Why The Sports Almanac Is Always Right In Back To The Future 2 (When The Timeline Keeps Being Changed)

Marty’s almanac changing for Biff in Back To The Future Part 2 might seem like a plot hole, but it secretly makes sense thanks to the trilogy’s time travel mechanics. Every time travel movie has its own approach to the tricky topic. Some, like director Shane Carruth’s infamously dense Primer, treat the science of time travel completely seriously. Others, like 2010’s iconic H๏τ Tub Time Machine, don’t even try to explain how their version of time travel works beyond a few MacGuffins.

The Back to the Future trilogy does offer a few explanations for the time-traveling DeLorean that Doc and Marty use, but the movies are mostly content to leave the scientific specifics in the background. Occasionally, Doc will need to work out how to find gasoline in the Wild West to power the car, or the pair will use lightning to charge the battery back in 1955. However, most of the time, the Back To The Future movies only mention how their time travel works to avoid obvious plot holes.

The Ripple Effect Of Time Travel Keeps Changing The Sports Almanac In Back To The Future 2

Back to the Future Part 2’s Almanac Keeps Up With Changing Realities

For example, Back To The Future’s “Ripple effect” explains why the names on tombstones disappear and the people in pH๏τographs fade away depending on how Doc and Marty’s alterations to the timeline play out. This explains why the sports almanac that Biff stole from the future to get rich changes to reflect alterations in his timeline. An elderly Biff brings the almanac back from 2015 and gives it to his younger self, allowing him to become exorbitantly wealthy thanks to his foreknowledge of sporting events.

Like Back to the Future’s depiction of lightning powering the time machine, this seemingly silly detail is actually entirely internally consistent.

Inevitably, Biff’s first wins and every change that they cause in his timeline will alter the outcome of future sports events at some point. As such, it might seem like the almanac would become unreliable. However, the ripple effect (which happens in all directions) would change the almanac, so it would still work. Like Back to the Future’s depiction of lightning powering the time machine, this seemingly silly detail is actually entirely internally consistent. That said, this doesn’t mean that the almanac subplot is necessarily waterтιԍнт.

Back To The Future 2’s Ripple Effect Doesn’t Solve All The Problems With The Sports Almanac

The Almanac’s Existence Still Presents A Sequel Plot Hole

With history changing (particularly regarding sports), there is no way to guarantee that the publishing company that produced this specific almanac would make the same book available with the same cover. As such, there was no way to be certain it would be available when Marty went to buy it in 2015. Judging by how disastrously bad Back To The Future Part 2 made Marty’s brother Dave McFly’s life in the sequel’s deleted scenes, Biff’s time as one of the world’s most powerful men had pretty awful repercussions.

As such, it seems unlikely that the almanac could continue to exist in Biff’s version of the timeline despite his own changes to reality, especially after many years. That said, as Biff’s fortune grew, he would be able to rely less and less on the almanac to keep himself rich and powerful. Thus, this Back To The Future Part 2 plot hole is not necessarily as big an issue as it seems.

Related Posts

The Accountant 2 Trailer: Ben Affleck & John Bernthal Reunite For Action Sequel 9 Years After Their 5M Original

The Accountant 2 Trailer: Ben Affleck & John Bernthal Reunite For Action Sequel 9 Years After Their $155M Original

The latest trailer for The Accountant 2 has been revealed. The original 2016 film featured Ben Affleck as a CPA who has turned to an action-packed and…

I’ll Forever Be Glad That Steven Spielberg Refused To Make A Sequel To His Classic 7M Sci-Fi Movie

I’ll Forever Be Glad That Steven Spielberg Refused To Make A Sequel To His Classic $797M Sci-Fi Movie

Steven Spielberg is best known for transforming the landscape of cinema through groundbreaking blockbuster movies such as Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Jurᴀssic Park. He’s…

Why Arwen Couldn’t Go To The Undying Lands In Lord Of The Rings When All The Other Elves Did

Why Arwen Couldn’t Go To The Undying Lands In Lord Of The Rings When All The Other Elves Did

The Lord of the Rings is full of fantasy creatures, but its Elves all went west or faced fading in Middle-earth, with Arwen being a notable dweller…

G20 Official Trailer

G20 Official Trailer

The official trailer for G20 released by Prime Video.

After The Buffy Reboot, Sarah Michelle Gellar Needs To Bring Back This Other Iconic Character Too

After The Buffy Reboot, Sarah Michelle Gellar Needs To Bring Back This Other Iconic Character Too

Sarah Michelle Gellar will return as Buffy Summers in a sequel series to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and there’s another iconic character that she needs to bring…

Every Captain America Movie, Ranked

Every Captain America Movie, Ranked

Captain America is the beating heart of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Iron Man may have kickstarted the shared universe, and other Marvel heavyweights like Thor and Black…