Romance Movies
‘My Oxford Year’ Ending Explained: Do Jamie & Anna End Up Together in the Movie?
[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for My Oxford Year.]
Sofia Carson, the reigning queen of Netflix, is back with another romance movie. This time around, she’s stepping into the leading role in the book-to-screen adaptation of Julia Whelan‘s romance novel My Oxford Year.
Before starting her full-time job, Anna takes a year to fulfill her childhood dream of studying at the University of Oxford. She has a not-so-great introduction to Jamie (Corey Mylchreest), who turns out to be her poetry teacher. However, the stars are aligned for these two, and it doesn’t take long for Anna and Jamie to recognize their feelings for each other.
They start a no-strings-attached relationship, but the longer they spend together, the more they fall in love. The world has been buzzing about My Oxford Year for months, and if you’ve read Whelan’s book, you know what lies ahead. Since Swooon’s whole world revolves around romance, we’re breaking down the My Oxford Year ending and how it compares to the book. Do Jamie and Anna get their happily ever after? Let’s find out.
What is Jamie’s secret in My Oxford Year?
The official trailer for My Oxford Year alluded to a secret Jamie keeps from Anna. In the film, Anna finds out what Jamie’s been keeping from her when she shows up at his place unannounced. She sees Cecilia (Poppy Gilbert) walking out of his place and assumes they’re sleeping together. Anna storms in and sees Jamie connected to an IV. He yells at her to get out.
Chris Baker / Netflix
Later, Jamie finds Anna and explains everything. She walked in on Jamie getting his last round of treatment. His brother, Eddie, died of cancer years ago. His family tried everything to save him, and in the end, Eddie just wanted it all to stop. Cecilia was Eddie’s girlfriend.
Jamie reveals to Anna that he has the same cancer as Eddie, and he’s stopping treatment. He doesn’t want to live the rest of his life in the hospital; he wants to live the rest of his life to the fullest.
Does Jamie die in My Oxford Year?
Unfortunately, Jamie dies in My Oxford Year. In spite of his father’s (Dougray Scott) last-ditch effort to get him to continue treatment, Jamie sticks by his decision. He tries to push Anna away because he doesn’t want her to be completely consumed with losing him. Anna refuses to walk away from this great love with Jamie, and she wants to be with him for as long as they have left.
Chris Baker / Netflix
The morning after they reunite, Anna wakes up to find Jamie unconscious. He’s rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with pneumonia. The cancer has weakened his immune system. Jamie returns home to die on his own terms. Anna is right there and tells him of the grand tour they’ll go on together in Amsterdam, Paris, Venice, and Greece. They’ll live deliberately and boldly each and every day.
How does My Oxford Year end?
As Anna talks about her grand tour across Europe with Jamie, we soon learn that they never got the chance to go together. Anna fulfills her promise to Jamie to pursue a well-lived life, and she goes to all the places they spoke about… without Jamie by her side.
Anna doesn’t go back to America to start her finance job. Jamie irrevocably changes the course of her life. Anna becomes the new teacher of the poetry class that Jamie once taught. On her first day of her first class, she brings in the same cake that Jamie did and echoes the same words as her love: “Poetry can be taught. But really, it should be lived, tried, tested, engaged with. Let it in, and allow it to change your life.”
Is the movie’s ending different than the book?
In regards to Jamie’s fate, the movie and the book are the same. Jamie dies offscreen in the film, and Whelan alludes to Jamie dying on the last page: “We were never forever, Jamie and I. Nothing is in this life. But if you love someone, and are loved by someone, you might find forever after. Whatever and wherever that is.”
In the movie, Jamie doesn’t get the opportunity to go traveling with Anna. In the final pages of the book, Jamie and Ella (Anna’s character’s name in the book) go on a trip together. Ella’s future is a little more open-ended in the book, and she does not become a teacher at Oxford like Anna does in the movie.
What did you think of My Oxford Year? Should they have changed Jamie’s fate? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
My Oxford Year, Streaming Now, Netflix
