Marty says he’s late because of the dance and because he had to change (not saying “I’m not going back to the future in some zoot suit” like he does in the movie, a line I loved because it underlined how bad Marty was at history AND YET HERE HE IS IN HISTORY, HOW IRONIC)
In the movie, Marty explains how everything’s great now, and shows Doc the picture. Marty says “He laid out Biff in one punch. I never knew he had it in him. He never stood up to Biff in his life!” and there’s this REALLY WEIRD MOMENT where Doc looks up and says “Never?” and there’s a pause and Marty says “No, why, what’s the matter?” and Doc ignores him.
You guys, I could never figure this part out. Did Doc know of another time when George punched Biff? Well I guess I was the slow one because what Doc’s doing here is spelled out completely: he’s worried about the timeline being changed but decides not to say anything! In Booktopia, of course, the characters say everything the can, and Marty starts by saying he thinks his dad might even go to college now:
DOC: “Then that’s something else you’ll be able to worry about between now and the time you get back to 1985.”
MARTY: What?
DOC: Well, if he does go to college, thanks to you, it’ll change his life.
MARTY: For the better, I hope.
DOC: Maybe, but suppose while he’s there, he meets some coed who’s more attractive to him than your mother? That could cause you to do a quick fade out. Or suppose because of college expenses, your mom and dad decide to hold off having kids for a couple years? If that happens, you may find that you’re twelve or fourteen years old in 1985 instead of seventeen. How do you like them apples?
And hahaha, amazing, Doc ending that speech with “How do you like them apples” is AMAZING. I love it. What I DON’T love is how crazy that paragraph is!
CRAZINESS ONE: What Doc’s saying makes sense (college is a big life change, and many high school relationships don’t survive it) HOWEVER the “quick fade out” thing is weird and only fits with my variable-speed metatime theory if Doc’s wrong about how quick it would be. But on the other hand, it’s only in the book and Doc is a Crappy Doc here! Either way it’s a weird thing to introduce in the middle of a “let’s travel through time really dangerously” climax! I guess it’s there so we can think “oh no even if this works Marty might STILL be pooched” but I really feel like that robs tension rather than heightening it. Marty’s no longer driving through time to save his life as he knows it; he’s just driving through time to MAYBE do that. It seems wimpier, somehow?
CRAZINESS TWO: Oh my gosh Doc sex doesn’t work that way!! If I delay having kids by a few years, THE CHILD THAT IS BORN IS A DIFFERENT KID. Totally different egg, totally different sperm, brotimes! It’s not like every couple has a few kids waiting inside them all queued up in an orderly line ready to pop out, and if George decides to engage in just one extra OR EVEN ONE FEWER session of “Just George” Alone Time Sex Fun Times, Why Are You Knocking On The Door, Somebody’s In Here before he and Lorraine conceive, Marty as we know him won’t ever be born. Heck, the birth of ANYONE is so hugely statistically improbable compared to all the alternate children that could’ve been born instead that to draw attention to how unlikely it is, even in a really stupid way, seems like a super bad idea?
CRAZINESS THREE: hah hah hah, “how do you like them apples?” I STILL LOVE IT
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