Gaaaah.... I can 't take it anymore. Episode 15 is too much!!!!
The Madrid match itself is TOO MUCH already, then they add even more after that.
- It's so hard to watch if you understand the story. - It's so hard to watch if you can relate. - It's so hard to watch if you know how to put yourself in someone else's shoes.
As Hee Do said, "only them knows how hard it was for them to meet at the finals on the opposing sides". That is BEYOND friendship. That is LOVE. That is UNDERSTANDING. That alone, that match alone, even though it was all fiction, the emotions, the hardships, it all happens in real life, all of it were REAL.
How the media and the public controlled their narrative. How they tried to break them apart, to the point that they had to keep things to themselves.
Yu Rim's decision to stop reading Hee Do's emails and to stop replying … that too was her being professional because they are unintentionally slipping things your competitor shouldn't know. She had to make a choice and she had to do it first AND she can't make herself to explain it to Hee Do because it hurts so much.
Most people wouldn't understand that, they say "she could've explained it" but it isn't easy. Sometimes not explaining something, sometimes just keeping quiet and disappearing, is the best method … believe it or not, it hurts less that way.
And it made them both stronger.
The pain, they used it as a drive, as a force, so they can meet in the finals.
It was also right for Hee Do to have refused to meet Yu Rim before the semi-finals. She was right in thinking "because I have to win". If they have met, it will definitely break their resolve and it wouldn't be fair for them as athletes (forget about the the countries they represent and the fans).
Some probably thought it was "revenge". Not at all. Yu Rim had to be the stronger person during their email-ing days. This time, it was Hee Do who had to be the stronger person.
It hurts but it must be that way. They will never resolve their rivalry, since they were kids, unless they face each other as complete rivals for one last time. Remember how they suddenly became friends? Their rivalry in fencing was never resolved. Even though they've met already once, they both represented the same flag -- and it was personal.
They need to close their professional rivalry.
After the match, that saga of their lives finally ended. So even if they once again meet representing different countries, all the tension, all the pressure, everything that they went through, it will all be gone. They'll be meeting as "friends" … finally. Two human beings who share their love and passion for the sports, and enjoying meeting each other in the finals.
--- Sorry, I need to get all the emotions out. I can't stop crying during that Madrid match … and it's freaking fiction.
Are the new preview clip misleading us or they are into something...It can be in two ways of viewing..Which one…
Episode 16 will be about how they eventually went their separate ways.
Noticed how in Episode 15 Hee Do said her support is no longer reaching him? That was the moment they started to drift apart.
Actually, it's earlier than that but I won't give clues :p watch it again haha.
Anyway, recall that in episode 14, during the San Francisco medal interview, Hee Do said, in two versions: she'll continually support Yi Jin no matter where he may be. The first version was the "interview" version wherein it's "neutral" but the two them understands. The second version was a very personal message that Hee Do only articulated in her mind.
In that interview, and in those moments, both of them were sad. Very sad. It was clear that there was something they regret, a "what if". On Yi Jin's part, it was something like "I wish I chose you before my career" and on Hee Do's part "I wish I did more to reach out to you".
They even both tried to smile. That in itself is meaningful. They were both thinking about their 25-21 moments, their happy memories. Memories that would have been but did not last because of their choices in life. If you've ever experienced something like this, you'll understand the feeling and how hard it is to smile because reality is slamming against it instantly. You want to live in that moment but reality is crashing you that that moment is gone, forever.
That interview was epic because the world no doubt thought it was just another interview of two people who've known each other for a long time BUT the whole interview was full of regrets and memories that only the two of them understands and can relate. They were sending messages, "support"/hope, to each other, while being reminded that they're over and can never go back.
Updated: corrected the year 2049 to 2091 (also corrected Section 6). I remembered incorrectly the year the Ghost…
>> Even if that was the case they would be able to fix it because they had already advanced the technology that the Ghost gave them back in 1997. Sae Ha said upon arriving the first time in 1997 and saw her typing the code in the pc that they didn't use anymore this software. And the manager in the lab ( that one that was killed ) said the same. That they had advanced the technology in between. So it wasn't like they didn't have the means to fix the Grid and at the end of the day they didn't have a reason to update that much that technology as the solar flare didn't change. The Grid was there to protect them from the same thing probably a collapse of the Earth's magnetic shield.
>> In less than a century...?
== Yes. It only took us less than half a century to advance our computer technology. Now imagine how far advance a society can became between 2021 and 2091.
== The first mobile phone was made by Motorola in 1973. In 1992, IBM released the first smartphone, that is a difference of 19 years only. 2002 Blackberry released their first smartphone. 2007, the first iPhone was released by Apple. 2008, the first commercially available Android smartphone was released by HTC.
== Yes, science & technology improves very fast. We normally do not realise it because we are taking these advancements for granted (not to mention, mass media and social media does not concentrate on the history of S&T, only the features). Between 2021 and 2091, that's 70 years worth of S&T advancement.
== Eventually, humanity will forget how old stuff works.
== For those native in 1997 and 2021, yes, "we are no longer using this". However, from someone who came from 2091, they have no idea because they no longer use and know what technology were used in 1997. They simply assumed, dug up historical records, studied it, sent the Ghost back, hoping her training of "old tech" would be enough.
>> No this can't be the case as I explained above. She was born way to late. The failure to install the Grid and her followed disappearance means that she or her parents were affected by the solar flare. She disappeared because she wasn't born because her parents were killed or became sterilized due to radiation.
== It doesn't matter when the Ghost was born. She disappeared because she failed to finish the Grid within the time window/bubble because she was distracted by SH. Because she did not finish it, then reality returned back to the 'no grid reality'. Why she did not return is also not important. For all we know, she was born but there was no time travel technology yet. She was simply erased as a time traveler because her 'grid reality' no longer exist.
>> Why? Any time prior to the collapse of the Earth's magnetic field would have been just fine. She could travel at any time she wanted with the device.
== Again, there is only a fixed time window/bubble the grid can be installed. This was proven in episode 7 when she was distracted. She was supposed to finish the code within the time window/bubble but she failed.
== For example, if the time window/bubble to install the grid code is between 13:10 and 13:20 (UTC) then, if she fails to install it by 13:20, everything will return to the 'no grid reality'. This is what happened in episode 7, this is why she disappeared.
== This is also the reason why all the time of her appearance in various labs around the world was exactly the same time in UTC. This is her only window. She can not do it before or after the window.
== "Why?" We do not know, at least not yet. But the time window/bubble is established. Otherwise, why would she bother to appear in various labs around the world at exactly the same time in UTC? Remember, in that CCTV episode, the characters realized the time stamp on the CCTV tapes are all the same when converted to UTC.
