This is an awesome very underrated drama, it would have been perfect if they had of paid a little more attention…
Actually, spacetime is both linear and non-linear. Just as we can not separate "space" and "time", we also can not separate "linear" and "non-linear". "Star Trek" demonstrated it, the KDrama "The King: Eternal Monarch" also demonstrated it.
In Alice, they can not change their "direct past" but they can change the past of a different world/timeline. The 2050 that Sun Young came from was a different world/timeline than the 1992 she traveled to and lived.
When Jin Gyum was accidentally traveling to 2010, he was traveling into different worlds/timelines. Even "grandpa Jin Gyum" explained it. However, Jin Gyum is special, he can travel into his "direct past", something Alice's technology can not or will not do.
Please let me know then what theories they have used here under quantum physics and how? As I know a little bit…
Sorry, this is very, very long.
------------_
Hello!
The show explained it too but there might be subtitles which mistranslated it.
But before we start, there's a need to explain what "spacetime" is. In quantum physics, what we call "space" AND "time" are actually ONE and can not be separated. Time travel and traveling between universes is actually in the realm of quantum physics. In other words, when we travel through "space", for example, when traveling by car or simply walking, we are also traveling through time--in our case, we are traveling forward in time. In the same way that when we travel through time we are also traveling through space. So, if we have a technology to travel to the far future or the past, we also need to calculate the "space"--because everything in the universe is traveling in space.
This is why it's called "spacetime" and why we can not separate it into "space" and "time". This is important in Alice and some translations might have mistranslated this when the characters talked about it.
> Please let me know then what theories they have used here under quantum physics and how? As I know a little bit about quantum physics. > How can just killing Park Jin Gyum reset everything?
> How can this show Jin Gyum mother's & professor Taeyi are Ji Gyum' mom and one person but at the same time they're not. Because in episode 15 Ji Gyum'mom said Tae yi that their mother is one and they are same person besides Taeyi has memories deja Vu of Ji Gyum’mom.
Me: In quantum physics this is called "quantum entanglement". When two "objects" are identical or nearly identical, they can send information between each other in "spacetime"--meaning, it doesn't matter if the other object is in the distant future or the ancient past and/or in the other side of the universe or in a totally different universe.
"Alice" used this in explaining why the Sun Young and Tae Yi are both different and the same. * Is Tae Yi the past of Sun Young? --No. * Is Tae Yi the same person as Sun Young? --No. Remember, Sun Young came from 2050, Tae Yi was born sometime in the late 80s. We can assume when Sun Young traveled back into 1992 she was the same age as Tae Yi when she met Jin Gyum.
Tae Yi was 28 years old in 2020, she witnessed her father killed in 1992 when she was only 8, which means she was born in 1984. If Sun Young was also 28 when she traveled back into 1992 from 2050, then that means Sun Young was born in 2014. So yes, Tae Yi and Sun Young are completely two different people.
Near the end of the show, Tae Yi and Sun Young met. It was after this meeting that Tae Yi started to get a lot of memories from Sun Young. Sun Young even warned Tae Yi about it and she understood and just accepted it because no one can escape quantum entanglement. "Alice" did not show it to us but it is safe to assume that Sun Young also acquired the memories of Tae Yi because quantum entanglement goes both ways.
In quantum physics, we already know that information can travel back to the past. This was observed in various experiments and they were able to repeat it easily. They observed that a particle in the present was receiving information from its future-self which affected the present. This is not just quantum entanglement but also sending information back to the past. The Western movie "Wolverine" where Wolverine sent his mind to his distant past self is a good example of quantum entanglement and sending of information back to the past (in the movie's version, they sent the consciousness of Wolverine).
> They said past can't be changed but at last they just showed everything get changed. > There's so many questions but I’ve watched this drama months ago so I can't ask much at once. . I just did not get the whole deal between mom and the future Jin Gyeoms. They were always talking how the MUST kill, but I felt there wasn't a real explanation as to why mom had to die.
Me: The "fiction" rule in "Alice" is that they can not change their "direct past" (their own past) but they can change the past of a different world/timeline. The "Alice" headquarters, as per the story, is in a different world/timeline. They are changing the past of a different world/timeline but not their own past. This is why changing things was possible.
