Reset (2017) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Xia Tian uses the particle accelerator because she is consumed by grief and cannot accept her son's death. After Tsui Hu kills Dou Dou in front of her, she returns to Nexus in desperation, willing to try anything to change the outcome. The wormhole technology is her only hope to travel back in time and prevent the tragedy, even though the technology is unstable and has dangerous side effects on living beings.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in the film, the Nexus team notes that test animals become aggressive and their cells deteriorate after exposure to the wormhole technology, hinting at the dangers Xia Tian will face.

• Xia Tian
• Dou Dou
• particle accelerator
• time travel
• grief
• rescue

Tsui Hu's true motivation is revealed during his confrontation with the Xia Tians: he was a former test subject at IPT Lab, and he wants to use the wormhole technology to escape to a parallel universe where he can save his own wife and child. He is not simply a mercenary working for IPT Lab, he has personal stakes in acquiring the technology for his own desperate purpose.

Foreshadowing: Tsui Hu's willingness to kill a child and his single-minded pursuit of the data suggest deeper personal motives beyond professional theft.

• Tsui Hu
• IPT Lab
• motivation
• wife
• child
• parallel universe

The Director conspires with Tsui Hu because he was fired from the Nexus project and was furious that leadership gave the research opportunity to Xia Tian instead of him. His resentment stems from professional humiliation, and he uses Tsui Hu's kidnapping scheme as a way to sabotage Xia Tian and force proof of the technology's capabilities.

Foreshadowing: The Director's strict leadership and his presence in early scenes establish his authority, making his later betrayal more impactful.

• Director
• betrayal
• conspiracy
• Tsui Hu
• Nexus
• fired

In Universe 3, three versions of Xia Tian converge: the original aggressive #1, the cunning #2 who already saved Dou Dou, and the unchanged #3 who hasn't crossed universes. They initially cooperate to protect Dou Dou, but in the final confrontation, Xia Tian #2 kills #1 to ensure #3 can escape with Dou Dou, accepting that she will die from cell deterioration caused by timeline travel. Xia Tian #3 escapes with Dou Dou while #2 stays behind at the lab.

Foreshadowing: Tsui Hu warns that IPT Lab subjects turn on each other, foreshadowing the violent conflict between the Xia Tian versions.

• Xia Tian
• Universe 3
• versions
• Dou Dou
• confrontation
• sacrifice

Xia Tian #2's fate remains ambiguous. As the Nexus Lab explodes, she activates the particle accelerator in an attempt to escape to another universe. The film does not clearly show whether she successfully traveled to another reality or died in the explosion. What is certain is that she accepted her death from cell deterioration and chose to sacrifice herself so Xia Tian #3 could escape with Dou Dou.

Foreshadowing: Xia Tian #2 knows she is already dying from cell deterioration caused by traveling across timelines, giving her little incentive to survive the explosion.

• Xia Tian #2
• fate
• survival
• explosion
• particle accelerator
• ambiguous

The wormhole technology sends users to parallel universes rather than simply moving through time. When Xia Tian activates the particle accelerator after Dou Dou's death, she arrives in Universe 2 exactly 110 minutes before the kidnapping occurred, the same amount of time she spent grieving before activating the device. This creates a second chance to prevent the tragedy, though the parallel universe means her actions affect a different timeline rather than changing her original past.

Foreshadowing: The early scenes establish that Nexus's wormhole technology opens doors to parallel universes, not just time travel.

• time travel
• 110 minutes
• parallel universe
• wormhole
• Nexus
• timeline

Cell deterioration is a dangerous side effect of the wormhole technology, previously seen in test animals at Nexus. Traveling across parallel universes causes the traveler's cells to break down over time. Xia Tian #1 becomes increasingly aggressive and deteriorates physically, which is why Xia Tian #2 ultimately kills her, she is already dying and poses a threat to Dou Dou. Xia Tian #2 also accepts her fate, knowing she will die from the same condition.

Foreshadowing: The opening scenes describe how test animals become violent and their cells deteriorate after wormhole exposure, establishing this consequence early.

• cell deterioration
• side effects
• wormhole
• health
• timeline travel
• dying

Xia Tian #2 kills Xia Tian #1 because #1 has become dangerously unstable due to cell deterioration and aggressive behavior from traveling through multiple timelines. #1 threatens to kill Dou Dou to prevent any version of herself from having a normal life, showing how the trauma and physical decay have twisted her judgment. #2 makes the difficult choice to eliminate her to protect Dou Dou and allow Xia Tian #3, the only healthy version, to escape with the child.

Foreshadowing: Xia Tian #1's aggressive behavior in Universe 2 and her deteriorating condition foreshadow her violent breakdown in Universe 3.

• Xia Tian #1
• Xia Tian #2
• murder
• Dou Dou
• cell deterioration
• aggression

At the end, Xia Tian #3, who did not travel across universes and remained unchanged, is the one who escapes the Nexus Lab with Dou Dou and is reunited with him at the hospital. One year later, she lives a simple, unemployed life with Dou Dou, suggesting she chose to leave the scientific world behind. The other two versions (#1 and #2) do not survive: #1 is killed by #2, and #2's fate is ambiguous but likely fatal.

Foreshadowing: Xia Tian #3 is the only version who hasn't experienced the trauma and deterioration of cross-universe travel, making her the logical survivor.

• ending
• Xia Tian #3
• Dou Dou
• hospital
• survival
• reunion
• one year later

Xia Tian's plan fails because Tsui Hu is experienced and intelligent enough to verify the data quickly. When she impersonates her Universe 2 doppelgänger and hands him fake research, he soon realizes the deception and pursues her and Dou Dou anyway. The fake data buys some time but ultimately does not prevent Tsui Hu from catching up and killing Dou Dou again, demonstrating how difficult it is to outsmart a skilled operative.

Foreshadowing: Tsui Hu is established as a seasoned IPT Lab operative, suggesting he has the skills to detect deception.

• fake data
• Tsui Hu
• deception
• Universe 2
• plan
• failure
• pursuit

The parallel universes in Reset exist as separate realities that can be traveled between using the wormhole technology. Each time Xia Tian jumps to a new universe, she encounters a version of herself who made different choices. Importantly, actions in one universe appear to affect others, the film suggests that 'every action in another world echoes back across all possible realities.' However, each version retains her own memories and experiences, leading to conflicts when their goals diverge.

Foreshadowing: Xia Tian's early line about actions in one universe echoing across all realities establishes this interconnected rule.

• parallel universe
• timeline
• multiple worlds
• Xia Tian
• echo
• rules