If you recently finished watching the Disney Plus Korean drama "Grid (그리드)", you probably have a lot of questions. Or maybe, you dismissed a lot of the plots and subplots as plot holes (that's a lot of 'plots' in there) or continuity error.
Would you believe that almost all of the questions about Grid have an in-universe explanation? Believe it or not, there were no plot holes in Grid. The show was simply complex and complicated.
Let's answer some of the frequently asked questions, shall we?
Q: Did Sae Ha die?
A: No. And this is canon.
The show established that a time traveler can not go beyond their origin time. In Sae Ha's case, his origin time was 2021-10-10. He can never visit 2021-10-11 or any day after that day. However, at the end of the finale episode, we saw Sae Ha in a storehouse in 2022.
If Sae Ha did die on 2021-10-09, it is impossible for a Sae Ha to appear in a storehouse in 2022. As a time traveler, he can not go to any day after his origin time which is 2021-10-10.
There is only one answer for Sae Ha to show up in that storehouse in 2022: he survived his death without anyone else knowing.
Q: What is the relation of Sae Ha's death to the Ghost and the Grid?
A: It is the catalyst for at least three important events in time.
Former husband and wife, Jung Sae Byeok and Song Eo Jin, comforted each other and slept together. Nine months later, July 2022, Byeori was born.
Director Choi Seon Wool's reputation increased and she got more authority. Her department, the Secretariat, received a major increase in funding and much needed personnel.
As South Korea realized there is more than one time traveler, they increased their support for the Administration Bureau and their time travel R&D. The country became even more powerful.
Q: What did the Ghost mean by "time does not flow"?
A: The show is based on the Static Theory of Spacetime.
To be more specific, it is based on two specific Static Time theories, namely: the Growing Block Universe and Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity.
In Disney's Grid, time literally does not flow. According to the Growing Block Universe theory, what we call the past and the present is simply now; while what we call the future-is yet to be (meaning it does not exist yet). Then the Special Theory of Relativity states that time is relevant to the observer or the person.
When applied together:
- Time travelers can not travel beyond their origin time period (as mentioned earlier).
- Time is relative to the traveler.
Here is an example: even though the Ghost was born in 2091, which means there is a future, Sae Ha can not go beyond his origin time period--which is 2021-10-10--because time is relative to his origin period.
Relative to Sae Ha, anything beyond 2021-10-10 is the future which does not exist yet. However, relative to the Ghost who was born in 2091, what is "past" for her already exists and thus is accessible for her to time travel into.
This is important because these two theories are the core temporal mechanics of Grid. Another thing, there is only one timeline and one universe. The concept of "multiple timelines" and "parallel universes" is in conflict with "time does not flow" or the "Static Theory of Spacetime" (or simply "Static Time").
Q: In the end, the Grid was still destroyed.
A: Not really. The Grid that was destroyed near the end of the finale episode was in 2022, not the 1997 Grid.
Proof of that is the first that was attacked was the Administration Bureau building where the Grid Core and Secretariat teams are located. The AB did not exist yet in 1997, there was only the Institute of Radio Research (IRR) back then.
In other words, whoever destroyed the Grid headquarters and network wants the Grid to exist from 1997 to mid-2022. After that, they do not want the Grid to exist. This is why the Ghost confirmed to Sae Ha that in her future time, there was no Grid and people are suffering from the solar wind radiation … similar to what he witnessed when he accidentally stopped the creation of the Grid.
And that is just but a sneak to the questions and answers about Grid. The full version is available in my blog at 《Grid (그리드)》 Explained | Snoworld.
A fair warning, it is very long. Since Grid is a soft sci-fi, it only concerned itself with soft sciences. This is where fan "explained" articles come in. In Grid's case, it requires detailed explanations to help establish why an answer is the most probable, if not exact, answer.
I hope you enjoy reading and it will help in appreciating the time travel story of 《Grid (그리드)》.
If you have other questions, feel free to ask! Or maybe you have other interpretations, corrections, or not-so-violent reactions.
See you in around in spacetime …