This was what "grandpa Jin Gyum" did not understand even though he secretly took over Alice for years. In the last episode "grandpa Jin Gyum" even said, after Sun Young killed herself, that it was not supposed to happen that way. Something happened which did not happen before. Remember, according to grandpa Jin Gyum, they've been in this cycle for countless of times and they can not escape it.
Yet things changed. Which means something else happened before that. I'm not sure what because I wasn't paying close attention to Jin Gyum's accidental travels in the past, but one thing to note was this: every single time Jin Gyum traveled back to Sun Young's birthday, it was in a different world/timeline not his own "direct past".
However, I think that "past" wherein Tae Yi also traveled with him, was actually his "direct past", same world/timeline. I have to rewatch this episode to find clues (but too lazy to do so) but it is important because this was when Tae Yi and Sun Young met and talked. Remember, quantum entanglement?
I think them meeting made everything changed. It probably did not happen with "grandpa Jin Gyum" and all past versions of Jin Gyum. Since the exchange of information in quantum entanglement happens both ways (I mentioned earlier), when "grandpa Jin Gyum" and Jin Gyum traveled back to the past again to kill their mother, Sun Young killed herself instead. I am suspecting that this Sun Young was the exact same Sun Young that Tae Yi talked to. Sun Young have the memories of Tae Yi after they talked which gave this version of Sun Young far more knowledge--she probably figured out that she must kill herself before Jin Gyum kills "grandpa Jin Gyum".
The reason is, that was the pivotal moment for Jin Gyum. If "grandpa Jin Gyum" or "2020 Jin Gyum" kills Sun Young, it will push "2020 Jin Gyum" into the exact path of "grandpa Jin Gyum" because of extreme anger against the world and hatred of himself. However, if Sun Young kills herself first, "2020 Jin Gyum" will instead be "full of love" and when he kills "grandpa Jin Gyum" it would not be because of anger and hatred but because of sacrifice to save her mother, that maybe things will reset.
And that's exactly what happened, things reset.
> 2. If all time travelers disappeared than why is there even a Yoon Tae Yi and Jin Gyeom left in 2020? We were told her mom was a time traveler as well who met the professor in the past. Both their births are related to time travel, so even though they might still exist without time travel they could not have been born in the 90s. why is Tae Yi living with her foster family again? if time travelling didn't exist? Why police Go Hyun Seok was at the same age in 2050 when he joined Alice and travel back to 2010 where his alternate was at the same age.
Me: Time travel still exist, what changed was the organisation called "Alice". The Book of Prophecy said that "time travelers" will disappear, not time traveling. Sun Young misunderstood it when she read it so she worked in protecting her son and time travel. If she did was she did (killing herself and not her son), everything will still reset, the only difference would be their memories and she won't be able to take care of Jin Gyum (since she's dead).
After the reset, 2050 Tae Yi still traveled back into the 1992 of a different world/timeline in search of the Book of Prophecy. However, and from this point it is only guesswork, when she arrived in 1992 that was when she quantum entangled and received all the memories of the previous Sun Young. She chose not to return to 2050 because she's pregnant. She also probably knew that her son will meet the Tae Yi of this world/timeline so she must take care of him.
It would also explain why 2020 Tae Yi woke up with her memories intact. However, when we look at 2020 Tae Yi after the reset, everybody knew her and thought she was crazy for talking about some guy who doesn't exist. This was a clue, 2020-reset Tae Yi did not have the memories of the 2020-before_reset Tae Yi before that day.
What it means is that, the 2020-reset Tae Yi only quantum entangled with the 2020-before_reset Tae Yi on that day when she was sleeping, the "new day" that should not have existed.
Additional clue was given (or at least implied) in the last scene when Jin Gyum ran back to his old home and saw "the woman in his memories and drawings". At the very last scene, Jin Gyum had a recognition of the woman. It was at that point that he got a quantum entanglement with the previous Jin Gyum and remembered everything.
That is supported in quantum physics too. Quantum entanglement doesn't happen 24/7 at least as far as current experiments and knowledge is concerned. Exchange of information and quantum entanglement happens when it should happen, not before not later. Why? No one knows yet. In the experiments, they noticed how a particle receives information from its future-self only at the exact moment when it needs that information so the present-particle will end up where the future-particle ended up before.
So, is time travel possible? It is possible through quantum physics but currently it was observed only by exchanging information through quantum entanglement -- the future-self sending information to the past-self to make sure that the past-self will go down to the exact same "decisions" where the future-self is.
