Hannah reaches for milk in a grocery shop. She flinches at a car horn outside — her breath catches. At the checkout, a CASHIER scans her items mechanically. Hannah grabs her bag, rounds a corner, and slams straight into LILY. They recognise each other — Hannah wraps Lily in a desperate hug. Lily senses something is wrong.
Coffee shop. Hannah sits across from Lily, hands curled around a barely-touched coffee, grocery bag on the floor. She tells Lily she "died" — describes the crash and a man who saved her. Lily mentions Hannah's blackouts have been getting worse. Hannah doesn't know what blackouts Lily means. Lily gently suggests seeing a doctor. Hannah notices Lily's hair is different.
The door clicks shut behind Hannah. She steps into Josh's empty hallway — shoes padding on hardwood, the house eerily still. She moves toward the kitchen, grocery bag rustling.
Hannah sets the grocery bag on the kitchen counter and begins unpacking. Behind her, Josh speaks (O.S.): "Hello?" She freezes. Josh stands in the doorway, handsome but tense. "Who are you?" He doesn't recognise her. Hannah is devastated — tries to explain she's his girlfriend. Josh grows angry and orders her to leave. She bolts.
CAFÉ. A coffee cup clinks down. Hannah leans back, arms crossed. Will sits across from her. "You're a time traveller." He confirms it. He explains time travel using sugar on the table — pouring a straight line for the timeline, showing how consciousness jumps back. He produces a folder stuffed with handwritten notes, diagrams, photographs. He explains there are two versions of her: the 2018 Hannah whose body she's in, and her 2025 consciousness. He proposes a plan: go back to when she first met Josh at a park café and recreate the meeting.
SMASH CUT FROM BLACK. Hannah stares into the bathroom mirror under fluorescent lights. A toilet flushes, a stall door opens — a stranger brushes past and exits. Hannah grips the sink, breathes. "Okay." She gathers herself and walks out.
Hannah steps out of the bathroom into the lived-in café. She heads to a corner table where JOSH sits. They flirt — it's their first meeting in this loop. Hannah tells him about her "emergency pack of compliments" she gives to strangers. Josh is charmed, opens up about being an anxious person. Extended, warm two-hander.
LOOP RESTART. The bell jingles as Hannah enters the same café. She casts a glance at Josh's still-empty chair, joins the queue. JANA the barista greets her — they exchange the same order (cappuccino, medium, normal milk). Hannah accidentally calls Jana by name, covers it. Josh enters and takes his seat. Hannah approaches him with the wi-fi password and his book title — they begin the conversation again.
Bathroom mirror shot (same framing as 2.01). Hannah stares at her reflection. From behind a stall door, she hears suppressed crying. "Hello? Are you okay?" No one emerges. (Julia is O.S. behind the door.)
Hannah walks back to Josh's table. "So... where were we?" They pick up the conversation about compliments. Same beats, slightly shifted — Hannah knows the moves now.
Same café, new loop. Hannah walks straight to the counter — Jana serves her. "And a pastry please." Jana: "Oh, I'm sorry, we're out. Some guy just left with the last one." Hannah clocks Josh already sitting in his chair, reading.
Bathroom mirror. This time, a stall door unlatches and a woman crosses to the next basin. IN THE MIRROR: JULIA. Red-eyed, swollen from crying, wearing a formal black dress. Hands under the tap. Hannah tries to mask her surprise. "Hey, are you okay?" Julia, wiping tears: "I'm fine." First real contact.
Hannah returns to Josh's table. They talk about compliments again. Hannah suggests leaving to get fresh air. "We just met," Josh says. Just then, JULIA walks out from the bathroom. Hannah panics — "I'll be right back."
LOOP RESET. Bathroom mirror. Same shot as opener — Julia appears in the mirror again, red-eyed. "Hey, are you okay?" Julia: "I'm fine." Hannah: "You don't look fine." Julia: "I'm sorry, do I know you?" Hannah: "No." This time Hannah stays. Julia explains: "Awkward timing." Hannah: "That's okay. Nice dress." Julia: "Thanks. It's for a funeral."
