[Triple_R]

I'm putting my reply to Decagon in Spoiler Space to save space, and since it may be a bit spoilerrific

Spoiler for Back to Madoka Magica Discussion! ;):

Originally Posted by Decagon

The issue that first pops up when I think of time traveling theories is that the act of traveling back and interacting (eg attacking Kyubey, warning Madoka) will make things different than how they originally were, opening the way for people to speculate on what kind of world Madoka first started on and what happened there.

Right. I've been thinking about this a bit myself. For example, the events of Episode 3 must have unfolded quite differently (in any original timeline) if Homura wasn't there, of course. Perhaps in an original timeline, Sayaka made a wish on the spot after Mami died, and then managed to defeat Charlotte, saving herself and Madoka.

When you talk about multiple jumps, however, it feels like it is less of her wish but more of her magic.

Agreed. I don't think that her wish, per se, was to go back in time to a specific point. I think that her wish may have been something else, but resulted in her having displacement powers.

And even if she spent many years going back and becoming more hardened, she already spent more of those years going forward, unless it takes longer to charge for a jump than the time you can travel back.

This is possible.

If she still had this power, why wouldn't she just find some place to recharge then go further back again after failing to kill QB in episode one?

Perhaps one of the limitations on Homura's power is that you can't have two Homuras in the same time and place. You can have two Madokas, but not two Homuras, as they'd be pulling from the same magical source. So, if this is the case, Homura only gets one shot to change the timeline, and we're watching that one shot unfold right now.