Is the Decline Timeline Really a Cop-Out?

After the official timeline of the events seen in every Zelda game was shown in Hyrule Historia, there has been extensive debate concerning the validity of the Decline Timeline, which details the fate of Hyrule if Link were to be defeated by Ganon at the end of Ocarina of Time. Some fans claim that it is a cop-out, due to it exploring an alternate ending to Ocarina of Time, and being more of a ‘What if?’ timeline. Other fans insist that it’s just as valid as the other two timelines that occur as a result of the ending of Ocarina of Time, the Child and Adult Timelines, because each timeline explores a different possible ending. But if the Decline Timeline is a cop-out, to what extent is this true? Can the same be said for the other two timelines?

First, let’s look at the argument for the Decline Timeline being a cop-out. This argument revolves around the fact that this timeline is born from an alternate ending to Ocarina of Time. At the end of Ocarina of Time, Link defeats Ganon, and as repayment for essentially robbing Link of his childhood, Princess Zelda returns Link to his original timeline. This event is what causes the split: the Child Timeline follows Link’s actions after being returned to his own time, in which he forewarns the young Princess Zelda of the threat that Ganondorf poses, preventing him from ever gaining the Triforce of Power and becoming Ganon, setting in motion a new chain of events from those that played out in the future that Link explored during the game. The Adult Timeline follows Zelda’s life after she returns Link to his own time, in a world where a Hero no longer exists. As you can see, there is no room for a third timeline in which Link is defeated by Ganon, it simply can’t happen. A timeline in which Link is defeated by Ganon can only occur in a completely separate, alternate universe; therefore, it is not a true branch-off from the ending of Ocarina of Time.

Now let’s look at the argument against the Decline Timeline being a cop-out. If we look specifically at the event of Link being defeated by Ganon as the spark that ignites the Decline Timeline, then yes, it is set in an alternate universe, and by definition, it is a ‘What if?’ timeline. So what about the other two timelines? The timeline we inhabit is the outcome of an event. At the end of Ocarina of Time, after saving the future, Link is returned to the past, where he alters the events that caused the future that he experienced, setting in motion a new set of events and erasing the future that he experienced. As a result, the events that play out in The Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks (the events that occur in the timeline without a Hero) never happen, at all. This makes the Adult Timeline a true ‘What if?’ timeline, as it details the events that would have occurred in the world without a Hero after Ganon had been defeated. If the Decline Timeline is a cop-out for not following the ‘true’ ending of Ocarina of Time, then the Adult Timeline is just as much of a cop-out for the same reason.

If we look at what actually, physically happens in Ocarina of Time, we see that every time Link goes back to the past, he is not actually travelling through time, but resetting it. Each time Adult Link places the Master Sword back in the Pedestal of Time, he leaves behind the future he was just in and returns to what is in fact the present, not the past. Once again in the present, Link goes and does such things as getting the Lens of Truth from the Bottom of the Well and completing half of the Spirit Temple. Once Link has completed one of these tasks, he will take the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time, and go into another seven-year slumber, awakening in an alternate future from the one he was in previously.

The Butterfly Effect, when used in the context of time travel, shows us that each time a little change is made in the past, the future has the potential of being radically changed, but there is the certainty that the future will be different, because the events that created the previous future have been altered. Following this logic, we can see that if Link didn’t collect the Lens of Truth before he went to the future, he will awaken in a future where the Lens of Truth remains in the same place; but when Link resets time and collects the Lens of Truth, when he goes to the future, he will be going to a different future, even if it is only different because the Lens of Truth is no longer in the same place. So we can see that whenever Link goes back to his childhood and collects a new item, and then returns to the future, he is not returning to the future, but creating a new one, leaving the old one behind.

Link ‘travels’ back and forth through time repeatedly in Ocarina of Time, creating numerous ‘old’ timelines. Every single one of these ‘old’ timelines would culminate in something different, as Link would have made more or less progress in awakening the Sages each time. If there was a future where Link had awakened all six Sages, he might travel back in time to perhaps collect an extra bottle, then return to a different future, leaving behind a future where all the Sages have been awakened, but there is no Hero. This is essentially the same way that the Decline Timeline came into existance: no Hero to defeat Ganon, but the Sages were there to seal him.

Despite the fact that these events would be overwritten after Link collects that bottle and returns to a new future, the question, “What if that timeline had a future of its own?” provokes the imagining of the events of the Decline Timeline. In the same way, despite the fact that the events in which Link defeats Ganon are overwritten when Link goes back and prevents Ganondorf from ever becoming Ganon, the question, “What if that timeline had a future of its own?” provokes the imagining of the events of the Adult Timeline. In this way, the Decline Timeline is as equally plausible as the Adult Timeline, so if one’s a cop-out, they both are.

In reality, the Decline Timeline does in fact occur in a separate universe in which Link is killed by Ganon. Also in reality, the Adult Timeline is just an idea of what might’ve been. An illegitimate idea compared to a legitimate alternate universe: which one is the real cop-out? The only way the Adult Timeline could be a legitimate alternate universe would be if Ganon and Link killed each other, or if Link defeated Ganon, but keeled over at the sound of Zelda’s horrible Ocarina-playing when she tried to send him back to his childhood. But what do you guys think? Do you think of the Decline Timeline as a cop-out? What do you think of the validity of the Adult Timeline? What are your ideas on how the Decline and Adult Timelines compare as alternate endings? Let me know in the comments.