At the greeting card company where Tom works, he hears through some friends that his boss had a new assistant. Neither of Tom’s friends make an effort to learn who she is, the group forms several superficial opinions about her. Tom meets her in the elevator where she overhears a band’s music playing from his headphones and interjects, stating her shared interest in the band. Tom is immediately infatuated with her, and formulates a mental image of what he thinks is the perfect woman.
At this point Tom has regained interest in his work because of his interactions with Summer. Tom’s raging interest in Summer raised flags for his younger sister, Rachel. She tries to help him realize, telling him that “[j]ust cause someone likes the same bizarro crap [he does], doesn’t make them [his] soulmate.” Ironically, Rachel takes on the role of a mentor, often reserved for those who are older than the recipient of the advice. Though Tom and Summer do not interact in this segment it is important for making sure the audience recognises what Rachel is describing, even if Tom does not.
After McKenzie convinces Tom to come to karaoke by implying Summer will be there: “You’re not listening to me [...] The whole office is coming.” After a long night of alcohol and uninhibited singing, Tom pressures Summer to share her relationship status, and she concisely tells him her opinions on relationships and what she’s looking for. This is important as a break of reliability with the character because he is under the influence of alcohol, but the viewer will be able to remember and acknowledge this later.
On this day, Tom and Summer go to IKEA. They run and romp through the kitchen facades and on beds, enjoying each other's company and cracking jokes. This scene is important because the trip gets mirrored in the previous scene, but later in time on day 282, at which point, Summer has grown bored of the relationship. This offers an interesting contrast between the feelings often had at the beginning of a relationship when many things are unknown, versus those expressed after getting to know and understand each other’s opinions, habits, and beliefs.
Here we see Tom showing Summer the building he admires in the city, designed by some of his architecture heroes. They cruise around downtown Los Angeles, all the while Tom is explaining his feelings about the buildings. Summer shows an interest in Tom’s interest in architecture, as if she is encouraging him to pursue something he loves, which as the relationship progresses, he doesn’t. However, this is the first major gauge the viewer has of Tom's intrigue of a career as an architect.
After receiving some advice from Rachel, who encourages him to ask Summer about defining their relationship before she moves past him. Later, in his car with Summer driving to the movie theatre, when he asks her “what [they] are doing.” He wants to put a label on the pairing, but Summer deflects it, trying to keep it as casual as possible. This is just another blaring sign that they aren’t right for each other, which is once again ignored and laughed off.
Here, Tom is walking and talking with his friend Paul. Tom states that he is “in love” with Summer, and lists the things he “loves” about her. This includes her smile, hair, and knees. He mentions her idiosyncrasies like one eye being higher than the other, and a scar on her neck she got as a child, then her laugh, et cetera. This is another pivotal contrasting moment—as with the IKEA trip on day 34—where later in the film, these characteristics are listed as things he hates about her.
Tom and Summer are drinking at a bar. Tom is speaking, but Summer is uninterested. Tom immediately shoots down the idea of Summer getting a tattoo. A man walks up to the bar and hits on Summer, after she tells him to leave them alone, as he is leaving, he is insulting Tom, and Tom goes up and punches the guy. Later, at Summer's apartment, Tom walks in battered and bruised. He views the situation as him protecting her, by getting the snot beat out of him, whereas Summer sees it as needlessly violent and radical, as well as being a bit pathetic. They argue and get in a big fight over it, but they make-up. This Day very much highlights the distorted view of relationships that Tom has.
A short scene preceding day 34, another IKEA trip shows the jokes aren’t landing anymore. Summer has grown tired of the relationship, and Tom is completely oblivious, as always. Tom reuses the same joke that Summer had made on their last visit, but with the new context of stale interactions with the same tedium.
Tom mirrors day 154, when he lists all the idiosyncrasies that he previously loved, as reasons that he hates Summer. Funnily enough he uses many of the same descriptions of her, but now in context they sound negative. This just highlights Tom’s apparent resentment of Summer.
Tom meets Summer at Millie’s wedding, where Summer catches the bouquet, symbolizing she will be married next. Summer invites him to her party. Tom thinks at this point that he could reconnect with Summer by attending the party. Tom is still in love with Summer, and is desperate to get her back.
Tom attends the party, convincing himself that, if he does, he will converse and make-up with Summer, maybe getting back together. However, when he gets to the party, he just stands off in the corner, not really interacting with anyone, until he sees that Summer has an engagement ring. Tom now realizes that what his friends told him — that Summer was getting married — is true. He is of course devastated, and storms out. This begins his journey of self recovery, channeling his frustrations into his drawings.
Tom is sitting at his favourite spot, on the bench overlooking the cityscape. Summer calls out from behind them, and they chat for a while. They talk about what they have been doing while they’ve been apart. At this point Tom still harbours feelings for Summer, but they aren’t debilitating. This is a mirror of the first time they sat on the bench together on day 95. As you may have noticed, the film does this a lot. Tom is pursuing his career as an architect, and the two realize they were not happy together. This is the last time he sees her, and he moves on.
Tom, on his final interview, meets Autumn applying for the same position. They banter, and Tom asks her out for coffee, she accepts. The day screen splash comes up again with “(1)” again mirroring the start of the movie, alongside the start of a new relationship. Now that Tom has focused on himself, and his career instead of obsessing over Summer, he finds someone new and the story is resolved.