Beyond (2014) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Michael confronts Cole at the hospital because he feels Betrayed by Cole's change of heart about Maya's pregnancy. Michael believes Cole has abandoned his original beliefs and is living without meaning while facing imminent death. Envious of the hope that still exists in Cole's life, Michael shoots him in a moment of desperation and moral conflict.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in the film, Michael expresses discontent with Cole's refusal to accept responsibility for his wife's pregnancy, foreshadowing his later confrontation.

• michael
• cole
• hospital
• shooting
• confrontation
• pregnancy

No, the asteroid misses Earth. In the final moments of the film, Maya calls Cole to tell him that the asteroid has missed Earth and that she has given birth to a baby girl. This news comes as Cole lies wounded in the hospital after being shot.

Foreshadowing: The film shows scientists attempting multiple missions to divert the asteroid, all of which fail, building tension about whether humanity can survive.

• asteroid
• earth
• misses
• birth
• daughter
• ending

Cole believes it is cruel to bring a child into a world facing certain destruction from the approaching asteroid. He sees no future worth living for a child and insists they should discuss abortion, unable to envision hope amid the impending apocalypse.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in their relationship, Cole states he does not want children, and Maya reveals she is incapable of conceiving, establishing his initial position on parenthood.

• cole
• maya
• pregnancy
• baby
• abortion
• asteroid

Keith Novac is a survivor in the post-apocalyptic flashforwards who serves as both a doctor and a theorist about the alien invasion. He proposes that the aliens have come to purge Earth of overpopulation and leave it better for survivors. He ultimately saves Cole's life by rushing from the hospital to shoot Michael and then operating on Cole.

Foreshadowing: Novac appears in the flashforwards demonstrating his attempts to contact the aliens, establishing his character as someone seeking understanding of the invasion.

• keith novac
• doctor
• survivor
• aliens
• theory

Michael is shot in the gut during the armed robbery while attempting to wrestle the gun away from the robber. Cole calls an ambulance for him. Later, Michael resurfaces at the hospital where he confronts Cole about betraying his beliefs regarding the pregnancy, ultimately shooting him before being killed by Novac.

Foreshadowing: The initial robbery scene establishes Michael as a character willing to take physical risks and confront danger directly.

• michael
• cashier
• shot
• robbery
• hospital

The flashforwards depict a possible future where Cole and Maya survive an asteroid impact and live in post-apocalyptic Scotland while hiding from alien spaceships. These visions represent Cole's imagined future under extreme survival pressure, showing how the stress of the apocalypse strains their relationship. In the end, these flashforwards appear to be Cole's delirium as he lies wounded.

Foreshadowing: The flashforwards interweave with present-day scenes from the beginning, suggesting they are connected to Cole's psychological state.

• flashforwards
• post-apocalyptic
• future
• delirium

As the asteroid grows closer and the world faces destruction, Cole asks Maya to marry him as a way to find meaning and permanence in their relationship. Maya initially treats it as a joke, but Cole insists he is serious, and she accepts, representing their commitment to each other despite the looming catastrophe.

Foreshadowing: Their discussions about the meaninglessness of impending doom at the house party establish their philosophical connection that leads to the proposal.

• cole
• maya
• proposal
• marriage
• asteroid

Survivor Keith Novac theorizes that the aliens have come to purge Earth of overpopulation and leave it better for the survivors. The aliens are depicted as hostile forces that hunt survivors in the post-apocalyptic flashforwards, though their exact motivations remain mysterious.

Foreshadowing: Novac demonstrates his attempts to contact the aliens, showing his obsession with understanding their purpose.

• aliens
• overpopulation
• purge
• novac
• invasion

In the flashforwards, the baby is left in the care of Maya's parents, who are believed to have fled the country. Cole and Maya's relationship becomes increasingly strained over this separation and the hardships of survival, and they even resort to eating the baby food they had saved.

Foreshadowing: Maya's choice to keep the baby despite Cole's objections creates the conflict that echoes throughout the flashforwards.

• baby
• maya parents
• flashforwards
• food
• survival

Cole and Maya separate because of their fundamental disagreement about the pregnancy. Cole believes it is cruel to have children in a doomed world, while Maya considers the pregnancy a miracle and chooses to keep the baby. This disagreement, combined with the stress of the impending apocalypse, drives them apart.

Foreshadowing: Their earlier discussion about children establishes Cole's position, and Maya's revelation that she is incapable makes her pregnancy even more significant.

• cole
• maya
• separation
• pregnancy
• conflict

After being shot by Michael, Cole is saved by Novac, who rushes from the hospital to shoot Michael and then works to save Cole's life. The film ends with Cole lying on a hospital bed while Maya sits beside him, suggesting he survives but his recovery remains uncertain.

Foreshadowing: Novac's medical expertise is established earlier when he treats survivors in the flashforwards, making his intervention plausible.

• cole
• survives
• hospital
• wound
• novac