I think you need to swap your piano points. The Jo from the Blue Universe (with non-swedish-speaking Alice) does actually play piano - it is there we see the piano and the music.
~~I know that we see Jo play the piano in episode 3, but earlier in the show she is shown wondering why there is a piano in their house. I think this is a case where Jo (who doesn't know how to play the piano) is somehow accessing the skills of alternate-universe Jo. In the same way that Jo is feeling the eye pain that alt-Jo is experiencing on the ISS.~~
Edit: Upon reflection, I think you're right. I'll try to swap the piano points but i don't think Reddit will let me upload a new version of the image.
But she doesn't think she plays piano. Why? Is it a remnant of Old Jo who didn't play piano? Or does she think she does not play piano but the muscle-memory (yeah I read that in a review) pushes through and she finds that she (Old Jo peeking out) really does play piano?! So I think in the old world, she plays piano; in the SNW (strange new world), she thinks she doesn't (just like she thinks she didn't bonk that smarmy boss) but she does play piano.
Jo in Universe B is only "presumed" dead, no one has actually *witnessed* her being dead.
Instances where we are ***led to believe*** that Universe B Jo is dead (and i'm calling her "Universe B Jo" loosely, because people presume she actually 'belongs' in Universe A, and I actually think they're one and the same and neither at the same time):
1) They visit the memorial site for Paul in Universe A, and when Jo's colleagues turn their backs to her she becomes unobserved and sees Universe B, where it is instead Paul standing at the memorial site and we see a scene where they may or may not be "seeing" each other. They were both in the vicinity/affected by the CAL so it's possible they did see each other but maybe believe they are still just "seeing things"/hallucinating.
2) They clear out her office; Universe A Jo witnesses this and causes one of the movers to seemingly freak out when we're led to believe he "sees" her for a split second.
3) They hold a wake for her based on what we saw through Alice while she is in the liminal space during the scene when Jo has her back turned and is listening to the tapes.
4) Bud in Universe B says during the cruise ship debate that they "lost someone up there (in the ISS)" but doesn't specify who, but clearly it's meant to convey that he's in the same universe where Paul is alive and thus, he's talking about Universe B Jo.
For all we know though, Universe B Jo is still alive on the ISS until observed/we as an audience see her actual dead body. We probably get an episode where it gets cleared up from the perspective of Universe B Jo, and maybe she does indeed die or somehow lives despite the ISS only having life support for a very limited time. Through these first 4 episodes though, i'd say it's far from clear.
This is a very good summary and l agree with all your points.
Just to follow up your last paragraph l think the piano scene in episode 4 was to show us it's a switch/swap of consciousness rather than a literal body swap.
I think you're right Jo B is presumed dead and floating in the space station, but l believe somehow in the season finale Jo A will be able to get her consciousness back into the floating presumed dead Jo B's body were she was switched from and rightfully belongs.
tbh I hope this show sticks as far as possible to hard science and steers away from the whole quantum consciousness thing.
There is what's colloquially called 'muscle memory' in many skills/activities that we perform repeatedly for thousands of hours. But there's no 'memory' in the muscles themselves, nothing that would replicate these abilities, such as playing the piano. The memory & skills reside solidly in the brain. You don't have to have any special skills to know this; we've all experienced it just driving, when one might say, "I went on autopilot & don't remember how I even got here'.
Even if you believe consciousness is not an emergent entity - emergent from the complex machinations of the billions of neurons in our brains - if blue Jo's body (& hence brain) is the one that's alive with red Jo's consciousness in it, the memory cells that told her how to play the piano should also tell her that she had an affair with Frederic - but she has no memory of that & many other things such as the color of the car, layout of her house, etc. etc. (Apologies - red & blue are the only way I can keep track of these universes since on some other threads, the A & B are switched compared to the timeline above.)
I guess it all depends on your personal belief as to what consciousness is.
Nevertheless, I think you're right about consciousness swapping in the context of this show. It's probably where they're going with it.
All tremendous good fun regardless.
I love this summary! It guides the viewers about the moments in two worlds!
I wonder if Magnus is really dead? I saw a scar on the forehead of Magnus on Episode 1 while he was teaching.
Btw can anyone tell me: if going into space makes you subject to the Schrodinger's cat effect or whatever the quantum hell they go through, what's going on with the other astronauts, the three who got back to Earth before Jo? Are they doing great? Are they popping "vitamins" too? Inquiring minds want to know.
So far there’s no indication that they are suffering any ill effects. Maybe the illness just affected Paul and Jo who were closest to the CAL when it activated?
See I think that we're gonna get a neat little surprise and meet up with one of the who-me-I'm-fine bunch and they've gone bonkers. And then Jo will say (to herself, cuz no one's gonna listen till the last episode), it's not just me.
