Wyatt, you might honestly believe that, but it’s not true. There is no way Flynn killed Jessica the first time, nor did he know he was going to kill Jess this time.
First, let me explain why Flynn never knew he was going to kill Jess.
In season one, we’re told Jess died from being strangled by persons unknown. Let’s call her Jess-1. Flynn tells Wyatt that Gilliam is the killer. Gilliam himself seems to strongly hint that yes, he killed Jess-1. But stopping Gilliam from being born does not save Jess-1. She is still strangled by persons unknown.
That seems like evidence that Flynn is the killer and he dangled Gilliam in font of Wyatt as a red herring. Except… why would he? Flynn didn’t have to call Wyatt after the mission went south. Wyatt isn’t expecting Flynn to hold up his end of the deal. Yes, it makes Flynn look honorable to keep his word, but, the second Wyatt realizes Flynn lied, Flynn loses more than he gains. Not just with Wyatt, but with Lucy. Because she will find out Flynn lied, and he wants her to trust him as much as he trusts her. Flynn never lies to Lucy, because if he tries, he is so obviously bad at it in front of her.
And remember, Flynn has the journal memorized. It says nothing of Jess-1 coming back or being Rittenhouse. If it did, then you know he would have gone after that thread already and dangled that in front of Wyatt. And when the not-dead Jess (Jess-2) appears, he would have called her out. Sure, maybe only Lucy would believe him at first, but it would put everyone on her trail earlier and things probably would have worked out for the better.
Also, since Flynn is in the present when Jess-2 is saved, he believes, like everyone else, she never died. He never dangled her killer in front of Wyatt and must have used some other intel to get him to help with Arnold. And if the journal said Jess-2 had to die because she’s actually Rittenhouse, again, Flynn would have already done something. Even before he stole the Lifeboat. He would have followed her and used her to try to find leads to Rittenhouse operations. Stuff like that.
But Flynn is absolutely clueless that Jess-2 is Rittenhouse and that she has to die.
If the journal is so gung-ho about Jess-2 having to die, as Wyatt seems to think it was, then none of this would have played out like this. You would basically have to say that the journal was massively rewritten between the time he gave it back to Lucy and future-Lucy brought it to them. Which is entirely possible. But you would also think that if it was explicit about Flynn killing Jess-2, then Wyatt and Lucy would be, like, “hey, it says here you kill Jess, so what’s that about?”
The journal never directly states or infers that Flynn kills Jess-2, nor does it mention her death. Wyatt simply sees that there is a lynchpin moment, and the only way to change things is to kill Jess-2, other than the fifty million other options at his disposal. That’s on Wyatt, not Flynn.
Therefore, Flynn can never ‘have always known it was him.’
But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t him, right? Well, let’s look at the rest of the evidence.
Jess-1 was not Rittenhouse. We know this because we’re told by Wyatt that Jess-1’s brother died as a young child. Rittenhouse then goes back and saves the brother, and in return, they get Jess to raise as a loyal foot soldier, aka Jess-2. If Jess-1 is already Rittenhouse, then there is no reason for them to go back and do this because she’s already loyal, dead brother or no.
Instead, they would go back and save Jess-1 so she can finish her mission with Wyatt.
Since Jess-1 isn’t Rittenhouse, Flynn can’t be the killer. He would have no reason to go back and kill Jess-1. He only gains reason to kill her when she becomes Jess-2, after she is saved by Rittenhouse and turned.
And to make things even more confusing, we see in the movie that Jess-2 is told to get out of the car. There an agent is waiting to “protect her.” But like, from who? The simplest way to protect Jess is for her to stay in the car. Or, better yet, she can just not go out that night. Her getting out the car makes no damn sense in this new timeline because it puts her in the firing line.
Unless… Wyatt killed her in a drunken black-out and he maybe doesn’t remember he did it? That’s why she has to get out of the car, away from Wyatt. Moving away from Jess-1’s killer towards Jess-2’s killer? It’s a theory which only holds water thanks to the movie. A movie which tried so desperately to absolve Wyatt of all his guilt, only to make him look more guilty?
This is just one of the inconsistencies in the movie which actually makes things much worse once examined more closely.
Hey! So uh, I don’t know how many of you have been having mysterious headaches recently, but I’ve had quite a number of housebound friends complaining of this in the past few days?
And if this is happening to you, before panicking about your health, I’d strongly recommend to:
1 - Pay attention to the amount of noise in your place. Electric appliances, fridges, computers, and clocks especially, make much more noise than most realise. What seems like a silent rumble or light ticking that you can easily tune out at first can (and most likely will) become an absolutely awful source of background irritation for your ears and brain.
Try to spend as much time as possible in quiet rooms with few appliances and electronics.
Unplug all electric appliances you aren’t immediately using and can safely unplug.
Temporarily relocate that noisy clock to another room.
Use noise-cancelling headphones if you have them, otherwise earbuds with some soothing music can help as well.
If the increase in noise comes from housebound neighbours, try to come to a solution peacefully (and, for the same reason, be considerate to your neighbours about the amount of noise you make). You’re all in this together.
2 - Make sure you aren’t surrounded by strong smells. What seems like soothing aromatherapy can quickly become a nightmare for your senses when it’s right in front of you all day. Baking smells, flowering plants, and on the unpleasant side litter boxes and trash cans can end up being an irritation you may not immediately realise the extent of.
Get rid of the pot-pourri. Put the incense and essential oils away. Avoid wearing perfume when you’re not going out. Relocate the flowering plants to another room.
Space out the cooking and baking sessions to avoid saturating your place (and potentially your neighbours’ places) with clashing smells.
Clean your animal’s litter box every day without fail. Switch to unscented litter if you haven’t already. Take out the trash regularly.
Open the windows. Make sure your place gets some fresh air every day.
If it’s really too cold or too hot to open a window, use a fan for at least 20-30 minutes inside to make sure the air moves around a bit.
If the smell comes from outside your place, close the windows and again, use a fan. Don’t make the mistake of putting on incense or something to change the smell, it’ll only make it worse.
