The Illusion of Control: How Here One Moment Challenges Our Sense of Destiny

Introduction: The Thematic Claim

Liane Moriarty’s Here One Moment builds its story around a single, unsettling premise: a stranger on a routine flight predicts how and when many passengers will die. From that moment, every character is forced to confront the illusion of control they have over their lives. The novel’s central thematic claim is that human beings crave certainty and mastery over their futures, but genuine control is an illusion—we can influence outcomes, but we cannot guarantee them, and the very attempt to seize control often reveals how little we actually have. This theme unfolds through the experience of the predictor, Cherry Lockwood, through the passengers who receive her predictions, and through the novel’s surprising epilogue.

Part One: Cherry Lockwood’s Unwanted Gift

Cherry Lockwood does not choose her ability to foresee deaths. In chapter 19 (chapter 21 of the book), she describes being overwhelmed by a cascade of signs in an airport departure lounge: she sees a fishing rod tube, a piano teacher, a man with Elvis sideburns, and each object triggers vivid sensory memories. She tries to shut her eyes, but “my other senses took over”—she smells her mother’s perfume, hears her father’s laughter. The scene spirals into confusion, fear, and resentment. Far from feeling powerful, Cherry feels “filled with rage and resentment about the errand I had to undertake.” She craves a cup of tea and a Monte Carlo biscuit, a mundane desire for comfort in the face of something she cannot control.

Later, Cherry recalls her mother’s phrase “fate won’t be fought,” which her mother used as a determinist mantra (chapter 5). Yet Cherry herself is not a calm determinist. She is embarrassed by the theatrical photo of her pointing, and she struggles with guilt. In chapter 124 (chapter 126 of the book), she admits it was “a great relief when my predictions began to fail.” She reveals that some people survived beyond her deadlines—a woman with cancer accepted treatment and is now cured, a family installed smoke alarms after her house-fire prediction—but that is not proof of Cherry’s control. It is proof that the predictions themselves, though lacking supernatural authority, triggered actions that altered outcomes. Cherry does not control whether her predictions come true; she only sets events in motion, often against her will.

Part Two: Passengers React—The Struggle for Agency

The passengers who receive predictions react in ways that expose the illusion of control. Some, like the pregnant woman with cancer, initially refuse treatment because they believe the prediction makes it useless. Only after the prediction does she accept her oncologist’s advice and survives. A husband credits Cherry with saving his wife’s life. Another family checks their smoke alarms and lives to tell the tale.

But not all stories end well. Sue O’Sullivan’s husband, Ned, dies on the flight—exactly as Cherry predicted—despite any attempt to intervene. In chapter 111 (chapter 113 of the book), Sue reflects that Ned “didn’t always succumb to his impatience,” but on that day he chose to skip a cardiologist appointment because of a queue. She asks: “You could have behaved differently, Ned, my love. There was another possible outcome.” Yet the outcome that occurred suggests that even the chance to choose differently does not guarantee safety. The novel here acknowledges that control is not merely an illusion; it is also fragile, subject to small decisions and larger forces.

Chapter 34 (chapter 32 of the book) offers a sharp observation about people who “lead charmed lives and think it is all due to them.” These people stand “like ship captains” until the iceberg looms, and then they are outraged and seek someone to blame. This description fits characters who believe they have shaped their destinies until Cherry’s prediction shatters that belief. The novel thus critiques the arrogance of believing we entirely control our own lives.

Part Three: The Epilogue—Control Through Surrender

The epilogue introduces Timmy Binici, a seventeen-year-old Olympic swimmer. He explains that Cherry predicted he would drown at age seven. Because of that prediction, his mother enrolled him in swimming lessons. At age seven, a freak wave knocked him into the sea, but his swimming saved him. Cherry watches him win gold and cheers from her armchair.