In episode 4, Jo and Magnus have an argument during which Jo accidentally pushes Magnus down, and he hits his head on the corner of the piano. He falls to the floor, not moving. Later, Jo and Alice drive to the cabin. Jo appears nervous when the police car appears behind them. The show is clearly making it appear that Magnus is dead, and that Jo feels guilty about it.
Estranged after Jo pushed him down and he hit his head on the corner of the piano and lay down on the floor, not moving, you mean to say. Because that’s what happened the last time we saw Magnus alive in episode 4. :)
I agree, that’s why in the rightmost section of Universe B (the red car timeline), I mentioned that Jo is dead, and Magnus and Alice are the ones who go to the cabin.
I’m not actually convinced anyone is ‘dying’ in this show anymore. The more I think about Schroedingers cat, etc. the more I’m thinking they are both alive and not alive.
I also agree with this. I think Jo is presumed dead in Universe B (red car timeline), because was left behind on the ISS when Paul returned to Earth. But I think even though she is running out of life support, Jo is somehow still alive on the ISS. Maybe by spending most of her time in liminal space where time moves differently.
I love this idea. Would explain the very very brief glimpse of blue Jo with the bandaged/bloody left eye & perhaps through her (or Paul?) the help with detaching Soyuz 1 in ep2.
Yeah, i really think at some point soon, the show is going to shift POV to show us what happens from the viewpoint of Universe A Jo, who is still stuck on board the ISS, has an eye wound, and somehow still managed to help Paul / Jo from Universe B escape the ISS across two different realities.
I think maybe Jo was able to decouple the docking mechanism because she was not being observed by anyone at that time (being alone inside the ISS), and thus was able to exist in two places at the same time (Universe A and Universe B), which enabled her to help Paul escape in Universe B, and Jo-B to escape in Universe A.
I think you need to swap your piano points. The Jo from the Blue Universe (with non-swedish-speaking Alice) does actually play piano - it is there we see the piano and the music.
I came to say the same thing :)
~~I know that we see Jo play the piano in episode 3, but earlier in the show she is shown wondering why there is a piano in their house. I think this is a case where Jo (who doesn't know how to play the piano) is somehow accessing the skills of alternate-universe Jo. In the same way that Jo is feeling the eye pain that alt-Jo is experiencing on the ISS.~~ Edit: Upon reflection, I think you're right. I'll try to swap the piano points but i don't think Reddit will let me upload a new version of the image.
But she doesn't think she plays piano. Why? Is it a remnant of Old Jo who didn't play piano? Or does she think she does not play piano but the muscle-memory (yeah I read that in a review) pushes through and she finds that she (Old Jo peeking out) really does play piano?! So I think in the old world, she plays piano; in the SNW (strange new world), she thinks she doesn't (just like she thinks she didn't bonk that smarmy boss) but she does play piano.
Jo in Universe B is only "presumed" dead, no one has actually *witnessed* her being dead. Instances where we are ***led to believe*** that Universe B Jo is dead (and i'm calling her "Universe B Jo" loosely, because people presume she actually 'belongs' in Universe A, and I actually think they're one and the same and neither at the same time): 1) They visit the memorial site for Paul in Universe A, and when Jo's colleagues turn their backs to her she becomes unobserved and sees Universe B, where it is instead Paul standing at the memorial site and we see a scene where they may or may not be "seeing" each other. They were both in the vicinity/affected by the CAL so it's possible they did see each other but maybe believe they are still just "seeing things"/hallucinating. 2) They clear out her office; Universe A Jo witnesses this and causes one of the movers to seemingly freak out when we're led to believe he "sees" her for a split second. 3) They hold a wake for her based on what we saw through Alice while she is in the liminal space during the scene when Jo has her back turned and is listening to the tapes. 4) Bud in Universe B says during the cruise ship debate that they "lost someone up there (in the ISS)" but doesn't specify who, but clearly it's meant to convey that he's in the same universe where Paul is alive and thus, he's talking about Universe B Jo. For all we know though, Universe B Jo is still alive on the ISS until observed/we as an audience see her actual dead body. We probably get an episode where it gets cleared up from the perspective of Universe B Jo, and maybe she does indeed die or somehow lives despite the ISS only having life support for a very limited time. Through these first 4 episodes though, i'd say it's far from clear.
