It appears Doc was lying to Marty and the audience the whole time inBack to the Future. TheBack to the Futuretime travel rulescan feel confusing, as it’s hard to tell whether there truly is just one timeline without causing some plot holes and headscratchers.Back to the Futureseemingly operates under the assumption that there is just one timeline, but things are not so simple.
Both versions of how time travel works are very classic depictions oftime travel in movies, andBack to the Futureplayed a large part in making the time travel genre what it is today. Still, the established rules oftime travel inBack to the Futurecreate some plot holes and paradoxes, such as whether there’s another version of Marty wandering around and why 1985 Doc doesn’t remember meeting Marty in 1955.
1985 Doc Should Remember What Happened In 1955 If There’s Just One Timeline
Doc Brown Should Have Been Aware Of The Events Of The Films
One part ofBack to the Future’s time travel that feels confusing is the fact thatDoc Brown doesn’t seem to remember everything he learns from Marty in 1955 during bothBack to the FutureandBack to the Future 3. If there’s only one timeline, Doc should remember it all, but the 1985 version of Doc doesn’t seem to know all of the information he should know.
If there were multiplealternateBack to the Futuretimelines, this issue would be solved because one Doc’s knowledge could be written off as not belonging to his counterpart, butDoc should remember ifBack to the Future’s time travel takes place in the same timeline. Doc in 1985 should be aware of every important piece of information that he learned from spending time with Marty in 1955, as it’s unlikely that he’d just forget it even thirty years later. If it was important, it likely made an impact on him, especially since time travel is such a revolutionary occurrence.
Maybe Doc Did Remember What Happened In 1955 (He Just Didn’t Let Us Know)
Doc Brown Has Always Been Careful About The Timeline
It’s also possible that Doc Brown did remember everything in 1955and just chose to be secretive about it to keep the timeline intact. Doc is very determined at first not to know his own future, so much so thatDoc’s decision to wear a bulletproof vest at the end ofBack to the Futurewas a surprise. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that Doc remembered everything; he just couldn’t tell Marty or anyone else about it.
Knowing the future has changed things enough already that he probably won’t make the exact same decisions, even if he tries to match the decisions he knows of as closely as possible.
One issue with this possibility is thatit would be impossible for Doc to perfectly replicate the original timeline now that he knows the truth, and he’s probably aware of that. Knowing the future has changed things enough already that he probably won’t make the exact same decisions, even if he tries to match the decisions he knows of as closely as possible. This calls back to the Ripple Effect of the photograph changing during the firstBack to the Futurefilm, as the changes to the timeline made by Doc’s knowledge continue to ripple after the moment the first changes occur.
What Else Could Explain 1985 Doc Not Having Memories Of Marty From 1955
Something Could Have Happened To Make Doc Forget
Other options could explain why Doc never acknowledged what he saw in 1955. The effect of time travel’s “Ripple Effect” that caused the photographs to change might not have any impact on a person’s memory. The effects of time travel on memories may be entirely different from the effects of time travel on the physical world.TheBack to the Futurefilms never quite confirm exactly what people are remembering after what point, when it comes to time travel changing their memories.
Another possibility is that Doc Brown doesn’t remember for some reason that has nothing to do with time travel.He could have lost his memories in a much more natural way, such as an accident. In theBack to the FutureFAQ,Back to the Futurewriters Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis joke that one possible cause for this is the drugs he took in the 60s, though they do not confirm anything beyond offering up these possibilities. They also mention the idea that the timeline is naturally inclined to prevent paradoxes and erase those memories.
These ideas each have merit. It’s possible that the Ripple Effect doesn’t change things for memory until the moment that the time traveler initially left. However, the Ripple Effect impacting memory immediately is also a possibility, and it’s one potential reason forMarty playing Johnny B. Goode inBack to the Future. Regardless of the truth behind Doc’s memory and what it means forBack to the Future’s time travel rules, the way the trilogy was structured ultimately worked.
Source:Back to the FutureFAQ