Can we really change the past? Well, as far as the experiments go, it is not possible to change your "direct past". Because the future-self is sending information to make sure its past-self will make the exact same "decisions" as it did. It's a cycle. But maybe we can change the past of a different world/timeline. The only problem with that is, we can not test it, not with out current technology and knowledge of quantum physics.
That's what the show "Alice" used in its story, which the movie "Wolverine" also used - quantum entanglement.
For an experienced detective, she's too dumb and easily manipulated.Making that call does not make any sense,…
Yep. She's also a new mother which made her decision to call unrealistic.
That whole scene was forced. They could just have some stranger call the police because they recognized her or something since the only purpose they wrote that scene was to get them back to the main story.
Yes, now that episode 2 is done, we can finally get on the real plot!!!
Episode 1: intro Episode 2: teaser
In ep 1, they already hinted that there is a group who is intentionally changing the past. In ep 2, they further establisihed that the Telecoms blackout is related to the time travel.
Together, ep 1 and ep 2 was a teaser "Hey we look like 'Signal' but it ends here. In episode 3, you'll see why we are different."
If you haven't watched this, a fair warning if you're checking the comments and reviews: Majority of people can not understand the concept of Quantum Physics which was the whole premise behind this series.
It is fine if you don't because Quantum Physics is indeed very confusing. However, if you are going to ask questions then those of us who understands it can help you make sense of "Alice" … because contrary to what majority are saying, the story does make sense and is in fact based on current Quantum Physics knowledge and theories.
Alice is a "hard science fiction" show. Meaning, it concerned itself to be as close as possible to current scientific knowledge and science. You will not see any "soft science" in this show, you really have to take the extra mile to appreciate this amazing series.
I'm really curious about their connection too. Not sure if she is blood related though but it is not yet completely…
I'm not sure if it was a mistranslation or it was intentional.
I am opting that it was intentional. She and her father practiced it because people are listening. It is possible that in the future the Organisation have agents embedded in the Resistance so they need to let them hear that she's going back to the past to escape their harsh reality.
In fact, it was not hinted that she's a trained agent. We only know she's a soldier because we've read the synopsis and saw the teaser for episode 2.
Basically, let them hear what they want to hear … that the police officer's daughter is simply escaping to the past because he loves her so much. She even kept repeating "go with me" as is expected of a child to say. Yet when she woke up in the past, she never acted like an ordinary citizen, she always knew what she had to do. She even escaped the Organisation in that train scene and mocked them by sitting at the top of the train.
This is a time travel story, so the photographs are likely from the future. My guess is that the woman will either…
Not exactly.
If you noticed how the ML traveled into different versions of the past, he also realised in one episode that those pasts he traveled to were from a different timeline or universe ("timeline" and "universe" are actually just the same thing according to Quantum Physics). Later, in the confrontation between the ML and his "future self", he also realised that he can actually change everything by killing his future alter-ego.
That's where the problem was, the Book made them believed that if the ML dies, time travel will stop. But what the Book actually said was the timeloop will end if the "future version" is killed by the "present version".
It was him but at the same time it wasn't him.
But why does he need to kill his future self for them to get out of the timeloop? It was because it is his future self who is corrupting him and setting him to the exact same path as his future version. Hence the timeloop.
When they first met, his future version kept saying that everything is happening exactly the same as it did before. Things started to change when their mother, their actual mother--not their mother in another timeline/universe--killed herself. The "future version" was surprised and reacted that it was not supposed to happen that way. His "young self" should've been the one to shoot their mother.
It's why "it was not him" at the same time.
The next question then, why was how their mother died very important? It's because, again, corruption. If the ML killed their mother, it will set him on a path of desperation and everything will happen all over again. He'll control Alice. He'll become old. He'll wait to meet his younger self and say the exact same things all over again. This was hinted in the ML's accidental travels back in the past where he witnessed the different ways his mother died. That no matter what, his mother always die.
How did their mother knew she must die by her own hands? I doubt she knew but she probably realised what the Book actually meant … for the first time ever.
The thing with timeloops … again in fiction since no one can actually test timeloops not even mathematically … all it takes is one small change to unravel it. Whenever timeloops are used in stories, always look for that small thing that must change.
It's him but at the same it wasn't him. If we want to get philosophical, his insane "future self" is actually his past.