3 - Self-care, self-care, self-care. This one I’m sure you heard already, it’s a classic. But it’s always worth investigating if your headache isn’t coming from irritants in your environment.
Take breaks from social media and the news.
I can’t stress that enough. Take breaks. This pandemic can wait on you for a few hours, and so can your friends.
Make sure to have daily conversations that have nothing to do with the pandemic. Laughter is the best way to counter stress.
15 minutes of break away from phone/computer/tv/video game/etc. for every 45 minutes of screen time is a good rule of thumb. Adapt this to your schedule as needed.
Make sure you’re getting enough natural light. Spend one of those 15 minutes break in front of a window when it’s still light outside.
Make sure you’re sleeping enough. Take naps as needed.
Stay hydrated. Fresh water does wonders for the brain. Sometimes just a few sips can help tone down a headache.
Eat healthily in amount and content as much as possible.
Take regular showers. Change your clothes and bed sheets as often as needed.
Stretch regularly. Exercise if you have enough space. It may be the perfect time to try meditation.
Wear comfortable clothes. Sit in comfortable chairs. Turn yourself into a burrito with the help of fluffy, comfortable blankets.
If you’re taking meds, take your meds.
4 - Be creative! Headaches can easily be caused by stress and boredom. One of the best ways to feel good about life and yourself is to create something tangible (as in, something that will keep existing once the activity is completed).
Write! It’s Camp NaNoWriMo until the end of April. Fiction, poetry, personal accounts of how you’re dealing with the pandemic (certain to be of interest to historians in 100+ years). It’s all good.
Draw! Paint! Finger-paint on towels with food dye! Make gifs! Make memes!
Sculpt a fairy garden or your own tiny zoo with legos or modelling clay! Build tiny creatures with nanoblocks!
Knit! Crochet! Perfect time to work on that scarf or those socks you always promised yourself you’d make one day.
Record yourself singing or playing your favourite song! Record videos on any kind of subject you feel like being chatty about!
Find any other creative output suited to your means and interests. =)
5 - Ask your neurodivergent, chronically ill, socially anxious, and otherwise housebound friends and relatives for more tips. They have been dealing with sensory issues, chronic pain, and/or social isolation for much longer than you have. They have plenty of experience and coping skills to share, and if you ask with respect, they may even be happy to do so.
If anything else comes to mind, feel free to add to this list!
In the meantime, take care of yourselves and stay safe. =)
The bane of many writers is that once you have birthed a story, taken the time to write, erase, rewrite, edit, scream at, and finally accept the words that you have written… you have to name it.
Like people, or businesses, the name is everything. It’s one of the first things people see. It’s what they will use to communicate the story to others. So picking a good title is vital, which makes it all the more daunting. But like most things in life, once you break it down and examine its parts, see how it works, it becomes a lot less scary and a lot more manageable.
This is how I got pretty good at making titles, not only for my own works, but for others. And I want to share with you what I learned, and hopefully make the task of titling your stories a lot less terrifying.
To create a good title, you have to focus on two things: Structure and Meaning.
Structure
Quick, think of all your favorite books, shows, and movies. Now think of popular franchises that are household names. What do they have in common, title wise? They are short and to the point.
On average, these titles are one to two words long. This does not include articles or connecting words like “the,” “of,” “or,” etc, because they pretty much disappear.
The titles also average few syllables, about two or three. You don’t really want to go above four. English is a very lazy language and we like to keep things short. This is why a lot of titles get shortened anyway.
Examples of Titles (remember, articles/connectors don’t count):
Friends – One word, one syllable.
Cheers – One word, one syllable.
Lost – One word, one syllable.
Dune – One word, one syllable.
Timeless – One word, two syllables.
ER – One word, two syllables.
Twilight – One word, two syllables. Can refer to the entire series.
The Mummy (1999) – One word, three syllables.
The Simpsons – One word, three syllables.
Parasite – One word, three syllables.
Titanic – One word, three syllables.
Hamilton – One word, three syllables.
The X-Files – One word, three syllables. Though it’s debatable if X-Files is one word or two.
CSI – One word (standing in for three), three syllables (standing in for seven).
Star Wars – Two words, two syllables.
Good Omens – Two words, three syllables.
Game of Thrones – Two words, three syllables. Often verbally shortened to Thrones.
Lord of the Rings – Two words, four syllables.
I can keep going, but you see the trend.
But what about titles like the Harry Potter books? The answer is in the question. Each book/movie title starts with Harry Potter and then has a modifier. Harry Potter itself is only two words and four syllables. Then if someone talks about a specific novel, they typically would not say the whole title, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, they would simply say Azkaban. The same is done in other series. Percy Jackson for example.
There are, of course, exceptions.
Elementary is a one word, but five syllables. It’s also a very common phrase in both the genre and in everyday life. Use of common phrases is a way to get around the above formula because we’re already used to saying them, thinking them, etc. One Day at a Time is another good example. Three words, five syllables, but doesn’t feel any longer than Lord of the Rings.
But the longer the title, the more likely it will somehow get shortened. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep was changed to three syllable Blade Runner. My favorite book, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, has a very long title. Technically it’s three words when you remove articles/connectors, but the syllable count is a whopping ten. It gets away with it because for one, it’s a rift on an already common phrase, and two, fans can call it Hitchhiker’s Guide which is only four syllables.
Now, once you know the structure of a title, you can work on choosing one.
Meaning
The title of your story has to give the reader an idea about what they’re getting into. It does this by focusing on one of the following:
A literal Person/Place/Thing – Percy Jackson, Cheers, The X-Files
The Subject Matter – Friends, Law & Order, The Sixth Sense, CSI
The Genre – Twilight, Star Wars, Friday the 13th, Altered Carbon
The Overall Metaphor/Concept – Game of Thrones, Parasite, Pride and Prejudice
Many of these cross over. The Sixth Sense and CSI could also be considered a literal thing as well as a genre marker. If your title fulfills more than one slot, that is neat, but not a necessity. You might feel like you have to come up with some complex title, but sometimes it’s really just as simple as it’s a show about friends and their relationships with each other.
