The time loop motif allows Charles Yu to investigate the theme of Fate Versus Free Will. When Charles enters the time loop, he wonders about the impact and futility of his actions. No matter what he does, everything will lead back to the moment of his shooting. This opens Charles to the idea of skipping to the end of the book that records the events of the time loop, believing that foresight can equip him with the knowledge to avoid his own demise. Charles soon learns that the middle of his story is more important than the ending, and that he must experience it to obtain the insight needed to live through the time loop. This in turn teaches him to accept every moment that happens to him with intention. Through acceptance, he finds agency.

The time loop is a static system, one that is mirrored by Charles’s decision to live in the Present-Indefinite. By avoiding any real engagement with the world around him, Charles keeps himself in another loop of his own making. He loses his sense of time and fails to progress in his life for nearly 10 years.