Speculative Assumptions and Liable Speculative Analysis

Last time I called this thread Theories so this time I am giving it a fancy name just because it sounds cool! In case no one has noticed yet, the acronym of this title spells SALSA, and of course I'm going to be making chip, dip, Mexican and dance puns as much as possible throughout this entire post! We have a long way to go before season 4 starts, but, who says we can't start refrying the beans now, from the first episode of next season to the overall plot of the entire show ever? Nothing is off limits! We have but to take our tacos, and make them into burritos, with a little thought and sauce. (I know most of you probably didn't get that, so translated it means: taking our small ideas and transforming them into larger theories with a little thought and pizzazz) Now, such a post wouldn't be complete if I didn't post some type of theory to dip into! Yes, I'm already diving chip first into the season 4 molcajete. Since season 3 is over and we aren't into season 4 at all yet, I'll start by theorizing about when the season four premier date will be... NOT!!! That would be like taking a huge chip and going in like you were gonna get a vast chunk of dip on there and then barely scratching the surface for fear of not knowing exactly what it is even though you know it'll taste good. So what I'm really going to write about is one of my Master Theories. To me, a master theory is one that doesn't just predict what will happen during the next episode or even at the end of the season, but it predicts where the show will go overall, as in what will happen at the end of all things. I know, it's already a terrible, burning taste on the tongue to say "series finale" because the show is just so appetizingly great! It is tough to think of how it would end, but it must be done by someone, and I'm not only going to tackle it, but I'm going to heap on the fire sauce just to make sure it's extra spicy. One more grain of salt, Nolan has said that he already knows how he wants the show to end, so trying to guess that is exactly what we'll be doing. Let's turn on the ovens and stop dancing around this bush, shall we, because I'm about to make nachos... na'cho favorite theory of mine for sure (you'll get that one eventually if you haven't already, just keep reading it fast). Has anyone ever noticed that sometimes when The Machine is reviewing footage, like old footage, that the timeline also extends past the current date? It's true, sometimes I've heard that we can see it go up to 2017. Odd right, because other times it doesn't. Well, here comes the kick so you might want to ready a glass of water, what if everything that we've ever seen, including "present" day stuff wasn't really in present day? As in, what if the whole show was a giant flashback, and The Machine was reviewing all this footage as well as consolidating it into a nice episodic format, which is what we, the viewers, are seeing? That is a scary thought, but it makes sense, so let's peal back the layers of this French Onion and show that it is possible. I do believe that not every "episode" The Machine might be making is made at the same time, explaining why sometimes we don't see an extended timeline, but some might be. Some other evidence that is completely circumstantial, is that every time the show comes back from commercial, it enters from the point of view of The Machine, and then switches to a normal cinematic view for viewers pleasure. Interesting, if it wasn't all a flashback, why not sometimes just jump right in? They are always very specific about coming in through that specific point of view. Yet more circumstantial evidence can be found by looking at how The Machine reviews other old footage, as in Elias' past and everything along those lines. It always reviews the relevant footage at the right time for the predicament we are supposedly seeing in real time. It labels people, sometimes, for what they have already done in the future and, as such, we can actually see camera angles avoid characters so as to avoid having to put a box on them and reveal who they are (Root from Firewall I believe is a good example, but I'd have to re-watch it again). Finally, and time for the rotten tomato aftertaste (or in other words the most lackluster reason this could be a chosen ending), wouldn't this be the best homage The Machine could pay to the team? No matter what happens to them, we all know The Machine would wrap them up in a petrified tortilla and keep them on the top shelf of the fridge for a long time. This would be one of the nicest ways I could think of to honor the memory of everything they would have done. So, that's about it. To tell you the truth, I really don't like this theory, not enough seasoning (you can figure that one out); it's just something that crossed my mind, so I added it to my Master Theory category. I have many more Master Theories, but they'll come later, and randomly, like a waitress at an authentic Mexican restaurant. I sincerely hope that they do not do this, but this is not my scariest Master Theory; I have one that is far more lethal and may give you indigestion and... something else that you might know of. By the way, you got me... I am just trying to trump the length of all TJ's reviews, ever! Thanks, as always, for reading. I hope you made it to the end, even if you had to come back on a different day and reheat the beef. I know my puns are probably just annoying now, but bear with me, I'm almost full. Also as always, don't be afraid to post your theories on here too; that's what this thread is, a collection of theories so that all can read them in one spot. Of course, the contingency phrase still applies here: "Theories subject to change as the series goes on." I look forward to reading them all, and I hope you all read mine... perhaps not all of them because I do admit that I like to double dip sometimes.