Return of the Hero (2018) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Élisabeth began forging letters because Pauline fell ill with worry after Neuville left for war without sending any letters. Though Élisabeth had quickly realized Neuville was a liar and fraud, she couldn't bear seeing her sister suffer. The forged letters depicted invented adventures in India, fighting the British, growing tobacco, and raising elephants, to keep Pauline's hope alive.

Foreshadowing: Élisabeth's initial distrust of Neuville is established the moment she meets him, foreshadowing that her deception will eventually unravel.

• Élisabeth
• forged letters
• Pauline
• deception
• Neuville

Élisabeth grew tired of the elaborate deception she had created. She wrote one final letter claiming Neuville was engaged in what might be his last battle, then simply stopped sending letters entirely. This was her attempt to finally end the false narrative she had constructed.

Foreshadowing: The increasingly outlandish details in the letters, elephants and diamond mines, hint at Élisabeth's growing exhaustion with maintaining the lie.

• letters
• stop
• deception
• ending
• Élisabeth

After being ordered to rejoin his hussar unit marching against Austria, Neuville somehow ended up as a deserter. When Élisabeth encounters him in town years later, he is living as a stinking vagrant. He admits to being a penniless deserter but manages to survive by exploiting the fictional story Élisabeth had created about him.

Foreshadowing: Neuville's departure without any letters establishes he was never genuinely committed to Pauline or to his military duties.

• Neuville
• deserter
• vagrant
• army
• return

When Neuville returns and discovers Élisabeth's family has been telling everyone about his fictional Indian adventures, he seizes the opportunity to profit from the lie. He tells the neighbors he has a diamond mine in India and begins selling shares in the enterprise, essentially hijacking Élisabeth's invented story for his own financial gain.

Foreshadowing: Neuville's opportunistic nature is established early when he promises to write daily letters but never does, showing his tendency to make empty promises.

• diamond mine
• India
• fraud
• Neuville
• scam

Élisabeth was furious when she learned that Neuville was not only profiting from her invented story but also having an affair with her sister Pauline. She deliberately told Nicolas about the affair to expose Neuville's betrayal and to protect her sister's marriage, even though it meant revealing her own role in the letter-forging deception.

Foreshadowing: Élisabeth's strong moral compass and protectiveness toward her family was established from the moment she suspected Neuville was a fraud.

• affair
• Nicolas
• Pauline
• Élisabeth
• revelation

Russian cavalry lined up to strike the Beaugard household while an artillery regiment was in the area. Neuville initially tried to flee but then chose to stand and fight. He fired his rifle at the charging cavalry, bringing down several opponents. The artillery subsequently found their range and devastated the Russian attackers, ending the assault.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in the film, Neuville's tales of war captivate the general, building toward the moment where his combat skills will be truly tested.

• Russian cavalry
• attack
• artillery
• Neuville
• battle

During the Russian cavalry charge on Beaugard's house, Neuville unexpectedly proved his courage. Rather than fleeing, he stood his ground and fired at the attackers, bringing down several Russian soldiers. His actions, combined with the artillery's decisive strike, saved the household. This real act of heroism led the general to reinstate Neuville in his regiment, transforming him from fraud to celebrated hero.

Foreshadowing: Neuville's earlier tall tales of military exploits, though fabricated, hinted at the courage he would eventually demonstrate.

• hero
• Neuville
• Russian attack
• artillery
• reinstatement

Despite everything, his lies, the affair with Pauline, and his exploitation of her letter-forging, Élisabeth agreed to marry Neuville because he had genuinely proven himself during the Russian attack. His willingness to stand and fight, risking his life to protect her family, demonstrated that he had become a true hero rather than just a pretender.

Foreshadowing: Élisabeth's early suspicion of Neuville makes her eventual acceptance more meaningful, she needed proof of his genuine character.

• marriage
• Élisabeth
• Neuville
• acceptance
• hero

At the end, Élisabeth and Neuville's wedding is interrupted when he receives orders to rejoin his unit. He rides away once more, solemnly promising to write every day, the exact same empty promise he made to Pauline at the start. This cyclical ending is deliberately ironic, suggesting Neuville will likely never change and the pattern of broken promises will continue.

Foreshadowing: The film's title 'Return of the Hero' gains bitter irony at the end, as Neuville 'returns' to his old habits of leaving.

• ending
• letters
• promise
• cyclical
• irony

Nicolas, an excellent shot, challenged Neuville to a pistol duel to settle the honor dispute caused by the affair. However, Pauline burst in on the confrontation before it could begin. Nicolas had to take her home to calm her, which postponed the duel. This delay gave Neuville temporary relief, as his chances in a duel against a skilled marksman were slim.

Foreshadowing: The affair's revelation directly leads to the duel challenge, creating one of the film's major tension points.

• duel
• Nicolas
• Pauline
• postponed
• pistols

After returning as a vagrant and building his diamond mine scam, Neuville began an affair with Pauline, his former fiancée who had since married Nicolas and had two children. This added another layer of betrayal on top of his existing frauds. Pauline may have been vulnerable to his charm, or Neuville may have simply seen an opportunity for further exploitation.

Foreshadowing: Neuville's pattern of deception and self-interest makes his affair with Pauline consistent with his character.

• affair
• Pauline
• Neuville
• betrayal
• relationship