Take the title Catch-22. The term Catch-22 is a major metaphor and concept that is universally known today. But when Joseph Heller wrote Catch-22, no one called that concept a Catch-22. The title was simply naming the military rule (a thing), which created the situation and therefore drove the narrative. People later co-opted the title to quickly express the concept that the book so masterfully discusses.
Whatever you chose, the title should match the feel of the story you’re trying to tell. It’s part of your promise to the reader, and must make sense by the time they get to the end of the story.
But how to pick a title when you have persons, places, things, subject matter, genre, and metaphors in your story? You simply work backwards. Ask yourself what your story is really about.
What is the driving force of the narrative?
What do you want your readers to get out of the story?
Is it a story about a person?
Or about the people of a specific group?
Is the story a one-shot or the beginning of a trilogy/series?
Is there a specific name or line of text that sums up your story neatly?
Somewhere in the answers to those questions is your title.
Now, I can make guesses on how some of the above mentioned titles came to be. Cheers takes place in the bar of the same name, and it’s about the patrons of said bar, so it’s the story about a place named Cheers. But I can’t speak for the creators and what thought processes they might have went through in order to choose their titles. So, instead, I am going to give you some of the titles I have come up with and explain how I got there.
Copper and Gold
Two words, four syllables.
Genre: Urban Fantasy
This is the first book of a series based around a singular character, Minni Masterson, whose motif is copper, which plays a large role in the story. Since it’s a series, I need a title that could be formulaic across each one. In the first novel, the “guest character” is a gold dragon (Aiden Drake). So when I say Copper and Gold, I’m really saying Minni and Drake. And in the second book, when I say Copper and Cobalt, I am saying Minni and the Kobolds. Copper and Mercury is Minni and the Werewolves. Etc.
Emperor’s Shadow
Two words, five syllables.
Genre: Star Wars fan fiction/Mystery/Character Study
The story is about Mara Jade who was an Emperor’s Hand. It’s about her coming to terms with the shadow that looms over her from her past and what Palpatine did to her. Instead of going with something much bulkier like In the Shadow of the Empire, I merged her past (Emperor’s Hand) with her current conflict.
The Serpent and the Liar
Two words, seven syllables.
(This format of “The X and the X” is one that is an exception to the rule, so long as the syllables belonging to X remain low)
Genre: Marvel!Loki fan fiction/Pre-Movies Canon Compliant
The story is about Loki and the events leading up to the first Thor movie. It also brings in Sigyn to explore that ship, along with some Norse myths, and to explain why she isn’t in the movie. Loki, of course, is known for his serpent motif and as the god of lies. I play on this, giving Sigyn a serpent motif, something to match her with Loki. But on several occasions, I raise the question of who is actually the serpent, and who is the liar? Because the best way to lie, is to tell the truth. So, like Copper and Gold, I’m really just calling the story Loki and Sigyn, I mean, Sigyn and Loki?
Amehrana
One word, four syllables.
Genre: Timeless Food Truck AU/Garcy Slow Burn
The story is about Flynn and Lucy, and the rest of the team, in an AU setting. I named Flynn’s food truck Amehrana because it’s a mix of the word American and Hrana, which is Croatian for food. So the title is both a thing (the food truck) but also another word for Flynn and Lucy because he’s Croat and she’s American. But unlike Copper and Gold and The Serpent and the Liar, there is the added symbolism here of Flynn and Lucy coming together.
Frankenstein’s Monster
Two words, five syllables
Genre: Timeless Mission Fic for Proposed Season 3 (non-movie compliant)
The mission is Mary Shelley, but that doesn’t mean there *has* to be a Frankenstein reference. But you have Flynn who thinks he’s a monster, one created by Rittenhouse. I also go deeper and hint at Lucy herself being a Frankenstein Monster, i.e. created by Rittenhouse for a purpose she doesn’t want any part of. Once again, my title is basically just another name for my main characters.
I want to interject for a moment and point out that we all have our preferences in our writing styles, and titles are no different. If you realized you tend to do most of your titles a specific way, then own it. It’s part of what makes you unique as an artist. And if you occasionally decide you want to go a completely opposite direction for one story, then go for it.
Case in point.
No Accounting for Heroes
Three words, seven syllables
Genre: Canon Compliant account of the Fall of SHIELD and its aftermath
This fic really takes a hard look at what happens to those living in a world with superheroes. The main character, an accountant named Rani, is giving an account of events. My cowriter suggested putting “accounting” in the title which made me think of the common phrase, “no accounting for taste,” which is a concept about how different people like/need different things, and applied it to the story. No Accounting for Heroes means that we all need a hero, but maybe not the heroes we think we do, and we can all be heroes in some way, to someone in need. But also, there is that underlying current that heroes are not held accountable for the destruction that follows in their wake.
Never be afraid to ask for help with titles. And don’t be afraid to reject titles if they don’t fit. And definitely don’t be afraid to take the suggestion, turn it over, season it, put it in a waffle iron, and see if what comes out is edible.
I have helped others name their stories, and here are three examples:
Remember, Remember
Two words, six syllables.
Genre: Timeless Garcy Canon Divergent/Angst/Mission Fic
The story is about Lucy trying to save Flynn after he goes back to 2012. Emma saves him instead. Eventually Lucy runs into him and she discovers he doesn’t remember her and only knows what Emma has told him. At the end of the story, they have a final confrontation during the Gunpowder Plot. When the author asked my thoughts on a title, well, the Gunpowder Plot has the very famous saying “Remember, Remember, the 5th of November” and the whole story is Lucy trying to get Flynn to remember…
Disavowed
One word, three syllables.
Genre: Timeless Luciana Canon Divergent/Angst
In this Twitter story, Flynn is blocked from returning to the US from Canada because they still think he’s a terrorist. Basically, his own country, whom he helped save, rejected him. When asked for a title, I focused on the idea that this story is about Flynn being rejected/denied entry/etc. I basically flipped through synonyms for rejected until I came across disavowed which is a term often used in spy craft. It’s a heavy word which paired well with the angst of the story.
Only Our Stories
Three words, five syllables.