== If there is no time window/bubble, then why did she disappear? Why did she not disappear the first time, the second time, the third time, the fourth time? Why did she disappear only after she was distracted by SH? Why was it the Ghost was so focused on finishing the code?
== The answer is, there is a fixed window to do it. She needs to finish it. But when SH distracted her, she stopped typing. She turned. She listened. It was too late when she realized what she had done, she knew it herself that if the window passes without finishing the code, reality will return to the 'no grid reality'.
>> That among other things but what I'm saying is that if she doesn't exist in the " no grid " reality then she can't go back in time to give them the Grid. But she does exist in the "no grid" time line, and that is her motive to go back to give them the Grid and when she fails to do so she just disappears! This doesn't make sense because it is certain that she does exist in the "no Grid " reality.
== I honestly do not know anymore what you are getting at because you are contradicting yourself. For example, you said and I quote, "She disappeared because she wasn't born because her parents were killed or became sterilized due to radiation", then a paragraph later you said and I quote, "This doesn't make sense because it is certain that she does exist in the "no Grid " reality." Then later in another reply, you said and again I quote, "she was born in an non destroyed world. Because in the no Grid world she simply doesn't exist".
== So, what exactly are you getting at? Does she exist in the 'no grid reality' or not? It's hard to continue the discussion if you are switching back and forth.
>> I don't think that this works this way because in order for SH to get the device she should exist in the first place in the "no Grid" world. But the writer showed us in this episode that she doesn't because when she failed to install the Grid she just disappeared. If she doesn't exist in destroyed world she can't go back in the past to give him the device.
== If it doesn't work that way, then how can you explain SH time traveling with the portable time travel device?
== It does work that way. Science fiction writers have used these tropes a lot. It's not unique to the Grid. The only explanation currently, unless you can provide a better one, is that objects do not disappear even if the time traveler who brought it is erased (as a time traveler).
>> I 've mentioned that in my previous comment. The device didn't came from the non destroyed world, by the time that the Ghost lady manage to install the Grid once. From this point and on they had the technology to save the world. The Ghost lady had no reason to travel back to teach them how to operate the Grid. But on the other hand she doesn't exist in the destroyed world either in order to have the motive to use the device and go back to teach them how to make the Grid. That is the paradox no 2.
== Let's break it down.
>> 1. "The device didn't came from the non destroyed world" >> 2. After installing the Grid: "The Ghost lady had no reason to travel back to teach them how to operate the Grid" >> 3. "She doesn't exist in the destroyed world" so "in order to have the motive to use the device and go back"
There is a contradiction in what you said. == a. In #3 you said that the Ghost does not exist in the 'no grid reality'. == b. In #3 you said that 'in order to have the motive to use the device'. == c. But in #1 you said that the device did not come from the 'no grid reality'. == d. And if she does not exist in the 'no grid reality' (see #3), then who needs a "motive to use the device and go back"?
== Again, the only plausible explanation why the device still exists even after the Ghost disappeared was because: (1) time travel devices do not disappear; or (2) non-living things do not disappear; or (3) the time travel device also exist in the "new" reality; or any combination of those.
== As I've said, these are common tropes in time travel scifi. Even Star Trek itself used each of those tropes before. In the K-drama Sisyphus: The Myth, they used the (2) non-living things trope. In the Western film "The Adam Project" they used the (2) non-living things trope too.
== Until we know what will be revealed in episodes 8, 9, and 10, these are the only plausible explanations currently.
== Here's the thing. If the Ghost exists in the 'no grid reality' and the Ghost was sent to 1997 from 2091, then she wouldn't disappear in the first place because the time loop is still intact. However, the mere fact that she disappeared means that the time loop was broken. It can only be broken if the Ghost was not born in the 'no grid reality' or time travel was not yet invented during the lifetime of the Ghost in the 'no grid reality'. If it is the latter, then it means someone else will travel back to 1997 to install the first iteration of the grid.
== In episode 7, we later saw SH finishing the Grid code. If he can do that, then the 'grid reality' will return and the time loop will resume. I already saw the preview of episode 8 and well … spoiler. I also have a theory about the relationship of the Ghost and SH and what their connection is as far as time travel is concerned (one hint: episode 1), if this is correct--we'll hopefully find out in episode 8--then I'll share it.
== Anyway, we need to operate based on what we've seen from episodes 1 to 7 and then fill in the gaps based on what are the existing tropes and real-world theories. The show is not yet over so jumping to "it's a paradox" or "it is a plot hole" or "the writer made a mistake" or "it's a continuity error" is a disservice to the writer at this point. We need to approach this by trying to understand what the writer have in mind by explaining things, first and foremost "in-universe", and secondly by using existing tropes and real-world theories.
== The process is always, especially if the series is not yet over: 1. Try to explain it based on the information revealed from the entire series. This is called "in-universe explanation". 2. Try to explain it using existing tropes and real-world theories. 3. If #1 and #2 fails, then and only then can we conclude it was a paradox, a plot hole, a writer error, or a continuity error.
Yeah. I myself is having a hard time reconciling episode 7 with what were revealed from the first 6 episodes.I…
True. Once a story becomes too hard to follow, it loses its appeal too, no point continuing.
There is depth and there is no depth. They reveal something, establish it, then suddenly leaves us with contradictions. Crazy lols. You won't even see this style of storytelling in the West.
I think the last time I saw this style was from a Japanese movie or anime.
Hmm… I think it was Battle Royale?
The anime Serial Experiments Lain also fits. You won't understand it unless you finished all 13 episodes. Then if you keep on re-watching it, you will understand it more and more.
Updated: corrected the year 2049 to 2091 (also corrected Section 6). I remembered incorrectly the year the Ghost…
>> The first one is that the Ghost can't be in a hundred time lines simultaneously because she is the same person holding the same device and the same implant. Sae Ha took her time travel device and her implant and left her at 2021.
== She is not. At least as far as the show has revealed, the time travel mechanics in the show is not based on the MWI (many-worlds interpretation) theory. In the Grid, there is only one timeline. If a time traveler changes something in a time period they are not supposed to be at (relatively speaking), it changes their own reality. No branch of time/universe is created by their actions.
>> She met her again back in 1997, where she was trying to install the Grid and by preventing her from installing it, he made her disappear causing a completely different version of the word from 2005 and onward, the destroyed one that needs a time travel and a Grid in order to prevent its destruction. So her disappearance means that in the destroyed version of the world. the Ghost lady doesn't even exist, and that is the reason why she disappears in the past, though her "presence" is needed in order to travel back in time to attempt to install the Grid.
== Yes, it's what I said. ^_^
>> But even if she succeeded, she wouldn't be needed in the first place, to travel back in time to install the Grid again and again in a time loop, because the world would have been going on normally and even in the case that the Grid failed at some future point, the Ghost shouldn't go that far back in time, at 1997 to install it again, as the first time that she did so was enough to give them the information and the technology that they needed to fix the Grid even if it failed.
