Question: Spoiler! Time seems to be defined as somewhat linear, with alternate realities branching off rather than changing the past of any given timeline. But if that's the case, how can Steve go back in time and stay, which should branch off a new reality with him in it, but then "catch up" with "our" reality? Seems like if he stayed in the past he'll have made plenty of changes.
Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more
These are questions relating to specific titles. General questions for movies and TV shows are here. Members get e-mailed when any of their questions are answered.
Answer: He stayed behind but didn't reveal himself or change anything whilst there. That way the future isn't altered and stays "the same." This does mean that the timeline we have been following is the timeline where Cap stayed behind and there were basically 2 Steve Rogers at all times. That can theoretically work in a linear timeline idea.
True, I think that does mostly line up. Peggy told him she got married to someone he rescued, but that could easily have been a cover story so as not to tip him off about what happens too early.
He originally had the tools to go back return the stones and then return back to his timeline. Instead of returning back right away when the job was done he just hung around and lived his life. Then as an old man used the particle to return back to his original timeline effectively leaving the different timeline he had just been living in for the last however many years. He could always return back to the the original timeline at any point. He just decided to wait.
Yeah see I don't agre to this because if he had used the particles again to go back to the future after living his life in the past he would have ended up on the platform wouldn't he? I say he just grew old and waited for that moment of his younger self going to back to sit down on that bench.
That's not possible. (a) He was in the ice for 60 years. How would he know what not to do? (b) There's nothing he could do that wouldn't change the timeline. Anything he did means someone else didn't do it from the previous timeline. A house he rented, food he ate, places he went. Even whatever fake name he uses alters history as it wasn't there before.
The point is all those things did exist, but they didn't mess with the events that occurred in the movies. So not a different timeline than the one we have been following, but the same. This can only be done if the second Cap stays out of history. I'm not a fan of the butterfly effect, it doesn't have any basis, that's why I always explain timelines in this way. An extra spoon in the dishwasher or an extra tank of gasoline doesn't change the timeline so much that it can't be the one we were following anymore. So yes, he changed the timeline, but that's the timeline we have been following.
Answer: Since Cap was frozen for 70 years, he could potentially live out his life back in that time without risking interfering with his future self's actions which would allow him to arrive back to the same point where he left. It's not too dissimilar from the first two "Back to the Future" films where Marty arrives back in 1985 from 1955. As long as Marty takes no actions to prevent himself from going back in time in that moment, then he can arrive back to the same point he left without causing a major disruption in the space-time continuum. Consequently though, since Cap married Peggy when he went back, this would effectively erase the marriage she revealed having had in "The Winter Soldier," which could cause minor differences in the timeline.
This is the point though - it's made clear that they can't change the past, just branch off a new timeline. And given we know she got married in "our" timeline, him going back created a new one, one where she married him instead. And that's all well and good, but that leaves him stranded in timeline "B", with no way to jump back to "A." That said of course there's no real reason this couldn't be hand-waved away as using Dr. Strange or other tech to cross dimensions somehow, it's just mildly annoying they didn't clarify it. :-).
Well the way they did it makes it complicated I think. The Pym particles made a certain type of time travel possible I think, a different kind than the time gem for example can do. It's irreversible, but not linear. The linear timeline is what the ancient one explained about the gems. They had to be put back in their place in time in order for the fabric of the universe to stay in tact. Only that had to be restored, but not what Cap did, or even creating alternate timelines in general (which did happen with Loki disappearing).
I feel though that since two Caps were existing in the same timeline, one of which was frozen for several decades, then the Cap that went back to be with Peggy can still end up in the same spot as long as he doesn't interfere with himself or his fellow Avengers in their "future" missions. He might cause a slightly different timeline to happen, but as long as he lets his other self play out the events as they originally unfolded, it allows that other self to be in the same position to travel back to return the Infinity Stones and then be with Peggy, rendering any branching timeline to be inconsequential because he is putting himself in a time loop. Just like Marty in "Back to the Future." Marty's actions in the past create a slightly new timeline, but he is still traveling back to 1955 at the exact same point in this slightly different 1985.
Can't compare it to Back to the Future, there was always 1 Marty in Back to the Future since he goes back to a time before he was born. The changes to the timeline in Back to the Future should have butterflied a lot away. Not sure what you mean with "still end up in the same spot" if there are 2 Caps. The Cap that went back to be with Peggy didn't have to "end up in the same spot", just stay out of history until his past self goes back. Like you say, it's a loop for him.
