Spoiler Two Zeldas?

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

Recently I have been playing Skyward Sword for another purpose besides this thread. (I was trying to translate the Gate of Time into English while its in its dormant state. The results were disappointing, but going in depth would be going off topic.) As I was playing the game I realised something. At the half way point of the game Zelda goes into the past. When Link meets her in the past she is going to go into a crystal to sleep. She tells Link the terms which would need to be met to wake her from the sleep in the crystal. She basically says that all Link would have to do is kill Demise to wake her from the crystal. Link does this by using the Triforce, and just as Zelda said, she wakes up. Suddenly Ghirahim shows up, quickly grabs Zelda and takes her through the Gate of Time into the past. There Ghirahim uses her powers to revive Demise. Link must kill Demise again in the past, and he does so.

Here is where things get confusing. See when Link was fighting Demise of the past, Zelda from the past was still in the crystal in the back room of the temple. When Link killed Demise in the past the crystal should have broken since Demise was killed in the past, meaning that the game should have ended with two Zeldas? Right? The theory is crazy, but it theoretically should have happened. The only thing I can think of to explain it is either Zelda who's powers were asorbed by Demise died, and the Zelda we see at the end of the game was Zelda in the crystal from the past; or somehow since there may have ended up with two Zeldas they merged into one, universal balance stuff I guess.

So what do you all think? Should the game ended with two Zeldas? Can you explain why it didn't happen? Would you have liked it to happen, if so, why? Please share your thoughts.

 

[Locke]

Killing Demise in the past causes a grandfather paradox. Zelda no longer has a reason to go to the past in the first place, so she isn't encased in crystal AND she isn't captured by Ghirahim. Oh, and Link doesn't go to save her so Demise isn't defeated either, which necessitates Zelda going to the past.

In an attempt at a humorous resolution to the paradox, there are both two Zeldas and zero Zeldas, so that averages out to one.

SS's ending doesn't make sense however you look at it. The game makes use of both predestination (e.g. Zelda's bracelet) and alternate realities (e.g. the Tree of Life), which are incompatible theories.

 

[Doc]

The Skyward Sword ending creates far too many paradoxes that we are just going to have to go with Nintendo logic on this one. It didn't happen because it didn't happen is the best answer we can get with this type of solution. A rather annoying thing in my opinion, and wish that they would have put more focus on how time travel worked in this game.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

Killing Demise in the past causes a grandfather paradox. Zelda no longer has a reason to go to the past in the first place, so she isn't encased in crystal AND she isn't captured by Ghirahim. Oh, and Link doesn't go to save her so Demise isn't defeated either, which necessitates Zelda going to the past.

In an attempt at a humorous resolution to the paradox, there are both two Zeldas and zero Zeldas, so that averages out to one.

SS's ending doesn't make sense however you look at it. The game makes use of both predestination (e.g. Zelda's bracelet) and alternate realities (e.g. the Tree of Life), which are incompatible theories.

Can't argue with that, because its the truth.

The Skyward Sword ending creates far too many paradoxes that we are just going to have to go with Nintendo logic on this one. It didn't happen because it didn't happen is the best answer we can get with this type of solution. A rather annoying thing in my opinion, and wish that they would have put more focus on how time travel worked in this game.

So true, even Ocarina of Time explains its time travel better than Skyward Sword did.

 

[Locke]

Looks like we got an answer after all. There are indeed two Zeldas:

 

[Jamie]

Zelda writing staff have always been unable to properly write time travel. I say just accept it and move along.

 

[Octorokstar]

Usually in these type of time travel ideas, they make it as if people were aware of the time changes. so whether it was changed in the past, Zelda feels it in that moment in time. as if time was flowing at the same time it was in the past. its weird but far too often that it beomes a trope.

 

[Mr. Ister]

Interesting, I hadn't noticed this one before, I was fixated on the issue of two Impas existing simultaneously. Unfortunately it seems like trying to decipher Nintendo's version of time travel is a futile task.

 

[Kingwobbly]

Two Zeldas? I don't think Link's complaining.

 

[ReveredPartisan]

I really can't offer any concise solution, but if I could share a few thoughts:

• One thing to remember is that Demise is a sort of omnipresent evil, the devil, if you will. Thus, he exists outside of time.
• Although there are some alternate reality scenarios throughout the game, most, is not all, major plot points involving time travel revolve around predestination, indicating that this problem should be approached through this same lens.