500 Days of Summer warns viewers that it’s not a love story, with Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Summer’s (Zooey Deschanel) story taking some turns that Tom should have seen coming. Directed by Marc Webb, 500 Days of Summer is told in a non-linear style to explore Tom and Summer’s story from the moment they met at their job at a greeting card company. Tom is instantly fascinated by Summer, with whom he shares his taste in music. Summer is honest with Tom from the beginning and tells him she’s not looking for a serious relationship, so they agree to something casual.

Summer and Tom grow closer as they spend more and more time together, but despite Summer’s warnings (and those of his friends and sister), Tom begins to develop strong feelings for her. Summer eventually breaks up with Tom, but he falls into a depression that gets worse after he briefly reconnects with Summer, only to learn that she’s engaged. In the end, both Summer and Tom find what’s best for them in different areas of their lives, but they go through a lot to get to that.

Why Summer & Tom Don’t End Up Together In 500 Days of Summer

Summer & Tom’s Story Truly Isn’t A Typical Love One

Tom and Summer have many things in common, such as the same taste in music, but just like Tom’s younger (and much wiser) sister, Rachel (Chloë Grace Moretz), tells him when he meets Summer, having the same taste in music doesn’t mean she’s meant for him. 500 Days of Summer even makes a brief trip to the past to show a bit of Summer and Tom’s younger years and why they have the ideas they have about love.

Summer doesn’t believe in love, in large part due to her parents’ divorce, while Tom thinks he will only be happy when he meets his soulmate thanks to heavy pop culture influence. With time, this develops into Summer not believing in relationships and not wanting anything serious by the time she meets Tom (although she has had serious relationships before), while Tom is in constant search for his one true soulmate. Despite agreeing to a casual relationship, Tom’s desires and ideas end up clashing with Summer’s, and none of them are comfortable and happy anymore.

Summer breaks up with Tom, who doesn’t take it well, especially when Summer tells him they can still be friends. Tom’s depression has an impact on his job and he’s moved to the consolations department as he no longer writes “happy” cards. Summer and Tom reconnect at their co-worker’s wedding, but Tom misinterprets this encounter. Summer invites Tom to a party at her apartment, where he finds out she’s engaged. Tom gets deeply depressed again and quits his job, and after more wise words from Rachel, he eventually finds the strength to pick himself up.

Tom returns to architecture, which Summer had encouraged him to do, and begins to attend job interviews related to it. Tom and Summer casually reunite once more at his favorite spot in the city, where Summer explains to him that, even though she never wanted a relationship, she feels sure with her husband about all the things she was never sure of with Tom. Summer admits Tom was right about soulmates and love, but he was wrong about Summer being the right one for him. This gives Tom the closure he needs and finally moves on.

What Tom Meeting Autumn At The End Of 500 Days of Summer Means

500 Days Of Summer Has One Final Twist At The End

While in the waiting room for one of his job interviews at the end of 500 Days Of Summer, Tom meets a young woman applying for the same job. After small talk, Tom learns that his favorite spot in the city is also hers, and the narrator explains that Tom has learned to treat coincidences as they are… or, at least, that’s what he should be doing from now on. Before going into the interview, Tom returns and asks the woman out for coffee, and when asking her name, she says it’s “Autumn”, with Tom looking directly at the camera.

The day counter that has led the audience throughout the whole movie resets to one, hinting at this casual encounter being the start of another love story for Tom – however, whether it will be a successful one or another failure is left to the imagination of the audience. Given that Tom returns to ask Autumn out after ignoring what the narrator says he should have learned, it’s likely that Tom repeats past mistakes with Autumn, but what will make the difference here is Autumn’s stance on relationships, love, and soulmates.

Tom hasn’t lost faith in love and soulmates, despite telling Summer that their experience together and Summer’s marriage made him realize everything he believed in was a lie. However, it’s up to Tom to learn from his mistakes, especially those with Summer, so his future relationships will be a lot better.

Why Summer & Tom’s Relationship Was Never Meant To Last

Summer Was Very Clear With Tom From The Beginning

Despite having things in common, enjoying spending time together, and Tom agreeing to Summer’s terms at first, Summer and Tom’s relationship wasn’t going to last or be what Tom wanted. Both Summer and Tom were very firm in their ideas about love and relationships and weren’t going to change them to suit the other’s.

It’s important to note that Summer was very honest and direct with Tom about her desires and wanting their relationship to be casual, as well as when he wanted ᴀssurance that Summer wouldn’t change her feelings for her, to which she said she couldn’t promise that and no one would be able to give him that. Even though their relationship didn’t work, that doesn’t mean that their ideas were wrong – they simply weren’t the right person for each other.

Ultimately, Summer found the person who made her see that love exists and not all relationships are disastrous, oppressive, and boring, while Tom found himself again. As mentioned above, Tom didn’t give up on his ideas about soulmates, coincidences, and love, but his experience with Summer taught him to not pour all his expectations on one person, especially when they don’t share the same ideas.

500 Days of Summer’s Expectation vs. Reality Montage Explained

Tom Never Lost Hope, But That Hurt The Most

One of the biggest characteristics of Tom is that he’s a dreamer. Tom idealizes love and soulmates, and that’s exactly what he does with Summer (and is another reason why their relationship is doomed to fail). Tom completely misreads his reconnection with Summer at the wedding, despite Summer telling him in an email that she hopes he’s finally ready to be friends. Tom believes this is the first step towards getting back together on his own terms, but the reality is far from that.

500 Days of Summer uses the “expectations vs reality” montage to visually illustrate Tom’s train of thought during this time, believing Summer had a deeper and more personal reason to invite him to her party. Tom hopes to rekindle his romance with Summer at the party and to meet Summer’s friends, but the reality is that he spends most of the party by himself and leaves without saying goodbye as soon as he sees Summer’s engagement ring. It’s an engaging way of showing how heartbreaking expectations (in any context) can be when reality turns out to be completely different.

The Real Meaning Of 500 Days of Summer Explained

500 Days Of Summer Is A Different Type Of Love Story

500 Days of Summer is often misinterpreted and has led to a lot of discussion online where most blame Summer for Tom’s misery – the reality is that none of them is to blame. As mentioned above, Summer is clear and direct with Tom about what she wants and doesn’t want, but that doesn’t mean Tom has to change what he wants. The problem is that Tom agrees to Summer’s terms hoping that he will change her mind, but just as she won’t change his, he won’t change hers.

500 Days of Summer shows that sometimes the person you want to be the right one for you really isn’t, and we can get too caught up in expectations and hope and not see the situation as it really is. In the end, Summer gets what she wants but in a way that takes her by surprise too, and Tom gets the lesson he needs to understand, which is all about finding himself again and being at peace with himself first. 500 Days of Summer isn’t a love story in the typical sense, and it’s more realistic than most rom-coms.