Genre: Timeless Movie Canon Compliant-adjacent/Angst/Mission Fic
The phrase “only our stories” is said in the fic itself. Future-Lucy writes it down towards the beginning, once she’s returned from dropping off the journal post-Chinatown. All that she has left of Flynn is only their stories, which she writes in the journal. She is eventually able to change things to get Flynn back, but he doesn’t remember her. There is still a connection though… their stories.
Never be afraid to take a line from your story to use as your title, so long as you follow the structure guidelines from the first section.
At the end of the day, coming up with titles is just as much a skill as any other part of writing. We suck at first, then we figure out what's good, what's bad, and look at the world around us to figure out how to make it better. And don’t be afraid to edit it as much as you edit your novel. Until you publish, no title is set in stone, so it doesn’t have be right the first time.
And now here is where I close out this reference guide by saying something inspirational. Instead, I’m going to name this piece. While I wrote it, the temp file name was “Creating a Title” which is technically accurate but has no umph or style. This guide is meant to be helpful so the title should inspire confidence that I know what I’m talking about. But I don’t want it to sound too clinical either.
A synonym for “name” is designation which I like but too many syllables because I’ll have to add to it. Synonym’s for “title” don’t give me much either. Instead, I should focus on the concept of the guide rather than its direct contents. Using something like “What’s in a Name?” would be too cliché. “I Suck at Titles” is funny, at first, with it being the exact opposite, but my genre is more educational than satire.
Wait, if I’m not going to reveal the title until the end, as a way to show you the thought process in creating a title, then to the reader, the title both does and doesn’t exist at the same time. It’s what you might call a…
If you’re writing a story, or are in general unsure of Timeless’ time travel rules, then this FAQ is for you. It covers a lot of the big questions, and if you have something specific you need figuring out, just ask!
Note: This FAQ is not compliant to the movie because the movie broke all of the show’s established rules.
Is Timeless a Closed Loop?
No. Timeless is a Causal Loop.
What is a Causal Loop?
Short Answer: A time loop where nothing is set or pre-determined.
Long Answer: This post.
What is the difference between present and current?
Present means the point in time the series (or your story) takes place. Current is the time in which a particular person or item exists as their present.
Example: When Future Lucy goes to 2018, she is in the present, but she is not current. If she took 2018 Lucy with her to 2023, then Future Lucy becomes current, but 2018 Lucy is no longer current or in the present.
What is an overwrite?
When a time traveler returns to their current, they take the place of their previous selves which means they overwrite both the memories and physical body of their self who was current.
When do overwrites happen?
Every time someone returns to their current, no exceptions.
At what point does the timeline change?
The timeline changes the moment the time machine (occupied or not) returns to its current. This is how the Mothership can jump, but the timeline doesn’t change for the Time Team. They have a chance to go back and intercept the other team before the timeline alters. But once they leave, they will return to an altered current.
FAQ continues under the break...
Does the time machine have to return to its current to make the changes, or simply leave the time it has traveled to?
This can be debated either way. I maintain that if the time machine left the time it was in, but did not return to its current, the it would create a "soft change" that can be seen in the timeline by those in the current. Once the time machine returns to the current, then these changes solidify along with any changes their visit to the other timeline might create.
Who is affected by the timeline change?
Anyone who is not outside of their current will be affected by the change.
What happens to people outside of their current when they return?
If someone else changes the timeline via a separate time machine while another person is in a different time in the past, then when the second group returns, they will find a world where both their changes, and the other group's changes, exist.
If the changes of one group affects the changes of the other group, then the second group to return is the one who's changes will take priority and "overwrite" any of the other group's changes.
Example: Emma goes back to kill Mx. Doe. At the same time, Lucy goes back to save Mx. Smith. If Emma returns first, she will see that Doe is dead and this would be a hard change. She will also see that Smith is saved, and this would be a soft change because Lucy hasn’t returned yet. If Emma does nothing, then when Lucy returns, Emma will now believe Smith was always saved, but she will know she killed Doe and changed the timeline.
What if Person A goes back and makes a change that leads themselves to getting killed at some point before their current, do they live?
Yes. They will return to a timeline where they did die. They will be alive much to the surprise of everyone.
What if they change the timeline so they gain a physical wound, like a lost limb?
The physical body will be as healed or as broken as it was in the past when it returns to the current, regardless of what the new timeline says.
Example: If Wyatt changes something in the past where he now losses his thumb in an incident in Afghanistan, then when he returns, he’s going to have a hell of a time explaining to his doctor how he grew his thumb back.
What if Person A goes back and makes changes leading to them never joining the team, and instead Person B does? What happens when they return?
Person A overwrites themselves with memories of being on the team. Their physical body now exists where the time machine is. This will cause confusion to anyone Person A was supposed to be interacting with, but it will not be a blink and they are gone. The timeline change will cause a memory gap where others will have no idea where Person A got off to. Person B will have memories of going on the missions that Person A remembers. Again, there will be a memory gap as Person B should have been on the time machine, but for for reasons they probably can't remember, they stayed behind.
What causes the memory gap?
The fact that the human mind can't comprehend what is happening when the changes are made... so it just, kinda, ignores it. The mind if good at doing things like that.
What if while Person A from 2020 is in the past, Enemy B from 2020 goes to 2019 and kills Person C?
When Person A returns, they will remember a 2019 where Person C existed and all the changes that resulted in. Anyone who wasn't in the past when Enemy B killed Person C will only remember the timeline where Person C died. If Person C was in the past when their 2019 self was killed, then everyone in 2020 is gonna be in for a surprise.
Can someone vanish while in the past?
No. When you are outside of your current, you are safe from being erased. If you make a change that leads to your death before this trip, or your ancestor dies prematurely, then you will return alive and well. But there will be changes to the timeline resulting from you not existing.
Can someone currently dead in the present appear from the future?
No. If you are dead in the present, then you are still dead in the future.
Example: Iris died in 2014, she cannot grow up to return to 2019 to save her father.
What if that someone is saved and is no longer murdered or erased? Can they travel back in time?
