Emperor (2020) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Shields kills the overseer in retaliation for the brutal torture his wife Sarah endured and the whipping of his son Tommy. When the overseer crosses a line by harming his family, Shields retaliates in a desperate act of violence that forces him to flee the plantation.

• shields green
• overseer
• plantation
• murder
• escape

Shields kills the overseer and flees the Charleston plantation into the surrounding wilderness. During the chaotic escape, his wife Sarah is tragically killed, leaving Shields to continue northward alone while a bounty is placed on his head.

• escape
• bounty
• south carolina
• wife death

Truesdale initially offers Shields shelter out of mercy, but the promise of the bounty reward proves too tempting. The next day, Truesdale locks Shields in a cage and plans to wait for bounty hunter Luke McCabe to claim the reward.

• truesdale
• bounty hunters
• betrayal
• money

Delores, who had objected to sheltering Shields from the start, kills Truesdale to free Shields from the cage. Her motivation appears to be preventing Truesdale's betrayal and possibly protecting Shields from being captured or killed.

• delores
• truesdale
• murder
• frees shields

After Delores kills Truesdale and frees him, Shields accepts blame for the murder to protect Delores from prosecution. He bears responsibility for a crime he did not commit and continues his flight northward with this moral weight.

• delores
• murder charge
• blame
• responsibility

After reaching Maryland with funds from Levi Coffin to free his son, Shields meets John Brown and Frederick Douglass preparing the Harpers Ferry raid. He decides to join their cause to fight against slavery, viewing it as an opportunity to strike a meaningful blow against the institution that enslaved him.

Foreshadowing: Shields' journey northward has been leading him toward the abolitionist movement from the beginning.

• john brown
• frederick douglass
• harpers ferry
• abolition
• join cause

Shields and Brown's men seize Harpers Ferry intending to arm enslaved people for a larger insurrection. However, United States Army forces led by Colonel Robert E. Lee retake the town. Many of Brown's followers are killed or wounded, and the raid fails to achieve its immediate goals.

• harpers ferry
• raid
• colonel lee
• army
• failure
• casualties

Wounded from a gunshot by McCabe during the retreat, Shields seeks refuge in a church while bounty hunters close in. During an intense gun battle, he climbs the church spire to escape, then leaps into the river below to evade McCabe and his men, surviving the deadly pursuit.

• church
• spire
• river escape
• mccabe
• wounded

Yes. Levi Coffin uses resources to purchase Tommy's freedom from slavery. Coffin then travels with the boy to reunite Shields with his son. The reunion strengthens Shields' resolve to continue fighting against slavery.

Foreshadowing: Coffin had promised to help free Tommy using funds raised by abolitionist supporters.

• tommy
• son
• reunion
• levi coffin
• freedom

After surviving the Harpers Ferry raid and escaping McCabe's pursuit, Shields is reunited with his freed son Tommy through Levi's Coffin's efforts. The film ends in 1890 with Shields' son writing a book about his father's life and taking it to a publisher, preserving his legacy.

• ending
• 1890
• book
• legacy
• son writes book

After young bank robber Rufus Kelly dies from injuries sustained during their ambush escape, Shields takes his gun and the looted money. This practical decision allows Shields to continue his journey northward with better weapons and resources to survive the pursuit.

• rufus kelly
• death
• gun
• money
• takes belongings