== Good point. However, as I explained, the possible scenario between 2021 and 2091 is that when the Grid failed it was irreparable. It is not something that they can fix even if they have an advance knowledge.
== There are two things happening in that scenario: 1. The Grid was based on technology so old (1997-2005) they can not do anything with it. This actually happens in real life, even to this very day, there simply are old technologies that we can not upgrade. 1a. They could've had replaced it. But we can suspect that a replacement was not prepared at all -- humans are like that especially when economies, politics, and the military, are concerned. We tend to think "we'll cross the bridge when we get there" but by the time we do cross the bridge, it is too late. Those people who think "prevention is better than cure" were probably blocked by those countries and financiers who only care about themselves and their money. 1b. Going back to 1997 is much better, quicker, and safer, than changing the minds of politicians and those with the money to help build a replacement. 2. They are advance in their science and technology knowledge that they can not understand how old science and technology works. This also happens in real life. Good examples are the pyramids in Egypt and Greek Fire. We still do not understand how the pyramids at Giza, and the Greek Fire were built/made. We are too advance in our S&T that we can't unlock the secrets of a "primitive" civilization.
== Combine the two and it's a recipe for a disaster, as far as the Grid is concerned.
>> So to conclude. >> There are two versions of the world.
== That is correct. The "no grid" reality and the "grid" reality.
>> 1/The normal one with the Grid that was installed by someone who came from a destroyed world, installed it and gave them this way the information to save the world. But if the world wasn't destroyed the time traveler wouldn't have a reason to go back and save the world in the first place. >> And >> 2/ The destroyed world without the Grid that needs someone from the destroyed world to go back and install it. >> But if the time traveler fails to install the Grid then she disappears so probably she doesn't exist in the destroyed world. >> In the first case scenario she has no reason to travel back in time. In the second case scenario she doesn't even exist in order to do so.
== If another time traveler was the source of the first iteration of the Grid, and then s/he fixed it, then yes, there is no reason for that time traveller--or any time traveller for that matter--to go back to 1997. If no time traveller go back to 1997, then the Grid will not be installed. This is called a grandfather paradox. To prevent a grandfather paradox, the writer needs to make a reason for time travellers to go back to 1997 and install the Grid.
== That reason is, again just a theory, the Grid failed sometime between 2021 and 2091 and it is irreparable. By 2091, they have a reason to send someone back in 1997 to install the Grid (possibly a better version). But it is always failing between 2021 and 2091, so once again, by 2091 a time traveler is sent back to 1997. A constant loop, and it is the only way to 2091 and the Ghost to exist.
== As I've explained, the Ghost did not come from the "no grid" reality. In episode 7, she disappeared when she failed to install the grid.
== The only possible explanation currently is the writer is also using the fictional "time bubble" theory. a. In episode 7, she disappeared after she was distracted. Meaning, there is only a fix time window to install the Grid. b. In the earlier episodes, she was caught in CCTVs in various laboratories around the world, installing the Grid. They figured out that all her appearances in the CCTV were on the exact same time. This supports the possibility that there is only a fix window to install the Grid.
== So, when she got distracted by the emotional outburst of SH, she failed to install the grid in that "time bubble" (the fix time window). By failing, her "grid" reality" disappeared because she doesn't exist in the "no grid" reality.
I think what you are asking is: if she does not exist in the "no grid" reality, then how come SH still have a time travel device?
I did not explain that in detail in my original post. Here are the possible reasons why: 1. In fiction, it is a common trope that a time travel device (a portable one usually), once invented will always exist no matter if the cause of its creation was stopped. 2. Another common trope is, when non-living things are carried through time, even if the person who brought it was erased from reality, since it is a non-living thing, it will stay where it is. Only the living things (the time traveler in this case) will disappear.
If you combine #1 and #2, then it's a very solid reason why SH still have the portable time travel device even after the Ghost disappeared.
3. Another trope, though not popular, the time travel device still exist because in the "no grid" reality, the device also exist. It was probably invented and created in 2090s. It is even possible it was created in 2424 (it does not matter when it was invented). As long as time travel is possible, the portable device will exist. It does not matter how SH acquired it as long as the device was still invented. This prevents a time paradox.
Someone will probably wonder: "why is it the exact same model"? Good question. In the real-world, it was observed that humans generally create and design things exactly the same way as their ancient ancestors. There is a proper term about this but I can not recall it, I only encountered the term in passing. Anyway, this would explain why the portable time travel device is of the same design. No matter which reality is the "current reality" in the show, the portable time travel device is invented and the design always end up the same. Is the model the same? Probably not but having a different model wouldn't create a grandfather paradox. Paradoxes are created because of time travelers, not the object itself.
That last sentence also explains why objects doesn't disappear when the time traveler is erased: Paradoxes are created because of time travelers and not the because of the objects they brought with them.
4. This is an extreme trope: time heals inconsistencies.
There is a real world theory about that but there are few supporters of it. I mean, if "time heals inconsistencies" then is time sentient? Forget about the scientists, even in philosophical circles that is a thought avoided. But, as the proponents of this theory claims, we do see nature healing itself when it encounters inconsistencies. By the word itself "heal". It is not sentient per se, it just is the natural process.
If this is the case in the Grid, then, the time travel device did not disappear because it still is being used by a time traveler. Since SH was in 1997 when he is not supposed to be there, then the device will not disappear. He is an anomaly. Or a non-dangerous bacteria or deactivated virus, if you will. Like how it is in our bodies, our anti-bodies are not activated when it can not detect something that is not supposed to happen.
For example, when you get Hepatitis A, the virus stays in your body inactive for a few more years. It's just there, ignored. In some people, it gets re-activated, unfortunately, in some people, it eventually dies and disappear. Think of SH and the device as that virus. He's not doing anything so nature is not triggered to "heal" or "fix". But once he started doing things again, the safety protocols of nature/time is triggered -- for example, his father getting killed … again. (Which we still don't know why.) Maybe nature/time intend to remove the time traveler (the virus) but ended up killing a friendly (the father) -- which also happens in our bodies … anti-bodies attacking friendlies.
Corrected the year the Ghost came from, I incorrectly recalled it as 2049 instead of 2091. Section 6 was also updated to reflect the corrected information.
Updated: corrected the year 2049 to 2091 (also corrected Section 6). I remembered incorrectly the year the Ghost came from. Thank you @Mariam for the heads-up!
