Great White (2021) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Benny and Charlie discovered a photo of the dead man's girlfriend on his phone, leading them to believe she might still be alive somewhere on their yacht. Despite Joji's protests that the search was dangerous and likely futile, the group felt compelled to investigate because they had no way to know whether anyone could be rescued.

Foreshadowing: The earlier discovery of the lifeless body already signaled that a shark was actively hunting in the area.

• yacht rescue
• dead body
• photo
• girlfriend
• decision to search

After Kaz jumped into the water to retrieve a lost oar, tension between Benny and Joji escalated into a confrontation. While they were distracted by their argument, the great white shark attacked Benny, killing him. The shark then turned its attention to the raft, flipping everyone into the water.

Foreshadowing: The group's earlier discovery of the partially devoured girlfriend hinted at the shark's predatory behavior.

• benny death
• shark attack
• joji confrontation
• oar

When the shark flipped the raft, everyone was thrown into the water. Joji attempted to swim back toward the raft but was caught by the shark and killed. His decision to swim rather than wait for the group proved fatal.

Foreshadowing: The earlier attack on Benny demonstrated how vulnerable anyone in the water was to the shark.

• joji death
• raft flipped
• swimming
• shark attack

Kaz's pregnancy added emotional stakes to the survival scenario. When she bravely attacked a shark with a flare, her willingness to risk her life for the group emphasized the desperate circumstances. Her survival meant not just her own life was at risk, but also her unborn child's.

Foreshadowing: The pregnancy was revealed during the climax when Kaz took action, creating higher emotional tension.

• kaz pregnancy
• stakes
• baby
• survival
• bravery

When Kaz became trapped in the wreckage and the shark lunged at her, she was pulled underwater and began to lose consciousness. Michelle performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Kaz, reviving her just before she would have drowned. This allowed Kaz to gather the strength to dislodge debris and kill the final shark.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in the film, Michelle had already proven herself willing to help the group survive.

• kaz drowning
• mouth-to-mouth
• michelle rescue
• revived
• wreckage

After being revived by Michelle, Kaz used the debris around her in the shipwreck wreckage to defend herself. She dislodged a piece of the rusted structure and managed to strike or trap the shark, killing it. This final confrontation ended the sharks' reign of terror.

Foreshadowing: The earlier use of the flare and knife showed the group had been fighting back against the sharks throughout the night.

• final shark
• debris
• shipwreck
• killed
• kaz survival

After Benny dove into the water to search the overturned yacht for survivors, he discovered the girlfriend's corpse. As the group rushed back to their seaplane, the great white shark that had been lurking nearby attacked them, forcing them to abandon their aircraft.

Foreshadowing: The discovery of the dead body earlier signaled a shark was actively hunting in those waters.

• yacht ambush
• capsized boat
• benny discovery
• shark attack

The first great white shark had been stalking and circling the group throughout their time on the raft. The blood and chaos from the earlier attacks likely attracted additional sharks to the area, resulting in multiple predators circling and attacking the survivors.

Foreshadowing: The earlier attacks had blood in the water, which is known to attract sharks.

• multiple sharks
• blood
• attracted
• predator
• circling

When Kaz, Michelle, and Charlie spotted land on the second day, they discovered their raft was rapidly losing air. This forced them to devise a plan where Kaz and Charlie would distract the sharks while Michelle attempted to swim to shore, since staying on the sinking raft would have been fatal.

Foreshadowing: The raft had been damaged during the earlier shark attacks.

• raft sinking
• losing air
• land spotted
• swim to shore
• desperation

After Kaz successfully struck a shark with a flare, Charlie attempted to kill it with a knife by piercing its eye. He then tried to reload another flare to deal with the remaining shark, but during the struggle, he was attacked and killed by the shark.

Foreshadowing: Charlie had been actively fighting off sharks throughout the night, taking increasing risks.

• charlie death
• flare
• knife
• shark attack
• final fight

When Michelle accidentally dropped one of the two oars while dozing off, the group was left with only one oar to paddle. Kaz decided to jump into the water to retrieve the lost oar because they desperately needed both oars to navigate to safety. This risky decision put her directly in the shark's territory.

Foreshadowing: The loss of the oar created immediate urgency, as their survival depended on being able to paddle.

• kaz jumped
• lost oar
• michelle
• risk
• paddle