This is a time travel story, so the photographs are likely from the future. My guess is that the woman will either…
If you like a mindboggling scifi, then watch Alice. Otherwise, it will probably confuse you. ;)
It's actually a very good show. I qualify it as a hard scifi, meaning, a science fiction story which strictly observed to follow the current scientific facts and theories. They even tried to explain in layman's terms some of the terminologies they used which was a brilliant move.
But if you really want an answer to your question regarding Alice, the answer is no.
The premise of Alice is that they travel back in time to help the grieving get over their loss. However, there is an internal group who's doing it beyond that, letting some clients replace their counterparts.
From the get-go, it appeared that they were traveling back in time. However, in the latter episodes, it was explained that they were not just traveling back in time but they were traveling to a different timeline.
This is based on the long established scientific fact that "space" and "time" are inseparable, it should be "spacetime". When we travel in space, we are also traveling in time. So when you walk from point A to point B, you actually also traveled in time--forward in this case.
If so, then when we travel through time, we are also traveling through space. If you want to travel to the past (or the future), you are also traveling in space. In Alice's case, they traveled back to the past of a different timeline.
Are you with me so far?
That is where the answer to your question lies.
The FL is not the mother of the ML. Yes, the FL looks exactly like the mother of the ML, however, they are two completely different people from two different timelines or universes (if you will).f
The FL is not the "past" of the ML's mother. This was proven in almost every episode. The biggest clue is actually in episodes 1 and 2, the "mother" does not remember anything at all even though she met her kid-self. This is because they are completely two different persons from two different timelines or universes.
Second clue is, the "mother" was from a far future where "spacetime" travel was pretty much a normal thing. The FL was a kid sometime in the 80s (I can't remember the exact year). Simply, the "mother" and the FL can not be the same person because the time gap is hundreds of years.
Since Alice was a Korean show, and they usually add "reincarnation", one can argue that the "mother" was the reincarnation of the FL. That's true. However, if reincarnation is part of the story, then it would throw out every effort they did to stick to current scientific facts and theories. So, personally, I strongly doubt any "reincarnation" is part of the plot.
But in the last few episodes, it was revealed that the memories of the "mother" became one with the memories of the FL. Sort of like they "merged". This was explained in the series as well and in Quantum Physics, this is called quantum entanglement. In other words, it is possible. The "mother" and the FL did not merge physically, it's just that they were able to quantum entangle themselves after they met, talked, and touched. So no, still no reincarnation involved.
I'll end it here. There are a lot of stuff in Alice. If you decide to watch it and you have questions, drop my a private message and I'll explain it. I think some of those questions I already answered in the forums, just look for my replies.
1 
In Alice, they can not change their "direct past" but they can change the past of a different world/timeline. The 2050 that Sun Young came from was a different world/timeline than the 1992 she traveled to and lived.
When Jin Gyum was accidentally traveling to 2010, he was traveling into different worlds/timelines. Even "grandpa Jin Gyum" explained it. However, Jin Gyum is special, he can travel into his "direct past", something Alice's technology can not or will not do.
------------_
Hello!
The show explained it too but there might be subtitles which mistranslated it.
But before we start, there's a need to explain what "spacetime" is. In quantum physics, what we call "space" AND "time" are actually ONE and can not be separated. Time travel and traveling between universes is actually in the realm of quantum physics. In other words, when we travel through "space", for example, when traveling by car or simply walking, we are also traveling through time--in our case, we are traveling forward in time. In the same way that when we travel through time we are also traveling through space. So, if we have a technology to travel to the far future or the past, we also need to calculate the "space"--because everything in the universe is traveling in space.
This is why it's called "spacetime" and why we can not separate it into "space" and "time". This is important in Alice and some translations might have mistranslated this when the characters talked about it.
> Please let me know then what theories they have used here under quantum physics and how? As I know a little bit about quantum physics.
> How can just killing Park Jin Gyum reset everything?
> How can this show Jin Gyum mother's & professor Taeyi are Ji Gyum' mom and one person but at the same time they're not. Because in episode 15 Ji Gyum'mom said Tae yi that their mother is one and they are same person besides Taeyi has memories deja Vu of Ji Gyum’mom.
Me: In quantum physics this is called "quantum entanglement". When two "objects" are identical or nearly identical, they can send information between each other in "spacetime"--meaning, it doesn't matter if the other object is in the distant future or the ancient past and/or in the other side of the universe or in a totally different universe.
