Please don’t read if you don’t want to deal with my crazy theories.

Thanks.

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A. Double Time, or Double Bananas

We’re ahead of the game. Other viewers haven’t seen this yet so please let them discover on their own.

I already pointed out in my “Timelines” thread that we can’t put Taesul and SeoHae’s timelines together because they don’t exactly match up. The only dates for SeoHae that can be confirmed are August 12 and August 15.

In this episode, we see all non-futuristic characters, e.g., Taesul, Seokbong, the police, were becoming confused in time. Their perception of reality and memories were getting blurred.

Mr. Park had to guide Taesul in his thought process in order for things to make sense to him.

Park: But if you think about it, even weirder things happen. Have you ever experienced anything like that? Such as seeing a photo of you that you don’t remember taking or seeing a photo of something that hasn’t happened yet, for example.
Seohae: (looked at Taesul worriedly)
Taesul: (flashback to the time when he developed hyung’s film) When was this? This is crazy. The conference is in two days.

Park: Why? You’ve experienced it? I guess you have! That’s it, Mr. Han! You’re smart, so think about it. How can something like that happen?
Taesul: (flashback to the time when the Assistant told him that “The important thing isn’t where they come from.” and Seohae told him that where isn’t important.) What matters is “when.”

I think that we should watch out for those scenes when the characters repeat the same things. My *new* theory is that when they come in contact with aliens or even when they’re exposed to their belongings (like a suitcase), their internal clocks become messed up, and their perception of reality is somehow distorted. Their brains experience a slight “glitch.”

I’ll give five examples:

1. The double bananas

I knew it was weird that Jaesun bought bananas again! In Episode 2, he bought a bunch of bananas for the SECOND time because he saw that Seohae enjoyed it the previous night. This was actually an anomaly. Jaesun was re-living his time again.

He had come in contact with an alien, Seohae, so his time was messed up.

2. “Are you dating?”

In Episode 3, Seokbong mentioned to Seojin that Taesul had asked him if they were seeing each other. It was phrased in a way that would lead the audience to believe that Taesul had spoken to him privately.

Seokbong: Seojin, Taesul asked me if we were seeing each other. I was taken aback.
Seojin: Me, too. Is he really not coming today?

But we know that it didn’t happen this way. Taesul didn’t ask HIM if he was seeing Seojin. He asked BOTH of them at the DNA lab.

Taesul: But why are you two always together? What’s going on? Are you two dating? Are you? You guys…Are you really…I was just kidding, but I guess it’s true.
Seojin: (changing topics) It says there’s a 99.9 percent chance of not being a match. Lucky you.
Taesul: (teasing them again) You two look great together. You did it! Congratulations.

But how was Seokbong exposed to an alien? I’ve two guesses:

a. Seojin is an alien. (hahaha. This would be funny after our discussion on her 1980 Parapsychology diploma.)
b. The floor-sweeper is an alien.

It’s a fact that we don’t notice people who are doing menial jobs. Thus, these jobs provide the perfect opportunities for aliens to get lost among the regular people and infiltrate their world.

3. The double magazines

@GrowingBeautifully first noticed this and commented on it.

The magazine (or the device that holds the bullets) fell to the ground. Seohae had pressed the release button on the pistol so the magazine fell and she kicked it out of the way. But the Alien was still able to fire two more shots without a magazine.

I explained it this way:

The alien is the NEWEST alien to arrive.
He’s running.
His clock is SLOWER (or delayed) than SeoHae.
SeoHae’s clock is faster (or advanced) than his time.

One pistol = one magazine (its the container or chamber that holds the cartridges)
One magazine = 10 to 15 rounds (bullets or cartridges)
You replace the magazine when you require more rounds.

In SeoHae’s faster clock (or advanced time), she removed the magazine. It dropped to the ground.
But in the Assassin’s slower clock (or the delayed time), she hadn’t YET removed the magazine. The magazine was still in his gun, and he could still shoot.

It’s similar to SeoHae’s confounding disappearance at the train depot.

4. “Who are you?”

Taesul: You almost had us killed. Who are you? What are you after? Money? A terror attack? Who put you up to this? Who sent you?
Seohae: (whacking on the head) I saved your life. I shouldn’t have come here.
Taesul: (realization sets in) You’re… You. (takes out photo) This one, right?
Seohae: (with disdain) “This one”?

Netflix subbed it as, “You’re this one, right?” But in Korean, he actually said, “Igo, majja?” which is translated as “This one, right?” That’s why Seohae was offended. It’s like he was pointing out an object, For example, “I’ll buy this one, not that one.” or “This one is cute.”

Considering that traveled back in time and faced danger for him, she was expecting him to at least identify her as THE bride in the picture.

When they woke in the Asian Mart, he repeated himself.

Taesul: Who are you? You’re in the girl in that photo, right?

He was repeating himself because he was exposed to aliens.

5. “One cream, two sugars.”

Mr. Park complained that his sidekick always got it wrong.

Park: If you get it wrong again, I’ll kill you. (telling Taesul) That idiot is so dumb. He gets it wrong every single time. Wait and see. He’ll put in two creams and one sugar.

To me, the reason the kid has short-term memory loss isn’t because he’s dumb. It’s because he’s constantly exposed to aliens. His memory is scrambled.

But the coffee is a metaphor.

