Don't Come Home is a six-part Thai supernatural horror series on Netflix that skillfully blends elements of thrill and science fiction to deliver a powerful story.
Don't Come Home is directed by Woottidanai Intarakaset and is based on a screenplay that was penned by himself and Aummaraporn Phandinthong. The series headlines Pitchapa Phanthumchinda, Woranuch Bhirombhakdi and Cindy Sirinya Bishop in the leading roles.
Disclaimer: Spoilers! The views expressed solely belong to the author. The article contains major spoilers.
Don't Come Home largely addresses the themes of loss, generational trauma and motherhood that are experienced by the characters of Parida, Varee and Min. Separated by different timelines, Parida, Varee and Min are brought together by the force of the time machine that inevitably throws them into an inescapable time loop paradox.
Thereafter, Varee's past comes to play a defining role in Min's future, to the extent that Varee herself is Min in a different timeline. Several theories have popped up explaining this, with the most widely accepted one being that Varee and Min are indeed one and the same.
In the 2024 timeline, Varee returns back to her ancestral home in the woods after a gap of almost thirty years. Varee's daughter Min then mysteriously disappears and is taken back to the 1992 timeline by Parida, who wields her time machine to such effect.
Here's everything we know.
Don't Come Now: Time travel theories explained
Don't Come Now effectively comes across not just as a supernatural horror, but cleverly weaves elements of thriller and science-fiction. Upon returning to her dilapidated ancestral home in order to escape from the clutches of her abusive partner Colonel Yuttachai, Varee tries her best to find closure with her daughter Min.
She is assisted by Uncle Natee, the caretaker of the house who used to work for her mother Parida. However, Varee is unaware that a ghostly little girl with a strange mask is haunting Min. One day while Min tries to shield herself inside a closet, an eerie black mass shrouds her and she is transported back to 1992. Parida has drawn her through a time loop, thus making time fluid by the time machine.
Don't Come Home then goes back to 1992, where Parida is a workaholic mother who works at a local power station and regrets not spending much time with her family after her biological daughter Varee and her husband die in a road accident. A depressed Parida holds on to the time machine as the only remedy to find closure. She takes care of Min as Varee and adopts her as her child.
The popular social media platform Reddit has been rife with possible theories explaining the time loop paradox of Varee's past determining Min's future. One such theory by @ASRNEPAL suggests the possibility of alternate reality:
Another theory states:
While a third theory mentions:
Who is Min really from Don't Come Home?
According to what is showcased in Don't Come Home, Min and Varee are indeed one and the same, which roughly translates to the bizarre idea that Varee gave birth to herself after being caught in a time loop paradox.
As per Don't Come Home, Min was born in 2019 and went to the house with Varee in 2024 from where she disappeared and went back to 1992 where she was raised by Parida as Varee. Varee then grew up to be a journalist and left her ancestral home, marrying Yuttachai and eventually suffering from an abusive relationship.
Don't Come Home is available exclusively on Netflix.