Almost an Angel (1990) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

After being hit by a car while saving a young boy, Terry experiences a dreamlike vision in the hospital where God appears as his probation officer and tells him he's been given a second chance to do God's work as an angel in training. Though he has no actual supernatural powers, Terry interprets this near-death experience as a sign that he's become an immortal angel who cannot die.

Foreshadowing: The hospital room TV is playing a program when the vision occurs, suggesting it may have influenced Terry's dreamlike state.

• terry dean
• angel
• god
• hospital vision
• near death experience
• redemption

Steve dies after overhearing detectives closing in on Terry. As he rushes to warn Terry in his wheelchair, a sack of glass bottles breaks and cuts his femoral artery. He bleeds out in Terry's arms while the cross on the church rooftop illuminates, a sign Steve interprets as a message from God confirming his sacrifice had meaning.

Foreshadowing: Steve's terminal illness was established earlier, making his death foreshadowed by his medical condition.

• steve garner
• death
• terminal illness
• sacrifice
• cross
• sign from god

When Terry walks into the street, a speeding truck passes directly through him rather than hitting him. This proves he has truly died and become an angel, confirming that his earlier belief was correct. Rose witnesses this miracle and understands that Terry has earned his angelic status.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Terry told Rose he was 'almost an angel' and the cross glowed without batteries, hinting at his transformation.

• terry dean
• truck
• miracle
• angel transformation
• ending explained

Terry is guided to the youth center after following signs like the 'Moses Bros.' moving company and 'Paradise Bar.' He meets Steve Garner, a wheelchair-bound man with terminal illness who offers him a place at the center. Terry sees helping the center as his opportunity to prove he's worthy of being an angel by performing genuine good deeds rather than crimes.

Foreshadowing: The string of signs Terry follows suggests divine guidance leading him to this purpose.

• terry dean
• rose
• steve garner
• youth center
• redemption
• good deeds

Terry uses his electronics expertise to record and re-edit a TV evangelist's segment, then installs lighting effects on the church rooftop cross that can be controlled by his modified universal remote. When Bealeman sees the illuminated cross and the manipulated broadcast, he believes it's a divine sign and agrees to continue funding the center.

Foreshadowing: Terry's background as an electronics specialist who sabotaged surveillance systems is established early in the film.

• george bealeman
• youth center funding
• manipulation
• universal remote
• cross lighting
• tv evangelist

After believing he's been made an angel, Terry decides to use his skills for good rather than personal gain. He donates the money from his Willie Nelson bank heist to the church and begins focusing on helping others, marking his transition from criminal to someone trying to earn his angelic status through good deeds.

Foreshadowing: The shift from theft to charity begins after his hospital vision.

• terry dean
• Willie Nelson heist
• stolen money
• donation
• redemption
• good deeds

After Steve's death, Rose checks the universal remote Terry used to control the cross lighting and discovers it's missing batteries. Yet the cross continues to shine on its own, leading Rose to realize the illumination was a genuine divine sign rather than Terry's technical manipulation.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Terry controlled the cross using the remote, but the final glow occurs without any power source.

• rose
• universal remote
• cross lighting
• batteries
• divine sign
• miracle

Terry invites Steve to an equal, no-holds-barred fistfight staged on a stool as a test of strength and will. This act treats Steve as an equal rather than someone defined by his disability, breaking through Steve's isolation and earning his trust. The moment is transformative for Steve, who sees Terry as someone who accepts him without pity.

Foreshadowing: Steve's isolation and frustration with his condition were established when Terry first met him at Paradise Bar.

• steve garner
• fistfight
• wheelchair
• acceptance
• transformation
• trust

When Terry attempts a second bank robbery disguised as Rod Stewart, a gang of amateur thieves interrupts the scene. One of the would-be robbers rigs the gun with blanks, preventing Terry from being harmed. This leads Terry to believe he is an immortal angel since he survived what should have been a deadly shooting.

Foreshadowing: The blanks are actually from an ally's ruse, but Terry misinterprets the survival as proof of his angelic status.

• rod stewart heist
• blanks
• gun
• amateur robbers
• terry dean
• mistaken belief

Immediately after his successful Willie Nelson bank heist, Terry spots a young boy about to be hit by a van. He impulsively rushes to push the boy out of harm's way but gets struck by the vehicle himself. This act of heroism causes his hospitalization and sets the stage for his spiritual awakening.

Foreshadowing: This selfless act contrasts with his criminal behavior, signaling his potential for redemption.

• terry dean
• boy
• van accident
• save
• hospitalization
• catalyst

Terry uses his electronics knowledge to modify a universal remote that hijacks bank security cameras to show TV programs, creating confusion. He then arrives in celebrity disguises, like Willie Nelson or Rod Stewart, to further sow disbelief among bank staff. This theatrical approach marks his shift from simple break-ins to showy, elaborate crimes.

Foreshadowing: His background as an electronics specialist who sabotaged prison surveillance is established at the beginning.

• terry dean
• celebrity disguise
• Willie Nelson
• Rod Stewart
• bank robbery
• universal remote
• surveillance hack

The cross on the church rooftop illuminates twice: first when Terry uses his remote to manipulate Bealeman, and then again after Steve dies, without any batteries in the remote. The second illumination is interpreted as a genuine sign from God, confirming Steve's sacrificial death had divine meaning and marking Terry's transition to becoming a true angel.

Foreshadowing: Terry's manipulation of the cross with technology is established earlier, making the battery-less glow significant.

• cross
• illumination
• sign from god
• steve's death
• miracle
• church rooftop