When the kid came back, Mr. Park asked him nicely if he did it right this time. The kid said yes. He tasted it and smiled as if the coffee was the best-tasting coffee he had.

Park: See? He got it wrong again. Even though I know he’d get it wrong every single time, I can’t help it. You see, the future is…
Seohae: It’s a mirror of the present and can’t be changed.

And she looked sad here.

To me, Seohae is like Mr. Park. She always hopes that she’ll get a different outcome when she loops back in time, but she’s always failed.

But she’s also like the kid: dumb. She never learns.

B. Mr. Park and Mr. Sisyphus

No matter how affable Mr. Park may appear, he’s not to be trusted.

He told Taesul, “The folks from the Control Bureau tried to kill you. As you can see, I brought you here safe and sound. I even got your injury treated. If I wanted to kill you, you’d already be dead.”

We can believe the last one. The reason he hasn’t killed Taesul is the key. He wants the key first.

But now matter how wicked he’ll become in the future, Taesun should be grateful for the timely (lol) lessons Mr. Park has imparted.

Park: Let’s say there’s something you regret doing in the past, and you want to change it. How much would you be willing to pay for it?
Taesul: Everything I got.

He said this without hesitation because he was desperate to see his brother again. I said this before in my First Impressions. He reminded me of Sisyphus for his tenacity and obstinacy. Yes, he’s tenacious. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to correct mistakes. But he’s also stubborn to a fault. He doesn’t see when he’s stuck in a self-defeating cycle. He doesn’t know when to stop. He’ll end up inventing a time machine so he can be reunited with his loved ones and won’t care if his time machine will have disastrous consequences.

Park: “Everything”? (laughing. Seohae looked displeased) All of it? I see. I understand what you mean.

Later, after the coffee arrived, Mr. Park continued his bargaining. He wanted the key in exchange for Taesul’s questions about the Control Board and his brother.

Park: If I tell you, give me the key.
Taesul: Okay.
Park: Alright. Seeing is believing. So let me show you.
Seohae: (looked at him as if she wanted him to stop)

See here. Seohae always tried to hold him back from knowing. She wants to stop him from getting closer to inventing the time machine.

C. Regrets

I already talked this in my “First Impressions” but I’ll repeat myself. His long monologue to his therapist Seojin was his mission statement. His motivation in life was most evident then. He was apathetic to the situation of his company. Regret was his sole driving force. He was hell-bent on fixing what he’d broken and correcting his past.

That’s why in Seohae’s dream, she was telling him no. Taesul was giving a choice between saving Seohae or the world, and Seohae shook her head no. Meaning, she didn’t want him to choose her.

I believe he doesn’t care whether he messes up the world as long as he doesn’t commit the same mistake and lose her. As it was, in the general meeting of the “Quantum & Time,” he created a commotion when he saw his brother in the audience. He didn’t care about the reaction of his shareholders as long as he could reach out to his hyung.

He was shouting for his brother and wanted to follow him. Seokbong came up on stage to keep him back, and they struggled.

Taesul: Wait! Taesan!
Seokbong: Get a grip. Cut it out.
Taesul: I have to go. I must go now.
Seokbong: Han Taesul.
Seohae: (arriving) Han Taesul! Get down!
Seokbong: Do you want the company to go bust?
Taesul: Taesan! (shoving Seokbong aside) Let go you jerk!
Seohae: (holding up a sign) Han Taesul! Get down! Han Taesul, I said, get down!

It took Seohae screaming at him to snap out of it. But it was already too late. The sniper shot.

D. Two Clocks: Reality Time vs Alien Time

I said there are two clocks.

In the present world, time was going as its usual speed. Even the detectives on the case were getting confused. They were confused and their perception of reality and memories were getting blurred.

Seokbong: How many hours has it been since he got kidnapped?
Detective 1: About 12 hours. Right?
Detective 2: It’s been about 16 hours.
Detective 1: (telling Seokbong) It’s been 16 hours.
Seokbong: No, it’s been 17 and a half hours.

In their reality, the Chairman and the board had already convened and decided not to give in to the kidnappers’ demands.

How was that possible? lol. In Taesul’s time, it hadn’t been 24 hours since they were picked up by Mr. Park and his men.

Conveniently — or INconveniently — since they were stuck in the room without lights, they couldn’t keep track of time.

When they watched the news, the newscaster was reporting that it was 72 hours since Taesul was kidnapped.

72 hours = 3 days

lol. That would mean that Taesul only had a sip of coffee since August 15. lol.

I’m surprised that he hadn’t fainted yet due to low blood sugar.

E. The Chief’s Question

Chief: Why did he miss the target from such a close distance?

My answer: He missed because the target moved at the last second.

SeoHae had foreknowledge that Taesul was going to be shot and she ordered him to get down. If she hadn’t warned him in the nick of time, the shooter wouldn’t have missed Taesul. Taesul would have ended up with a bullet in his head instead of a grazed ear.

But the Chief hadn’t connected yet that SeoHae knew about the assassination attempt on that day. The Chief didn’t know that SeoHae’s purposely came back from the future to save Taesul and she knew that that a shooter was on site.

Note: SeoHae was about to tell Taesul that the Control Bureau wasn’t the only one out to get him.

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I’ll stop here. I think we’re ahead of the game so we can relax.