Sofia Carson is once again making Netflix audiences cry with her new emotional romance, My Oxford Year, which began streaming on Netflix today.
Directed by Iain Morris and written by Allison Burnett and Melissa Osborne, My Oxford Year is based on the romance novel of the same name by Julia Whelan. Carson stars as Anna, who has deferred her offer for a well-paying finance job to pursue her true dream of studying poetry at the University of Oxford, for one year. On her first day in Oxford, she meets the dreamy Jamie Davenport (Corey Mylchreest), a womanizer who also loves poetry and happens to be teaching the poetry course Anna is enrolled in. Sparks fly, kebabs are had, and karaoke is sung. But, as Anna soon learns, Jamie is hiding something. And it’s probably not what you’re expecting.
My Oxford Year is another heart-wrenching romance in the vein of Carson’s other hit romance for Netflix, Purple Hearts. If you were crying too hard to catch what happened in the My Oxford Year ending, don’t worry, Decider has you covered. Read on for a breakdown of the My Oxford Year plot summary and the My Oxford Year ending explained.
Warning: Major My Oxford Year spoilers ahead. Duh!
Anna De La Vega (Sofia Carson) has a fancy job offer from Goldman Sachs waiting for her. But she opts to defer the offer for one year to pursue her lifelong dream of studying poetry at England’s famed University of Oxford. Anna will spend one year living out her romantic English fantasy, and then go back to the real world to make money.
On her first day in Oxford, Anna is drenched by a rude driver that she later confronts in a fish-and-chips shop. The rude man’s name is Jamie Davenport (Corey Mylchreest). Jamie’s friend Cecelia (Poppy Gilbert) ribs Jamie for being a player, when he’s forced to hide from a woman that he never called back.
On Anna’s first day of class, she’s disappointed to learn that the professor she came to Oxford for will not be the one teaching the class. Instead, it will be taught by her associate… none other than Jamie Davenport.
Despite their rough start, Anna and Jamie eventually bond over their mutual love of poetry. After an encounter with a rude guy at a pub, Jamie decides to take her out for a proper pub night. It turns into a wonderful date, complete with street meat, karaoke, and a good night kiss. But when Anna invites Jamie back up to her place for sex, he replies, “Better not,” and walks off, leaving her hanging. Rude!
Anna takes this as a rejection, and she’s mad about it. Another night out, she spots Jamie dancing with Cecelia. Anna dances with, and leaves with, a random guy in an attempt to make Jamie jealous. It totally works! Unfortunately, the guy is a dud. He won’t even eat street meat. He’s definitely no Jamie.
Shortly after, Jamie takes Anna on an excursion to a famous library to see a rare, first edition of a book. Pretty romantic stuff! It’s no wonder they end up making out, and then having sex in Jamie’s car.
Jamie requests to keep things casual and fun, and Anna agrees. Nevertheless, they basically begin dating. Jamie never lets Anna come back to his place. But as Anna’s year draws to a close—as she gets closer to the date she’s meant to return to New York—he opens up more. He starts talking about the future and invites her to his place. He describes a trip all over Europe he wants them to take together. After a wonderful (and sexy) night together in his apartment, Jamie suddenly pulls away and becomes distant again.
Convinced that Jamie is cheating on her with Cecilia, Anna barges into is apartment. She discovers that Jamie is not cheating on her—he’s sick with a rare, terminal cancer, and Cecelia was helping him receive treatment. (Assuming it’s chemo, it makes zero sense that Jamie would look so healthy this whole movie, but, whatever.) Jamie explains that the dead brother he previously mentioned died from the same illness (it’s genetic), which led to a huge fight and falling out between Jamie and his dad. Cecelia is Jamie’s brother’s widow, and was his brother’s primary caretaker. Jamie saw how hard it was on Cecelia, and never wanted to do that to a partner, which is why he insisted on “casual” relationships. But love had other plans.
Oh, also: Jamie has decided to stop his treatments and let himself die. He saw how his brother suffered through the treatment, and doesn’t want to go through that. His father refuses to accept Jamie’s decision, which is why they fought.
Anna is heartbroken, but informs Jamie that she wants to continue dating him—or “having fun with him”—for the remainder of her time in England. So, they keep dating. Anna meets Jamie’s father, who tries to get her to help him convince Jamie to continue treatment. She refuses. But later, she helps repair the relationship between Jamie and his father. The more time she spends with him and his family, the more she realizes she doesn’t want to leave and take that Goldman Sachs job. So, she tells her mom via FaceTime that she is turning down the job and staying in England.
Jamie overhears the call and is furious. He doesn’t want her to waste her life on him. They have a huge fight. Anna goes back to Oxford, graduates, and wins Jamie back with a romantic speech about “living definitely” and only regretting the things you don’t do, not the things you do. They have a night of wild sex, in which Jamie almost certainly over exerts himself. The next morning, he’s passed out in bed, and Anna can’t wake him up.
Jamie is rushed to the hospital. A doctor informs his family and Anna that Jamie has caught a “critical” case of pneumonia, and advises they discuss treatment plans. But Jamie’s father responds that he knows his son wants “to let nature take its course,” and that he will respect his wishes.
In the next scene, Anna curls up next to a still-alive Jamie in bed, while he’s hooked up to an IV. The implication is that he’s very sick now, despite the fact that, once again, he does not look sick at all. Jamie tells Anna now that she has decided to stay in Oxford, she can take that tour of Europe he told her about. Anna replies that Jamie should come too. She then describes the trip they will take, including finding the hidden sanctuary in the red-light district in Amsterdam, getting drunk by the Seine in Paris, and spending a night on a gondola in Venice. As she talks, we see footage of a healthy-looking Jamie and Anna doing all the things she describes. So… maybe he gets better?
Sadly, no. After that beautiful montage, we see all that footage again, but this time, Jamie is not there. Anna is alone on the beach, alone in the gondola, and alone getting drunk by Seine. Jamie wasn’t there with her.
In the final scene of the movie, it’s revealed Anna has a teaching position at Oxford. She greets her first class the exact same way Jamie did: by bribing her students with cake. It’s the exact same kind of cake, too! With that, the movie ends.
Yes, Jamie dies at the end of My Oxford Year. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the film makes it clear that Anna actually went on that trip across Europe by herself, and was just imagining Jamie there with her. While we don’t actually see Jamie die on screen, we’re meant to assume that he died of that critical case of pneumonia, given that he refused treatment. He spent his last days in bed at home, and, hopefully, died a peaceful death, shortly after his conversation with Anna about their trip to Europe.
But one of the key themes of the film is that just because something is short, doesn’t mean it’s not meaningful. Clearly, Anna’s short relationship with Jamie changed her entire life for the better. Instead of taking a finance job she hates, she is following in Jamie’s footsteps, teaching poetry. To quote the AI-generated graphic your mom shared on Facebook: Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.