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Episode 7: analyses
1. The Ghost: a. The captured Ghost said Sae Ha's mother was already dead. This means the captured Ghost is the "latest" (or most recent) version. She also said there is only one way to save her -- to time travel. b. The Ghost seen in episode 6, who injected something to Sae Ha's mother, appears to be one of her previous travels. Not necessarily the "past" since "time does not flow".
2. Su Keun (Sae Ha's father) always dying when creating the Grid. a. This seems to be trade-off. If they want to create the Grid, Su Keun will die no matter what. If Su Keun is saved, the Grid won't exist. b. There is something about Su Keun why this point in time is an important moment. c. The 1997 Ghost said that "your father …" but Sae ha cut her off with his emotional crying. The Ghost knew about Su Keun, just that, it was only at that moment when she made the connection who Sae Ha is and _when_ he came from. c1: The Ghost knows something. d. This is my guess: since Su Keun was the one who created the radiation antidote, it is possible that in the original time period of the Ghost, Su Keun's antidote was well known. This is probably what she was about to say when Sae Ha cut her off. e. Sae Ha did realise that the Ghost was not killing anyone, and whenever someone dies, it was unintentional. e1. This makes sense if she knew who Su Keun is. Why would she kill him? e2. The Ghost probably does not have full control of the device when she arrived in 1997 to install the Grid. As Sae Ha said, unintentional. e3. The Ghost probably have no idea either that Su Keun will always die whenever the Grid is setup.
3. The Original reality a. When the Grid failed, we saw what the original reality was. b. This is the reality of the Ghost's 2091 -- without the Grid.
4. The Ghost disappeared when she failed to create the Grid. a. As far as time-travel rules in the show is concerned--at least up to episode 7--the Ghost should not disappear at all. If her 2091 was a reality where the Grid did not exist, then it is guaranteed she will always travel back to 1997 -- cause-and-effect.
But she disappeared. This means that:
b. The 2091 of the Ghost was not a reality where the Grid did not exist. b1. My guess here is, the 2091 of the Ghost is a reality where the Grid existed (past tense). Sometime from 2021 and 2091, the Grid failed and they never fixed it. So they invented time travel, sent the Ghost back in 1997 to create a better version of the Grid. c. However, the question is, she should still disappear if the new Grid is better. My guess here is that, no matter what Grid is created, it fails sometime between 2021 and 2091. This is why the Ghost from 2091 always travel back in 1997 to install the Grid. d. This explains why she disappeared when she failed to install the Grid, because her reality was erased.
5. Time travel rules a. Changing something, like installing the Grid, is very time sensitive. When the Ghost was distracted by Sae Ha in 1997, the slight delay in finishing her code resulted in her disappearing. a1. This tells us that there is some sort of "time bubble". As long as the Grid is installed within that time bubble, it will work. a2. This explains why the Ghost installed the code at the exact same time in different locations (I think this was episode 5?) She practically appeared in multiple places at exactly the same time to install the Grid. It is the only window in time she can install the Grid, otherwise, her reality will disappear. -- Which was what happened in episode 7. b. If the same time traveler appears at the same location (using the device), the events at that location is reset. However, if the same time traveler appears at the exact same period in time but different locations, things stay intact (like when the Ghost was caught in CCTVs installing the Grid). b1. This is why Sae Ha can not stop the moment when he distracted the Ghost. The Ghost is gone, and the only way to bring her back is to recreate the condition which led to 2091 sending a time traveler back in 1997.
6. Who is the murder suspect? a. One of my early guess is he is her father. If the character is 40 years old (same age as the actress), then it means she was born in 2051. The murder suspect probably got married or got someone pregnant. b. Or, the murder suspect is her grandfather, either way, it is why she is protecting him. Notice how she also prevented him stealing cash from a random guy … she even repeatedly tried various scenarios before she intervened directly (by teleporting the cash from the murder suspect's hands back to the pocket of the owner). c. In the reality without the Grid, the murder suspect is living a good life. Probably did not get married which resulted in the Ghost not being born.
7. Then how did the Grid get created in the first place? a. Sae Ha, as was shown in the ending of episode 7. b. Since he has a time travel device and he exists in any reality, there will always be someone to install the Grid. c. I am suspecting in episode 8 we will see the Ghost back after Sae Ha installs the first version of the Grid. And the cycle begins anew. d. If this turns out to be the case, then it means the reality of the Ghost was indeed a reality where the Grid existed, then failed between 2021 and 2091.
8. Then how did Sae ha come across time travel device from the original reality where time travel did not exist? a. We will never know. b. In some time travel fiction, it is explained that the original reality ceases to exist and is replaced by the loop/paradox. c. The way I explain it is: time bubble. Within a time bubble, anything and everything is happening simultaneously. All possible versions are happening at the same time in that time bubble. Depending on which actions the time travelers do, once they reach the edge of the time bubble, it will be the new reality. c1. This is explains why the Ghost disappeared. She has not finished installing the Grid by the time they reached the end of the time bubble. That inaction, that delay, became the new reality. c2. Yes, that 1997 moment is critical. It is the only time period where/when the Grid can be installed. They can not do it earlier, they can not do it later. c3. In some time travel fiction, it is called "fixed time". It should never be changed.
9. What happens to "time doesn't flow"? a. In episode 6, our guess is the story is using the original "block universe theory". But in episode 7, with the Ghost disappearing, it appears they are using something else. (The Ghost should not disappear in the block universe theory.)
a1. At this point, it is hard to tell. I am suspecting either the "growing block universe theory" (scientific) or "presentism" (philosophy). There are also other possible explanations but I'd rather avoid and just wait what the show will reveal, since these are philosophies already, no longer scientific theories -- the different philosophies of space and time are very hard to explain. So yeah, let's wait.
(You can search online for these topics, you can read the ones in Wikipedia but those aren't explained well either. Much better to go join serious circles or search sciencedirect.com for papers. TIP: do not try to understand it if you can't; come back to it after a few months or years if you are really interested; often than not, we tend to understand something much later in life.)
10. I hope they don't mess this up. - I haven't been this challenged with a time travel show. I literally can not figure this one out. The lack of clues. The lack of rules about their time travel. And then now, in episode 7, it seems to contradict the revelations in episode 6. - It makes sense but it is so hard to pinpoint. If you know that feeling that you can grasp it but something is not fitting well … yeah that. - The time travel rules are there. But it's so hard to pinpoint what those are. - The key is in "time doesn't flow" but we are not sure what exactly do they mean by that. The Ghost disappearing in episode 7 threw everything off. It created a paradox that should not exist at all. - Oh, another thing, when the Ghost was holding the murder suspect, they both disappeared. She used the same with the two men who tried to assault her on the train station scene and brought them somewhere cold. BUT when Sae Ha was holding his parents … at least based on the scene in Episode 7, he was the only one who went back to 1997. - Lastly, while some will probably say "plot hole" or "writer error" or anything similar, we should avoid it and try to see it from the writer's perspective -- especially when it comes to time travel because any writer attempting time travel do a lot research. If we are having a hard time with it, imagine what the writer had to go through to get his/her story straight and logical. - Yes, plot holes and writer error are possible, it does happen, but until they admit it, we should assume that the writer had everything laid out. We just have to unlock, or figure out, what that is.