"Alice" used this in explaining why the Sun Young and Tae Yi are both different and the same.
* Is Tae Yi the past of Sun Young? --No.
* Is Tae Yi the same person as Sun Young? --No. Remember, Sun Young came from 2050, Tae Yi was born sometime in the late 80s. We can assume when Sun Young traveled back into 1992 she was the same age as Tae Yi when she met Jin Gyum.
Tae Yi was 28 years old in 2020, she witnessed her father killed in 1992 when she was only 8, which means she was born in 1984. If Sun Young was also 28 when she traveled back into 1992 from 2050, then that means Sun Young was born in 2014. So yes, Tae Yi and Sun Young are completely two different people.
Near the end of the show, Tae Yi and Sun Young met. It was after this meeting that Tae Yi started to get a lot of memories from Sun Young. Sun Young even warned Tae Yi about it and she understood and just accepted it because no one can escape quantum entanglement. "Alice" did not show it to us but it is safe to assume that Sun Young also acquired the memories of Tae Yi because quantum entanglement goes both ways.
In quantum physics, we already know that information can travel back to the past. This was observed in various experiments and they were able to repeat it easily. They observed that a particle in the present was receiving information from its future-self which affected the present. This is not just quantum entanglement but also sending information back to the past. The Western movie "Wolverine" where Wolverine sent his mind to his distant past self is a good example of quantum entanglement and sending of information back to the past (in the movie's version, they sent the consciousness of Wolverine).
> They said past can't be changed but at last they just showed everything get changed.
> There's so many questions but I’ve watched this drama months ago so I can't ask much at once. . I just did not get the whole deal between mom and the future Jin Gyeoms. They were always talking how the MUST kill, but I felt there wasn't a real explanation as to why mom had to die.
Me: The "fiction" rule in "Alice" is that they can not change their "direct past" (their own past) but they can change the past of a different world/timeline. The "Alice" headquarters, as per the story, is in a different world/timeline. They are changing the past of a different world/timeline but not their own past. This is why changing things was possible.
This was what "grandpa Jin Gyum" did not understand even though he secretly took over Alice for years. In the last episode "grandpa Jin Gyum" even said, after Sun Young killed herself, that it was not supposed to happen that way. Something happened which did not happen before. Remember, according to grandpa Jin Gyum, they've been in this cycle for countless of times and they can not escape it.
Yet things changed. Which means something else happened before that. I'm not sure what because I wasn't paying close attention to Jin Gyum's accidental travels in the past, but one thing to note was this: every single time Jin Gyum traveled back to Sun Young's birthday, it was in a different world/timeline not his own "direct past".
However, I think that "past" wherein Tae Yi also traveled with him, was actually his "direct past", same world/timeline. I have to rewatch this episode to find clues (but too lazy to do so) but it is important because this was when Tae Yi and Sun Young met and talked. Remember, quantum entanglement?
I think them meeting made everything changed. It probably did not happen with "grandpa Jin Gyum" and all past versions of Jin Gyum. Since the exchange of information in quantum entanglement happens both ways (I mentioned earlier), when "grandpa Jin Gyum" and Jin Gyum traveled back to the past again to kill their mother, Sun Young killed herself instead. I am suspecting that this Sun Young was the exact same Sun Young that Tae Yi talked to. Sun Young have the memories of Tae Yi after they talked which gave this version of Sun Young far more knowledge--she probably figured out that she must kill herself before Jin Gyum kills "grandpa Jin Gyum".
The reason is, that was the pivotal moment for Jin Gyum. If "grandpa Jin Gyum" or "2020 Jin Gyum" kills Sun Young, it will push "2020 Jin Gyum" into the exact path of "grandpa Jin Gyum" because of extreme anger against the world and hatred of himself. However, if Sun Young kills herself first, "2020 Jin Gyum" will instead be "full of love" and when he kills "grandpa Jin Gyum" it would not be because of anger and hatred but because of sacrifice to save her mother, that maybe things will reset.
And that's exactly what happened, things reset.
