What are the rules of time travel in Legends of Tomorrow?
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Despite being part of the arrowverse, The Legends of Tomorrow seem to operate under different rules of time travel and what can or can not be changed without massively altering the timeline. Still, they appear to operate under some sort of guidelines of when they can, or cannot travel to, or what they can or cannot alter.
The obvious assumed rule, of course, would be that they were not allowed to create paradoxes - deliberately, at least - but their entire original mission was to do exactly that. Killing Vandal Savage at any point in the past as they had intended would have created a paradox, or at the very least, greatly changed the timeline as he was intimately involved with many of the atrocities of history.
The Legends are often directed to eras because of "timequakes" emanating from changes that they must prevent. Because it's a TV show, the Legends always initially fail and have to clean up their own mess - and without fail, people of the time are exposed to unnatural things (e.g zombies, a man made of fire, etc) or things from out of their time (e.g. the ATOM suit, flamethrowers, etc), or change history themselves (e.g. killing a feudal warlord, freeing a plantation worth of slaves). The Legends never seem concerned with the possible consequences of such things, but they acknowledge that tiny things can create huge changes - such as
Professor Stein accidentally causing an altered timeline with a daughter, after he told his younger self to focus more on his family.
The Legends were very unhappy with this revelation.
In a rare explicit declaration in Fellowship of the Spear (S02E15), Rip explains that the events involving Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection are too crucial to even go near, as any alteration could have devastating effects on the timeline, but besides those three points, I know of no other stated rules of when they can or cannot travel to.
Yet, when the Legends discover that an item they seek is in the middle of an active battlefield in the era they are currently in, there is no discussion of "let's jump to a time when this isn't an active battlefield", opting to deal with the active battlefield in a different, far less effective manner. And the show is littered with similar instances where use of their time machine could let them easily fix their problem.
So - given all that...
What are the rules of time travel and what can/cannot be changed?
Has the show explained something that I missed or didn't understand, or have the producers addressed this?
dc arrowverse legends-of-tomorrow
asked Mar 28 '17 at 13:26
phantom42phantom42
112k49498735
bumped to the homepage by Community♦ 27 mins ago
This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed.
|
show 7 more comments
Despite being part of the arrowverse, The Legends of Tomorrow seem to operate under different rules of time travel and what can or can not be changed without massively altering the timeline. Still, they appear to operate under some sort of guidelines of when they can, or cannot travel to, or what they can or cannot alter.
The obvious assumed rule, of course, would be that they were not allowed to create paradoxes - deliberately, at least - but their entire original mission was to do exactly that. Killing Vandal Savage at any point in the past as they had intended would have created a paradox, or at the very least, greatly changed the timeline as he was intimately involved with many of the atrocities of history.
The Legends are often directed to eras because of "timequakes" emanating from changes that they must prevent. Because it's a TV show, the Legends always initially fail and have to clean up their own mess - and without fail, people of the time are exposed to unnatural things (e.g zombies, a man made of fire, etc) or things from out of their time (e.g. the ATOM suit, flamethrowers, etc), or change history themselves (e.g. killing a feudal warlord, freeing a plantation worth of slaves). The Legends never seem concerned with the possible consequences of such things, but they acknowledge that tiny things can create huge changes - such as
Professor Stein accidentally causing an altered timeline with a daughter, after he told his younger self to focus more on his family.
The Legends were very unhappy with this revelation.
In a rare explicit declaration in Fellowship of the Spear (S02E15), Rip explains that the events involving Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection are too crucial to even go near, as any alteration could have devastating effects on the timeline, but besides those three points, I know of no other stated rules of when they can or cannot travel to.
Yet, when the Legends discover that an item they seek is in the middle of an active battlefield in the era they are currently in, there is no discussion of "let's jump to a time when this isn't an active battlefield", opting to deal with the active battlefield in a different, far less effective manner. And the show is littered with similar instances where use of their time machine could let them easily fix their problem.
So - given all that...
What are the rules of time travel and what can/cannot be changed?
Has the show explained something that I missed or didn't understand, or have the producers addressed this?
dc arrowverse legends-of-tomorrow
asked Mar 28 '17 at 13:26
phantom42phantom42
112k49498735
bumped to the homepage by Community♦ 27 mins ago
This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed.
4
Rules? They're obviously...erm... flexible.
– Paulie_D
Mar 28 '17 at 13:35
4
"A friend of mine once told me, 'wibbly wobbly timey wimey'." -- Rip Hunter
– KutuluMike
Mar 28 '17 at 13:47
@KutuluMike Is that an actual quote?! How have I missed it??? Do you remember episode number?