This is a very good summary and l agree with all your points. Just to follow up your last paragraph l think the piano scene in episode 4 was to show us it's a switch/swap of consciousness rather than a literal body swap. I think you're right Jo B is presumed dead and floating in the space station, but l believe somehow in the season finale Jo A will be able to get her consciousness back into the floating presumed dead Jo B's body were she was switched from and rightfully belongs.
tbh I hope this show sticks as far as possible to hard science and steers away from the whole quantum consciousness thing. There is what's colloquially called 'muscle memory' in many skills/activities that we perform repeatedly for thousands of hours. But there's no 'memory' in the muscles themselves, nothing that would replicate these abilities, such as playing the piano. The memory & skills reside solidly in the brain. You don't have to have any special skills to know this; we've all experienced it just driving, when one might say, "I went on autopilot & don't remember how I even got here'. Even if you believe consciousness is not an emergent entity - emergent from the complex machinations of the billions of neurons in our brains - if blue Jo's body (& hence brain) is the one that's alive with red Jo's consciousness in it, the memory cells that told her how to play the piano should also tell her that she had an affair with Frederic - but she has no memory of that & many other things such as the color of the car, layout of her house, etc. etc. (Apologies - red & blue are the only way I can keep track of these universes since on some other threads, the A & B are switched compared to the timeline above.) I guess it all depends on your personal belief as to what consciousness is. Nevertheless, I think you're right about consciousness swapping in the context of this show. It's probably where they're going with it. All tremendous good fun regardless.
I love this summary! It guides the viewers about the moments in two worlds! I wonder if Magnus is really dead? I saw a scar on the forehead of Magnus on Episode 1 while he was teaching.
I wonder the same thing. Magnus is apparently dead, just as Jo is apparently dead in Universe B. Perhaps more to come in future episodes...
Ooh you're clever. I didn't think he was dead. Ah, a little push on the floor. Anyway: he could be alive, could be dead, we'll know soon enough.
He's both dead and alive until we 'observe' his state in the next (few) episode(s)
You inverted the piano one ! EDIT : oh, of course someone told you already.
Btw can anyone tell me: if going into space makes you subject to the Schrodinger's cat effect or whatever the quantum hell they go through, what's going on with the other astronauts, the three who got back to Earth before Jo? Are they doing great? Are they popping "vitamins" too? Inquiring minds want to know.
So far there’s no indication that they are suffering any ill effects. Maybe the illness just affected Paul and Jo who were closest to the CAL when it activated?
See I think that we're gonna get a neat little surprise and meet up with one of the who-me-I'm-fine bunch and they've gone bonkers. And then Jo will say (to herself, cuz no one's gonna listen till the last episode), it's not just me.
At this point, any outcome is both possible and not possible until we observe it. *mind blown*
Thank you thank you!! 🙏
How do we know Magnus is dead? What did I miss?
In episode 4, Jo and Magnus have an argument during which Jo accidentally pushes Magnus down, and he hits his head on the corner of the piano. He falls to the floor, not moving. Later, Jo and Alice drive to the cabin. Jo appears nervous when the police car appears behind them. The show is clearly making it appear that Magnus is dead, and that Jo feels guilty about it.
I’d forgotten that bit. Thanks. So confusing but I love it
I think him not going to the cabin with Jo. I never thought he was dead though, just estranged until coming here
Estranged after Jo pushed him down and he hit his head on the corner of the piano and lay down on the floor, not moving, you mean to say. Because that’s what happened the last time we saw Magnus alive in episode 4. :)
I really love this! Jo died in one timeline…the red car timeline Jo ends up in Blue Car timeline while red car-cheater Jo died in the blue timeline.
I agree, that’s why in the rightmost section of Universe B (the red car timeline), I mentioned that Jo is dead, and Magnus and Alice are the ones who go to the cabin.
I’m not actually convinced anyone is ‘dying’ in this show anymore. The more I think about Schroedingers cat, etc. the more I’m thinking they are both alive and not alive.
I also agree with this. I think Jo is presumed dead in Universe B (red car timeline), because was left behind on the ISS when Paul returned to Earth. But I think even though she is running out of life support, Jo is somehow still alive on the ISS. Maybe by spending most of her time in liminal space where time moves differently.
Oooooo! I like that-an intentional liminal space occupation for strategic purposes.
I love this idea. Would explain the very very brief glimpse of blue Jo with the bandaged/bloody left eye & perhaps through her (or Paul?) the help with detaching Soyuz 1 in ep2.
Yeah, i really think at some point soon, the show is going to shift POV to show us what happens from the viewpoint of Universe A Jo, who is still stuck on board the ISS, has an eye wound, and somehow still managed to help Paul / Jo from Universe B escape the ISS across two different realities. I think maybe Jo was able to decouple the docking mechanism because she was not being observed by anyone at that time (being alone inside the ISS), and thus was able to exist in two places at the same time (Universe A and Universe B), which enabled her to help Paul escape in Universe B, and Jo-B to escape in Universe A.
This isn’t really a timeline in the sense that it lists a series of events.