Rotting in the Sun (2023) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Sebastián falls from the rooftop while trying to move a heavy couch with Vero's help. He becomes distracted by persistent phone calls from Jordan, loses his balance, and tragically falls to his death. The accident occurs while Sebastián is accommodating Jordan's request to work on their television project.

• sebastian rooftop fall
• couch accident
• jordan phone call

After Sebastián falls, Vero covers his body and leaves for her niece's quinceañera. She confides in her brother Lalo, who suggests hiding the incident. Together, they wrap Sebastián's body in a tarp and conceal it in the storage space of the apartment building, fearing the police wouldn't believe the truth.

• vero hides body
• storage space
• lalo helps

Vero obtains pentobarbital and strategically places the box in Sebastián's trash to frame the death as suicide. This is a deliberate cover-up attempt to provide an explanation for Sebastián's death that would be more believable to authorities, given that Sebastián was already contemplating ending his life with the same substance.

• pentobarbital cover-up
• vero frame suicide
• sebastian suicide

After noticing Sebastián's absence, Jordan wrongly interprets the situation as being ghosted. He falsely claims online that he and Sebastián had fallen in love, using the narrative for attention and to generate excitement about their project. This is a fabrication that misrepresents their actual relationship.

• jordan firstman
• fake love claim
• social media

Mateo discovers Sebastián's journals, which reveal Sebastián's deep struggle with suicidal thoughts and his ketamine addiction. This discovery instills fear in Mateo because he had previously joked about Sebastián's suicidal thoughts during the apartment renovation, making him worry about his own potential culpability.

• sebastian journals
• suicidal thoughts
• mateo guilt

The police suspect Mateo primarily because of his panicked confession. When confronted with Sebastián's journals revealing suicidal thoughts and the incriminating evidence, Mateo's nervous reaction and admission make him appear guilty. His dark jokes about Sebastián's suicidal thoughts during renovations also raise suspicion.

• mateo confession
• police investigation
• suspicion

In the park, Jordan attempts to communicate with Vero using a translation app. However, when Vero tries to reveal the truth about Sebastián's death, the translation fails her, preventing her from conveying the actual events. This communication breakdown leaves her walking away in despair, clutching the pentobarbital bottle.

• translation app failed
• vero jordan communication
• language barrier

After covering Sebastián's body, Vero attends her niece's quinceañera in her uniform. Overwhelmed with grief, she confides in her brother Lalo about the incident. Lalo suggests hiding the body to avoid police scrutiny, leading them to wrap Sebastián in a tarp and hide him in the building's storage space.

• quinceañera
• lalo
• vero confession

During a party, Jordan captures a moment of Sebastián consuming ketamine and posts it online without his consent. This act leads to a heated confrontation where Sebastián criticizes Jordan for his superficiality and lack of substance, highlighting the cultural clash between the influencer's casual attitude and Sebastián's artistic struggles.

• ketamine video
• jordan posts
• party incident

Sebastián meets with HBO executives hoping for a career breakthrough, but his pitch is rejected. However, when he mentions Jordan's project as a potential collaboration, the executives show interest. This rejection drives Sebastián to rekindle the collaboration with Jordan, who then insists on moving in to work on the project.

• hbo meeting
• sebastian pitch rejected
• jordan project

While renovating the apartment building, Mateo adds a darkly comic twist to Sebastián's despair by jokingly encouraging his suicidal thoughts. This dark humor highlights the stark contrast between Mateo's obliviousness and Sebastián's serious mental state, though it also creates tension given the circumstances.

• mateo dark humor
• apartment renovation
• suicidal jokes