47 Meters Down (2017) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

The cage line snapped suddenly while Lisa and Kate were submerged at 47 meters. Javier had been pouring fish blood into the water to attract sharks, and when the sharks approached, the sudden movement and weight likely caused the already rusty, dilapidated cable to give way. The cage plummeted straight to the ocean floor with the sisters inside.

Foreshadowing: Taylor's boat was described as dilapidated and the cage as rusty, hinting at equipment failure.

• cage collapse
• shark cage
• line snap
• equipment failure
• 47 meters

Kate left the cage because there was no communication from Taylor and their oxygen was running low. She believed she could swim up to the boat and signal for help faster than waiting for a rescue. Despite Taylor warning her about nearby sharks once she reached him, she made the brave decision to venture outside the cage to save them both.

• kate
• leaving cage
• oxygen
• swim to surface
• help

No, Kate did not die. In the climactic ending, Lisa hallucinates seeing Kate alive on the boat after her own rescue, but this is revealed to be a hallucination caused by oxygen toxicity. In reality, both sisters survived and were rescued together. The movie uses this twist to show the psychological toll the ordeal took on Lisa.

• kate death
• hallucination
• ending
• oxygen toxicity
• survival

Lisa's hallucination was caused by oxygen toxicity (specifically nitrogen narcosis) from her damaged oxygen tank. After the cable snapped and trapped her leg, she was using a compromised tank that was delivering oxygen at incorrect pressures. This caused her to experience vivid hallucinations, including believing she was already on the boat with Kate when she was still underwater.

Foreshadowing: The cable snapping and trapping Lisa's leg led to her using a faulty oxygen source.

• hallucination
• oxygen toxicity
• nitrogen narcosis
• ending
• psychological

When the shark latched onto Lisa just as she reached the surface, she instinctively retaliated by targeting the shark's eye. This caused the shark to release her, allowing her to escape to the surface. She then clung to a piece of the wrecked cage until the rescue coast guard arrived.

• shark attack
• surface
• shark eye
• escape
• survival

After Lisa retrieved part of Javier's body to get the cable that could restore communication with their cage, she was trying to use it to pull herself free when the cable snapped. The sudden tension combined with the corroded state of the equipment caused it to break, trapping her leg under the wreckage instead.

• cable snap
• trapped leg
• javier
• cage
• equipment

Javier was killed by the Great White shark while trying to help. When Lisa was hiding in the cavern after the shark attacked her, she witnessed Javier being attacked and killed by the same shark. Later, Lisa found part of his body and used it to retrieve the communication cable, which became crucial for their survival attempt.

• javier death
• shark attack
• body
• communication cable

Lisa agreed primarily to please her sister Kate, who was trying to help her recover from a recent breakup. Kate discovered Lisa crying and learned her ex-boyfriend left her because she had lost her sense of fun. Determined to help Lisa rediscover her adventurous spirit, Kate persuaded her to join the shark diving excursion, and Lisa went along to not disappoint her.

Foreshadowing: Lisa's emotional breakdown over her breakup set up her willingness to take risks.

• lisa
• fear
• breakup
• kate
• persuasion
• adventure

The decompress stop is a mandatory safety pause required when ascending from deep water. At 47 meters, the sisters had absorbed significant amounts of nitrogen into their bloodstream due to the high pressure. Ascending too quickly would cause decompression sickness (the bends), which can be fatal. They had to pause at a specific depth for five minutes to allow the nitrogen to safely escape from their bodies before continuing to the surface.

• decompress
• nitrogen
• ascend
• safety
• bends
• depth

The Great White shark attacked Lisa because she was vulnerable and isolated in the open water. After failing to spot sharks initially, Javier had attracted them with fish blood. When the cage fell, the shark became aggressive and targeted Lisa, who was separated from Kate. She barely escaped by swimming into a narrow cavern where the shark couldn't follow.

• shark attack
• cavern
• vulnerable
• fish blood
• escape