#otherwise ''Harborage'' would've been a whole lot darker lol

[knickynoo]

I saw a edgy BTTF theory where Lone Pine Doc sent Lone Pines Marty to the big crunch/ end of the universe instead of to the same period of Twin Pines Marty went to so a) he couldn't fuck with the past b) there wouldn't be 2 Marty's running around c) the Marty he knew in the past would have a place to slide right in when he got back to the present.

I don't like it but it has never left my head because I have allways wanted to know what Lone Pines Marty did! No way he did the same thing Twin Pines Marty did because he didn't have the same info about his family that Twin Pines Marty had.

I've seen that same theory float around for years now, and I don't like it either. The whole, "well Doc had to do something to get rid of Lone Pine Marty, so he probably sent him suuuupperr far into the future or rigged the DeLorean to kill him" take is one that really does not sit well with me. For obvious reasons.

I think the general consensus in the fandom is that the whole thing is a casual loop. As in, Our Marty sets off all the time travel shenanigans, has his 1955 adventure, then returns to the mall where he watches his other self travel back to 1955--where Lone Pine Marty will proceed to have the exact same adventure. And it just sort of keeps looping like that? Which I guess does make sense considering Marty returns to '55 in part II and sees his other self in the car with Lorraine at the dance. And that would be Lone Pine Marty, would it not? But like...there's also only technically 1 Marty. Meaning Lone Pine Marty isn't displaced or sent to some other timeline or something...he's just. Marty. Our Marty may not have the memories of the updated timeline, but the agreement seems to be that he is in fact the same guy. Somehow. Idk, it confuses me too, but the alternative is a reality in which Lone Pine Marty is lost somewhere in time or murdered, so....

(Also I think the BTTF comic that addresses this concept even lands on a similar conclusion? That Twin Pines Marty didn't "get rid of" or "replace" the real one. There only ever was one Marty no matter the timeline or his memories.)

It's funny, because that comic contains an introduction by Bob Gale, where he mentions filming that second parking lot scene and how this same question came up. I don't have the comic in front of me right now, but it was something along the lines of: they were filming the scene where Marty watches his past self get into the DeLorean and drive away, and someone on the set asked where that Marty was going/if he was even the same Marty. And I think Gale's response was basically, Hmm, no clue. Because every answer he came up with spiraled into paradoxes and further complicated things.

I'm personally torn on the issue because on the one hand: Lone Pine Marty was raised under completely different circumstances. He should absolutely be distinct from the Marty we follow, because environment plays a big role in shaping a person. He's got a more stable, tighter knit family. He's had a wider range of opportunities given to him due to his family having more money. He's been nurtured and supported and loved in a way that Twin Pines Marty wasn't. Pretty sure that would impact his decisions in 1955 once he's sent back there.

BUT! On the other hand: The two Martys theory makes me sad. I don't want there to be a Marty somewhere out there, lost and alone and having been replaced by our Marty. So I'll continue on with the "there is only one Marty" theory. Plus, I mean, it's pretty telling that Marty's rooms in both timelines are completely the same, despite the rest of the house having changed. Everything, down to the placement of his guitar and candy bars on the nightstand and photos on the wall is in the same place. I think the only thing that changes are the curtain colors. Which tells me that Marty is simply Marty...making the same choices and having the same personality no matter where he grew up. Which is comforting, I suppose.

It's fun to speculate and come up with theories about these things since there's so much room to play with. Thanks for the ask!

#asks #back to the future #bttf #marty mcfly #in my fics i stick with the singular marty theory #otherwise ''Harborage'' would've been a whole lot darker lol #also i did not expect to write this much