– Deleteman
Mar 28 '17 at 14:07
3
It's the rule of cool. Nothing has to make any logical sense, it just has to seem cool when it happens.
– DCShannon
Mar 28 '17 at 22:40
1
From the Flash Season 3 episode 21: "Cause and effect’s a tricky thing. (...) See that’s the thing about time travel, Barry. The more you do it, the less the rules apply to you.”. So, basically, they decided they will not give a f*** about consistency.
– Taladris
May 11 '17 at 8:54
|
show 7 more comments
Despite being part of the arrowverse, The Legends of Tomorrow seem to operate under different rules of time travel and what can or can not be changed without massively altering the timeline. Still, they appear to operate under some sort of guidelines of when they can, or cannot travel to, or what they can or cannot alter.
The obvious assumed rule, of course, would be that they were not allowed to create paradoxes - deliberately, at least - but their entire original mission was to do exactly that. Killing Vandal Savage at any point in the past as they had intended would have created a paradox, or at the very least, greatly changed the timeline as he was intimately involved with many of the atrocities of history.
The Legends are often directed to eras because of "timequakes" emanating from changes that they must prevent. Because it's a TV show, the Legends always initially fail and have to clean up their own mess - and without fail, people of the time are exposed to unnatural things (e.g zombies, a man made of fire, etc) or things from out of their time (e.g. the ATOM suit, flamethrowers, etc), or change history themselves (e.g. killing a feudal warlord, freeing a plantation worth of slaves). The Legends never seem concerned with the possible consequences of such things, but they acknowledge that tiny things can create huge changes - such as
Professor Stein accidentally causing an altered timeline with a daughter, after he told his younger self to focus more on his family.
The Legends were very unhappy with this revelation.
In a rare explicit declaration in Fellowship of the Spear (S02E15), Rip explains that the events involving Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection are too crucial to even go near, as any alteration could have devastating effects on the timeline, but besides those three points, I know of no other stated rules of when they can or cannot travel to.
Yet, when the Legends discover that an item they seek is in the middle of an active battlefield in the era they are currently in, there is no discussion of "let's jump to a time when this isn't an active battlefield", opting to deal with the active battlefield in a different, far less effective manner. And the show is littered with similar instances where use of their time machine could let them easily fix their problem.
So - given all that...
What are the rules of time travel and what can/cannot be changed?
Has the show explained something that I missed or didn't understand, or have the producers addressed this?
dc arrowverse legends-of-tomorrow
asked Mar 28 '17 at 13:26
phantom42phantom42
112k49498735
Despite being part of the arrowverse, The Legends of Tomorrow seem to operate under different rules of time travel and what can or can not be changed without massively altering the timeline. Still, they appear to operate under some sort of guidelines of when they can, or cannot travel to, or what they can or cannot alter.
The obvious assumed rule, of course, would be that they were not allowed to create paradoxes - deliberately, at least - but their entire original mission was to do exactly that. Killing Vandal Savage at any point in the past as they had intended would have created a paradox, or at the very least, greatly changed the timeline as he was intimately involved with many of the atrocities of history.
The Legends are often directed to eras because of "timequakes" emanating from changes that they must prevent. Because it's a TV show, the Legends always initially fail and have to clean up their own mess - and without fail, people of the time are exposed to unnatural things (e.g zombies, a man made of fire, etc) or things from out of their time (e.g. the ATOM suit, flamethrowers, etc), or change history themselves (e.g. killing a feudal warlord, freeing a plantation worth of slaves). The Legends never seem concerned with the possible consequences of such things, but they acknowledge that tiny things can create huge changes - such as
Professor Stein accidentally causing an altered timeline with a daughter, after he told his younger self to focus more on his family.
The Legends were very unhappy with this revelation.
In a rare explicit declaration in Fellowship of the Spear (S02E15), Rip explains that the events involving Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection are too crucial to even go near, as any alteration could have devastating effects on the timeline, but besides those three points, I know of no other stated rules of when they can or cannot travel to.
Yet, when the Legends discover that an item they seek is in the middle of an active battlefield in the era they are currently in, there is no discussion of "let's jump to a time when this isn't an active battlefield", opting to deal with the active battlefield in a different, far less effective manner. And the show is littered with similar instances where use of their time machine could let them easily fix their problem.
So - given all that...
What are the rules of time travel and what can/cannot be changed?
