History Fridge / BackToTheFuturePartII

* As [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3eLlWQPJgs Minty Comedic Acts]] points out, it's fitting that the second movie is about [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructing]] building a [[EarnYourHappyEnding happy ending]] around material happiness, which is something that some audiences criticized the first movie for implying. For one, we have future Marty. He lives in a (relatively) decent home, surrounded by the amazing wonders of the future, to which present Marty is awed. But it doesn't mean anything to future Marty, given he's miserable from having lost his rock star future, thanks to the worst mistake of his life.

* As [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3eLlWQPJgs Minty Comedic Acts]] points out, it's fitting that the second movie is about [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructing]] building a [[EarnYourHappyEnding happy ending]] around material happiness. For one, we have future Marty. He lives in a (relatively) decent home, surrounded by the amazing wonders of the future, to which present Marty is awed. But it doesn't mean anything to future Marty, given he's miserable from having lost his rock star future, thanks to the worst mistake of his life.

* Based on what Needles says to Marty Senior about the [=McFly=] family's financial problems, did Junior get involved with Griff's robbery scheme because he wanted to help his family out financially? It's not implausible given how Junior tells Griff that he wants to talk it over with his father first.
* In an episode of the cartoon, Verne interferes with Benjamin Franklin's experiment, creating a timeline with no electricity where his family burns objects to fuel steam-powered devices. When the timeline is fixed, it doesn't undo the burning. It suggests that, had someone in 1985-A killed Jennifer before Doc and Marty erased that timeline, she'd stay dead.

* 2015 has ''no'' lawyers. Yes, it's [[EvilLawyerJoke a funny joke about the legal system]], but think about it. Marty's son got fifteen years for being caught ''breaking and entering''. Suddenly 2015 looks a lot less fantastic when you realize you can get arrested for practically ''anything'' and worst of all, even if you are ''innocent'', you apparently have NO chance of being either defended or acquitted or even having your sentence reduced.
** It gets a bit worse than that: the 6th amendment to the Constitution states that defendants have a right to legal counsel. [[OppressiveStatesOfAmerica What kind of government exists that would torch an important civil liberty]]? And have any other civil rights been rolled back?

* The Hill Valley of 2015 is a relatively prosperous town with cool tech for even the poorest schmucks. Its only downside is the repeal of the Sixth Amendment and the revoking of Gideon V. Wainright[[note]]The Supreme Court ruling that mandated defendants receive a public defender[[/note]]. In 1985-A, that sort-of optimistic future has been ''torched'' by Biff with many horrific repercussions.

* 2015 has ''no'' lawyers. Yes, it's [[EvilLawyerJoke a funny joke about the legal system]], but think about it. Marty's son got fifteen years for being caught ''breaking and entering''. Suddenly 2015 looks a lot less fantastic when you realize you can get arrested for practically ''anything'' and worst of all, even if you are ''innocent'', you apparently have NO chance of being either defended or acquitted.

* 2015 has ''no'' lawyers. Yes, it's [[EvilLawyerJoke a funny joke about the legal system]], but think about it. Marty's son got fifteen years for being caught ''breaking and entering''. Suddenly 2015 looks a lot less fantastic when you realize you can get arrested for practically ''anything'' and worst of all, even if you are ''innocent'', you have NO chance of being either defended or acquitted.

* Given that the newspaper of the alternate Doc being committed reveals that the Vietnam War was still going on as of 1983 in that timeline, that means that with his time travel, Biff (and by extension Marty for inadvertently giving him the idea), is indirectly responsible for thousands if not millions of deaths resulting from the prolonged war.

** Now a bit of both Fridge Heartwarming and Horror: Marty told Biff he learned about the manure incident from his father to protect his mother, the only other person Marty knows that knew about it. If Marty said it was Lorraine who told him about the incident, Biff most likely would have ''[[DeadlyEuphemism reprimanded]]'' her in retalation, but since George was already dead, there's nothing he could have done about it.

* Based on what Needles says to Marty Senior about the [=McFly=] family's financial problems, did Junior get involved with Griff's robbery scheme because he wanted to help his family out financially? It's not implausible given how Junior tells Griff that he wants to talk it over with his father first.