This moment flips the theme. The prediction did not take control away; it gave Timmy’s family a reason to act, which in turn gave Timmy a skill that saved his life. The illusion of control becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy in reverse: the fear of losing control motivated deliberate action that restored a measure of agency. Yet Cherry’s role remains passive—she only made the prediction. She did not teach the lessons or rescue him. The epilogue also includes a note that one woman who was predicted to live to ninety-four died suddenly at forty-five, and that people now call Cherry a “fraud.” This contradiction underscores the novel’s complexity: control is neither fully available nor entirely absent. It is a messy, contingent process of “guiding” the wilful horse of life, as Cherry puts it in chapter 124.

Complexity and Contradiction

The novel does not offer a simple answer. Cherry’s predictions sometimes fail, sometimes succeed, and sometimes succeed because people acted on them. The epigraphs from Stephen Hawking and Samuel Johnson frame the paradox: even determinists look before crossing the road, and the certainty of death concentrates the mind. Moriarty seems to suggest that while we cannot control every outcome, we can still choose to act—to fight fate, as Cherry says in chapter 44: “You won’t necessarily win against fate, but you should at least put up a fight.” The illusion of control is not a lie; it is a necessary fiction that motivates life-saving decisions.

Connections to Symbols and Characters

The brooch that Cherry frequently touches may represent her own fragile grip on composure—a talisman she uses to ground herself when the visions overwhelm her. The Monte Carlo biscuit she longs for in the airport signals a return to small, controllable pleasures when the big picture is terrifying. The seagull, though not prominent in the excerpts, often appears in literature as a symbol of freedom and unpredictable movement, embodying the randomness that undermines control. Counting—possibly Cherry’s internal tally of deaths or survivors—reflects the human need to quantify and manage uncertainty.

Among characters, Leo Vodnik (the pilot) might personify the professional who believes he controls the plane’s trajectory, only to have Cherry’s predictions disrupt that certainty. Sue O’Sullivan (Ned’s wife) represents the grief that follows when control fails. Allegra Patel, Ethan Chang, and Eve Archer-Fern each likely respond to their predictions in ways that highlight different aspects of the illusion: defiance, denial, or acceptance. Exploring any of their arcs deepens the theme.

Study Questions and Answers

1. How does the novel challenge the idea that we control our lives?
The novel shows that even a person who can predict deaths—Cherry—does not control the outcomes. She is a conduit, not a commander. Passengers who try to avoid their predicted deaths sometimes succeed but often fail. The narrative insists that life is full of randomness, small decisions, and unforeseen consequences, making any claim of total control unsustainable.

2. Compare Cherry’s view of determinism with her actions.
Cherry’s mother taught her “fate won’t be fought,” yet Cherry herself feels rage, guilt, and relief—emotions that suggest she does not fully accept determinism. She also describes fate as something that “can be fought” in chapter 44, listing actions like going to the doctor and wearing a seatbelt. This contradiction mirrors the novel’s central tension: we may intellectually accept fate, but we live as if we have free will.

3. What role does the brooch play in Cherry’s sense of control?
Cherry frequently touches the brooch during the flight, as noted in the chapter 1 description. The brooch may serve as a tactile anchor, a small object she can manipulate when the overwhelming visions make her feel powerless. It represents a microcosm of control—a physical action she can perform while the larger forces of fate operate beyond her reach.

4. How does the epilogue complicate the theme of control?
The epilogue reveals that Cherry’s prediction of Timmy’s drowning actually saved his life by prompting swimming lessons. This suggests that knowing a “fate” can empower action, paradoxically granting a kind of control. Yet Cherry is also called a fraud, and her other predictions fail. The epilogue thus refuses a neat resolution, showing that control is an ongoing negotiation between action and uncertainty.

5. In what ways do the passengers’ responses to predictions illustrate the illusion of control?
Some passengers, like the pregnant woman with cancer, initially refuse treatment because they believe the prediction is fixed. Others, like the family who checks smoke alarms, use the prediction to take preventive measures. Both responses assume they can either submit to or defeat fate, yet neither guarantees success. The novel shows that while we can act, we cannot control the outcome—a classic example of the illusion of control in action.