Has the show explained something that I missed or didn't understand, or have the producers addressed this?
dc arrowverse legends-of-tomorrow
dc arrowverse legends-of-tomorrow
asked Mar 28 '17 at 13:26
phantom42phantom42
112k49498735
asked Mar 28 '17 at 13:26
phantom42phantom42
112k49498735
asked Mar 28 '17 at 13:26
phantom42phantom42
112k49498735
asked Mar 28 '17 at 13:26
phantom42phantom42
112k49498735
asked Mar 28 '17 at 13:26
phantom42phantom42
112k49498735
112k49498735
bumped to the homepage by Community♦ 27 mins ago
This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed.
bumped to the homepage by Community♦ 27 mins ago
This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed.
4
Rules? They're obviously...erm... flexible.
– Paulie_D
Mar 28 '17 at 13:35
4
"A friend of mine once told me, 'wibbly wobbly timey wimey'." -- Rip Hunter
– KutuluMike
Mar 28 '17 at 13:47
@KutuluMike Is that an actual quote?! How have I missed it??? Do you remember episode number?
– Deleteman
Mar 28 '17 at 14:07
3
It's the rule of cool. Nothing has to make any logical sense, it just has to seem cool when it happens.
– DCShannon
Mar 28 '17 at 22:40
1
From the Flash Season 3 episode 21: "Cause and effect’s a tricky thing. (...) See that’s the thing about time travel, Barry. The more you do it, the less the rules apply to you.”. So, basically, they decided they will not give a f*** about consistency.
– Taladris
May 11 '17 at 8:54
|
show 7 more comments
4
Rules? They're obviously...erm... flexible.
– Paulie_D
Mar 28 '17 at 13:35
4
"A friend of mine once told me, 'wibbly wobbly timey wimey'." -- Rip Hunter
– KutuluMike
Mar 28 '17 at 13:47
@KutuluMike Is that an actual quote?! How have I missed it??? Do you remember episode number?
– Deleteman
Mar 28 '17 at 14:07
3
It's the rule of cool. Nothing has to make any logical sense, it just has to seem cool when it happens.
– DCShannon
Mar 28 '17 at 22:40
1
From the Flash Season 3 episode 21: "Cause and effect’s a tricky thing. (...) See that’s the thing about time travel, Barry. The more you do it, the less the rules apply to you.”. So, basically, they decided they will not give a f*** about consistency.
– Taladris
May 11 '17 at 8:54
4
4
Rules? They're obviously...erm... flexible.
– Paulie_D
Mar 28 '17 at 13:35
Rules? They're obviously...erm... flexible.
– Paulie_D
Mar 28 '17 at 13:35
4
4
"A friend of mine once told me, 'wibbly wobbly timey wimey'." -- Rip Hunter
– KutuluMike
Mar 28 '17 at 13:47
"A friend of mine once told me, 'wibbly wobbly timey wimey'." -- Rip Hunter
– KutuluMike
Mar 28 '17 at 13:47
@KutuluMike Is that an actual quote?! How have I missed it??? Do you remember episode number?
– Deleteman
Mar 28 '17 at 14:07
@KutuluMike Is that an actual quote?! How have I missed it??? Do you remember episode number?
– Deleteman
Mar 28 '17 at 14:07
3
3
It's the rule of cool. Nothing has to make any logical sense, it just has to seem cool when it happens.
– DCShannon
Mar 28 '17 at 22:40
It's the rule of cool. Nothing has to make any logical sense, it just has to seem cool when it happens.
– DCShannon
Mar 28 '17 at 22:40
1
1
From the Flash Season 3 episode 21: "Cause and effect’s a tricky thing. (...) See that’s the thing about time travel, Barry. The more you do it, the less the rules apply to you.”. So, basically, they decided they will not give a f*** about consistency.
– Taladris
May 11 '17 at 8:54
From the Flash Season 3 episode 21: "Cause and effect’s a tricky thing. (...) See that’s the thing about time travel, Barry. The more you do it, the less the rules apply to you.”. So, basically, they decided they will not give a f*** about consistency.
– Taladris
May 11 '17 at 8:54
|
show 7 more comments
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
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I think the first thing you shouldn't do is compare the Legend's adventures during season 1 and 2. During season 1 they were, like you stated, going against rules and working against the Time Masters.
With the end of the Time Masters, on season 2 they've become the sole protectors of the timeline, but I guess they're just not as strict as the Time Masters were... Probably because they're realising the some changes affect the timeline in an acceptable manner (like using their powers in the middle of a battlefield) while others are more critical, like affect Jesus Christ's crucifixion.
