Another Round (2020) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

The teachers were inspired by psychiatrist Finn Skårderud's theory that humans are born with a 0.05% blood alcohol deficiency. According to this theory, maintaining that level could enhance creativity and relaxation. Feeling stuck in their teaching careers and personal lives, Martin dealing with depression and marital distance, Nikolaj with a strained marriage, they saw the experiment as a way to break free from their monotony.

Foreshadowing: The film establishes early that all four teachers feel unfulfilled and disconnected from their students, making them receptive to an unconventional solution.

• finn skårderud theory
• blood alcohol
• experiment
• teachers
• copenhagen

Tommy drowns at sea after the experiment ends. Despite the others quitting daytime drinking, Tommy continues struggling with his addiction. After appearing drunk at a faculty meeting, he takes his old dog out on a boat and never returns, their bodies are later found in the water.

Foreshadowing: Tommy is shown throughout the film as the one who struggles most to control his drinking, often appearing drunk when the others have already stopped.

• tommy
• death
• drowning
• dog
• boat
• sea

After Tommy's funeral, Martin joins celebrating graduates at the harbor and dances with genuine joy, a stark contrast to his previously reserved nature. His leap off the harbor wall into the bay symbolizes liberation from his emotional restraint and grief. This moment represents hard-won freedom and a potential reconciliation with life after loss.

Foreshadowing: Martin is shown throughout as emotionally guarded and distant from his family, making this spontaneous expression of joy a significant breakthrough.

• martin
• dance
• jump
• harbor
• bay
• freedom
• ending

Encouraged by their initial successes, Martin reconciled with his family and his history lessons became engaging, the teachers grew overconfident. They believed they could handle more alcohol and pushed their limit higher, which led to reckless behavior and blurred the boundaries of their original experiment.

Foreshadowing: Their early positive results make them underestimate the risks, setting up the eventual escalation and consequences.

• bac limit
• 0.10
• increase
• escalation
• consequences

During the family confrontation that follows their night of excess, Martin learns that his wife has been unfaithful. She had also known about his drinking all along. This devastating revelation, combined with the family's anger, causes the group to abandon their experiment in disarray.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes show tension between Martin and his wife, with Nikolaj's wife also displaying disdain for him, hinting at deeper marital problems.

• wife
• infidelity
• affair
• martin
• confrontation
• family

The teachers set several guidelines: maintain at least 0.05% BAC during workdays, stop drinking by 8:00 PM, abstain on weekends, and never drive after drinking since 0.05 is the legal driving limit. They also promised to be honest about their experiment with each other.

Foreshadowing: These rules demonstrate their initial attempt at controlled experimentation, which becomes increasingly difficult to maintain as the experiment progresses.

• rules
• experiment
• drinking
• workdays
• 8pm
• driving limit

At 0.05% BAC, Martin becomes more relaxed and creative in his history classes. His lessons become engaging and relevant, capturing students' attention in ways they hadn't before. This professional renewal is a major reason the teachers believe the experiment is working.

Foreshadowing: The film opens with Martin facing criticism from students and parents, showing his teaching needs revitalization.

• martin
• teaching
• history
• students
• creativity
• alcohol

Finn Skårderud is a real Danish psychiatrist who proposed that humans are born with a 0.05% blood alcohol deficiency. He suggested that maintaining this level could enhance creativity, confidence, and social ease. The film's characters use this theory as the scientific basis for their experiment.

Foreshadowing: The theory is introduced during Nikolaj's 40th birthday dinner as an intellectual curiosity before becoming a real experiment.

• finn skarderud
• theory
• psychiatrist
• blood alcohol
• creativity

Unlike his colleagues, Tommy is unable to give up daytime drinking even after the group decides to stop. He continues drinking alone, appearing intoxicated at work. His inability to control his addiction ultimately leads to his tragic death at sea.

Foreshadowing: Tommy is portrayed as the most enthusiastic participant from the start, often drinking more than the others and showing signs of dependency earlier.

• tommy
• addiction
• alcohol
• cannot quit
• struggle

After a night of heavy drinking that goes too far, the families gather and confront the teachers about their behavior. This heated confrontation reveals the extent of their drinking and its impact on their relationships, leading Martin to discover his wife's infidelity.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes show families becoming suspicious, with Martin's wife knowing about the drinking all along.

• families
• confrontation
• discovery
• infidelity
• aftermath