Paul (2011) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Paul heals Ruth's eye because he wants to prove that his existence contradicts her creationist beliefs. After healing her blind eye, Paul tells Ruth that if God made her eye work after all these years, it means God sent Paul to her. This moment shatters Ruth's lifelong religious convictions and sparks her curiosity about life's darker, more adventurous side. It also represents Paul's ability to perform miracles, which becomes crucial later in the film when he saves Graeme's life.

• ruth buggs
• creationism
• healing
• blind eye
• religious beliefs

The government wants to capture Paul because they have been secretly housing him for decades and using his advanced knowledge for scientific research. Paul reveals that he helped the U.S. government with various projects, including advising on pop culture like inspiring Spielberg's E.T. and creating the character Fox Mulder. However, the government decided to terminate their arrangement with Paul, planning to use him for dangerous experimentation instead. This is why Paul urgently needs Graeme and Clive's help to escape.

• government
• capture
• experimentation
• Lorenzo Zoil
• alien research

Paul knows about these cultural references because he literally inspired them. During his decades-long stay with the U.S. government, Paul worked as a consultant and contributed to major film and television projects. He directly inspired Steven Spielberg's alien character in E.T. and helped create the paranoid FBI agent Fox Mulder from The X-Files. This explains Paul's extensive knowledge of human culture and his irreverent, profanity-laden humor throughout the film.

• e.t.
• x-files
• steven spielberg
• fox mulder
• pop culture
• government secrets

Moses attacks Graeme during the ambush at Tara's house because he is still hostile toward the group and blames them for corrupting his daughter Ruth. After Ruth's beliefs were shattered by Paul's healing, Moses viewed Graeme and the aliens as responsible for destroying his daughter's faith. During the chaotic showdown, Moses sees an opportunity and fatally stabs Graeme with a knife, forcing Paul to use his remaining energy to save Graeme's life, which leaves Paul exhausted.

• moses
• attack
• stab
• graeme
• ruth buggs
• ambush

Paul saves Graeme by using his alien healing powers to revive him after Moses stabs him. However, this act drains Paul of almost all his energy, causing him to collapse from exhaustion. The film establishes earlier that Paul can heal injuries, he restored Ruth's blind eye, so his ability to save a dying human is consistent with his powers. The consequences are severe for Paul, nearly killing him in the process.

Foreshadowing: Paul's earlier healing of Ruth's eye establishes that he has powerful regenerative abilities.

• healing
• revive
• exhausted
• powers
• graeme wounded

At the end of the film, Paul departs Earth in his spaceship, returning to his home planet. Before leaving, Paul offers Tara Walton, the woman who saved him decades ago, a chance at a new life by bringing her aboard the spacecraft. Paul says goodbye to Graeme and Clive, thanking them for their help. The film ends two years later at another Comic-Con, where Graeme and Clive successfully sell a comic book adaptation of their adventure with Paul.

• spaceship
• leaves earth
• Tara Walton
• farewell
• returns home

Ruth's transformation occurs because Paul heals her blind eye, directly contradicting her creationist worldview. For her entire life, Ruth believed God made her blind for a reason, but Paul's miracle forces her to question everything she was taught. This shattering of her faith leads her to want to explore the 'darker' side of life, which initially manifests as an interest in smoking and adventure. Her change represents the film's theme of challenging rigid beliefs through extraordinary experiences.

• ruth
• creationism
• transformation
• beliefs
• blind eye healed

Lorenzo Zoil works as a government agent for an unspecified federal organization that has been secretly containing aliens. He reports to a female superior over the phone and has authority to enlist local law enforcement and FBI agents for his missions. His entire operation is covert, Haggard and O'Reilly are not told they are hunting an alien. Zoil's agency has been running the secret alien program for decades, housing Paul and extracting scientific knowledge from him before deciding to terminate the program.

• lorenzo zoil
• government agent
• fbi
• secret program
• employer

The film does not explicitly explain how O'Reilly survives the explosion at Tara's house, leaving it as a comedic surprise. During the chaotic climax, an explosion occurs that appears to kill both FBI agents, but the post-credits scene reveals O'Reilly miraculously survived. This is played for laughs and fits the film's light, comedic tone. The film sets up that the agents are incompetent, so their survival despite seemingly fatal circumstances is consistent with the movie's absurdist humor.

• oreilly
• explosion
• survives
• alive
• post-credits

Tara Walton is important to Paul because she was the first human to show him kindness decades ago. Paul leads Graeme and Clive to Tara's house because she is an old friend who once saved his life. When government agents first captured Paul years earlier, Tara helped him escape. At the film's end, Paul repays this debt by taking Tara with him aboard his spaceship, offering her the opportunity for a completely new life away from Earth.

• tara walton
• old friend
• saved life
• spaceship
• returns

The hunters chase Graeme and Clive because Clive accidentally backed their RV into the hunters' truck while trying to escape an awkward situation. At the Little A'Le'Inn in Arizona, the hunters mistakenly assumed Graeme and Clive were a romantic couple, making them uncomfortable. In their rush to leave, Clive hit the hunters' truck, leaving a noticeable dent. The hunters then pursued them, though the chase was dropped after the alien adventure began.

• hunters
• little a'le'inn
• rv
• dent
• chase
• arizona

Graeme agrees to help Paul because he is a die-hard science fiction fan whose dream has always been to meet an alien. When Paul approaches their crashed car, Graeme is initially shocked but immediately enthusiastic about helping. Unlike Clive, who is fearful and reluctant, Graeme sees this as the ultimate adventure and the fulfillment of his childhood fantasies. His passion for sci-fi motivates most of his decisions throughout the film.

• graeme
• help alien
• science fiction fan
• dream
• excitement