As for a list of pre-defined rules for time travelers, no the show hasn't stated that and I don't think they'll be interested in following them if there was one.
edited Oct 24 '17 at 20:24
Brythan
3,42921128
answered Mar 28 '17 at 14:27
DeletemanDeleteman
3,26122441
add a comment |
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I think the first thing you shouldn't do is compare the Legend's adventures during season 1 and 2. During season 1 they were, like you stated, going against rules and working against the Time Masters.
With the end of the Time Masters, on season 2 they've become the sole protectors of the timeline, but I guess they're just not as strict as the Time Masters were... Probably because they're realising the some changes affect the timeline in an acceptable manner (like using their powers in the middle of a battlefield) while others are more critical, like affect Jesus Christ's crucifixion.
As for a list of pre-defined rules for time travelers, no the show hasn't stated that and I don't think they'll be interested in following them if there was one.
edited Oct 24 '17 at 20:24
Brythan
3,42921128
answered Mar 28 '17 at 14:27
DeletemanDeleteman
3,26122441
add a comment |
I think the first thing you shouldn't do is compare the Legend's adventures during season 1 and 2. During season 1 they were, like you stated, going against rules and working against the Time Masters.
With the end of the Time Masters, on season 2 they've become the sole protectors of the timeline, but I guess they're just not as strict as the Time Masters were... Probably because they're realising the some changes affect the timeline in an acceptable manner (like using their powers in the middle of a battlefield) while others are more critical, like affect Jesus Christ's crucifixion.
As for a list of pre-defined rules for time travelers, no the show hasn't stated that and I don't think they'll be interested in following them if there was one.
edited Oct 24 '17 at 20:24
Brythan
3,42921128
answered Mar 28 '17 at 14:27
DeletemanDeleteman
3,26122441
add a comment |
I think the first thing you shouldn't do is compare the Legend's adventures during season 1 and 2. During season 1 they were, like you stated, going against rules and working against the Time Masters.
With the end of the Time Masters, on season 2 they've become the sole protectors of the timeline, but I guess they're just not as strict as the Time Masters were... Probably because they're realising the some changes affect the timeline in an acceptable manner (like using their powers in the middle of a battlefield) while others are more critical, like affect Jesus Christ's crucifixion.
As for a list of pre-defined rules for time travelers, no the show hasn't stated that and I don't think they'll be interested in following them if there was one.
edited Oct 24 '17 at 20:24
Brythan
3,42921128
answered Mar 28 '17 at 14:27
DeletemanDeleteman
3,26122441
I think the first thing you shouldn't do is compare the Legend's adventures during season 1 and 2. During season 1 they were, like you stated, going against rules and working against the Time Masters.
With the end of the Time Masters, on season 2 they've become the sole protectors of the timeline, but I guess they're just not as strict as the Time Masters were... Probably because they're realising the some changes affect the timeline in an acceptable manner (like using their powers in the middle of a battlefield) while others are more critical, like affect Jesus Christ's crucifixion.
As for a list of pre-defined rules for time travelers, no the show hasn't stated that and I don't think they'll be interested in following them if there was one.
edited Oct 24 '17 at 20:24
Brythan
3,42921128
answered Mar 28 '17 at 14:27
DeletemanDeleteman
3,26122441
edited Oct 24 '17 at 20:24
Brythan
3,42921128
edited Oct 24 '17 at 20:24
Brythan
3,42921128
edited Oct 24 '17 at 20:24
Brythan
3,42921128
3,42921128
answered Mar 28 '17 at 14:27
DeletemanDeleteman
3,26122441
answered Mar 28 '17 at 14:27
DeletemanDeleteman
3,26122441
answered Mar 28 '17 at 14:27
DeletemanDeleteman
3,26122441
3,26122441
add a comment |
add a comment |
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4
Rules? They're obviously...erm... flexible.
– Paulie_D
Mar 28 '17 at 13:35
4
"A friend of mine once told me, 'wibbly wobbly timey wimey'." -- Rip Hunter
– KutuluMike
Mar 28 '17 at 13:47
@KutuluMike Is that an actual quote?! How have I missed it??? Do you remember episode number?
– Deleteman
Mar 28 '17 at 14:07
3
It's the rule of cool. Nothing has to make any logical sense, it just has to seem cool when it happens.
– DCShannon
Mar 28 '17 at 22:40
1
From the Flash Season 3 episode 21: "Cause and effect’s a tricky thing. (...) See that’s the thing about time travel, Barry. The more you do it, the less the rules apply to you.”. So, basically, they decided they will not give a f*** about consistency.
– Taladris
May 11 '17 at 8:54