1 
We'll probably be surprised.
But based on what we've seen in episodes 12 to 14, the the surname of Hee Do's daughter, it is pointing that way.
There is also the Prague, Czech Republic match before the 2009 San Francisco match. They will probably show that too.
The break up will probably happen after that. Then she'll get married.
- It's so hard to watch if you understand the story.
- It's so hard to watch if you can relate.
- It's so hard to watch if you know how to put yourself in someone else's shoes.
As Hee Do said, "only them knows how hard it was for them to meet at the finals on the opposing sides". That is BEYOND friendship. That is LOVE. That is UNDERSTANDING. That alone, that match alone, even though it was all fiction, the emotions, the hardships, it all happens in real life, all of it were REAL.
How the media and the public controlled their narrative. How they tried to break them apart, to the point that they had to keep things to themselves.
Yu Rim's decision to stop reading Hee Do's emails and to stop replying … that too was her being professional because they are unintentionally slipping things your competitor shouldn't know. She had to make a choice and she had to do it first AND she can't make herself to explain it to Hee Do because it hurts so much.
Most people wouldn't understand that, they say "she could've explained it" but it isn't easy. Sometimes not explaining something, sometimes just keeping quiet and disappearing, is the best method … believe it or not, it hurts less that way.
And it made them both stronger.
The pain, they used it as a drive, as a force, so they can meet in the finals.
It was also right for Hee Do to have refused to meet Yu Rim before the semi-finals. She was right in thinking "because I have to win". If they have met, it will definitely break their resolve and it wouldn't be fair for them as athletes (forget about the the countries they represent and the fans).
Some probably thought it was "revenge". Not at all. Yu Rim had to be the stronger person during their email-ing days. This time, it was Hee Do who had to be the stronger person.
It hurts but it must be that way. They will never resolve their rivalry, since they were kids, unless they face each other as complete rivals for one last time. Remember how they suddenly became friends? Their rivalry in fencing was never resolved. Even though they've met already once, they both represented the same flag -- and it was personal.
They need to close their professional rivalry.
After the match, that saga of their lives finally ended. So even if they once again meet representing different countries, all the tension, all the pressure, everything that they went through, it will all be gone. They'll be meeting as "friends" … finally. Two human beings who share their love and passion for the sports, and enjoying meeting each other in the finals.
--- Sorry, I need to get all the emotions out. I can't stop crying during that Madrid match … and it's freaking fiction.
Noticed how in Episode 15 Hee Do said her support is no longer reaching him? That was the moment they started to drift apart.
Actually, it's earlier than that but I won't give clues :p watch it again haha.
Anyway, recall that in episode 14, during the San Francisco medal interview, Hee Do said, in two versions: she'll continually support Yi Jin no matter where he may be. The first version was the "interview" version wherein it's "neutral" but the two them understands. The second version was a very personal message that Hee Do only articulated in her mind.
In that interview, and in those moments, both of them were sad. Very sad. It was clear that there was something they regret, a "what if". On Yi Jin's part, it was something like "I wish I chose you before my career" and on Hee Do's part "I wish I did more to reach out to you".
They even both tried to smile. That in itself is meaningful. They were both thinking about their 25-21 moments, their happy memories. Memories that would have been but did not last because of their choices in life. If you've ever experienced something like this, you'll understand the feeling and how hard it is to smile because reality is slamming against it instantly. You want to live in that moment but reality is crashing you that that moment is gone, forever.
That interview was epic because the world no doubt thought it was just another interview of two people who've known each other for a long time BUT the whole interview was full of regrets and memories that only the two of them understands and can relate. They were sending messages, "support"/hope, to each other, while being reminded that they're over and can never go back.
It makes it fun too in trying to unlock the mind of the writer, only to be dumbfounded in the next episode. LOLs.
Shows like this is rare these days.
>> In less than a century...?
== Yes. It only took us less than half a century to advance our computer technology. Now imagine how far advance a society can became between 2021 and 2091.
== The first mobile phone was made by Motorola in 1973. In 1992, IBM released the first smartphone, that is a difference of 19 years only. 2002 Blackberry released their first smartphone. 2007, the first iPhone was released by Apple. 2008, the first commercially available Android smartphone was released by HTC.
== Yes, science & technology improves very fast. We normally do not realise it because we are taking these advancements for granted (not to mention, mass media and social media does not concentrate on the history of S&T, only the features). Between 2021 and 2091, that's 70 years worth of S&T advancement.
== Eventually, humanity will forget how old stuff works.
== For those native in 1997 and 2021, yes, "we are no longer using this". However, from someone who came from 2091, they have no idea because they no longer use and know what technology were used in 1997. They simply assumed, dug up historical records, studied it, sent the Ghost back, hoping her training of "old tech" would be enough.
>> No this can't be the case as I explained above. She was born way to late. The failure to install the Grid and her followed disappearance means that she or her parents were affected by the solar flare. She disappeared because she wasn't born because her parents were killed or became sterilized due to radiation.
== It doesn't matter when the Ghost was born. She disappeared because she failed to finish the Grid within the time window/bubble because she was distracted by SH. Because she did not finish it, then reality returned back to the 'no grid reality'. Why she did not return is also not important. For all we know, she was born but there was no time travel technology yet. She was simply erased as a time traveler because her 'grid reality' no longer exist.
>> Why? Any time prior to the collapse of the Earth's magnetic field would have been just fine. She could travel at any time she wanted with the device.
== Again, there is only a fixed time window/bubble the grid can be installed. This was proven in episode 7 when she was distracted. She was supposed to finish the code within the time window/bubble but she failed.
== For example, if the time window/bubble to install the grid code is between 13:10 and 13:20 (UTC) then, if she fails to install it by 13:20, everything will return to the 'no grid reality'. This is what happened in episode 7, this is why she disappeared.
== This is also the reason why all the time of her appearance in various labs around the world was exactly the same time in UTC. This is her only window. She can not do it before or after the window.
== "Why?" We do not know, at least not yet. But the time window/bubble is established. Otherwise, why would she bother to appear in various labs around the world at exactly the same time in UTC? Remember, in that CCTV episode, the characters realized the time stamp on the CCTV tapes are all the same when converted to UTC.
== If there is no time window/bubble, then why did she disappear? Why did she not disappear the first time, the second time, the third time, the fourth time? Why did she disappear only after she was distracted by SH? Why was it the Ghost was so focused on finishing the code?
