On further review, it seems like they are going to use the Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles version of time travel. Evidence we have:
1) Gardner's grandmother was killed (different than his timeline), but he didn't poof. At the time, they had lots of theories, but the last episode seems to cement the idea that the reason he exists still is because his timeline went nowhere (thus he still remembers it and his grandmother was alive), but now he is on a different timeline.
2) The Freelancers didn't seem to give a shit about Alec anymore, because they acknowledged that he wasn't a threat to their timeline. As was pointed out, this means that unless there is some independent rescue of Kira & crew, they will spend the rest of their lives in plexiglass boxes and Alec will experience/create a completely new timeline. This could also have other consequences, including Carlos not being on the run and Travis no longer being dead (due to possible alterations brought about by Alec).
3) There are also hints that the Alec future could be the result of intentional time travel debauchery. While the viewer assumes Alec's future as super CEO of doom was a given, it is possible that "timeline 0" had no Alec at all. This would explain why Freelancers were a problem even in 2077 to him. As a possible theory, timeline 0 is a timeline where a time machine device is created (lets assume it is even farther in the future). Someone starts to muck up the timeline, which requires "freelancers" or what have you to go back to correct the problem. This someone could either be Escher or someone else. However, at some point, Escher decides to create a beneficial future for himself and any potential offspring. He fathers Alec and lays the seeds for Alec to continue on "his father's work", which in actuality is tech that was developed in timeline 0 and Escher wants to ensure is created earlier (to benefit himself and family). Alec grows up to become the greatest inventor of all, ignorant to the fact that his father basically "hax0red the future" and took the credit for other people's inventions (of course, Alec is a smart cookie and was able to finish the tech). Now we know future Alec appears to acknowledge/seem aware of people like Kira, which would suggest that the 2077 timeline we experience in the show may in fact be one of perhaps hundreds of timelines where future Alec already experienced all the stuff in the "present" and is trying to preserve or perfect his timeline by ensuring certain key individuals go back in time. While 2077 Alec we see in the show cannot directly change his fate, he knows that he can create a new timeline and ensure that he accounts for the mistakes/events that resulted in his current 2077 timeline (ie, keep trying until he is able to create a "perfect" timeline).