** You have to keep in mind that Biff owns all the businesses and could probably tell the hiring managers not to give Lorraine or the adult children jobs, or even tell colleges not to accept them, so they have no career options and are stuck with him.

* Given that the newspaper of the alternate Doc being committed reveals that the Vietnam War was still going on as of 1983 in that timeline, that means that with his time travel, Biff (and by extension Marty for inadvertently giving him the idea), is indirectly responsible for thousands if not millions of deaths resulting from the prolonged war.

** What set off the domino affect of Old Biff creating the Alternate 1985? Marty buying the future almanac in pursuit of getting even ''more'' rich than he already was, inadvertently sacrificing his already wonderful life and family for simple greed. From this mistake, Marty learns it's his family he values more than being rich.

* It may seem as early installment weirdness that Buford Tannen looks different in the Biff documentary playing at the former courthouse in 1985A, but it isn't. Think about it. It's a video shot in full color. It's a re-enactment so it's an actor playing the role of Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen for that documentary. They probably didn't have much to work from and therefore didn't get the same appearance. Also, since Biff is giving his outlaw ancestor a HistoricalHeroUpgrade, he wouldn't exactly care for authenticity.

* Old Biff may not realize it but by changing his own past, he's jeopardizing the existence of his grandson Griff. Indeed, the fact that 1985-A Biff marries Lorraine and there's no mention of him having any biological children strongly suggests that Griff would not exist in a hypothetical 2015-A. Of course, Griff is physically and verbally abusive towards Biff so maybe wiping him from existence was part of the plan all along.

* It may seem as early installment weirdness that Buford Tannen looks different in the Biff documentary playing at the former courthouse in 1985A, but it isn't. Think about it. It's a video shot in full color. It's a re-enactment so it's an actor playing the role of Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen for that documentary. They probably didn't have much to work from and therefore didn't get the appearance the same.

* 2015 has ''no'' lawyers. Yes, it's [[EvilLawyerJoke a funny joke about the legal system]], but think about it. Marty's son got fifteen years for being caught ''breaking and entering''. Suddenly 2015 looks a whole lot less fantastic when you realize you can get arrested for practically ''anything'' and worst of all, even if you are ''innocent'', you have NO chance of being either defended or acquitted.
** It gets a bit worse than that: the 6th amendment to the Constitution states that defendants have a right to legal counsel. [[OppressiveStatesOfAmerica What kind of government exists that would torch important civil liberty]]? And have any other civil rights been rolled back?

** Considering how many dangerous felons run amok in 1985-A, imagine the kind of crimes they could commit with access to the technology of 2015. Griff, in 2015 was plenty dangerous with his bionic implants.

** If the government has become more oppressive with time, then it will definitely use that tech toward the policing and control of society.

* The end seems to be a bit of silly movie magic that the mailman arrives exactly on time, doesn't it? But this is a letter that they'd been holding for nearly three quarters of a century, a package that would have been increasingly the topic of conversation as the time drew nearer. They had a betting pool going as to whether or not this "Marty [=McFly=]" was even going to be there. They likely had some debate over who would actually deliver it. If you had the opportunity to confirm or debunk a nearly one-hundred year old urban legend (even if it's only an urban legend around the office), wouldn't you take an almost extreme amount of precautions to ensure that you got there when you were supposed to?

* 2015 has ''no'' lawyers. Yes, it's a funny joke about the legal system, but think about it. Marty's son got ten years for being caught ''breaking and entering''. Suddenly 2015 looks a whole lot less fantastic when you realize you can get arrested for practically ''anything'' and worst of all, even if you are ''innocent'', you have NO chance of being either defended or acquitted.

** Historically, insane asylums were often used by governments to lock up political opponents on the basis of "bringing them to care." If America has become more authoritarian, then this might be one of their tactics to clamp down on dissent, as Doc is the kind person who would protest a corrupt United States.
** Old Biff warned Young Biff about a doctor who could potentially get in his way. Young Biff figured out Doc could build something that would defeat and had him institutionalized to stop him.
** Doc didn't exactly have a good reputation and so a lot of people would readily treat him as a maniac to be imprisoned.

