Why did Biff not pursue a relationship with Lorraine in the original timeline?

Question

It seems pretty clear to me that Biff was maniacally obsessed with Lorraine, even in the original timeline, and not the kind of guy who takes "no" for an answer.

We know that Biff eventually gave up on her, and she marries George. Still, it seems out of character to me that Biff would have simply left them alone to fall in love at the dance in the original timeline, given there was nothing George would have done to stop him.

I'm assuming that:

1. George and Lorraine still "parked" like she did with Marty in the original timeline, giving Biff the opportunity.

2. Biff in fact did leave them alone in the original timeline, as I find it unlikely Lorraine would have still fallen in love with George that night if he hadn't.

Is there any supplementary information indicating why Biff would have simply left them alone?

Answer 1

Biff's actions at the dance in Back to the Future were significantly affected by Marty's presence in 1955. Being repeatedly humiliated, including having $300 worth of damage done to his car when it was filled with manure, left him really, really angry. Presumably, it was because of his particularly nasty attitude that night that he ultimately assaulted Lorraine. And remember, he didn't show up at the parked car looking exclusively or even primarily for Lorraine; he was mostly there to get Marty. Lorraine happened to be there, and moreover, raping Lorraine would have been, in Biff's mind, a further blow to Marty; Biff felt that he was getting Marty's girl.

In the original timeline Biff certainly had the hots for Lorraine, at least initially. But without the events with Marty, he would not have been nearly as aggressive in an attempt to woo her. There would be no particular reason for him to go after her specifically at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance. And after the dance, she would be George's girlfriend. Biff would not get a thrill out of stealing George's girl; George was so pathetic that Biff might be turned off a girl who had fallen for George and made out with George.

In the alternate timeline in the second movie, Biff holds a grudge against George and still wants Lorraine. But that is part of the revised timeline, in which George had laid him out with a single punch back in 1955. Vengeance for that (and whatever other perceived humiliations a much stronger George had inflicted on Biff in the intervening years), along with Biff's vast wealth in the alternate timeline, were responsible for Biff murdering George in that world.

Answer 2

In the original timeline, Lorraine fell in love with George well before the dance: when her father knocked him down with his car. Then, when Marty showed up, he saved his father from being hit by the car, got hit instead, and Lorraine started falling in love with him instead.

Answer 3

There's no evidence that Lorraine and George "parked" as she and Marty did (indeed it was Marty's suggestion since he had the plan for George to save Lorraine form him.)

Biff's attack on Lorraine was more a crime of opportunity - he was drunk when he came across them. It's likely that in the original timeline, George and Lorraine simply went into the dance, and Biff would never have tried anything like that with all the people watching.

BTW Biff's resulting character in the new timeline also gives us a bit of insight into his personality, it seems there's a touch of cowardice in that he acts tougher than perhaps he is. Remember, after George laid him out just once, Biff did not come back at him the next day or anything to reassert his authority - he was certainly physically strong enough if he'd had the guts - he either left George alone or backed down whenever the newly confident George stood up to him - we can see this because George is the dominant one in that particular relationship by 1985.

So it's quite probable that Lorraine stood up to Biff in the original timeline and may have in fact protected George (esp. considering how she fell in love with him) - maybe not physically, but assertively enough to get Biff to back down rather than risk further humiliation, instead settling for someone more in his own league. Remember, Lorraine was confident all along in either timeline.

Answer 4

He did pursue her. At the start of the first movie, before any time travel, Biff says to Marty, "Say hi to your Mom for me." To me that says that he had an affair with her at some stage, perhaps more than once. But Lorraine was still in love with George (due to the Florence Nightingale effect) so she always went back to him.

As for the dance, Biff and his mates were hanging around outside looking for trouble, so Biff probably wasn't even inside when George and Lorraine kissed.

I don't agree that Biff's interactions with Marty changed his attitude to Lorraine significantly. He asks her to the dance before he's heard she's going with "Calvin Klein".