Director Jim Mickel spoke at length about the ending of "In the Shadow of the Moon" after the film's premiere screening at Fantastic Fest. He explained that, for him, the film actually has two endings, but one of them is placed near the start. Since Locke and Rya experience the flow of time in opposite directions, the starts and ends of their character arcs land at different points in the story chronologically. The conclusion to Locke's story and character arc is placed right at the close of the film, where endings traditionally always are.
Rya, on the other hand, has her ending in the film's opening act. Her character arc ends with her death in 1988 while Locke's arc is just getting started. Conversely, her character arc begins on the beach in 2015, right where Locke's ends. Mickle explained to Collider that these diverging character arcs drew him to the script, saying, "Her story is backward, his story is forward. So the first time that they meet, it's his first time meeting her, it's her fourth time meeting him. And by the end of the story, it's his fourth time meeting her and it's her first time meeting him... that was actually the hook that got me."
