Caution: Spoilers Ahead for Captain Nova.
The Dutch Netflix original Captain Nova portrays the experiences of an astronaut after she successfully travels back in time. Her goal is to stop humanity from making a fatal mistake that causes the planet to become uninhabitable in a matter of years. Her assignment becomes exponentially more difficult, however, when she discovers traveling back in time has managed to physically de-age her, and she is forced to navigate the complex mission in her 12-year-old body.
Captain Nova (Anniek Pheifer) is an astronaut and fighter pilot who risks her life by traveling back 25 years into the past through a wormhole in space. When she arrives, she seeks the help of a young boy named Nas (Marouane Meftah) after he discovers her crashed ship and keeps her and her sentient drone companion from being intercepted by government officials. Nas and young Nova (Kika van de Vijver) must then try to reason with the person responsible for the North Pole drilling project that severely exacerbates global warming and turns the planet into a barren wasteland.
The third act kicks off with Nova traveling to the past a second time to continue seeking Nas’ help after failing the first time around. This time, a fleet of ships s her, and all of them spread out across the globe in an attempt to halt various environmentally destructive behaviors before it’s too late. In the final moments, Nas reveals that the ships—which plan to remain anonymous—will keep returning until they’ve accomplished their goal.
How Does Time Travel Work in Captain Nova?
At the start of the film, Captain Nova is launched into space until she arrives at a wormhole in one of many scenes reminiscent of the filming location for Mad Max is slim.
Do Time Travelers the Changes They Cause?
When Nova initially returns, she believes nothing has changed before her son comes through the door with a grown-up Nas. She has no memory of the new timeline she’s created and doesn’t know them. It appears that she discovers these new memories quickly because she shows recognition toward them after a short while. Her colleagues who didn’t travel back are also aware of what the world was like before the changes. This plot point offers more hope for the future in Captain Nova because those who survived the initial mass extinction timeline will always be aware of humanity’s initial mistakes. Therefore, they will not only be able to continue returning until the future has been fixed, but they will also have conscious memories of their past to guide them.
