Nocturne (2020) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Juliet chooses to play Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2, the same piece as Vivian, because she wants to prove she can match her sister. When Dr. Cask confronts her about changing her audition piece without telling Vivian, Juliet admits she only wanted to beat Vivian. This competitive drive stems from years of being overshadowed by her prodigy sister, who has already been accepted to Juilliard.

Foreshadowing: This rivalry between the sisters was established early when Vivian was described as the prodigy while Juliet felt invisible.

• Juliet
• Vivian
• audition
• rivalry
• saint-saëns
• piano concerto

The Devil's Trill is a real violin sonata composed by Giuseppe Tartini, reputedly inspired by a dream in which the devil offered to play his violin. In the film, the piece represents dark, forbidden art and supernatural influence. When Juliet plays the untitled piece from Moira's notebook, Dr. Cask identifies it as The Devil's Trill, linking Juliet to Moira's mysterious legacy and foreshadowing her own tragic descent.

Foreshadowing: Moira's notebook contains the score for this demonic piece, suggesting she too was influenced by dark forces at the academy.

• The Devil's Trill
• Tartini
• Moira
• notebook
• supernatural

Moira's notebook contains prophetic drawings that foreshadow terrible events. The three balls drawing matches tablets Juliet took, predicting her state. Later drawings align with actual events: one page shows a figure falling (Vivian falling off the cliff), another shows Roger. The final page Juliet creates through automatic writing demands sacrifice, which manifests as her own death at the end.

Foreshadowing: Juliet discovers that previous drawings have already come true, realization that triggers her panic and eventual decision to burn the notebook.

• Moira
• notebook
• drawings
• prophecy
• sacrifice
• predict

At the secret senior party, Juliet flirts with Vivian's boyfriend Max and shares information about Moira's notebook. Vivian catches them together and a fight erupts. During the confrontation, a blinding light, matching the sun symbol from Moira's notebook, appears and stops Juliet in her tracks. Vivian, unable to see the light, chases after her and falls off a cliff, injuring her arm in two places.

Foreshadowing: The blinding light mirrors the sun symbol repeatedly shown in Moira's notebook, indicating supernatural forces at work.

• secret party
• Vivian
• cliff
• Max
• light
• fall

Moira was a senior violinist at Lindberg Academy who died by suicide before the senior showcase. After her death, auditions opened for her replacement, which both Juliet and Vivian enter. Juliet discovers Moira's mysterious notebook containing the Devil's Trill and prophetic drawings. Juliet learns that her own family tragedy mirrors Moira's, Juliet's mother fell from a ski-lift into a coma while her father burned down their house and himself. This connection suggests a pattern of tragedy that repeats at the academy.

Foreshadowing: Moira's death sets the entire plot in motion, providing the catalyst for the competitive auditions that drive the sisters' rivalry.

• Moira
• suicide
• notebook
• connection
• family tragedy

Juliet burns the notebook after she enters a trance and, through automatic writing, creates a drawing that demands sacrifice. Recognizing that the previous drawings have accurately predicted violent events, Vivian's fall, Roger's confrontation, Juliet panics at the implication that she might be next. She burns the entire notebook in an attempt to break the cycle of prophecy, but this desperate act ultimately proves futile.

Foreshadowing: The notebook's predictions have been eerily accurate, making Juliet fear what the final sacrifice drawing might mean.

• notebook
• burn
• sacrifice
• prophecy
• automatic writing

Juliet suffers a panic attack on stage during the showcase because of the overwhelming pressure from the rivalry with Vivian, the guilt over her sister's injury, and the weight of the prophetic notebook. Just before going on stage, Vivian confronts her and declares she will always be mediocre. This final psychological blow, combined with the supernatural influence of the notebook and the cumulative stress of sabotage, jealousy, and family trauma, causes Juliet to flee the stage in terror.

Foreshadowing: The notebook's prophecy and Vivian's constant put-downs have been building Juliet's psychological fragility throughout the film.

• panic attack
• showcase
• stage
• juliet
• vivian
• breakdown

The drawing of three balls in Moira's notebook corresponds to the three tablets Juliet took. This detail reveals that the notebook's prophecies work through Juliet's own actions, she unconsciously recreates the drawings through her real-life choices. The three balls appear as a drawing in her hand, showing that Juliet is already caught in the notebook's predictive cycle and may be acting out its demands without conscious awareness.

Foreshadowing: Juliet notices this drawing matches the tablets she actually took, making her realize the notebook's drawings are becoming reality.

• three balls
• drawing
• tablets
• notebook
• prophecy

After Juliet's birthday dinner explodes in conflict, Vivian throws cake at Dr. Cask and storms out, Juliet is driven home by Dr. Cask. She tries to kiss him romantically, but he rejects her. In retaliation, Juliet reveals she discovered he was having an affair with Vivian, then burns his trophy as a symbolic destruction of his authority and legacy. This act represents Juliet's complete rejection of the adult world that has betrayed her.

Foreshadowing: Earlier hints of the inappropriate teacher-student dynamics and Dr. Cask's dual mentoring of both sisters foreshadowed this explosive revelation.

• trophy
• burn
• Dr. Cask
• affair
• kiss
• rejection

After Vivian falls off the cliff while chasing Juliet, she injures her arm in two places, putting her piano career at risk. She is suspended from Lindberg Academy. Juliet is offered Vivian's role in the showcase and accepts it. When Juliet later tries to talk to Vivian, she is accused of sabotaging her sister, though the truth is more complicated, involving the supernatural light and the prophetic notebook rather than deliberate sabotage.

Foreshadowing: The injury directly parallels Moira's own career-ending tragedy, suggesting the academy carries a curse that destroys promising musicians.

• Vivian
• injury
• cliff
• showcase
• suspension
• career

After her panic attack forces her to flee the stage during the showcase, Juliet runs to the roof of the auditorium. She imagines a version of herself finishing the performance to a standing ovation and receiving her sister's approval. In reality, she jumps to her death. Her body is later found bloody on a statue while campus students continue their day, unaware of the tragedy. This mirrors Moira's own suicide from the balcony at the film's beginning.

Foreshadowing: The opening scene showed Moira playing violin before jumping from a balcony, directly foreshadowing Juliet's identical fate.

• Juliet
• death
• suicide
• roof
• showcase
• statue