== The answer is, there is a fixed window to do it. She needs to finish it. But when SH distracted her, she stopped typing. She turned. She listened. It was too late when she realized what she had done, she knew it herself that if the window passes without finishing the code, reality will return to the 'no grid reality'.
>> That among other things but what I'm saying is that if she doesn't exist in the " no grid " reality then she can't go back in time to give them the Grid. But she does exist in the "no grid" time line, and that is her motive to go back to give them the Grid and when she fails to do so she just disappears! This doesn't make sense because it is certain that she does exist in the "no Grid " reality.
== I honestly do not know anymore what you are getting at because you are contradicting yourself. For example, you said and I quote, "She disappeared because she wasn't born because her parents were killed or became sterilized due to radiation", then a paragraph later you said and I quote, "This doesn't make sense because it is certain that she does exist in the "no Grid " reality." Then later in another reply, you said and again I quote, "she was born in an non destroyed world. Because in the no Grid world she simply doesn't exist".
== So, what exactly are you getting at? Does she exist in the 'no grid reality' or not? It's hard to continue the discussion if you are switching back and forth.
>> I don't think that this works this way because in order for SH to get the device she should exist in the first place in the "no Grid" world. But the writer showed us in this episode that she doesn't because when she failed to install the Grid she just disappeared. If she doesn't exist in destroyed world she can't go back in the past to give him the device.
== If it doesn't work that way, then how can you explain SH time traveling with the portable time travel device?
== It does work that way. Science fiction writers have used these tropes a lot. It's not unique to the Grid. The only explanation currently, unless you can provide a better one, is that objects do not disappear even if the time traveler who brought it is erased (as a time traveler).
>> I 've mentioned that in my previous comment. The device didn't came from the non destroyed world, by the time that the Ghost lady manage to install the Grid once. From this point and on they had the technology to save the world. The Ghost lady had no reason to travel back to teach them how to operate the Grid. But on the other hand she doesn't exist in the destroyed world either in order to have the motive to use the device and go back to teach them how to make the Grid. That is the paradox no 2.
== Let's break it down.
>> 1. "The device didn't came from the non destroyed world"
>> 2. After installing the Grid: "The Ghost lady had no reason to travel back to teach them how to operate the Grid"
>> 3. "She doesn't exist in the destroyed world" so "in order to have the motive to use the device and go back"
There is a contradiction in what you said.
== a. In #3 you said that the Ghost does not exist in the 'no grid reality'.
== b. In #3 you said that 'in order to have the motive to use the device'.
== c. But in #1 you said that the device did not come from the 'no grid reality'.
== d. And if she does not exist in the 'no grid reality' (see #3), then who needs a "motive to use the device and go back"?
== Again, the only plausible explanation why the device still exists even after the Ghost disappeared was because: (1) time travel devices do not disappear; or (2) non-living things do not disappear; or (3) the time travel device also exist in the "new" reality; or any combination of those.
== As I've said, these are common tropes in time travel scifi. Even Star Trek itself used each of those tropes before. In the K-drama Sisyphus: The Myth, they used the (2) non-living things trope. In the Western film "The Adam Project" they used the (2) non-living things trope too.
== Until we know what will be revealed in episodes 8, 9, and 10, these are the only plausible explanations currently.
== Here's the thing. If the Ghost exists in the 'no grid reality' and the Ghost was sent to 1997 from 2091, then she wouldn't disappear in the first place because the time loop is still intact. However, the mere fact that she disappeared means that the time loop was broken. It can only be broken if the Ghost was not born in the 'no grid reality' or time travel was not yet invented during the lifetime of the Ghost in the 'no grid reality'. If it is the latter, then it means someone else will travel back to 1997 to install the first iteration of the grid.
== In episode 7, we later saw SH finishing the Grid code. If he can do that, then the 'grid reality' will return and the time loop will resume. I already saw the preview of episode 8 and well … spoiler. I also have a theory about the relationship of the Ghost and SH and what their connection is as far as time travel is concerned (one hint: episode 1), if this is correct--we'll hopefully find out in episode 8--then I'll share it.
== Anyway, we need to operate based on what we've seen from episodes 1 to 7 and then fill in the gaps based on what are the existing tropes and real-world theories. The show is not yet over so jumping to "it's a paradox" or "it is a plot hole" or "the writer made a mistake" or "it's a continuity error" is a disservice to the writer at this point. We need to approach this by trying to understand what the writer have in mind by explaining things, first and foremost "in-universe", and secondly by using existing tropes and real-world theories.
== The process is always, especially if the series is not yet over:
1. Try to explain it based on the information revealed from the entire series. This is called "in-universe explanation".
2. Try to explain it using existing tropes and real-world theories.
3. If #1 and #2 fails, then and only then can we conclude it was a paradox, a plot hole, a writer error, or a continuity error.
Shalom! ^_^
There is depth and there is no depth. They reveal something, establish it, then suddenly leaves us with contradictions. Crazy lols. You won't even see this style of storytelling in the West.
I think the last time I saw this style was from a Japanese movie or anime.
Hmm… I think it was Battle Royale?
The anime Serial Experiments Lain also fits. You won't understand it unless you finished all 13 episodes. Then if you keep on re-watching it, you will understand it more and more.
Good catch, I did not notice it until you mentioned it.
I love it when a writer can challenge the audience, especially when it comes to time travel.
== She is not. At least as far as the show has revealed, the time travel mechanics in the show is not based on the MWI (many-worlds interpretation) theory. In the Grid, there is only one timeline. If a time traveler changes something in a time period they are not supposed to be at (relatively speaking), it changes their own reality. No branch of time/universe is created by their actions.
>> She met her again back in 1997, where she was trying to install the Grid and by preventing her from installing it, he made her disappear causing a completely different version of the word from 2005 and onward, the destroyed one that needs a time travel and a Grid in order to prevent its destruction.
So her disappearance means that in the destroyed version of the world. the Ghost lady doesn't even exist, and that is the reason why she disappears in the past, though her "presence" is needed in order to travel back in time to attempt to install the Grid.
== Yes, it's what I said. ^_^
>> But even if she succeeded, she wouldn't be needed in the first place, to travel back in time to install the Grid again and again in a time loop, because the world would have been going on normally and even in the case that the Grid failed at some future point, the Ghost shouldn't go that far back in time, at 1997 to install it again, as the first time that she did so was enough to give them the information and the technology that they needed to fix the Grid even if it failed.
== Good point. However, as I explained, the possible scenario between 2021 and 2091 is that when the Grid failed it was irreparable. It is not something that they can fix even if they have an advance knowledge.
== There are two things happening in that scenario:
1. The Grid was based on technology so old (1997-2005) they can not do anything with it. This actually happens in real life, even to this very day, there simply are old technologies that we can not upgrade.
