The Real Reason Doc Brown Was Wearing A Bulletproof Vest At The End Of Back To The Future

In Back to the Future‘s ending, Doc Brown was revealed to be wearing a bulletproof vest, in what amounted to a surprising twist. In Back to the Future, Marty McFly deals with the consequences of time travel when he accidentally almost erases himself and his siblings from history, and then again when he returns to the present and discovers that his entire life has been changed by his actions. Since Doc understands the rules of time travel, it’s only natural that he’s hesitant to take any actions that could cause a paradox or create another Back to the Future alternate timeline.

It’s hard to know for certain what the Doc Brown from Marty’s original timeline might have known, as all the changes that occur when Marty returns to 1985 make it unclear how closely that Doc Brown’s experiences were aligned with the experiences of the new version. It doesn’t really matter to Marty, because what he’s concerned about is Doc Brown’s survival, but for the audience, Doc Brown’s choice to read Marty’s letter provides interesting insight about his decision to wear the bulletproof vest he’s seen wearing at the end of the movie.

Doc Brown Taped Back The Letter Marty McFly Gave Him About His Future

Doc Brown Didn’t Want To Read Marty’s Letter At First

At the beginning of Back to the Future, Marty McFly thinks that Doc Brown has died in his own time, right before Marty’s time traveling occurred, so part of his idea for a solution is to write a letter for Doc to hold onto and read once it gets closer to the time of that event. When he first finds out about Marty’s letter, Doc Brown is completely uninterested in reading it, believing that it could be dangerous for the space-time continuum for him to know too much about his own future.

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Doc Brown’s strong initial negative reaction to the idea of reading the letter is what convinces him to tear it up, causing Marty to believe that he’s failed in his endeavor to save Doc Brown’s life. However, there’s a long wait between Doc Brown receiving the letter in 1955 and facing his death in 1985, giving him ample time to change his mind about knowing his own future, which is exactly what happens. This decision by Doc Brown might fix one of Back to the Future‘s paradoxes rather than create a new plot hole.

Why Doc Brown Read Marty’s Letter (Despite Not Wanting To Know The Future)

Saving His Own Life With A Bullet-Proof Vest Might Have Only Been An Afterthought

Doc Brown never outright explains to Marty his decision to tape the letter back together and read it, so we don’t know for certain what made Doc change his mind. Marty is shocked and calls Doc a hypocrite since he’s been so worried about breaking Back to the Future‘s time travel rules. The only response that Doc gives him is, “Yeah, well, I figured, what the hell…” which might have more to do with his decision to wear the vest than to read the letter.

It’s possible reading the letter helped Doc realize there was no point in letting himself actually die, as he could use his knowledge to stop a paradox rather than creating one, inadvertently saving his own life along the way. According to one Back to the Future fan theory that could change how we view the movie, Doc Brown might have realized that he already knows too much because of Marty’s time travel; knowing that he’s going to create a successful time machine is a pretty large piece of information for Doc Brown to be aware of.

If Doc Brown doesn’t know the information in Marty’s letter about the source of the plutonium, then he won’t be able to have the time machine ready for when Marty travels back to 1955.

As it drew closer to the date of Marty’s time travel, it’s likely that Doc Brown realized that plutonium is hard to come by, and he wasn’t sure where to get some. Doc might have decided that not reading the letter was riskier and decided to read Marty’s letter to stop a paradox from happening. If Doc Brown doesn’t know the information in Marty’s letter about the source of the plutonium, then he won’t be able to have the time machine ready for when Marty travels back to 1955 (via SPECTREagent700 on Reddit).

Doc Brown Knowing About The Plutonium Dealers In Advance Creates A Closed Loop

Time Travel Is Complicated, But Doc Brown Realizes What He Needs To Do To Make The Loop Work

Christopher Lloyd's Doc Brown links up two electrical adaptors standing at a clock tower in Back to the Future's ending

If Doc Brown read the letter, it seems safe to assume that the reason he contacted the people with the plutonium was because of his knowledge of the future. He knows that he needs plutonium to power the DeLorean, and, thanks to the letter, he also knows where he can get some. Doc Brown knowing the future due to Marty’s time travel creates a closed loop, thanks to things like knowing where to get the plutonium or even knowing about the DeLorean in the first place. He wouldn’t have knowledge of the plutonium if the time machine hadn’t sent Marty back.

It’s possible that Marty’s desperation might have had nothing to do with Doc’s decision to read his letter, because Doc Brown realizes that the events of Back to the Future could never have taken place without him having read it.

Time travel is complicated, and there are paradoxes in Back To The Future that may have been solved by Doc and Marty without ever having been explained or shown to the audience. Doc opening the letter might stop one such paradox from ever being created, and it’s likely Doc realizes this. It’s possible that Marty’s desperation might have had nothing to do with Doc’s decision to read his letter, because Doc Brown realizes that the events of Back to the Future could never have taken place without him having read it.

Source: Reddit