A parallel universe is a reality that was created by having certain similarities with our world; however, an event occurs differently, causing a domino effect in the other world. The differing event can be something big, such as what if the space race never ended or something small like what if you went north instead of left? These universes are sometimes called alternate realities or alternate universes. With having an idea of what this is, have you ever wondered about alternate realities? In pondering this, have you considered what would be different? Would you make the same mistakes, or would you manage to fix them? Would you become a better person?
It is a common topic that many fantasy and science fiction movies and television series like to delve into, giving us a unique glimpse of a new and different world. In these last years, there has been a resurgence of this topic on television. The programs explore themes like alternate realities, time travel and how the parallel universe forms.
These themes are most notably seen in the German television series Dark. The supernatural crime drama begins with the disappearance of two children. But in solving the mystery of what caused this disappearance, the plot turns into a time travel conflict that extends several generations. In time, the enigma to solve is not where the missing children are, but instead what triggered the character’s time travel. Every time a mystery is solved, another unravels until the viewer is at the central core of the main situation. An event that was created by a simple miscalculation causes not one, but three different universes. In one universe, we follow Jonas and how he tries to escape his destiny. While in the second universe, he does not exist and his girlfriend, Marta, takes over his role as the central character. While the third universe is where the event that causes the split of the two universes occurs. This is where the characters hope to arrive to fix their world once and for all.
Parallel universes are fun to explore as they give us a glimpse into a world we could never possibly explore, such as Amazon Prime’s The Man in the High Castle. The series develops in an alternate 1960s United States, where the Axis Powers have won World War II. In the series’ twists and turns, it ends up in our universe and in turn, the viewer examines how the characters would live out in our world. A notable example is the character of John Smith. In the normal universe, he is a high-ranking member of the Nazi party, while in our universe he’s a traveling salesman. The same goes with Juliana Crain, who in the original reality joins the resistance. Subsequently, her counterpart protests against the Cuban Missile crisis. The characters are a stand-in for the viewer. This television series makes us wonder what type of life would we lead if we lived in such a world. Would we be members of the resistance or ordinary civilians?
In the south Korean drama, The King, Eternal Monarch, there is a better example of the exploration of our parallel selves. The series follows the adventures of the modern-day emperor of Korea, Lee Gon. One day he travels through a portal and reaches our universe, where he encounters different versions of the people in his life, such as his close friend and captain of the guard Jo Yeong. As he explores this strange new world, he also tries to stop his uncle’s evil doppelganger. Along the way, he finds love with Jeong Tae-eul, a police officer that helps him throughout the course of the series. With the conclusion of the series they explore other realities such as the universe where instead of Lee Gon being a benevolent ruler, he’s a tyrant.
As mentioned previously, many of these fictional universes are created either by time travel, a science experiment or with magic. The reason for this creation is to try and gain something that was lost. In the process of regaining this, the characters create a new universe to avoid forming the same mistakes. It feeds into our imaginations, and it tries to answer our greatest what if. As humans, reflecting on the past helps us learn from our mistakes and grow as a person. However, dwelling too much on the past can limit us by making us feel trapped in a constant re-watching of an episode of our life that we expect will change. It consumes us, not allowing us to see the greater opportunity that awaits us.
Like parallel universes, we can never truly escape our past, since it always remains a part of us. We must accept what happened, forgive our errors, and learn from the lessons it gives us. Similar to the characters in the mentioned television series, we are not a viewer in our lives, but the main characters. We are the ones that decide how our future will play out. As the English poet William Ernest Henley said in his poem Invictus:
“I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.”