* In an extended scene from 2015, we see Old Biff fading out of existence for some reason. It was omited for being a little pointless in retrospect, but Word Of God states that at some point, Biff was shot by Lorraine with his own gun. Why did Old Biff still manage to travel to the past to drop off the almanac before fading away? It's possible that this was such a huge change to the timeline that it would take a long time for the ripple effect to really catch up with all the details. It's not just changing a few people's lives, like Marty did in the first film, it's changing an entire town filled with people, and possibly the face of the entire world when you consider the economic damage from Biff winning so much money, undoubtedly spending it all, and even the implied political influence he has with Richard Nixon. TL;DR, Marty and Doc were on a time-limit ever since Old Biff came back to 2015, and they didn't even know it. If they had spent any longer chasing after Biff, there may have been a major paradox simply by default. After all, we can't expect Biff to understand anything more complicated than a jigsaw, never mind the space-time continuum.

* In the Hell Valley setting, Strickland tells Marty that the high school was burned to the ground. Considering Biff in this timeline ''killed'' the guy who stood up to him in high school, it is possible Biff had the school burned down to get back at Strickland for being one of the few people who tried to discipline him. It reflects how Biff [[PsychopathicManchild remained an abusive bully]] into adulthood, with the wealth and power to step on anybody he wants to. Biff would hate anybody who could get in the way of his "fun", like the school disciplinarian. [[LackOfEmpathy And it is unlikely he would care about the kids who could've died in the fire to boot]].

** A deleted scene adds a further reason, since the mechanic Terry, when trying to get Marty to donate to the clocktower fund, mentions that the day of the lighting strike was the day that Biff tried to con him out of the $300 for repairing his car and he and Biff have a brief argument about it. Because of that, the memory of the date would have been fresh on his mind when he discovered the time machine a few minutes later.

* Based on what we know from the sequels, Doc's reassurance to Marty at the end of the first film that "you and Jennifer turn out fine" isn't quite accurate. Of course, the filmmakers have explained in interviews that they had no plans for sequels when they made the first film, and that they intended this scene merely as an amusing throwaway. So apparently they ended up developing the story of Marty and Jennifer's future a little differently than the first film suggested. But compare the way Doc delivers that line in the first film with the way he delivers it in the reenactment of that scene in the second film. The difference is subtle, but real. In the first film, he speaks the line matter-of-factly, and he has a sincere expression on his face. In the second film, after hearing Marty's query "Do we become assholes or something?", he pauses, his eyes turn to the back of his head for the briefest of moments, then he sputters, "Oh no no no no, you and Jennifer turn out fine." Unlike in the first film, it looks like he's hiding something. Considering that we later find out the pivotal accident which ruins Marty's musical aspirations is set to occur ''the very next day'', and Doc knows it, that shouldn't be surprising.

* In an extended scene from 2015, we see Old Biff fading out of existence for some reason. It was ommitted for being a little pointless in retrospect, but Word Of God states that at some point, Biff was shot by Lorraine with his own gun. Why did Old Biff still manage to travel to the past to drop off the almanac before fading away? It's possible that this was such a huge change to the timeline that it would take a long time for the ripple effect to really catch up with all the details. It's not just changing a few people's lives, like Marty did in the first film, it's changing an entire town filled with people, and possibly the face of the entire world when you consider the economic damage from Biff winning so much money, undoubtedly spending it all, and even the implied political influence he has with Richard Nixon. TL;DR, Marty and Doc were on a time-limit ever since Old Biff came back to 2015, and they didn't even know it. If they had spent any longer chasing after Biff, there may have been a major paradox simply by default. After all, we can't expect Biff to understand anything more complicated than a jigsaw, never mind the space-time continuum.

* In the Hell Valley setting, Strickland tells Marty that the high school was burned to the ground. Considering Biff in this timeline ''killed'' the guy who stood up to him in high school, it is possible Biff had the school burned to the ground to get back at Strickland for being one of the few people who tried to discipline him. It reflects how Biff [[PsychopathicManchild remained an abusive bully]] into adulthood, with the wealth and power to step on anybody he wants to. Biff would hate anybody who could get in the way of his "fun", like the school disciplinarian. [[LackOfEmpathy And it is unlikely he would care about the kids who could've died in the fire to boot]].