By "end up in the same spot," I mean the Cap that coexists with the Cap that goes back in time is allowed to play out the events from "The Avengers," "The Winter Soldier," "Civil War," etc. without his alternate self interfering in matters, thus he is able to reach the same point in time where he goes back to return the Infinity Stones and then be with Peggy, which is what creates/continues his loop.
He wouldn't be stranded in "B" if he still had his TimeGPS device (which I imagine he would've held onto). That could have allowed him to make the jump back to the "A" timeline. That device is what links/keeps the time traveler tethered/able to return to their original timeline and not get stuck. Either he used it to make the jump back as he normally would have, or he could've employed some of the great minds of the alternate "B" timeline he was living in (i.e. Hank Pym, Howard Stark (if he prevented his assassination in the "B" timeline), Tony Stark, etc...) to use the GPS's 'tether' as a way to get back to "A"
Exactly. What people seem to miss is that throughout the movie, the time travelers are creating alternate timelines, but always return to their original one. That's the way time travel works in the MCU.
That's a good point - if they go to the battle of New York and make any change at all, that's a new timeline which they're technically in, but they can still return to their original one without any problem. That new one then carries on without them.
Answer: What's interesting is that during Civil War when Peggy dies and people are carrying her coffin, there is a white haired man of Steve's build carrying one side, but it never shows his face. I believe this is a little Easter egg to show he was there all along.
Answer: Remember Cap took three vials of Pym particles. One for himself and Tony and another for this reason.
Answer: Theory 1: The MCU as we know it is a product of Captain America going back in time and returning the stones. Theory 2: the older Captain America is from another timeline. That's how he got a new shield.
Question: How did Tony know where to find the Tesseract?
Answer: Both Tony and Steve knew that Howard Stark recovered the Tesseract in 1945. SHIELD were then conducting research on it. They knew it was likely stored in the secret shield facility in New Jersey. They weren't 100% certain, but it was their best chance of locating it and at the very least they could obtain additional Pym particles to try another time if necessary.
Question: Why did Daniel think Mr. Miyagi was making fun of him with the sweeping? He taught him how to block by waxing cars so shouldn't Daniel have figured there was something with moving the broom to teach him how to do a front sweep?
Answer: Daniel was frustrated with Mr. Miyagi because he would not support Daniel entering the tournament. He probably thought that Mr. Miyagi was making fun of him.
Answer: Daniel's an impatient kid who wants everything laid out in a clear, straightforward manner. He may have thought the "wax on-wax off" incident was a one-time ploy and believes from that point on the training will be more conventional. Mr. Miyagi has other ideas about his teaching methods.
Question: What did John mean when he told Jack at the bar that Jack's mother was the nightingale and it would have led to Jack? Did Jack kill his own mother? Also why did Jack Shepard, a supposed serial killer, stop killing?
Answer: Florence Nightingale is considered the founder of modern nursing and nurses are often called "nightingales." It has nothing to do with Jack's mother telling on him or "singing like a bird." Whether or not Jack killed his mother is left ambiguous, but it does seem like that's what they are suggesting. In the film we are told Mary Finelli was his first victim. However, they seem to imply that Jack's mother's killing was not associated with the "Nightingale Murders." Had the police connected her murder to the "Nightingale Murders", it night had led them to Jack. So Jack changed his M.O. after killing his mom, which I take as targeting younger nurses. In the film, Jack's dad tells John that Jack got caught up in the Knapp Commission, which was an investigation into police corruption. Jack went to prison, which is why he stopped killing. In the film, it's suggested that perhaps the killer (before they knew it was Jack) was taken off the streets (i.e. sent to prison for a crime not related to the killings) and smartened up once he got out of prison. There's no suggestion that age or lack of testosterone is what stopped Jack from killing after getting out of prison. Of course, it's also possible he did kill again, but due to the gap in killings, those murders aren't related to the "Nightingale Murders." But all that is speculation since they don't really reveal any of that information and it's not central to the plot.
