The Ending of ‘The Tomorrow Man’ Explained: Was Ed Right All Along?

‘The Tomorrow Man’ is a 2019 American drama film written and directed by Noble Jones in his directorial debut. Starring John Lithgow, Blythe Danner, Derek Cecil, Katie Aselton, Sophie Thatcher, and Eve Harlow, the story follows a man preparing for the apocalypse who meets and falls in love with a woman at the grocery store. ‘The Tomorrow Man’ received mostly mixed reviews, the critics acknowledging the great cast but having strong words for its wobbly script. It’s also not memorable in nay way, despite being more deep than anything. Some of the viewers were confused by the ending of ‘The Tomorrow Man,’ and this is what we’re here to explain.

Ed became a prepper after losing his job

The first character we meet is Ed Hemsler. He was a systems analyst at a ball-bearing factory until he was laid off and since then, he’s been spending most of his time (and money) on prepping and communicating with other like-minded people on internet forums under the nickname Captain Reality.

Being a man of numbers and statistical data, Ed has sort of a prophecy that some terrible nuclear catastrophe will take place that will leave people without resources and energy; luckily, he is prepared. He has a secret stash of food, batteries, water, and medical first-aid supplies when the hour strikes. Ed doesn’t have a wife, but he does have a grown son who is irritated with Ed’s prepping stuff. Ed also has to take medicine for his high blood pressure, but for whatever reason, he skips them more often than not.

The only contact Ed has with other people is the news reports that he watches, but he likes his one-way arguments with the news anchor. Ed also goes to the local store to purchase canned goods and toilet paper for his stash. During one such outing, Ed notices an older woman around his age who buys similar stuff. Ed feels lucky that he finally met a like-minded individual in real life and plots plans on how to meet her.

Ed is convinced that Ronnie is a prepper, and this kickstarts their relationship

Ed stages an incident in a parking lot to get closer to Ronnie, and after he finds her name, he bumps into her at the store for several days in a row. Finally, he asks her on a date, and Ronnie accepts. Once on a date, the two learn that they have one thing in common: loss. Ronnie lost her daughter to a rare disease and her husband to lung cancer.

Despite that, she doesn’t view her life as over despite being over 60 years old, in fact she is looking forward to new adventures and opportunities. She genuinely enjoys spending time with Ed.

Ed is, however, focused mostly on learning more about her prepping strategies, although it’s evident that Ronnie has no idea what he is talking about. The two start dating seriously; there are a few bumps on the road, but dating in that age, I would think, is a quote more different than dating in your 20s or 30s. Things move much more rapidly than when you are younger, strapped with thousands of other things.

Ed has a complicated relationship with his son

After a few weeks of dating, Ed decides to show Ronnie his stash; despite having no idea about prepping or the catastrophe that awaits humanity, Ronnie is impressed with Ed’s dedication and fully accepts this part of him. She doesn’t consider him insane or anything; the two fit like a glove. Ed also figures out that Ronnie is not a prepper after all, but he is so enchanted with her that he wants to continue the relationship. We also learn that the news-reporter that Ed argues with every night is actually his ex-wife.

Speaking of family, Ed’s son, Brian, invites him for Thanksgiving dinner, and Ed accepts, giving Brian a heads-up that he will bring his girlfriend to the dinner. Once there, Ronnie notices that the family is a bit tense, with Ed going on Brian’s nerves with prepping and doomsday talk, Brian’s wife drinking excessively, and Brian’s daughter challenging his authority at every turn.

The dinner ends with a massive argument between Ed, Brian, and his granddaughter, during which she escapes to the streets. Ed and Ronnie sheepishly return home to Ronnie’s apartment, and Ed is shocked to learn that Ronnie is absolutely opposite to him in every way.

You see, following her daughter’s death, Ronnie started hoarding. It’s a massive issue, and it’s evident that Ed has trouble piecing together the two persons that he thought he knew.

On one hand, we have Ronnie, a sweet, gentle, and caring woman with whom he would like to spend the rest of his life. On the other hand, you have a hoarder, compulsively messy person who threatens to bring that mess into your own life, and Ed is a highly organized and analytical person who hates mess.

Despite having doubts, Ed stays the night over at Ronnie’s, and the two have sex. The next morning, however, Ed has a TIA, a precursor to a legitimate stroke, and the cause of this is the fact that Ed has been skipping his meds.

Ed offers an ultimatum to Ronnie

Both Ronnie and Brian are at the hospital, and the two soon learn that Ed has been rationing his medication because he was spending most of his money on prepping stuff. Ronnie angered, has a meltdown; she is extremely angry at Ed for not thinking about her. He has been living in what ifs and futures for so long that he has forgotten that he has someone who cares about him today, and she’s here, beginning him to drop the prepping stuff or take his health more seriously.

Luckily, Ed recovers in a few days, and while returning home, he sees a sign for a garage sale. Back at home, he also decides to show Brian his stash, and Brian is honestly impressed with what his father has collected over the years; as long as Ed doesn’t harm anybody (besides himself), Brian is okay with him prepping, and it seems like father and son found common ground for the first time in who knows how long.

Brian was angry that Ed was mostly ignoring him and his life in favor of prepping, but following his father’s TIA, Brian learned that both could be part of Ed’s life. Ronnie comes to visit Ed, and he mentions the idea of a garage sale so she can clean up her house and he can sell most of his supplies; if she is dropping prepping, it would be only fair that she drops her hoarding.

Ronnie is awaked at navigating his conversation since she really doesn’t want to drop hoarding. When she leaves Ed, she asks for advice from her much younger boss, and the girl tells her that no man should ever force her into doing something that she doesn’t really want to do. Of course, the girl has no idea that Ronnie has a legitimate problem with hoarding. Ed and Ronnie have a massive fight, and she eventually refuses to take part in the garage sale.

Ed ends up selling most of his stuff when he needs them the most

The morning of the garage sale arrives, and Ed really does bring out most of his supplies to his yard in order to sell them. It’s hard closing that chapter, but Ed himself realizes that it’s not healthy at all. Back at her house Ronnie is conteplating whether or not she should change her ways as well, she realizes that perhaps she way hypocritical needing Ed to change himself for her sake without being willing to do the same.

At the garage sale, people are looking at Ed’s top secret stuff, grabbing his supplies that it took years to collect. At one moment, Ronnie shows up carrying a pretty glass jar, the first thing that she hoarded, and asks Ed how much it would cost, meaning that Ronnie agreed to take part in a garage sale, and this was her peace offering. The two make peace, with Ed telling Ronnie that she is his best friend forever. The two kiss, and in just that moment, a nuclear explosion strikes, bathing them in a golden glow.

Ronnie and Ed are shocked but decide to make the most of the moment by putting on their sunglasses and holding hands as they look at the nuclear fallout soon to follow.

The point of the movie? There basically is none because of that awkward ending in which it turns out that Ed was right all along. It wasn’t a story about growth and relationship development. It was a story about a bunch of people gaslighting Ed into giving up his hobby.

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