Eternity

Each soul in the afterlife must choose a specific Eternity theme where they will spend forever. Afterlife Coordinators (ACs) like Anna guide newly deceased souls through the process. Souls who try to escape their chosen Eternity get banished to the Void, a realm of endless darkness. However, special circumstances like Joan's can grant exceptions, allowing her to sample multiple Eternities before deciding.

Larry realizes Joan has been wearing her hair long, a style she only wore during her first marriage to Luke. He understands this means she's happier thinking about her younger, carefree days with Luke. Wanting her to be truly happy rather than choosing him out of obligation, Larry selflessly urges her to pick Luke, even though it means being separated from her forever.

Earlier, the film shows that souls revert to the age when they were happiest, Luke's happiest moment being when he and Joan might have started a family.

Luke died in the Korean War shortly after marrying Joan. He never moved on because he spent his entire life hoping to reunite with her in the afterlife. Rather than choosing an Eternity, he waited at the Junction, the meeting point where souls arrive, for 67 years, believing Joan would eventually choose to spend eternity with him.

The film establishes early that Luke proposed to Joan at the dock where he said goodbye before heading to war, showing how their love was cut short.

The Archives are buildings that exist within each Eternity, showing moments from a person's life. When Joan visits the mountain Eternity with Luke, they enter the Archives together and watch memories from their marriage. Larry refuses to enter the Archives during his time with Joan because he's afraid of confronting their shared history, the happy moments are painful to revisit knowing they'll be separated forever.

After spending time in the mountain Eternity with Luke, Joan frequently returns to the Archives to relive memories with Larry. She realizes that the small, everyday moments she shared with Larry, the mundane, worn-in comfort of 65 years together, matter far more than the fresh, romanticized love she had with Luke. She understands that authentic connection outweighs idealized nostalgia.

The contrast between the beach Eternity (where Larry avoids the Archives) and the mountain Eternity (where Joan keeps revisiting memories) foreshadows where her true happiness lies.

The discontinued Eternity is an abandoned afterlife realm that closely resembles Larry and Joan's earthly life together. When Joan decides she wants to be with Larry, they enter this special Eternity as a second chance. It represents acceptance of their imperfect but meaningful life together, finding peace in the ordinary rather than in idealized romantic fantasies.

Luke agrees to act as a decoy so Joan can slip through the Archives and exit the mountain Eternity, despite knowing she wants to spend eternity with Larry instead of him. He does this because he genuinely loves Joan and wants her to be happy, even if that happiness doesn't include him. He's willing to let go rather than trap her in a relationship she doesn't truly want.

The Void is a realm of endless darkness where souls get banished if they try to escape their chosen Eternity. Anna explains this rule to Larry early on, attempting to leave results in permanent isolation. Luke warns Joan that if she tries to leave her chosen Eternity, she risks being lost to the Void, making her escape attempt particularly risky.

Larry realizes Joan has been wearing her hair long throughout their time in the afterlife, a style she exclusively wore during her first marriage to Luke. This observation reveals to Larry that Joan's subconscious has been dwelling on her past with Luke. It triggers his decision to push her toward Luke, believing she would be happier reconnecting with that version of herself.

Anna reveals she never picked an Eternity for herself because helping others has always been what made her happiest. As an Afterlife Coordinator, guiding souls through their decisions gives her purpose. She tells Larry that helping him helped her rediscover that sense of meaning, explaining why she continues working at the Junction instead of moving on to her own eternal destination.

Joan struggles because she genuinely loves both men for different reasons. Luke represents her lost youth, untainted first love, and the future they could have had. Larry represents the comfortable, real life they built together, 65 years of marriage with all its imperfections. She compares Larry's letter (saying he'd wait for her) against Luke's 67 years of devotion, but still can't choose until she experiences what each future would actually feel like.

Larry chooses to wait at the Junction rather than selecting an Eternity because he wants to be there when Joan arrives. He knows she'll die eventually from her terminal cancer and wants to reunite with her rather than start his eternal existence without her. He takes a bartending job at the Junction, a nod to Luke's former earthly role, while waiting, showing his commitment to their relationship.