Await Further Instructions (2018) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

The family turns against Annji primarily due to underlying xenophobia. When the television broadcasts that one of them is infected, the family's preexisting prejudice against Annji, stemming from her Indian descent, makes her an easy target. Grandad and Kate had already made derogatory comments about her earlier, creating a pattern of blame that the mysterious broadcast exploits.

Foreshadowing: Earlier derogatory remarks toward Annji by Kate and Grandad plant the seeds for this unjust accusation.

• Annji
• infection accusation
• xenophobia
• family prejudice

The television appears to be the physical manifestation or control center of the sinister black force. It can perceive and monitor the family's actions and words within the house, allowing it to reveal Nick's escape attempt in real-time. This suggests the entity has some form of surveillance or telepathic connection to those trapped inside.

Foreshadowing: The ominous messages that begin appearing are already demonstrating knowledge of the family's situation before any outward actions.

• television
• escape
• surveillance
• black force

Tony's immediate compliance with the broadcast's increasingly extreme orders stems from both the manipulative power of the entity and his own authoritarian personality. The force appears to target and influence certain individuals more strongly. Additionally, Tony was already inclined toward controlling behavior, and the crisis gives him justification to exert dominance over the family.

Foreshadowing: Tony's insistence that everyone take the mysterious vaccines despite the syringes appearing reused establishes his willingness to follow the broadcasts without question.

• Tony
• broadcast
• compliance
• manipulation

The black substance is the physical manifestation of a parasitic entity or force that invades the home. It appears as both a consuming fog and living black wires that can infiltrate and control bodies. The entity uses the television as its primary interface for communication and manipulation, delivering instructions while the black wires serve as its tendrils for physical control.

Foreshadowing: The mysterious fog that traps them is the first sign of the entity's presence before any broadcasts begin.

• black substance
• fog
• entity
• wires
• invasion

After Kate's transformation into a skeletal figure, the entity introduces a new television that exploits the newborn baby. Renaming her 'Ruby' appears to be part of the entity's pattern of appropriation, it takes something pure and familiar and corrupts it for its own purposes. The broadcast then commands worship, suggesting the baby (now Ruby) will be used as a new vessel or symbol for the entity's control.

Foreshadowing: The entity's tendency to repurpose and control is established earlier when it manipulates Tony's corpse through black wires.

• baby
• Ruby
• Kate
• renamed
• entity control

Tony kills Scott during the forced ritual where the family is commanded to sacrifice Nick and Annji. The entity's manipulation has pushed Tony to extreme violence, and he views this as following the broadcast's orders to prove loyalty or protect the family. Scott becomes a victim of both the entity's coercion and Tony's willingness to commit atrocities under the guise of obedience.

Foreshadowing: Tony's escalating violence throughout the film, including his attack on Nick, shows his complete subjugation to the entity's will.

• Scott
• Tony
• murder
• sacrifice
• forced orders

Beth, who appears to be another family member (possibly Tony's wife), tries to help Nick and Annji during the chaos but tragically succumbs to the black smoke that permeates the house. Her death occurs as the entity escalates its attacks on those who resist or try to help others escape.

Foreshadowing: The black smoke becomes increasingly lethal as the family refuses to comply with the broadcasts.

• Beth
• black smoke
• death
• trapped

The entity targets Nick and Annji specifically because Nick attempted to defy the broadcasts and escape, marking him as a threat to its control. The television explicitly labels Nick as a spy when it reveals his escape plans. The forced sacrifice serves the entity's pattern of eliminating resistance while using the family's own hands to carry out its bidding.

Foreshadowing: Nick's earlier escape attempt and his vocal objections to locking Annji away establish him as a defiant figure the entity wants removed.

• sacrifice
• Nick
• Annji
• entity punishment

Kate undergoes a horrifying transformation where she is reduced to bones by the black force. This occurs during the final escalation as the entityasserts complete control. Her newborn baby is then taken by Tony (now fully controlled by the black wires) and renamed 'Ruby' to be used by the entity.

Foreshadowing: Kate's earlier willingness to blame Annji and comply with the broadcasts sets up her tragic fate as another victim claimed by the force.

• Kate
• transformation
• bones
• baby
• Ruby

The ending reveals that the family's ordeal is not isolated, the view outside shows every home in the neighborhood enveloped in the same creeping black wires. This indicates a widespread, global invasion where the entity has infiltrated numerous households simultaneously, suggesting the curse extends far beyond this single family.

Foreshadowing: The entity's use of television broadcasts as its primary method of control makes mass infiltration possible across all households.

• ending
• wires
• global
• every home
• curse

The broadcasts instructing the family to cleanse themselves with bleach and take mysterious vaccines are part of the entity's manipulation tactics. These false instructions serve to create chaos, test compliance, and potentially harm the family. The reused syringes hint at deliberate danger. The entity uses the guise of medical safety to gain obedience while actually putting the family at greater risk.

Foreshadowing: Grandad's death after following these instructions demonstrates their deadly purpose.

• bleach
• vaccine
• instructions
• poisoned
• compliance

After Nick destroys the main television and kills Tony in the fight, the entity demonstrates its true horror by animating Tony's corpse through an intertwined network of living black wires. This reveals that the television was merely a conduit, not the source itself. The wires can puppet any body, using corpses as vessels to continue the entity's mission.

Foreshadowing: The entity's ability to communicate through the television was always a sign it had broader physical capabilities beyond the screen.

• Tony
• corpse
• wires
• controlled
• television