Time loop

This article is about the fictional plot device. For the philosophical and physical concept, see Causal loop.

The time loop or temporal loop is a plot device in fiction whereby characters re-experience a span of time which is repeated, sometimes more than once, with some hope of breaking out of the cycle of repetition.[1] Time loops are constantly resetting; when a certain condition is met, such as a death of a character or a certain point in time, the loop starts again, possibly with one or more characters retaining the memories from the previous loop.[2]

The term "time loop" is also sometimes used to refer to a sequence of events involving travel back in time, in which the chain of causality is circular.[1]

  1. ^ a b Langford, David (13 June 2017). "Themes: Time Loop". In Clute, John; Langford, David; Nicholls, Peter; Sleight, Graham (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. London: Gollancz. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  2. ^ García-Catalán, Shaila; Navarro-Remesal, Victor (2015). "Try Again: The Time Loop as a Problem-Solving Process in Save the Date and Source Code". In Matthew Jones; Joan Ormrod (eds.). Time Travel in Popular Media: Essays on Film, Television, Literature and Video Games. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 207. ISBN 9781476620084. OCLC 908600039.