Yes, they could travel from the future into the present. But they would have to be alive in the present. They would not be able to travel onto a timeline where they are dead.
Example: If Flynn believed Iris was dead, but her murder was actually faked, then she could travel back to 2019 to save Flynn. But she would be crossing over her own timeline and would have limited time in 2019 to do what she needs to do.
Why can't someone cross onto their own timeline for more than a few minutes?
Short Answer: The Law of Conservation of Energy.
Long Answer: This post.
How is it then that the Lifeboat existed for years in San Francisco on its own timeline?
Non-animate objects are not affected by the energy issue. Or if they are, the result is negligible and isn't considered an issue.
How do you get a causal loop inside of a causal loop?
I explain this here.
How does Jiya see the future?
She doesn't. Jiya is seeing the past. Even if it's hers or Rufus' "future," it still takes place in the past. And as it hasn't solidified yet, each time she looks she will get a different version based on what changes current events might have made.
End of FAQ - I will add more as questions come in.
I already explained the difference between a Causal Loop and a Closed Loop. But can you have two Causal Loops going at the same time? Yes, you can. And here is how...
The only way an Internal Causal Loop can exist inside a Main Causal Loop is if neither Loop affect the beginning or end of the other. For whatever reason the person(s) in the Internal Loop has to go back, it cannot change the fact that the person(s) in the Main Loop will have to go back and restart the Main Loop again. The restart of the Main Loop does not require the Internal Loop restarts as well, and vice versa.
Example: Our Main Loop is Sao Paulo and 2023. Our Internal Loop is 2019 Emma going back to 2017 to leave Jan a note to do something for Emma’s mother. Regardless of if Flynn steals the Mothership, 2019 Emma will still go back to 2017 to leave the note with whatever Time Machine she has available, likely the Mothership anyway. And Emma doing this has no effect on whether or not 2023 Lucy goes back to Sao Paulo.
When the person(s) return from starting the Internal Loop, they will overwrite themselves inside of the Main Loop.
Example: From above example, when 2019 Emma returns to 2019 from visiting 2017, she overwrites herself. Each time she has various degrees of success in saving, or not-saving, her mother, which leads to her constantly restarting the loop. Each time Emma returns, she will overwrite the Emma who lived through the previous timeline and whatever changes were made because of it.
The person(s) in the Internal Loop can break their loop the same way as the Main Loop can be broken. That is, they have to decide not to go back so that the last person standing remembers the previous timeline.
Example: From above, Emma eventually is able to save her mother, but if she does not go back, then she will be overwritten by the Emma who only remembers her mother dying. If this Emma chooses not to go back, to let the other Emma overwrite her, then the Internal Causal Loop will end.
If the person(s) who starts the Internal Loop is the same who started the Main loop, then they will overwrite themselves again when they return to the end of the Main Loop.
Example: If 2020 Lucy goes to 2017 to save Anthony, then when she returns she will overwrite the Lucy who doesn’t remember Anthony dying. After three years, 2020 Lucy becomes 2023 Lucy. If when 2023 Lucy goes back to Sao Paulo, and this time events occur where Anthony dies in 2021, then when 2023 Lucy returns, she overwrites the Lucy who lived through Anthony’s death in 2021 and will still think him alive.
Casual Loop with Secondary Casual Loops work essentially the same. The key is that one loop does not affect the other loop in either starting or ending.
Example: Sao Paulo and 2023 Lucy are the Main Loop. In 2045, Person X goes back to 2019 and leaves a journal for Paulina regarding her time machine designs and how that will change the future. Just like 2023 Lucy keeps going back to Sao Paulo, this 2045 Person X keeps going back to 2019 Paulina. Neither Loop affect each other, the end of one will not end the other.
I am creating an FAQ regarding the Timeless Time Travel rules, the science, etc. If anyone has a specific question they want to see answered, please either reply to this post (reply or reblog, so long as I can see it) or message me directly.
This is going to be a resource for anyone wanting to create Timeless related works but aren't exactly sure what would happen if...
Note: The movie ignores their own rules so that is already being addressed.
What if Lincoln was never meant to die? What if he lived, but through time travel shenanigans he ended up dying during one of the timelines? But the Time Team wasn’t able to save him in the next timeline, or the one after. Then, eventually, everyone’s memories get overwritten. Now we all believe that the fixed point in history is Lincoln has to die…
If we’re dealing with a closed loop, then this question is asked and answered. It happened that way and it will always happen that way.
But Timeless is a Causal Loop and therefore literally anything goes. The whole point of this kind of loop is to go back and make changes and try to make things better (or worse, it’s a matter of perspective). The only issue is that once you close the loop, you will have the memories of the previous timeline.
This is the end of the loop… so what about the beginning and the middle?
We can reasonably infer that since pre-pilot Lucy goes back and gives Flynn the journal, what we see in the series is not Timeline Zero (i.e. the first timeline before the first person goes back in time, ever). We also know that Anthony and Emma tested the Lifeboat and Mothership and went back on several occasions. Timeline Zero would be the timeline Anthony first tested the Lifeboat as Rufus mentioned in Stranded.
Now, since Lucy goes back and starts her Causal Loop in 2014, any trips Anthony and/or Emma made after this point become a part of Lucy’s Causal Loop. And each time Lucy restarted her Loop, Anthony would create even more new timelines. This is because each time he and Emma went back, they changed something, it may be insignificant, but it’s still a change and it counts as a new timeline.
Below is an illustration of how this happens. It does assume that Lucy goes back with the journal first, instead of Flynn stealing the Mothership first, but the idea is still the same regardless.
You can, technically, create a loop inside of a loop, and that may or may not be the case here. We don’t know enough of all of Anthony and Emma’s missions to know for sure. If Emma actually went to 1872 after Lucy arrived in 2014, then it could be its own Causal Loop inside of Lucy’s Causal Loop.
The important part to remember is that yes, a lot of this is Rinse and Repeat, but it doesn’t have to be. There can be loops where trips were skipped, where extra trips were added, or where North Korea isn’t the end of the loop. The fluctuation in trips can be due to all sorts of factors such as Emma’s “rescue” and Jessica’s involvement... and having crappy writers who don’t understand their own show.