1a. They could've had replaced it. But we can suspect that a replacement was not prepared at all -- humans are like that especially when economies, politics, and the military, are concerned. We tend to think "we'll cross the bridge when we get there" but by the time we do cross the bridge, it is too late. Those people who think "prevention is better than cure" were probably blocked by those countries and financiers who only care about themselves and their money.
1b. Going back to 1997 is much better, quicker, and safer, than changing the minds of politicians and those with the money to help build a replacement.
2. They are advance in their science and technology knowledge that they can not understand how old science and technology works. This also happens in real life. Good examples are the pyramids in Egypt and Greek Fire. We still do not understand how the pyramids at Giza, and the Greek Fire were built/made. We are too advance in our S&T that we can't unlock the secrets of a "primitive" civilization.
== Combine the two and it's a recipe for a disaster, as far as the Grid is concerned.
>> So to conclude.
>> There are two versions of the world.
== That is correct. The "no grid" reality and the "grid" reality.
>> 1/The normal one with the Grid that was installed by someone who came from a destroyed world, installed it and gave them this way the information to save the world. But if the world wasn't destroyed the time traveler wouldn't have a reason to go back and save the world in the first place.
>> And
>> 2/ The destroyed world without the Grid that needs someone from the destroyed world to go back and install it.
>> But if the time traveler fails to install the Grid then she disappears so probably she doesn't exist in the destroyed world.
>> In the first case scenario she has no reason to travel back in time. In the second case scenario she doesn't even exist in order to do so.
== If another time traveler was the source of the first iteration of the Grid, and then s/he fixed it, then yes, there is no reason for that time traveller--or any time traveller for that matter--to go back to 1997. If no time traveller go back to 1997, then the Grid will not be installed. This is called a grandfather paradox. To prevent a grandfather paradox, the writer needs to make a reason for time travellers to go back to 1997 and install the Grid.
== That reason is, again just a theory, the Grid failed sometime between 2021 and 2091 and it is irreparable. By 2091, they have a reason to send someone back in 1997 to install the Grid (possibly a better version). But it is always failing between 2021 and 2091, so once again, by 2091 a time traveler is sent back to 1997. A constant loop, and it is the only way to 2091 and the Ghost to exist.
== As I've explained, the Ghost did not come from the "no grid" reality. In episode 7, she disappeared when she failed to install the grid.
== The only possible explanation currently is the writer is also using the fictional "time bubble" theory.
a. In episode 7, she disappeared after she was distracted. Meaning, there is only a fix time window to install the Grid.
b. In the earlier episodes, she was caught in CCTVs in various laboratories around the world, installing the Grid. They figured out that all her appearances in the CCTV were on the exact same time. This supports the possibility that there is only a fix window to install the Grid.
== So, when she got distracted by the emotional outburst of SH, she failed to install the grid in that "time bubble" (the fix time window). By failing, her "grid" reality" disappeared because she doesn't exist in the "no grid" reality.
I think what you are asking is: if she does not exist in the "no grid" reality, then how come SH still have a time travel device?
I did not explain that in detail in my original post. Here are the possible reasons why:
1. In fiction, it is a common trope that a time travel device (a portable one usually), once invented will always exist no matter if the cause of its creation was stopped.
2. Another common trope is, when non-living things are carried through time, even if the person who brought it was erased from reality, since it is a non-living thing, it will stay where it is. Only the living things (the time traveler in this case) will disappear.
If you combine #1 and #2, then it's a very solid reason why SH still have the portable time travel device even after the Ghost disappeared.
3. Another trope, though not popular, the time travel device still exist because in the "no grid" reality, the device also exist. It was probably invented and created in 2090s. It is even possible it was created in 2424 (it does not matter when it was invented). As long as time travel is possible, the portable device will exist. It does not matter how SH acquired it as long as the device was still invented. This prevents a time paradox.
Someone will probably wonder: "why is it the exact same model"? Good question. In the real-world, it was observed that humans generally create and design things exactly the same way as their ancient ancestors. There is a proper term about this but I can not recall it, I only encountered the term in passing. Anyway, this would explain why the portable time travel device is of the same design. No matter which reality is the "current reality" in the show, the portable time travel device is invented and the design always end up the same. Is the model the same? Probably not but having a different model wouldn't create a grandfather paradox. Paradoxes are created because of time travelers, not the object itself.
That last sentence also explains why objects doesn't disappear when the time traveler is erased: Paradoxes are created because of time travelers and not the because of the objects they brought with them.
4. This is an extreme trope: time heals inconsistencies.
There is a real world theory about that but there are few supporters of it. I mean, if "time heals inconsistencies" then is time sentient? Forget about the scientists, even in philosophical circles that is a thought avoided. But, as the proponents of this theory claims, we do see nature healing itself when it encounters inconsistencies. By the word itself "heal". It is not sentient per se, it just is the natural process.
If this is the case in the Grid, then, the time travel device did not disappear because it still is being used by a time traveler. Since SH was in 1997 when he is not supposed to be there, then the device will not disappear. He is an anomaly. Or a non-dangerous bacteria or deactivated virus, if you will. Like how it is in our bodies, our anti-bodies are not activated when it can not detect something that is not supposed to happen.
For example, when you get Hepatitis A, the virus stays in your body inactive for a few more years. It's just there, ignored. In some people, it gets re-activated, unfortunately, in some people, it eventually dies and disappear. Think of SH and the device as that virus. He's not doing anything so nature is not triggered to "heal" or "fix". But once he started doing things again, the safety protocols of nature/time is triggered -- for example, his father getting killed … again. (Which we still don't know why.) Maybe nature/time intend to remove the time traveler (the virus) but ended up killing a friendly (the father) -- which also happens in our bodies … anti-bodies attacking friendlies.
I hope it helps.
Corrected the year the Ghost came from, I incorrectly recalled it as 2049 instead of 2091. Section 6 was also updated to reflect the corrected information.
Thank you @Mariam for the heads-up.
---
Episode 7: analyses
1. The Ghost:
a. The captured Ghost said Sae Ha's mother was already dead. This means the captured Ghost is the "latest" (or most recent) version. She also said there is only one way to save her -- to time travel.
b. The Ghost seen in episode 6, who injected something to Sae Ha's mother, appears to be one of her previous travels. Not necessarily the "past" since "time does not flow".
