Tamal Kundu
The attempt to fit Peacock’s ‘The Resort’ into any particular genre is futile. Initially, it seems like a typical holiday mystery, but as the series progresses, the narrative expands and encompasses themes such as love, loss, grief, and catharsis. In various interviews, the cast and crew have indicated that their show has science fiction motifs in it, including time travel. The show’s premise sounds like an ideal place to experiment with such elements. In 2022, Noah (William Jackson Harper) and Emma (Cristin Milioti) arrive in Yucatán, Mexico, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their marriage. While it is not explicitly stated, everything isn’t alright in their relationship. During one of the planned activities, Emma has an accident and finds an old flip phone. She discovers it originally belonged to Sam Knowlston (Skyler Gisondo), who disappeared along with another tourist, Violet Thompson (Nina Bloomgarden), on the day before a massive hurricane destroyed their hotel.
Given that the disappearance serves as the core mystery in the series, many of you must be wondering whether Sam and Violet traveled through time. Here is what you need to know about it. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Have Sam and Violet Traveled through Time?
Sam arrives in Yucatán on Chrisman Eve of 2007 with his parents. His girlfriend, Hannah, is also with them. During the flight to Yucatán, Sam discovers that Hannah is cheating on him with her professor. Meanwhile, Violet has arrived with her father before Sam, but they both end up staying at the same hotel, Oceana Vista Resort. They meet when Sam injures himself while riding his skateboard. They grow close quite quickly. Sam tells Violet about Hannah’s cheating, while the latter speaks about her mother’s death.
Now, Sam and Violet could have disappeared for multiple reasons. We know that they were not in the hotel when the hurricane struck. So, there is a real possibility that their cause of death was a violent storm. It’s also possible that either Baltasar Frías or the mysterious Santa, who is actually the hotel’s owner, Alex, could have killed them.
However, considering that time travel is supposed to be part of the narrative in some way, the fates of Sam and Violet might be a bit more complicated than them dying in the hurricane or being murdered by their hosts. We know Violet is in Yucatán because of a message her mother left in the book ‘La Desilusión Del Tiempo’ by Illán Iberra. The message told Violet to meet her mother “here.” As she decided to come to Yucatán, we can safely assume that Violet thinks that by “here,” her mother meant the Mexican state.
The series begins with a quote from Iberra: “The pursuit to recapture your past is a waste of time. The past lives in the past and is therefore non-existent to the present. Time travel has not been invented.” Now, Iberra might not be a real-life author, but his words clearly imply that time will be an important part of the narrative. This notion is reinforced by the fact that the show has been described as “a fast-paced mystery about the disappointment of time.” So, while the concept of time travel might play an important role in the narrative, it probably isn’t what happened to Violet and Sam.
Read More: What Happened to Violet and Sam in The Resort? Are They Dead or Alive? [Theories]
