The Life & Times of Tim: Did Tim Die in the Last Episode?

It was recently announced that HBO had once again cancelled The Life & Times of Tim, their offbeat animated series. The last episode aired on February 17th and ended on interesting note.

In the episode’s second segment, titled “Corporate Disaster,” an implosion at an Omnicorp factory causes a massive sinkhole in New Jersey. A tough PR woman is brought in for damage control and decides that Tim should be the face of the company as they deal with fallout from the huge ecological disaster. At a press conference at the site, Tim’s been instructed not to take blame but he’s finally unable to control himself and says that the company’s not sorry at all — or maybe only a little bit sorry.

Due to the terms of his previous settlement with Omnicorp, Tim can’t be fired for the blunder and they decide to send him to the Caribbean on the company’s dime. Amy is happy with the development. As Tim prepares to leave, he says goodbye to the building where construction workers are replacing the giant sign. The ‘O’ in Omnicorp falls loose and crashes on top of him.

Did Tim die? Yes, I think so. No, he always escapes. View Results  Loading ...

So, is Tim dead? Prior to the recent cancellation, HBO asked creator Steve Dildarian about the finale, suggesting that this might be a Sopranos-like ending for the TV show.

He replied, “We definitely wanted to build to something that could go either way. It’s just the nature of doing a TV show, especially in our case, where if the show ends after the season, it’s an appropriate way for Tim to go. And if we keep going, there are endless funny ways to continue.”

Dildarian continued, “What happened after that ‘O’ fell on him? Was he injured badly? Was the letter so inexpensively made that it didn’t hurt him? Is Omnicorp busted? Is Tim whisked off to the Caribbean? I don’t know how fans will interpret it. I think it’ll be resolved when we learn the fate of the show. It’s a tricky way to write, when you just don’t what the future holds. It’s as wide open as we could’ve left it.”

When asked what would be Tim’s epithet, Dildarian replied, “Probably something like, ‘Here lies Tim. He loved Charleston Chews.’ Something that says nothing about his experience on earth. He’s such an observer of life, it would be inappropriate to suggest what he did.”

What do you think? Do you think Tim survived or the end of the show was also the end of Tim’s life? Was this a fitting series finale for The Life & Times of Tim?