposite directions, William and Willa reconnect. At first, it’s awkward small talk and an uncomfortable wave, as Willa learns of William’s wife and as William hears about Willa’s “chakra cleansings.” But then, a snowstorm—one for the ages—causes both flights to be postponed until further notice. And that, of course, forces the two into spending even more time rehashing the past, growing closer with every passing snowflake that collects on the ground. But can a relationship that’s nearly three decades gone be rekindled?
“Please do not leave the gate area, as the situation may change at any time.”
Well, at least the airport announcer seems optimistic.
Both Willa and William learn that they came away from their previous relationship with only fragments of the truth about each other. It’s not until they start talking again that they are able to reconcile and see how events impacted one another.
And on a similar note, the two of them also learn from each other about how to confront difficult things in their own lives. Willa coaches William on how to reconcile with his daughter, whose feelings he hurt when he cautioned against pursuing dancing as a career. And William motivates Willa to follow through on the plans she’s made.
The airport’s announcer acts as a soft of omniscient entity working to push William and Willa together—either by giving subtle or in-your-face hints. The two eventually catch on, cursing the entity for seemingly shoving them along without any resolution.
Willa is extremely into New Age beliefs (a tradition that syncretizes the spiritual elements of Eastern religion with the Western pursuit of pleasure and personal satisfaction). She’s a masseuse who also claims to do healings by using her rain stick to do “chakra cleansings.” What that looks like is her holding the stick over William’s head until the stick’s beads stop falling to the bottom of it.
Because of Willa’s New Age beliefs, she occasionally claims that events were simply “not in the cards” for her. When Willa began her trip to Boston, she was told to “submit to the fates” by a New Age friend.
Additionally, Willa deifies the “universe,” claiming that the cosmos just has a way of working things out. At one point, she lists four steps in she calls a “Sacrament of Reconciliation.” She also believes that leap days have magical properties.
In terms of physical contact, we see a kiss on the lips and forehead. Willa sees another couple passionately kissing.
A major point of contention between the two in their relationship, we learn, was Willa’s desire to have an open relationship in order to “explore her sexuality.” William sees it much more bluntly:
“You wanted to [have sex with] other people.”
Willa comments that the number one thing searched for on the Internet is pornography, and the number two thing is cats. William says those statistics are probably due to men searching a crude word looking for pornography that is also associated with cats.
At one point, the two consider getting a hotel room together, but that plan falls through when the hotel runs out of rooms. William is disappointed by this, since it means they won’t be having sex. “Apparently, the universe would rather we be smelly and celibate,” he jokes.
[Spoiler Warning] We eventually learn that William left Willa for two reasons. First, she wanted to have an open relationship, and he wanted a traditional, committed romance. Second, when they went to the hospital for an ultrasound when Willa got pregnant, William was upset because he couldn’t be fully sure that the baby was his on account of the open relationship. However, Willa tells William that despite everything, she remained faithful to him and never slept with anyone else.
Additionally, we see William talk, flirt and touch Willa in ways that are inappropriate for a man with a wife, though as the story progresses, we’re told that the two have separated.
We hear the two discuss a miscarriage Willa had when they were together.
The f-word is used over 15 times, including one use preceded by “mother.” The s-word is used 11 times. We also hear one or two instances each of “a–,” “b–ch,” “d–n,” “h—” and “p-ss.” William makes a crude reference to the female anatomy. God’s name is used in vain 14 times, including four uses with “d–n.”
William and Willa drink alcohol together. At one point, they appear intoxicated. Willa says she smokes a lot of marijuana, and we see her take a puff on a joint (which William says is a felony to do in an airport before he takes a smoke of it, too).
William steals alcohol from an airport bar.
Countless people around the globe have struggled with this haunting question: What if I missed “The One”?
Relationships are often pegged as one of, if not the, top stressor in our lives. We long to be known by someone else and to be loved (often) in spite of that intimate depth of knowledge. But we don’t want that mythical soul mate to pass us by, so we second guess whether we may have missed that love connection through our own folly or poor planning. Or just bad timing.
Yeah, when you think about it, an airport actually reflects that sentiment quite well. It can be a stressful experience: You’re not always sure where you need to go or what you need to do. You might second guess what baggage you should declare, and there’s a whole lot of waiting around for anything to happen. And, of course, there’s the thought in the back of your mind that even if that connection takes off, there’s always a chance it’ll crash and burn.
What Happens Later, as a film, uses that airport setting to its advantage. The stress of travel offers the perfect context for William and Willa to discuss the hardest moments of their previous relationship. And though such moments cannot be erased, they (and we) see that they can be reframed and reclaimed into better memories for the future.
But those talks aren’t the hardest part about What Happens Later. That would be the frequent swearing, the occasional sexual banter and Willa’s problematic spiritual worldview, three elements that damage what would have otherwise been a pretty smooth flight with a decent message.
Such elements will make this in-flight entertainment a bit too crass for the kids, and they’ll likewise make it harder to enjoy for adults, too. So even if you like how this story lands, you’ll still be a little tossed around from some turbulent moments.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
