Assassination (2015) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Donny, Lily's younger brother, was revealed to be the mastermind behind the massive hacks that exposed the private lives of Salem's residents. When confronted by their parents, he explained his motivation with a chillingly casual response: 'I don't know, for the lulz.' This indicates his actions were driven by nihilistic amusement rather than any specific grievance or political purpose.

• donny
• hacks
• salem
• mastermind
• lulz
• motives

Mayor Bartlett, who was known as a staunch anti-gay politician, was exposed by Marty's hacks. The revelation showed scandalous images of Bartlett cavorting with male escorts and wearing women's clothing. During a press conference called to address these allegations, Bartlett became overwhelmed with despair and publicly shot himself, sending shockwaves through the community.

• mayor bartlett
• suicide
• scandal
• exposed
• anti-gay

Nick Mathers was Lily's neighbor whom she had previously babysat. After Lily's explicit images were leaked through the hacks, Nick initially approached her claiming he wanted to help. However, he revealed his true intentions when he attempted to sexually assault and kill her, blaming her for the chaos that consumed Salem. His betrayal was driven by his desire to punish Lily for the destruction she inadvertently caused to the community.

• nick mathers
• attack
• lily
• betrayal
• assault

The massive data leak exposed the private lives of nearly half the town's residents, revealing secrets ranging from affairs to private communications. This invasion of privacy caused widespread chaos as people sought revenge against those who had wronged them. Residents began taking matters into their own hands, forming masked mobs to hunt down and torture anyone they blamed for the town's problems, ultimately leading to lynch mobs and murder.

Foreshadowing: Marty's initial hack of Mayor Bartlett planted the seeds for the town's descent into mob rule.

• vigilante
• mob
• justice
• salem
• data leak
• chaos

When Nick attempted to assault and kill Lily, she managed to fight back despite being cornered. During the struggle, she discovered Marty's dead body in the bathroom, which momentarily shocked her. However, she quickly recovered and used Nick's own weapons against him, ultimately killing him. She then took his armory of weapons and went to rescue her captured friends Em and Sarah.

• lily
• survive
• nick
• fight
• rescue
• weapons

Grace, a classmate of Lily, discovered that her intimate images had been shared by her best friend Reagan. Feeling betrayed and humiliated, Grace flew into a rage during cheerleading practice and attacked Reagan with a baseball bat. The attack left Reagan in a coma, representing one of the many violent consequences stemming from the mass data leak.

• grace
• reagan
• attack
• baseball bat
• nude images
• revenge

Lily had been secretly texting a man she called 'Daddy' while pretending to enjoy time with her boyfriend Mark. The identity of this mysterious man was revealed to be Nick Mathers, her neighbor whom she used to babysit. When the massive data dump occurred, Lily's explicit conversations and images with Nick were exposed, leading to her public shaming and eventual disownment by her parents.

• lily
• nick
• daddy
• images
• exposed
• texting

When the masked mob tracked Lily to Em and Sarah's home, the violent intruders broke in with the intent of capturing Lily. Em and Sarah's mother, Nance, attempted to defend her daughters from the attackers. During the violent confrontation, Nance was killed while trying to protect her children, becoming one of the tragic casualties of the town's vigilante rule.

• nance
• death
• em
• sarah
• mob
• killed
• protect

Marty was a laid-back hacker who received an explosive tip about Mayor Bartlett's secret life. He was given compromising images of the mayor with male escorts and wearing women's clothing. Marty then disseminated this information to the entire town, not realizing this would trigger the chain of events leading to widespread chaos and his own torture and death at the hands of the vigilantes.

• marty
• hacking
• mayor bartlett
• expose
• images

After the mob targeted Lily's friends, Johnny (Diamond's best friend) captured Bex with the intent of sexually assaulting and killing her as revenge for Diamond's humiliation at the party. Through clever negotiation, Bex persuaded Johnny to spare her life by talking to him and reasoning with him. Meanwhile, her friends coordinated a daring rescue, ultimately eliminating Johnny and his accomplices.

• bex
• johnny
• diamond
• capture
• negotiate
• escape
• rescue

After surviving the attacks and rescuing her friends, Lily decided to take action by crafting a video declaration to the town. In it, she proclaimed her innocence and rallied the victims of the hacks to stand up against their oppressors. This call to action sparked a movement among the townspeople who had been wronged, leading to a larger riot against the mob rule consuming Salem.

• lily
• video
• rally
• town
• innocent
• victims
• stand up

The massive data leak exposed the private lives of countless Salem residents. This included Mayor Bartlett's secret meetings with male escorts and his cross-dressing, Principal Turrell's daughter's compromising photos (which falsely painted him as a pedophile), and many residents' personal communications, secrets, and intimate images. The leak destroyed relationships, tarnished reputations, and ultimately led to violence throughout the town.

• data leak
• private information
• salem
• exposed
• secrets
• hacked