Answer: I can answer part of your question. Most serial killers are under the age of 50. Testosterone levels drop after that age, and it is thought that this may reduce a psychopath's urge to kill. The nightingale reference may be the same as the slang term, "to sing like a bird," which means someone gives up information easily. Jack's mother may have provided info about her son, either knowingly or unknowingly.
Answer: Or maybe Jack's mother abused him as a child, and that's why he hated her and killed her, and then became a psycho serial killer. He continued to kill other nurses because his mother was a nurse.
Question: Why does the Captain not like Max? After he tells the children that he'll be bringing the Baroness back with him from Vienna to visit, he says Max will be coming too, and he rolls his eyes when he says that.
Answer: This is proved to be true as Georg loses his temper with him several times about his attitude to the Nazis and about his children singing in public.
Answer: Not to mention that he seems to be a spendthrift and a moocher off his rich friends.
Question: What was the Silas/Remy Jean/Teabing event in London all about? Remy Jean and Silas acting as if they're betraying Teabing in front of Robert and Sophie, only to learn that Teabing was behind it after all? I don't get it.
Answer: Teabing wants to keep his identity as the Teacher secret. Remy pretending to be the Teacher was prearranged so Teabing could continue to act as an ally of Langdon and Sophie. Silas was unaware that Teabing was the Teacher, or even that the Teacher would be there. He was not part of the deception.
Question: The grandfather says at the very end that he knew all along about the vampires, so why didn't he tell Sam or Michael before?
Answer: It was also in keeping with Grandpa's eccentric nature; if he'd said anything about the vampires before, they might have assumed he was either joking or possibly becoming senile.
Question: Why was Ron angry with Harry for allegedly putting his name in the Goblet of Fire?
Answer: Ron was becoming a jealous of Harry's fame and, feeling inadequate, was tired of being in his shadow. He (wrongly) believed Harry had entered his name into the Goblet for the attention.
Answer: Harry has an invisibility cloak and the Marauders Map, easily undetectable to anyone but Mad-Eye Moody. I'm sure Ron thought that Harry could have slipped away; surely they aren't together every second of the day. Ron was jealous, it doesn't have to make sense.
Question: Are the events real or imagined?
Question: Does anyone know where exactly this beach bar is located where Giselle is walking in a bikini? I've been trying to figure it out for a while. Or was it added in for the movie only?
Hank's Back - S8-E20
Question: Yogi Victor tells Hank "Lunch is one of the worst things you can do to yourself." Does this have any real-life basis in yoga practice, or is it just a personal belief of his?
Answer: Perhaps he's one of those who believes in keeping their eating limited to stay healthy or he could be anorexic or bulimic.
I don't think he is anorexic or bulimic. He seems quite proud of himself and his opinions, and he confidently flirts with a woman in his class. If I am correct, people with eating disorders tend to have low self-esteem. They also feel disgusted with themselves and hide their unusual eating habits.
Question: Was Laufey aware it was his son who came to Jotunheim and offered to return the casket to him?
Question: When Hermione left divination why did she knock over the crystal ball?
Answer: Hermione was always a bit arrogant about being the smartest student. She thought Divination was nonsense and deliberately gave a phony reading from the crystal ball to mock Trelawney and the subject. Trelawney knew she was faking it and made a rather rude assessment of Hermione's "ability." Hermione was insulted and and knocked the ball off the table in anger and disdain.
Question: Why did the dogs in the park, the racing horses and the orcas of a water park go on a strike? Whatever outcome for the forest wouldn't affect them in any way.
Question: Why did Blackbeard's daughter kidnap Jack in the first place? How did she know she would see him in London?
Answer: As I recall, she was impersonating Jack in order to exploit his notoriety to recruit a crew for her father, Blackbeard, to find the Fountain of Youth. She was not intending to kidnap him. Jack heard about an impostor and showed up to confront her. She captured him to prevent being exposed as the fake Jack. She may or may not have known he was in London.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Answer: The Russo brothers have elaborated somewhat: "the old Cap at the end of the movie, he lived his married life in a different universe from the main one. He had to make another jump back to the main universe at the end to give the shield to Sam." They didn't explain his jump back, which leaves the door open for interdimensional travel. They certainly implied there's a bit more to the story which might get revealed in time. But thus far we know there's an alternate timeline where 2019 Cap was running around helping people (again, per Russo interviews), not interfering with "our" timeline.
Jon Sandys ★