All that matters is that Lucy goes back to 2014 to restart the Causal Loop. When that happens, all the events that occur afterwards get to ‘reoccur’ which means more changes to the timeline.
This is how the Lincoln Quandary happens. With all these resets and changes and new timelines, all it takes is for the last person who remembers how it was ‘supposed’ to happen to be in their current timeline when a significant change to the timeline occurs, and there you go. Lincoln “always died.”
We can also apply this to the characters, such as Jessica. We know it wasn’t always Flynn who killed her because that is impossible since it’s a Causal Loop (not a Closed Loop). Though it is possible that in one of the loops he was involved somehow. In the “Miracle Loop,” as I’m calling it, he is actually responsible for Jess’ death. But, more likely, Rittenhouse had something to do with Jess’ original death.
Imagine this: The team was giving Rittenhouse hell, so they go back and give the order to murder Jess. Maybe they want to hold that over Wyatt, or perhaps they think it will make him self destruct before he joins the team. For an unknown number of timelines (from none to hundreds), Wyatt knows that Jess was never supposed to die, that it was RH’s fault. Then enough resets occur where Wyatt is in his own current time and therefore forgets this. So now he thinks she always died, and Rittenhouse knows they killed Jess on orders, but no one is quite sure why until 2016.
Then Emma figures it out, that in a past timeline they tried “Plan A” which didn’t work. So what if they recruit Jess instead? They make sure she doesn’t die in 2012 so she can be a sleeper in 2018. Granted, since Miracle of Christmas went off the rails and was completely illogical, we can’t really apply much of what we saw to actual reality. But you can cherry pick which parts you want to keep and as long as they work together under the timeline rules, then run with it.
I’ve heard the theory that Wyatt originally killed Jess. The evidence being that strangling is an intimate act, plus Rittenhouse actively asked her to get out of the car to save her when we’ve been told that’s why she died in the first place. So maybe Wyatt did kill her, then eventually forgot that he had done it because of all the resets.
You can pretty much allow for any theory to have occurred in some iteration of the timeline. The only obstacle is that you have to get there following the time travel rules. This sounds daunting, but it’s actually very freeing and full of options. We literally have no idea how many times Lucy has gone back and restarted the loop.
Mason mentions that in 2014 there was a powersurge that wiped out a lot of data. He was lying about Emma’s pilot logs, but was he lying just about those? This is significant because 2014 is also the same year Lucy goes back to give Flynn the journal. Is this a coincidence? Did it happen before, during, or after Lucy’s trip? Is Lucy responsible? And if so, what was on those records? What information could have been lost to remind people what the real facts are?
Every ‘fact’ as we know it is in question. Hell, we don’t even know if Lucy started the loop in the first place.
What if it was Amy? She sees what her Mother and Lucy (who could be a bad guy in this timeline) are doing. She writes the original journal. She knows she can’t do this alone and finds Flynn, a man with the skills and the motive. So she goes back to 2014, gives him the journal. Flynn doesn’t hit the Hindenburg in this timeline or the next few. Reset after Reset occurs until now it’s Lucy, being supported by Amy, who starts to write the journal instead and making the loop.
Or, Flynn stole the Mothership first, wrote the first journal and gave it to himself? Or recruited someone to deliver it for him, someone he trusted, like Stiv or Karl? Maybe it was Lorena? Maybe she lived and a timeline change happened when she was in the past where Flynn was the one to live? Enough resets and she doesn’t make it through and now it’s believed she always died.
Yes, someone can take over the loop. All that is required is that the time machine goes back to the same point to do generally the same thing.
If you want to keep going back far enough (or forward enough), assume millions of new timelines, then nothing is off limits.
You could literally have a Time Team made up of anyone you want it to. From supporting characters like BamBam and Noah, to evil characters who may have once been good (Emma perhaps?), to original characters who are either doomed or blessed depending on how their own story changes in the timeline resets.
Your college Garcyatt fic is technically canon.
Now… to make matters even more confusing: What if someone from the future, say 2056, created a new Causal Loop that either encompasses or overlaps Lucy’s Casual Loop?
The writer of Timeless Honest Trailer is proud to bring you...
Timeless Movie Redux!
Since the airing of the movie, I’ve said that with just a few edits they could have actually made something truly for all fans. This is me putting my money where my mouth is.
I have taken the entire movie and broken it down into its acts and further into its scenes. Some scenes will be nearly identical, with much of the original dialogue salvaged from writers Lauren Greer and Arika Lisanne Mittman (all rights reserved). Some scenes will physically be the same, but with all new dialogue. There are a couple of scenes that are missing and have been completely replaced.
The goal was to salvage as much as possible. To only make tweaks that would give the movie complexity and avoid making our OG heroes look like villains in the end. All time and resources with actors were accounted for and re-purposed as needed.
Because this is an edit and not a rewrite, Flynn will die (I bring him back), but it’s an honorable death (did I mention I bring him back). Lucy and Wyatt will end up together as I make a valiant attempt to salvage his character.
The true purpose of Timeless Movie Redux was to help myself reclaim my love of Timeless by being able to superimpose this version over the original. I am sharing it with you in hopes that it might do the same.
I would like to take this moment to say THANK YOU to all of our readers! I have seen your comments, both in reblogs and tags! The movie may have been Thoughtless, but its fans are not!
This isn’t the end of this blog, we still have more meta to come! If you have comments, questions, or anything you want us to expand on, let us know!
And remember, the core of Timeless was always been about hope. About seeing the past, seeing the truth in it, and how the struggles of those who came before gave hope and benefit to the future.
The following Honest Trailer is rated S for Spoilers.
You watched the first season of this family friendly, time travel adventure which pulled no punches.
That gave us complex and layered characters.
Had amazing in-character portrayals of historical figures.
Called out historical revisionism.
Acknowledged its characters had PTSD and were emotionally affected by their actions.
Had two POC characters be geniuses, geeks, and heroes in their own right.
And had a loving interracial LGBT couple who are allowed to be married, with kids, and neither of them die.
