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Women. How exactly was a lonely mad scientist going to gather empirical data on the fair sex? As far as we know, the Doc hasn't ever had a girlfriend or, at least, hasn't had one for a long time. (An early script cast the Doc as a bit of a lady's man. See: Erased From Existence.) He's been too busy working on his greatest (and, perhaps, only working) invention. So, as he contemplates destroying the time machine in 2015, it is appropriate the he considers a part of his life that he's neglected. It also sets up why he falls head-over-heels for Clara, the woman of his dreams.
In contrast, Marty has a steady girlfriend through the entire trilogy and he seems destined to end up married to her in the future. This relationship is very important in delineating the difference between Marty and Doc and also Marty and his father, who ended up with Lorraine first by accident and then by Marty's design. In fact, Doc also discovers the love of his life by accident. So Marty and Jennifer's relationship is the most "normal" of the three male-female partnerships in the trilogy, giving further gravity to the events of Part II and their future together.
Marty's relationship with Jennifer injects some frustration into the first film. He wants to spend the weekend up at the lake with her, but he soon discovers he can't do that, given Biff Tannen has written-off the family car. Marty also faces his mother's objections because of this relationship, given that she never did that sort of thing when she was a girl. (And it could be argued that she never did before Marty went back in time and drove her to the dance. As far as we know, 17-year-old George didn't have a car they could "park" in. And, remember, Lorraine fell in love with George because of the Florence Nightingale effect, not anything illicit.)
The "I love you note" that Jennifer gives Marty in the first film is also the catalyst to working out how to get him from 1955 back to the future. On top of that, though, it does show how close these two are. This is a solid high school romance, evidenced on Jennifer's introduction in the film when she tries to save Marty from Strickland's wrath. She is skipping class, too, which shows a good measure of devotion.
Back in 1955, which makes up the bulk of the original film, the most important relationship in the film is that of George and Lorraine. It certainly gives the film - a complex blend of comedy, action and science fiction - a heart and a feeling the audience can relate to. Not only does their never meeting set up a dilemma for Marty, their unusual courtship and the eventual forming of a relationship creates a sub-plot for the film which is able to speak to many of the themes in the picture.
While the main character is certainly Marty, the changes George goes through in the picture are certainly substantial. It is George's learning about standing up for himself that forms the most dramatic development for a character in the original. Lorraine's evolution is more superficial. We don't really know what she was like before Marty got there and caught her eye. Would her relationship with George evolved the same way if left as it originally was? There's no way to determine this.
Focusing on George doesn't reduce Lorraine's importance as the central female figure in the first film, though. Her part in the story allows Marty to finally learn that his mother is human after all. "You smoke, too!" -- "Oh, Marty, you sound just like my mother." Their roles are reversed for a moment and this woman who says she never "chased a boy or called a boy or sat in a parked car with a boy" is exposed for the wild child she once was. And Marty will be wiser from now on when dealing with her and his girlfriend.
At the end of Back to the Future, when Marty and Jennifer are reunited, Marty's affection for her is obvious. But, as usual in this trilogy, the typical and expected scene - in this case a reunion - is turned on its head. Doc returns from the future and his little revelation, "something's got to be done about your kids," throws this sweetheart relationship into sharp focus. Not only do they stay together, they marry and have children. And their kids are going to be misfits.
The future of their relationship is dealt with in great detail in Part II. And Jennifer becomes the most important female figure in the first sequel.
That Marty ruined his career before it even began weighs heavily on this future generation of the McFly family. Grandma Lorraine still mentions the accident as the reason everything went downhill, placing the blame firmly in Marty's court. That Jennifer still loved him showed a great deal of devotion, but given that they married in the Chapel O' Love and live in the run-down suburb of Hilldale, does not augur well for our central pair of lovebirds.
When young Jennifer is faced by this, she is rightly stunned. How did they end up like this? What could have possibly gone so wrong? Of course, from where (from when) she comes from, they are both still in high school and are not talking about marriage. And Marty still has his eye firmly fixed on a recording career. It's a devastating blow to her. Through no fault of their own - it was an accident - their lives have not turned out anything like she/they expected. (Marty only gleans a little about this future, when Griff calls him a loser, when Marty is disguised as his own son. But Marty is never confronted by the depth of this statement.)
Part II is clearly the darkest of the three films and not only because of the alternate version of 1985 that Biff has created through his own greed. The McFly family we see in 2015 is a stark reminder of how we can lose sight of our dreams and how growing up can change our expectations. Jennifer experiences the full horror of this - even more so than the trilogy's hero, cementing her supporting role as one of the most important of the trilogy. The future of the young McFlys' marriage is also comparable to how we see George and Lorraine at the start of the first movie - barely able to sit down to a meal together without having their attention divided by other things going on in the house. George watches TV; Marty deals with work problems.
As Part III attempts to bring everything full-circle (and the end of Part III takes place only two days after the beginning of Back to the Future), it is appropriate that the tables are turned between Marty and Doc. It is Doc's romantic entanglement with Clara that sparks the true complications of the third film. And it's up to Marty to keep a level head and get them out of it. (Their switching places is neatly summed up during the scene where Marty says "Great Scott!" and Doc says "I know. This is heavy...")
Where Marty's family problems formed the centre of the first film and, to some extent, the second, Doc's falling in love forms the emotional heart of the last film. Ironically, when Doc mused about "the other great mystery of the universe," he was contemplating destroying the DeLorean. If he'd done so, he would never have met the love of his life. And, in fact, it caused Doc to do something that he warned Marty against from the beginning - don't mess with the space-time continuum. Rescuing Clara from Shonash Ravine has done exactly that. Confused and dismayed, Doc considers giving the relationship up completely.
Doc falling head over heals and having a hard time deciding what is best allows Marty to show how much he's evolved over the three films. Marty, by the end, is in charge - neatly revealed by Marty having to sober Doc up and face Mad-Dog Tannen before they are able to leave town. (Note: Not only does Marty take a lead from Eastwood's A Fistful of Dollars, by putting on the "bullet proof vest," but also from Doc's saving his own life with an actual kevlar vest at the end of the first film. Full circle, indeed.)
The end of Part III shows all three couples together. George and Lorraine are off to lunch with most of the family. Marty finally returns to Jennifer's home and then averts the disaster that dooms their future. And Doc and Clara return in fine fashion, with a family of their own. (Doc has even solved the problem he caused by saving Clara and altering the time-line, he has effectively taken her and himself and their sons out of the continuum. This is what he always wanted, to be able to travel through time without changing things.)
Doc Brown may find women to be one of the great mysteries of the universe. But for the Back to the Future trilogy, they aren't a mystery at all. Lorraine, Jennifer and Clara are very integral characters in the story and their relationships to the protagonists gives this sci-fi adventure trilogy a deep emotional resonance.
THE OTHER GREAT MYSTERY OF THE UNIVERSE... was originally written for BTTF.com and first published on October 1, 2000. Revised in November, 2002.
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