Thread:Elledy92/@comment-26838855-20190425183005/@comment-2112031-20190724191902

Elledy92 wrote: Simply, timelines can't be erased. They are just put back on track on a similar course of the original timeline, and moves on their own from that point. Just like you can't change your own past, by the same rule it's not physically possible to cancel an entire reality simply by putting a Stone back. This is probably one of the weakest aspect of the Russo explanation and one of the thing that makes me regrets that they connected time travel rules with the Stones in the first place. To be fair, the stones are explicitly stated by the Ancient One to create the flow of time, and the removal of any of them causes that flow to split off into a branch timeline, which will then continue to exist independantly of the main timeline.

When Captain America is about to leave to return them, Bruce specifically states that the stones must be returned to the exact moment that they were taken, as it would otherwise result in Steve opening up "a bunch of nasty alternative realities".

It's not really specified whether "the exact moment" refers to the stones being physically taken from where they were before (i.e. the Ancient One giving the Time Stone to Bruce) or to the moment that the Time Heist team left.

If the latter, then Steve simply needs to arrive at the exact same time that they left and then return the stones. This, apparently, erases the timeline completely, effectively making none of it happen. It's just my interpretation though, so I could easily be wrong about all of that.

DaenerysTheMadKhal58 wrote: Oh, I thought you were saying they can revisit the timelines by jumping to the same point where they were created. So what you're saying is they can revisit the created timeline branches at any point in time? Like, they could visit the year 2014 of the 2012 timeline if they wanted to?

But even if they can access the other timelines, what would prevent Cap from simply creating another branch inside the branch instead of simply correcting it? Isn't it the rule that every time you time travel you create a branch timeline? Since the splinter timeline began to exist independantly once one of the stones was removed from it, it's hypothetically possible for Steve to arrive in 2014 of the 2012 timeline. It's the reason why Bruce instructed him to return to the exact moment that the stones left their respective timelines, as it would otherwise result in the creation of more branches.

As for how branch timelines are created, the rules in the comics are that, if the time traveler doesn't make any significant changes to the past (such as stopping oneself from traveling back in time in the first place), then it simply remains a single timeline, as nothing of note was changed.

However, if something significant IS changed, then it results in an alternate timeline, which will continue to exist independantly of the original timeline.

A time traveler showing up does not necessarily, in an of itself, change the timeline.

Elledy92 wrote: Technically, traveling in the timeline will simply alter the course of the timeline itself, preventing to fall into caos without a Stone. The problem with that interpretation is that it doesn't match up with the visual presentation given by the Ancient One.

She shows the flow of time and then removes one of the stones to create a branch timeline. Bruce then puts the stone back and erases that timeline.

The impression I got from that scene (which is kinda supported by what Markus & McFeely said on the Empire Podcast) is that the return of the stones at the exact moments that they were taken erases those timelines. Basically, I got the impression that, when Steve returned any of the stones and then left, the timeline he left ceased to exist.