It’s almost enough to make you ignore the fact two characters have fridged wives...
and ignore the lack of diversity in its historical figures which included only two Native Americans with supporting roles, one dying for white woman pain.
Sixteen episodes and no Pacific Islander, Japanese American, Latinx, etc...
But, hey, progress.
You watched the second season that almost didn’t happen after NBC cancelled it for three days.
You went along with the rushed story line that didn’t really make any sense.
Why do you need a sleeper to steal a film or kill a political activist?
You have a time machine... and a gun.
You accepted the increased leaning on personal story lines and soap opera twists.
Because season two doubled down on the action packed and emotional scenes.
And gave us a complex female villain who was as terrifying as she was intelligent.
Only to make the resurrected wife obviously an evil agent...
and then killed off the black guy.
But after fans went crazy trying to convince the network to bring the show back after cancelling it a second time, Timeless was given a two-hour event.
This was their chance to give the show a proper and poignant ending, right.
Timeless: Miracle of Christmas: An Honest Trailer - Part Two
<------------ PART ONE
After months of anticipation, be treated to 85 minutes of storytelling where everything that came before is either ignored or erased by a plot filled with convenience and deus ex machina.
Where they ignore their own established rules.
Come on, guys, that's not how you told us time travel works!
It's a Causal Loop, not a Closed Loop.
Look, Rufus couldn't have been on the Lifeboat because Flynn took his seat. The team should have discovered Rufus alive in the bunker when they returned without Flynn.
For Rufus to have been on the Lifeboat, that means Flynn had to stay in the bunker. If he stayed in the bunker, then he’d be alive because there would be no AutoPilot Lifeboat in his timeline to use on his suicide run.
Also, did DNA and fingerprints stop being a thing that law enforcement can do? Not sure how this happened, but we can probably blame Rittenhouse.
Rittenhouse, the powerful organization the movie would now like us to believe is made up of only Emma and some goons despite the audience having been told repeatedly that there is more to Rittenhouse than we have yet to see, even after they arrested Cahill.
But we can forgive all of this, right, because it's the history that makes Timeless unique and has been the cornerstone of the series since day one!
So watch History be sidelined to prop up a tired trope meant to somehow erase all of a man's faults...
and used to explain a character's life choices even though it can't seem to decide on what it's trying to say.
So, Murietta has his family brutally attacked, becomes a vigilante, but because he helps the team one time, he gets a happier ending.
Flynn has his family brutally attacked, becomes a vigilante, but because he helps the team on several occasions, his only option is die, alone, without ever saving his family, in some kind of hellish time loop...?
Watch this amazing cast of talented actors do their best to work with their diminished or lobotomized characters because they are professionals.
At least the ones who didn’t get half their scenes cut.
See Rufus downgraded from Hero in a Hoodie to a Cheerleader in a Fuzzy Hat as his only role after being rescued is to exposition about how white couples should get together.
You realize Han and Leia's marriage ended badly what with the separation and patricide, right? Also, Bella and Edward are the textbook definition of an abusive relationship.
Not the best choices for role models here.
That's... not... where I was going with this...
You know what, let's just move on.
For four years, Flynn has never given up hope that he will stop Rittenhouse and save his family.
So watch him inexplicably give up all hope and literally commit suicide...
as the movie pushes the message that if you're trying to do the right thing, the wrong way, your only hope for redemption is to just kill yourself before achieving even one of your goals, thereby letting the villains get away with murdering a completely innocent mother and daughter when you could, I dunno, save them instead?
psst, dude, they’re like... right there...
Taken from your parents as a child and brainwashed into being a loyal foot soldier of a cult bent on world domination? Don’t worry, the heroes will at least attempt to rescue and deprogram you!
And by rescue I mean not thinking twice about having you killed off with about as much dignity as an NPC in a GTA game.
Meanwhile, the head of the white supremacist organization responsible for all of this gets to protect his own family from harm, benefiting from every evil thing he’s ever done.
Watch as a complex female villain--who is apparently savvy enough to take over all of Rittenhouse within 48 hours, leaving just her, some goons, and Jan--is felled by a single stray bullet after having been reduced to a caricature of Mr. Monopoly.
Wonder at when the writers are going to remember Jiya basically has superpowers and can see through time, something that probably would have come in real handy for trying to figure out how to save Rufus and stop Emma without anyone needing to die.
But she's not completely forgotten!
Jiya has been a strong female character for two seasons, so of course she must have been abused and possibly raped off-screen, but we're only going to talk about it when Rufus wants sex and then otherwise ignore it.
You excitedly wait as Wyatt--who was put in an impossible situation in season two and made some very poor choices--learns from his mistakes to grow emotionally as a person and redeem himself.
And what better way for him to do that than having all his bad decisions conveniently retconned into not actually having been his fault...
or having the other characters either forget Wyatt's mistakes or decide to null them because, hey, that was in the past... forty-eight hours.
You rooted for Lucy Preston, the headstrong, competent historian, who has struggled to reconcile her personal wants with that of her domineering mother.
When Lucy discovers she’s Rittenhouse royalty in season two, she declares she'd rather die than go back with her mother and join them.
So it’s only natural that Lucy turns exactly into her mother by giving up on Amy, destroying a man’s life for personal gains, and becoming that domineering and condescending teacher everyone not-so-secretly hates.
Yes, because nothing good ever comes from learning about individuals from marginalized communities or important political figures.
And one sociopathic multi-murderer.
You know, for funzies.
Watch as the movie goes full Harry Potter Epilogue with Lucy naming her two daughters after the sister she abandoned and her alternate-timeline-ex-lover who murdered her husband's first wife for her so they wouldn't have to do it themselves.
You never go full Harry Potter Epilogue.
But hey, they have a time machine!
They can go back to when Flynn was at his lowest and give him everything he needs to stop Rittenhouse, save his family, save Amy, redeem Jess, and even save Anthony. He can gain his redemption through hard work, emotional growth, and doing the right thing.
They can literally arrange it so that everyone gets their chosen happy ending.
