Sam stops time before ruby dies. and i was sure he'd reverse time like he had done before due to the drag. and of course he does. now he isnt able to warn her about the car, so when time repeats itself a few seconds later, what stopped her from walking out in front of the car like she would have?
shareI believe what is different is that the first time, he shouted her name which actually led her to step forward in front of the car. The second time, he does not shout. She just senses his presence, and that was enough to change the circumstances.
share[deleted]
I think the whole point of that scene was that he was able to stop, reverse time, and change the past/future with a strong emotion - love. Remember one of his wacky theories from the future was that you could indeed change the past if powerful enough emotions were called into play. It was an untested theory by a future scientist. I don't believe his saving of her was in any way a happy accident - it was intentional and brought on by his deep love for her.
sylvies_mammacita
"Hopeful. A hopeful romantic." Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner), Romancing the Stone
Correct. The happy accident is the photograph!
shareBest explanation I've heard so far! Love it!
shareI have a theory that everytime Sam "drags," he is entering a new timeline via the space-time-fold that allowed him to travel back in the first place. Notice he never sees time speed up? This drag is always backwards.
I think he is bobbing and weaving through timelines, untethered. Sure, it's a loop and it appears "linear," but what if the loop is actually braided? Made up of millions of threads. And instead of branching, e.g. creating a new universe, he's simply entering an alternate universe mostly identical to the one he just left (nearest neighbor).
This satisfies Thermal Dynamic Laws as EVERY possible outcomes exist as EVERY possible mirror universe (nearest neighbor). All the backjacker is doing is skipping tracks--makes the "Record Player Fail" scene all-the-more poignant, dont you think?
messageboard rules are serious business. like really serious.
Hey, rainofwalrus, I really liked your concept of "braided" timelines. I've seen a LOT of time travel movies, commentary and discussion boards about repeating time loops, creating new parallel timelines (Doc Brown drew a diagram of that for Marty), etc., but this is the first I've seen a "braided time" theory. Very cool, it suggests a time traveler can go BACK to the SAME timeline he left but at a different point and continue "bobbing and weaving" as you state, among them. Good idea for a new screeplay! Unless this movie has been made and it's one that I missed? Anyone?
share
Primer and Timecrimes both deal with nested timelines. Primer with open loop, and Timecrimes with closed loop.
Credit these two films for my concept of Braids and not Branches.
Supergravity and Self-consistency also suggest that timelines would fall together (braids) instead of just flying off on tangents (branches).
messageboard rules are serious business. like really serious.
rainofwalrus^
I LIKE that explanation of the 'drags' :)
"I will not go gently onto a shelf, degutted, to become a non-book." ~ Bradbury