Hannah at her original table (not Josh's). She watches across the room. Julia comes out of the bathroom, crosses to Jana at the counter, orders a latte. Her phone dies when trying to pay. Josh walks up and joins the counter. "Problem?" He offers to pay for Julia's latte. As his thumb swipes — THE HUM builds. We zoom in on the phone, zoom out: it's in HANNAH'S hand. THE HUM cuts. Hannah and Julia stare at each other. Julia smiles.
Julia and Hannah sit opposite each other. Julia sips the latte Josh bought her. They talk about Julia's sister Nathalie who died of cancer. Hannah empathises, asks too many questions, keeps saying sorry. Julia opens up about grief and learning to live with loss. Meanwhile, Josh is still reading his book at his table across the room.
Hannah enters the café, is served by JANA at the counter. She compliments Jana's playlist — Jana lights up. Hannah orders, walks to a seat, holds the door for a patron with two coffees. She catches Josh already inside hunting for the wi-fi sign and gives him the password ("Spill the beans"). They sit together, begin the Flannery O'Connor conversation again.
FINAL BATHROOM LOOP RESET. Mirror. Julia in the mirror, red-eyed. Same exchange: "Hey, are you okay?" Julia: "I'm fine." Hannah: "You don't look fine." Julia: "Sorry, do I know you?" Hannah decides to change things: "Yes."
Julia and Hannah sit opposite each other once more. Julia stares in disbelief as Hannah explains the loops — dozens of them, the day repeating, trying to change the timeline. Hannah says they never met at this café before, but Josh and Julia did. She looks over at Josh's table — he smiles and gives a small wave of acknowledgement. Hannah tells Julia she hopes Julia will treat Josh well. Julia, moved despite herself, says Hannah made her forget about today. Hannah says "Julia. You'll be fine."
Will and Hannah walk-and-talk in the office hallway. "Que sera, sera" — a light, reflective moment. Will asks where she'll go now. Hannah says she's currently occupying her 2018 body during a blackout.
University cafeteria. Bright, high glass, pendant lamps. Will sits at a table. Hannah approaches, spots him, sits nearby. They talk about how they keep running into each other. Hannah mentions Julia's sister. Will mentions Maya died. Hannah extends sympathy — a genuine connection.
Same café, corner window table. JULIA in the black dress comes out of the bathroom and crosses to the counter where JANA serves her. Julia's phone dies trying to pay. WILL appears and swipes his phone to pay for her latte — taking Josh's original role. Julia is surprised and grateful. HANNAH is also present. Timeline has been altered.
Squash court. Hannah hammers the ball into the wall. LILY snaps it back — fast, competitive. Between rallies, Lily asks what's wrong. Hannah deflects. Lily probes about Will and the blackouts. Hannah shuts it down but she's visibly improved at squash.
LOOP RESET. Coffee shop. HANNAH sits back down — LILY is mid-sentence, still talking. Hannah has returned from the hill. She sits quietly, shaken but processing.
Campus café. HANNAH and JOSH sit together. He returns her student ID that she dropped. She writes her phone number on a napkin. A sweet, low-key first connection.
Inside the café. HANNAH and JULIA sit together. "Tabitha paid." The timeline has shifted — details are different. JANA is visible in the background behind the counter.
LOOP RESET. Coffee shop. HANNAH realises the pendant is the anchor — the key to controlling the loops. LILY keeps talking, oblivious. Hannah processes the revelation.
Student dorm room. HANNAH explains time travel to JULIA using spilled sugar on a desk — echoing Will's café demonstration from 1.08. A student timetable on the wall, a laptop open to Maya's obituary and party social media page. Julia listens, processing.
Classroom/lecture room. GRAHAM draws his time-loop diagram on the whiteboard — five circles rolling into one large loop. HANNAH and JULIA watch and listen. A tutorial in time travel mechanics.