TIL Harry Potter time travel in Prisoner of Azkaban actually makes less sense the more you think about it

So I always thought the Time Turner stuff was cool, right? Harry and Hermione go back, save Sirius, all that. But my buddy pointed out something that's been bugging me for days now. If they went back in time, then the first time we see everything happening - like the stone throwing and the Patronus - that was ALREADY them from the future doing it. So there's no original timeline where they didn't go back? It's a closed loop or whatever. But then how did they know to do it the first time if they didn't already do it? It's like a chicken and egg thing that hurts my head. I can't even watch that movie now without getting annoyed. Anyone else get stuck on this or am I overthinking it?

2 comments

2 Comments

shah.ben9d agoMost Upvoted

That's the whole point though - it's a closed loop, not a paradox. They didn't need to know the first time because there never was a first time, there's only one timeline where their future selves always show up.

angelas789d ago

Man that chicken and egg thing you mentioned totally hits home. Its one of those details that once you see it you cant unsee it and it kind of ruins the magic a bit.