Or, you know, you could tell a man who just had his five-year-old daughter murdered in front of him to do the horrible things you'll later let him commit suicide over, just to make sure you hook up with the guy who had no problem in having his wife killed and then immediately screwing you on the same bed where, up to a few days before, he was having very loud, unprotected sex with said wife for months on end knowing you could hear him.
Timeless: Miracle of Christmas: An Honest Trailer - Part Three
< ------------ BACK TO PART TWO
< ------------ BACK TO PART ONE
STARRING!
Ultimate Rittenhouse Sleeper Agent
White Male Privilege
Plucky Black SidekickTM
Allegory for American Immigration Policy
Patch 2.11: Nerfed Powerset
Dead Wives Club
I'm blue da ba dee da ba daa...
Loving Attention to Detail
I Mustache You A Question...
Just Happy To Be Included!
Agent Christmas in July
Go Back Three Spaces In Character Development
Sir Not Appearing In This Picture
#MRHGA - Make Rittenhouse Great Again
The Only Ship That Matters
This guy who is actually really important but you wouldn’t know it because the episode is too busy having Wyatt deliver a baby to make up for every toxic action he’s taken in the past.
THOUGHTLESS
That’s... not...
It's not a closed loop, it's never been a closed loop!
This means the Lucy that Flynn now meets in 2016 is not going to remember having a sister and therefore has no motivation to continue on missions.
But she will remember falling in love with, and becoming engaged to, this adorable puppy of a man.
Which means 2023 Lucy is essentially assuming her new 2016 self will put her life at risk because the government asked her to, and she'll break off her engagement to Noah and hook up with Wyatt because... some random dude said it was written in a journal from the future...
...what?
Thank you for readingwatching, this has been an Honest Trailers homage, we have no affiliation with Screen Junkies.
Please check out the Credits section for information regarding staff and sourcing the gifs. Please credit Timeless gifs to @queenincrimson.
The Timeless movie had some very questionable moments, some far more obvious than others. But there is a particularly insidious one that skirts through most discussions because of how prevalent, unfortunately, such things are in our society right now.
Let’s discuss Benjamin Cahill for a moment.
As unfortunate as it was that Denise had yet another one of her scenes cut, I can actually see the reasoning behind cutting the scene and leaving the surprise. A good ‘I did not see that coming’ twist is always welcome... so long as it’s good.
The problem is that, well, what happens in that scene, the one where Cahill is revealed to have given up Emma, sends all the wrong messages.
Let's first consider the fact that this is a Causal Loop, not a Closed Loop (I know I sound like a broken record by now, but it can’t be helped). Because it’s a Causal Loop, Cahill basically owned himself. When Christopher comes back from saving the Team, time gets rewritten where they never died. This means Christopher, in the new timeline, would have had no reason to go to Cahill and barter with him to get him to help her.
Cahill would get overwritten, not remember the deal. Christopher would remember, but why would she keep it?
How amazing would it have been for Emma to point this out as she’s dragged away, calling Cahill an imbecile. Christopher being all “did I forget to mention that?” with a shit-eating grin on her face. And now, since Christopher will retain all of the intel Cahill gives her by going back and time and not being overwritten, she can use this information to easily take out what’s left of Rittenhouse when she gets back.
Not only does this make Christopher look even more clever and badass, but you have a nice imagery of the WOC getting one over the guy who is probably responsible for Trump. (I have no evidence for that, but, come on... think about it.)
Except... that’s not what the movie wants us to believe happened.
Since they think it’s a Closed Loop, that means the deal Christopher made with Cahill stands. This means that a leader of a White Supremist Group who was trying to subjugate the world, benefits from all the evil he has done. Because that’s what Rittenhouse is, a White Supremist Group. It started with David Rittenhouse who, as we saw, was a piece of work. And with both Cahill and Carol putting so much emphasis on family and bloodlines, we can see that never went away.
Yes, Rittenhouse had POC members, like Doc, but this is not the time to go into the fact that individual POC can be part of the very groups that subjugate them. Also, she wanted out, she was not there by choice.
So, Cahill, doesn’t so much care about “family” but his own bloodline and legacy in regards to Rittenhouse. He then gets to protect his daughter and son (a son that is a clear analog for John Rittenhouse, and we all saw how that turned out).
Even if the show staff try to say “oh, well, that gets overwritten!”, well, for one, you can't have it both ways. But mostly, the fact this is never addressed on screen still sends the message that Cahill wins. His family is safe.
This is made all the worse when you realize that the movie throws the Flynn family under the bus.
Lorena and Iris Flynn are completely innocent characters and they were murdered, right before Christmas. Iris was five years old. Yet, the show says that these two must stay dead. Flynn isn’t even able to sacrifice himself to save them in order to redeem himself. The movie tells us that because Flynn did bad things to stop an even bigger evil (Cahill + Rittenhouse), his family has to pay the price.
And then there is Jessica Logan. Yes, she is loyal to Rittenhouse and she kidnapped Jiya which lead to Chinatown. But the only reason Jessica is Rittenhouse is because she was taken as a child and turned into a sleeper agent specifically to get to Wyatt (regardless if Causal or Closed Loop). They used her brother’s life against her parents. Jessica’s family was put in a horrible situation of wanting their son to live and giving over their daughter to a cult. I’m sure Rittenhouse didn’t sell it to them that way, but that’s what happened.
Jessica’s pregnancy is also conventionally retconned, destroying that possibility of a family. Then she is murdered without the heroes so much as stopping and recognizing that she was put on this path not by her own choosing. They don’t even give her a chance to make the right decision.
To be on the right side of history.
Lucy gave her mother this chance, so why not Jessica? Yes, Jessica hurt Jiya to get away, but she also could have just murdered them all in their sleep, but didn’t. Carol knew Amy existed, but she made sure Amy could never come back, and showed no remorse for her actions (note that Flynn, who caused Amy to disappear in the first place, showed remorse for doing so).
Basically, the message the movie is sending in this scene is that the White Families of Privilege get to benefit, regardless of how evil they have been. All other families should just go ahead and make funeral arrangements. And it sends this message without even giving it a second thought... as if that’s just how things are.
