Netflix’s Thai series Don’t Come Home has sparked many theories and confusion online because of the Min and Varee Time Paradox loop revealed at the end of the story. And I don’t blame viewers for being confused – how can Min be Varee, and Varee be Min? The theories have spilled over into our Reddit community, and no one can agree on how the time loop is possible.
Here are the main theories and dismissals for Don’t Come Home:
1. It’s Simply a Time Loop, But The Births Do Not Make Sense
User “Financial-Formal7173” believes it’s all just a time loop, but they are only confused about how Min/Varee gave birth to herself:
It a time loop it makes sense Min Aka Varee same person exists in one timeline, but it blows my mind that Min/Varee gave birth to herself how is that possible ? It’s sentiment for the story line but how is that technically possible to give birth to urself and what does that imply to the father he gave birth to a daughter which will be his wife in the future/past/present.
I agree with the confusion about giving birth to oneself. That’s what ultimately hinders the theory.
2. There’s a Min/Varee Clone
Okay, this is one of the wilder theories I did not think of when watching the series. The clone theory comes from the possibility that Varee came back and is the second Varee (Min). This discussion was sparked by “Tinydancer1287,” who was wondering how Min could exist in the first place:
But for Min to exist in the first place, original Varee has to live long enough to give birth to her but original Varee doesn’t live past the age of 5 because she dies in a car crash in 1991.
However, in response to this provides the most compelling theory and lands to the clone possibility, as “Gloomy-Cupcake5228” highlights:
That part is confusing, but it’s kind of explained. The real Varee died and that’s the end of her story. The Varee who grows up is actually Min. She’s not related to the woman who raised her, she was basically kidnapped. Towards the end, the mother/kidnapper tells Min that her name will be Varee from now on.
The part that makes no sense to me is that Min grows up with her new name (Varee) to give birth to Min… aka herself. The only thing that I can think of to explain this is that Min/Varee cloned herself, and named her clone Min. This would explain why her husband tells the detective that Min isn’t his child.
There is some substance to this theory because the husband does indeed tell the detective that Min is not his child – this would support the hypothesis that there is some cloning going on somewhere. After all, we have to suspend our belief to watch this story in the first place. But also, it’s possible that the husband was saying this due to the marital problems Varee and he were having; he was abusing her. This could all be part of his manipulation.
3. Maybe The Story Does Not Make Sense
Sometimes, concluding that a story does not add up is difficult. In the case of Don’t Come Home, I think many viewers are struggling to consider this because it’s a genuinely good series. I feel the same way. I’m desperate for a theory to land and be confirmed, but I cannot help but feel that maybe the writers dug themselves a deep hole. This has led to some heated discussions, especially in response to this – “LeekEnvironmental446” said:
Its funny how none of you gets it. It is quite simple. The real Varee dies in the car carcrash. The older Varee gives birth to Min. Min goes back to 1992 in the timemaschine and grows up to give birth to Min. And from there the cycle starts again. It is really simple and makes absolute sense. This is actually the first show or movie about time travel where they nailed it. The only two things that dont sit well with me is. 1. The paranormal stuff wasnt needed. It kinda ruins the story. 2. They never explain why the detective says he isnt the father when you see Varee holding Min without explanation. It wasnt needed it only leads to unresolved confusion. If the dad was just the dad nothing wouldve changed and it would all make sense.
However, “mciyos” found this condescending:
You’re so condescending, it’s not simple because it doesn’t make sense. How does Varee give birth to herself? There is literally no explanation for that and you just gloss over it in your comment. The writers of the show don’t explain it either in the montage at the end, because it breaks the whole story.
The detective saying he isn’t the father is simple and doesn’t need explanation. We can assume he took a paternity test and found out Min wasn’t his daughter because she’s literally a clone of Varee.
Though, to be fair, “mciyos” goes back to the cloning theory, giving it more weight.
4. Young Min Was A Random Girl Who Happened To Be In The House In 2024
Okay, so I tried to let go of the whole “maybe the story does not make sense” theory and decided to dig into additional theories in our community. And I found one more that relates to young Min in 2024. This theory is gaining momentum, so I’ll be interested if it’s fleshed out more. Or maybe I am just clinging on to hope for a finalized theory.
“No_Meaning4532” says:
Just finished watching “Don’t Come Home” and wanted to share my take on the mind-bending plot. Here’s how I see it:
Panida tries to use her time machine to bring back her daughter, the original Varee, but accidentally brings back Young Min instead—a random girl who happened to be in the house in 2024 (why this young girl is alone in the house is perhaps open to interpretation).
Panida decides to name this girl Varee (let’s call her New Varee to avoid confusion), since the original Varee’s story ends with her death.
New Varee grows up, gets married, and lives her life. But because she was pulled from her original timeline, she’s stuck in a loop that needs to be completed.
To keep the time loop going (since the show doesn’t deal with alternate realities), New Varee has to become the mother of Young Min, essentially giving birth to herself – an unnatural and paradoxical outcome created by the unnatural and paradoxical phenomenon of time travel.
So, Young Min is destined to grow up as New Varee, go back to 1992 as Young Min, and keep the cycle going.
That’s the only way I could make sense of it.
I could get on board with this one because it leads to an unnatural and paradoxical outcome. It would explain how the series begins like a horror, with strange things occurring because of the unnatural state of play surrounding the house.
5. The Writers Left It Ambiguous On Purpose
My theory has not yet been sounded out in our community. While many believe the writers broke the story and could not fix it, I feel it was intentionally left ambiguous. The writers may know precisely what the time paradox is (or isn’t), but rather than explaining it, they leave it unanswered to leave audiences confused and to discuss it.
And to be fair, it has worked. Leaving the central question unanswered has drawn many viewers to discuss and market the show. To make it even more painful, Don’t Come Home is a limited series, so we will unlikely get a second season. This also means we will never get an answer on the time loop between Min and Varee. We have another Inception ending on our hands.
