MovieChat Forums > Twelve Monkeys (1996) Discussion > Young Cole original life

Young Cole original life

posted 10 years ago by kirisutegomen1
12 replies | jump to latest

How did Young Cole's life go through the first time? Since in the movie, Old Cole ends up being killed in front of himself, and he then grows up with these dreams and becomes the time traveler. But how can Old Cole be there before Young Cole has not even grown up to be the man he is yet? How did Young Cole live out his life first?

Young Cole Born
Man in the airport killed (Old Cole or someone else??)
Virus released
Time Travel
Cole dies in the airport

How does this add up? Since it is supposed to be Cole who gets killed in the airport but before he could time travel he needed to grow up in the first place so how did Young Cole grow up to be the guy that we see in the movie and who got killed in the airport the very first time around?

[–] greg-233 10 years ago

"so how did Young Cole grow up to be the guy that we see in the movie and who got killed in the airport the very first time around?"

There was no "first time around". According to the time-travel premise of this film, the past, present and future all exist simultaneously. That is, everything that is ever going to happen has already happened.

Putting it another way, the events of 1917, 1990, 1996, 2026 (or adult Cole's "present") and everything beyond that all exist. When "volunteers" like Cole and Jose are sent back in time, their actions are making events play out a particular way, but there aren't any contradictions involved. For instance, there was never an "original 1917" where Cole was not shot in the leg and photographed. The photo of Cole in 1917 would be seen by Dr. Railly some decades later, which was why she had the feeling of deja vu when she met Cole at the police station in 1990.

Adult Cole had a similar feeling of deja vu when he came to the airport with Railly in 1996, but Railly simply said "all airports look the same", unaware that there was an 8-year-old version of Cole not far away.

As far as WE'RE concerned, here in 2014, the future "hasn't happened" yet, but for all we know, there may be time travellers from the 51st century (or whenever) wondering among us on secret missions right now.

[–] kirisutegomen1 10 years ago

Okay thanks for the anwser, that clears things up :)

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] sanddragon939 10 years ago

Going by the premise of this film, there IS no 'original life'. Everything only happens ONCE...its just that Cole is able to be on the scene twice thanks to time-travel.

Of course, if you assume a 'multiple timelines' explanation for this film, then originally, Cole DID NOT see someone die at the airport. But after he grows up, travels back in time, and gets killed at the airport, his younger self in the new timeline sees him die and is haunted by that nightmare...becoming the Cole we follow in the movie.

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] I_Created_U 10 years ago

That's a very interesting post overall and it pretty much sums up what i concluded as well while watching the movie, that said i have a question regarding this passage:

The photo of Cole in 1917 would be seen by Dr. Railly some decades later, which was why she had the feeling of deja vu when she met Cole at the police station in 1990.

Are we sure of that? I've been wondering myself why Railly feels like she knows Cole, yet i didn't think it was because of the picture because i thought she got interested in the subject of Cassandra complex after meeting Cole and he mysteriously disappeared from the psychiatric facility. I believed she became an expert on the subject in those 6 years between 1990 and 1996, which would mean that it is only after meeting Cole that she became familiar with the pic.

But now in hindsight, your theory probably makes more sense because mine was leading to the seemingly illogical conclusion that the past/present/future weren't that inescapable since she could remember past loops, which would mean that one loop was necessarily different from the next one, which in turn would contradict the internal consistency of the movie.

People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs

[–] greg-233 10 years ago

I was thinking Dr. Railly might have obtained the photo of Cole while she was a postgraduate student in the late 1980s. She had been working at the hospital for four years when Cole vanished from his cell.

[–] I_Created_U 10 years ago

I think that you are right, this might be the right explanation.

Then again, wouldn't it add another layer of mystery to the movie insofar as it seems pretty uncanny that not only was she interested in the subject of those disappearances and the Casandra complex prior her meeting Cole, but she also happens to encounter somebody with the aforementioned complex and that somebody isn't just somebody but the exact person that was on one of those pics that she studied in university?! The odds are pretty slim to say the least! It's like winning the powerball 27 times in a row...

Still, i think your interpretation is the right one.

People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs

[–] ph75006 10 years ago

I WISH there were actual time travelers secretly among us!

[–] There_Is_No_Sayid 10 years ago

There is no "original" or "first time". There's only one timeline in Twelve Monkeys. Cole and his family were going to be going on vacation but they cancelled after the airport shooting where Cole sees his older self get killed, something he partially suppresses. Then the viral outbreak began and the world went to hell.

Unless Alpert's covered in bacon grease, I don't think Hugo can track anything.

[–] Tamer_of_Strange 10 years ago

Smoke a joint before watching next time bro, time travel and pot go hand in hand.

[–] Tamer_of_Strange 10 years ago

Otherwise check out the "bootstrap" and "predestination" paradoxes, might clear things up... Slightly.