> 2. If all time travelers disappeared than why is there even a Yoon Tae Yi and Jin Gyeom left in 2020? We were told her mom was a time traveler as well who met the professor in the past. Both their births are related to time travel, so even though they might still exist without time travel they could not have been born in the 90s. why is Tae Yi living with her foster family again? if time travelling didn't exist? Why police Go Hyun Seok was at the same age in 2050 when he joined Alice and travel back to 2010 where his alternate was at the same age.
Me: Time travel still exist, what changed was the organisation called "Alice". The Book of Prophecy said that "time travelers" will disappear, not time traveling. Sun Young misunderstood it when she read it so she worked in protecting her son and time travel. If she did was she did (killing herself and not her son), everything will still reset, the only difference would be their memories and she won't be able to take care of Jin Gyum (since she's dead).
After the reset, 2050 Tae Yi still traveled back into the 1992 of a different world/timeline in search of the Book of Prophecy. However, and from this point it is only guesswork, when she arrived in 1992 that was when she quantum entangled and received all the memories of the previous Sun Young. She chose not to return to 2050 because she's pregnant. She also probably knew that her son will meet the Tae Yi of this world/timeline so she must take care of him.
It would also explain why 2020 Tae Yi woke up with her memories intact. However, when we look at 2020 Tae Yi after the reset, everybody knew her and thought she was crazy for talking about some guy who doesn't exist. This was a clue, 2020-reset Tae Yi did not have the memories of the 2020-before_reset Tae Yi before that day.
What it means is that, the 2020-reset Tae Yi only quantum entangled with the 2020-before_reset Tae Yi on that day when she was sleeping, the "new day" that should not have existed.
Additional clue was given (or at least implied) in the last scene when Jin Gyum ran back to his old home and saw "the woman in his memories and drawings". At the very last scene, Jin Gyum had a recognition of the woman. It was at that point that he got a quantum entanglement with the previous Jin Gyum and remembered everything.
That is supported in quantum physics too. Quantum entanglement doesn't happen 24/7 at least as far as current experiments and knowledge is concerned. Exchange of information and quantum entanglement happens when it should happen, not before not later. Why? No one knows yet. In the experiments, they noticed how a particle receives information from its future-self only at the exact moment when it needs that information so the present-particle will end up where the future-particle ended up before.
So, is time travel possible? It is possible through quantum physics but currently it was observed only by exchanging information through quantum entanglement -- the future-self sending information to the past-self to make sure that the past-self will go down to the exact same "decisions" where the future-self is.
Can we really change the past? Well, as far as the experiments go, it is not possible to change your "direct past". Because the future-self is sending information to make sure its past-self will make the exact same "decisions" as it did. It's a cycle. But maybe we can change the past of a different world/timeline. The only problem with that is, we can not test it, not with out current technology and knowledge of quantum physics.
That's what the show "Alice" used in its story, which the movie "Wolverine" also used - quantum entanglement.
Hehe.
That whole scene was forced. They could just have some stranger call the police because they recognized her or something since the only purpose they wrote that scene was to get them back to the main story.
*sigh*
Making that call does not make any sense, she's fully aware it can be traced back to her.
There are a hundred ways to lead the bad guys to her in the hospital without making her a dumb detective.
Episode 2: teaser
In ep 1, they already hinted that there is a group who is intentionally changing the past.
In ep 2, they further establisihed that the Telecoms blackout is related to the time travel.
Together, ep 1 and ep 2 was a teaser "Hey we look like 'Signal' but it ends here. In episode 3, you'll see why we are different."
It is fine if you don't because Quantum Physics is indeed very confusing. However, if you are going to ask questions then those of us who understands it can help you make sense of "Alice" … because contrary to what majority are saying, the story does make sense and is in fact based on current Quantum Physics knowledge and theories.
Alice is a "hard science fiction" show. Meaning, it concerned itself to be as close as possible to current scientific knowledge and science. You will not see any "soft science" in this show, you really have to take the extra mile to appreciate this amazing series.
A: Yes.
A: Heck, no.
I am opting that it was intentional. She and her father practiced it because people are listening. It is possible that in the future the Organisation have agents embedded in the Resistance so they need to let them hear that she's going back to the past to escape their harsh reality.
In fact, it was not hinted that she's a trained agent. We only know she's a soldier because we've read the synopsis and saw the teaser for episode 2.
Basically, let them hear what they want to hear … that the police officer's daughter is simply escaping to the past because he loves her so much. She even kept repeating "go with me" as is expected of a child to say. Yet when she woke up in the past, she never acted like an ordinary citizen, she always knew what she had to do. She even escaped the Organisation in that train scene and mocked them by sitting at the top of the train.