2. Su Keun (Sae Ha's father) always dying when creating the Grid.
a. This seems to be trade-off. If they want to create the Grid, Su Keun will die no matter what. If Su Keun is saved, the Grid won't exist.
b. There is something about Su Keun why this point in time is an important moment.
c. The 1997 Ghost said that "your father …" but Sae ha cut her off with his emotional crying. The Ghost knew about Su Keun, just that, it was only at that moment when she made the connection who Sae Ha is and _when_ he came from.
c1: The Ghost knows something.
d. This is my guess: since Su Keun was the one who created the radiation antidote, it is possible that in the original time period of the Ghost, Su Keun's antidote was well known. This is probably what she was about to say when Sae Ha cut her off.
e. Sae Ha did realise that the Ghost was not killing anyone, and whenever someone dies, it was unintentional.
e1. This makes sense if she knew who Su Keun is. Why would she kill him?
e2. The Ghost probably does not have full control of the device when she arrived in 1997 to install the Grid. As Sae Ha said, unintentional.
e3. The Ghost probably have no idea either that Su Keun will always die whenever the Grid is setup.
3. The Original reality
a. When the Grid failed, we saw what the original reality was.
b. This is the reality of the Ghost's 2091 -- without the Grid.
4. The Ghost disappeared when she failed to create the Grid.
a. As far as time-travel rules in the show is concerned--at least up to episode 7--the Ghost should not disappear at all. If her 2091 was a reality where the Grid did not exist, then it is guaranteed she will always travel back to 1997 -- cause-and-effect.
But she disappeared. This means that:
b. The 2091 of the Ghost was not a reality where the Grid did not exist.
b1. My guess here is, the 2091 of the Ghost is a reality where the Grid existed (past tense). Sometime from 2021 and 2091, the Grid failed and they never fixed it. So they invented time travel, sent the Ghost back in 1997 to create a better version of the Grid.
c. However, the question is, she should still disappear if the new Grid is better. My guess here is that, no matter what Grid is created, it fails sometime between 2021 and 2091. This is why the Ghost from 2091 always travel back in 1997 to install the Grid.
d. This explains why she disappeared when she failed to install the Grid, because her reality was erased.
5. Time travel rules
a. Changing something, like installing the Grid, is very time sensitive. When the Ghost was distracted by Sae Ha in 1997, the slight delay in finishing her code resulted in her disappearing.
a1. This tells us that there is some sort of "time bubble". As long as the Grid is installed within that time bubble, it will work.
a2. This explains why the Ghost installed the code at the exact same time in different locations (I think this was episode 5?) She practically appeared in multiple places at exactly the same time to install the Grid. It is the only window in time she can install the Grid, otherwise, her reality will disappear. -- Which was what happened in episode 7.
b. If the same time traveler appears at the same location (using the device), the events at that location is reset. However, if the same time traveler appears at the exact same period in time but different locations, things stay intact (like when the Ghost was caught in CCTVs installing the Grid).
b1. This is why Sae Ha can not stop the moment when he distracted the Ghost. The Ghost is gone, and the only way to bring her back is to recreate the condition which led to 2091 sending a time traveler back in 1997.
6. Who is the murder suspect?
a. One of my early guess is he is her father. If the character is 40 years old (same age as the actress), then it means she was born in 2051. The murder suspect probably got married or got someone pregnant.
b. Or, the murder suspect is her grandfather, either way, it is why she is protecting him. Notice how she also prevented him stealing cash from a random guy … she even repeatedly tried various scenarios before she intervened directly (by teleporting the cash from the murder suspect's hands back to the pocket of the owner).
c. In the reality without the Grid, the murder suspect is living a good life. Probably did not get married which resulted in the Ghost not being born.
7. Then how did the Grid get created in the first place?
a. Sae Ha, as was shown in the ending of episode 7.
b. Since he has a time travel device and he exists in any reality, there will always be someone to install the Grid.
c. I am suspecting in episode 8 we will see the Ghost back after Sae Ha installs the first version of the Grid. And the cycle begins anew.
d. If this turns out to be the case, then it means the reality of the Ghost was indeed a reality where the Grid existed, then failed between 2021 and 2091.
8. Then how did Sae ha come across time travel device from the original reality where time travel did not exist?
a. We will never know.
b. In some time travel fiction, it is explained that the original reality ceases to exist and is replaced by the loop/paradox.
c. The way I explain it is: time bubble. Within a time bubble, anything and everything is happening simultaneously. All possible versions are happening at the same time in that time bubble. Depending on which actions the time travelers do, once they reach the edge of the time bubble, it will be the new reality.
c1. This is explains why the Ghost disappeared. She has not finished installing the Grid by the time they reached the end of the time bubble. That inaction, that delay, became the new reality.
c2. Yes, that 1997 moment is critical. It is the only time period where/when the Grid can be installed. They can not do it earlier, they can not do it later.
c3. In some time travel fiction, it is called "fixed time". It should never be changed.
9. What happens to "time doesn't flow"?
a. In episode 6, our guess is the story is using the original "block universe theory". But in episode 7, with the Ghost disappearing, it appears they are using something else. (The Ghost should not disappear in the block universe theory.)
a1. At this point, it is hard to tell. I am suspecting either the "growing block universe theory" (scientific) or "presentism" (philosophy). There are also other possible explanations but I'd rather avoid and just wait what the show will reveal, since these are philosophies already, no longer scientific theories -- the different philosophies of space and time are very hard to explain. So yeah, let's wait.
(You can search online for these topics, you can read the ones in Wikipedia but those aren't explained well either. Much better to go join serious circles or search sciencedirect.com for papers. TIP: do not try to understand it if you can't; come back to it after a few months or years if you are really interested; often than not, we tend to understand something much later in life.)
10. I hope they don't mess this up.
- I haven't been this challenged with a time travel show. I literally can not figure this one out. The lack of clues. The lack of rules about their time travel. And then now, in episode 7, it seems to contradict the revelations in episode 6.
- It makes sense but it is so hard to pinpoint. If you know that feeling that you can grasp it but something is not fitting well … yeah that.
- The time travel rules are there. But it's so hard to pinpoint what those are.
- The key is in "time doesn't flow" but we are not sure what exactly do they mean by that. The Ghost disappearing in episode 7 threw everything off. It created a paradox that should not exist at all.
- Oh, another thing, when the Ghost was holding the murder suspect, they both disappeared. She used the same with the two men who tried to assault her on the train station scene and brought them somewhere cold. BUT when Sae Ha was holding his parents … at least based on the scene in Episode 7, he was the only one who went back to 1997.
- Lastly, while some will probably say "plot hole" or "writer error" or anything similar, we should avoid it and try to see it from the writer's perspective -- especially when it comes to time travel because any writer attempting time travel do a lot research. If we are having a hard time with it, imagine what the writer had to go through to get his/her story straight and logical.
- Yes, plot holes and writer error are possible, it does happen, but until they admit it, we should assume that the writer had everything laid out. We just have to unlock, or figure out, what that is.
^_^
Thank you for the suggestion!