Decker, the intellectual thriller starring Time Heidecker, recently aired a time travel episode. Check out the trailer:

After finding himself in 1945 Pearl Harbor, Japan, Decker finds a beautiful woman named Ayaka. Here I posit forth the theory that Ayaka is Decker’s grandmother. The show never directly says this, but subtle hints are left for the more astute viewers.

After Decker goes Back to the Future, the attack on Pearl Harbor is prevented and his grandfather is able to meet Ayaka and settle down with her. What happened to his grandfather’s original wife? Did he leave her? Not his style. He’s a hero. The only possible answer is that she never existed. It’s only ever been Ayaka. Here we enter uncharted territory, because this genius show discovered a new type of paradox–not the Grandfather Paradox, but rather the Grandmother Paradox.

How do we know that this show is smart enough to pull this off? Keep in mind that this show establishes itself right off the bat as one ready to lead the way in time travel innovation. After a cold open of a hunting scene and the title “The Butterfly Effect,” you expect an homage to A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury, right? But the show subverts your expectations. Instead, Jack Decker will be sent back in time to prevent the attack on Pearl Harbor. You find yourself saying, “It’s a great strategy!” along with Decker as you’re amazed by this misdirection.

This leads us to the irrefutable fact that this show is ingenious in three ways. One, it is not afraid to try new things and leave old clichés in the dust. Two, it can show you a character meeting his grandmother in the past and not beat you over the head with what’s happening, because it has high standards for the intelligence of its viewers. Three, it can create an entirely new kind of paradox! Fans of Timely Paradox will know I found that there are only two types of time paradox, or so I thought. Decker shows us all that there is a third. But what is this Grandmother Paradox?

Decker only ever existed because he changed the past and allowed his grandfather to meet his grandmother. How did he exist in the first place? There’s the Grandmother Paradox. Perhaps his original mutable timeline was actually an altered timeline and he fixed it before he was erased from existence? Perhaps his great abilities as a secret agent comes from being a Child of the Paradox? The only way to know for sure is if Heidecker himself confirms the theory.

UPDATE: Heidecker confirmed the theory as interesting, I guess!



