PelicanHazard
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Isn't that just an infinite loop then? Why is killing an alpha required for the omega to reset the day? Can't it do that whenever it wants? In fact, why does Cruise's power have any effect at all? Wouldn't it just constantly loop anyway? And let's assume that alternate ending made sense, does that mean the bad guys win?
The explanation is buried deep in the exposition, but the gist is that the Omega can reset the day whenever it wants, but generally waits until an Alpha is killed because there's no point to doing it earlier, Mimics will be killed during battles and not all of them can be spared death. The regular Mimics, despite being part of the hive mind, are not really important to the Omega, but the Alphas serve as extensions of the Omega on the battlefield and are thus precious. Kind of like how the government doesn't really care if an individual enlisted soldier dies in a war but a general being killed incites a panic in leadership. Cage gaining the power is an advantage because according to the movie only one can hold the looping power at a time. Cage stole it from the Omega and the Omega cannot loop time again until it has Cage killed. (It would become aware of its lost power when it is unable to loop time after an Alpha dies, and because it already knows how its time looping works would be able to deduce who has the power by who seems to have foreknowledge of its forces' actions. Though why the power transfers to Cage after just a little exposure to Alpha blood instead of staying with the Omega who has much more such blood is handwaved away for storytelling.)
Furthermore, there have probably been a lot of loops to get to the action of the beach. The Mimics were not supposed to know where Operation Downfall was landing, yet had traps laid, implying that long before Cage killed that Alpha there had been a ton of loops as Downfall initially worked and the Omega kept looping time (perhaps not waiting for an Alpha to die, just looping when it was surprised by the invasion and then sending scouts that direction, looping time on first contact) until it figured out the landing zone and how best to lay traps for the troops' arrival, as well as the opportune time to launch the counter-invasion of England. The original dark ending implied that the Omega regained its looping ability and continued on its war, looping and looping, defeating anyone who stole its looping power like it did Cage and Rita, until it won.
The darker ending is not an infinite loop since once the Mimics shoot down the helicopter, they bleed Cage rather than outright kill him. If they outright kill him, then yes time loops and Cage retains the power, but they would instead capture and bleed him like the Alpha tried to do at the dam the visions led Cage to. Taking his blood like that makes the Omega own time looping again and it doesn't need to revert time for its plan to succeed; Cage and company flew to Paris the night before the invasion, so the Omega's invasion trap and counter-invasion plan can proceed without Cage's interference, as he was the only one who knew what was going to happen.
Furthermore, there have probably been a lot of loops to get to the action of the beach. The Mimics were not supposed to know where Operation Downfall was landing, yet had traps laid, implying that long before Cage killed that Alpha there had been a ton of loops as Downfall initially worked and the Omega kept looping time (perhaps not waiting for an Alpha to die, just looping when it was surprised by the invasion and then sending scouts that direction, looping time on first contact) until it figured out the landing zone and how best to lay traps for the troops' arrival, as well as the opportune time to launch the counter-invasion of England. The original dark ending implied that the Omega regained its looping ability and continued on its war, looping and looping, defeating anyone who stole its looping power like it did Cage and Rita, until it won.
The darker ending is not an infinite loop since once the Mimics shoot down the helicopter, they bleed Cage rather than outright kill him. If they outright kill him, then yes time loops and Cage retains the power, but they would instead capture and bleed him like the Alpha tried to do at the dam the visions led Cage to. Taking his blood like that makes the Omega own time looping again and it doesn't need to revert time for its plan to succeed; Cage and company flew to Paris the night before the invasion, so the Omega's invasion trap and counter-invasion plan can proceed without Cage's interference, as he was the only one who knew what was going to happen.