If you noticed how the ML traveled into different versions of the past, he also realised in one episode that those pasts he traveled to were from a different timeline or universe ("timeline" and "universe" are actually just the same thing according to Quantum Physics). Later, in the confrontation between the ML and his "future self", he also realised that he can actually change everything by killing his future alter-ego.
That's where the problem was, the Book made them believed that if the ML dies, time travel will stop. But what the Book actually said was the timeloop will end if the "future version" is killed by the "present version".
It was him but at the same time it wasn't him.
But why does he need to kill his future self for them to get out of the timeloop? It was because it is his future self who is corrupting him and setting him to the exact same path as his future version. Hence the timeloop.
When they first met, his future version kept saying that everything is happening exactly the same as it did before. Things started to change when their mother, their actual mother--not their mother in another timeline/universe--killed herself. The "future version" was surprised and reacted that it was not supposed to happen that way. His "young self" should've been the one to shoot their mother.
It's why "it was not him" at the same time.
The next question then, why was how their mother died very important? It's because, again, corruption. If the ML killed their mother, it will set him on a path of desperation and everything will happen all over again. He'll control Alice. He'll become old. He'll wait to meet his younger self and say the exact same things all over again. This was hinted in the ML's accidental travels back in the past where he witnessed the different ways his mother died. That no matter what, his mother always die.
How did their mother knew she must die by her own hands? I doubt she knew but she probably realised what the Book actually meant … for the first time ever.
The thing with timeloops … again in fiction since no one can actually test timeloops not even mathematically … all it takes is one small change to unravel it. Whenever timeloops are used in stories, always look for that small thing that must change.
It's him but at the same it wasn't him. If we want to get philosophical, his insane "future self" is actually his past.
It's actually a very good show. I qualify it as a hard scifi, meaning, a science fiction story which strictly observed to follow the current scientific facts and theories. They even tried to explain in layman's terms some of the terminologies they used which was a brilliant move.
But if you really want an answer to your question regarding Alice, the answer is no.
The premise of Alice is that they travel back in time to help the grieving get over their loss. However, there is an internal group who's doing it beyond that, letting some clients replace their counterparts.
From the get-go, it appeared that they were traveling back in time. However, in the latter episodes, it was explained that they were not just traveling back in time but they were traveling to a different timeline.
This is based on the long established scientific fact that "space" and "time" are inseparable, it should be "spacetime". When we travel in space, we are also traveling in time. So when you walk from point A to point B, you actually also traveled in time--forward in this case.
If so, then when we travel through time, we are also traveling through space. If you want to travel to the past (or the future), you are also traveling in space. In Alice's case, they traveled back to the past of a different timeline.
Are you with me so far?
That is where the answer to your question lies.
The FL is not the mother of the ML. Yes, the FL looks exactly like the mother of the ML, however, they are two completely different people from two different timelines or universes (if you will).f
The FL is not the "past" of the ML's mother. This was proven in almost every episode. The biggest clue is actually in episodes 1 and 2, the "mother" does not remember anything at all even though she met her kid-self. This is because they are completely two different persons from two different timelines or universes.
Second clue is, the "mother" was from a far future where "spacetime" travel was pretty much a normal thing. The FL was a kid sometime in the 80s (I can't remember the exact year). Simply, the "mother" and the FL can not be the same person because the time gap is hundreds of years.
Since Alice was a Korean show, and they usually add "reincarnation", one can argue that the "mother" was the reincarnation of the FL. That's true. However, if reincarnation is part of the story, then it would throw out every effort they did to stick to current scientific facts and theories. So, personally, I strongly doubt any "reincarnation" is part of the plot.
But in the last few episodes, it was revealed that the memories of the "mother" became one with the memories of the FL. Sort of like they "merged". This was explained in the series as well and in Quantum Physics, this is called quantum entanglement. In other words, it is possible. The "mother" and the FL did not merge physically, it's just that they were able to quantum entangle themselves after they met, talked, and touched. So no, still no reincarnation involved.
I'll end it here. There are a lot of stuff in Alice. If you decide to watch it and you have questions, drop my a private message and I'll explain it. I think some of those questions I already answered in the forums, just look for my replies.
^_^