Sexmission (1984) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

A scientist developed a gene-targeting weapon intended to paralyze male genes during the war. While the women claim it was an accident, the weapon ultimately led to male extinction. The surviving women turned to parthenogenesis (asexual reproduction) to sustain their population, establishing an all-female society underground.

• male extinction
• parthenogenesis
• gender
• war
• genes

The professors claim he doesn't exist, but he was the actual scientist whose forgotten research created the gene-targeting weapon that caused male extinction. His project was abandoned after the war, and his work was lost, until radiation levels from his old experiments begin affecting the surface world decades later, revealing his legacy.

• professor
• scientist
• weapon
• research
• kuppelweiser

Lamia initially helped them escape because Max's kiss awakened her suppressed emotions and desires. However, the regime ordered her to lure them to surgery for naturalization. She genuinely began to care for Max, which conflicted with her duties, leading her to ultimately sabotage the operation and help them reach the surface.

Foreshadowing: The kiss during the briefing triggers Lamia's awakening and complicates her loyalty to the regime.

• lamia
• max
• love
• betrayal
• escape
• surgery

Naturalization is the regime's term for forced sex-reassignment surgery that would transform the men into women. It's presented as a choice between naturalization or liquidation. The assembly votes to subject Max and Albert to this procedure, viewing it as a way to eliminate the male threat while preserving the population.

• naturalization
• surgery
• conversion
• regime
• threat

Her Excellency, the supreme ruler of the women's world, is actually a man who has lived in disguise among women his entire life. He explains that the regime deliberately manufactured fear of sexual desire and falsified radiation warnings to control the population and maintain power.

Foreshadowing: The reveal comes when Max discovers the truth during a confrontation in the ruler's residence.

• her excellency
• disguise
• ruler
• man
• identity
• revelation

They escaped through a periscope room where Lamia initially tricks them, but then sabotages the operation. Max shouts a Polish expletive as a password to activate an escape capsule, which launches them through to the surface. They discover a barren, post-nuclear wasteland with elevated radiation levels.

• escape
• surface
• capsule
• radiation
• wasteland

The regime deliberately falsified radiation warnings to keep the population terrified of the outside world and compliant with their rule. The radiation was real, but the regime exaggerated the danger to prevent anyone from leaving the underground sanctuary.

• radiation
• warnings
• conspiracy
• regime
• control
• manipulation

Months after escaping, Max and Albert secretly contribute male gametes to the regime's incubators. A nurse discovers a newborn with a penis, confirming that their plan to restore the male population is working. This marks the beginning of gender balance returning to the world.

Foreshadowing: The film shows them working as laboratory workers, discreetly adding male genetic material to the reproduction system.

• babies
• male
• population
• incubator
• restoration
• future

The sacred apple tree represents the forbidden knowledge of the old world and serves as a biblical metaphor for the fall of humanity. The women treat it as a holy relic, warning that it led to paradise lost. Max and Albert eating the apples symbolizes their rejection of the synthetic, controlled society and their curiosity about the past.

Foreshadowing: The Arch Mother references the apple as the cause of humanity's downfall during the council meeting.

• apple
• tree
• symbolism
• forbidden
• paradise
• knowledge

Emma is captured by regime forces with a harpoon, but Albert rescues her using CPR. She then joins Max, Albert, and Lamia in their fragile alliance with Her Excellency, living in the residence as part of their deal to reshape society from within rather than flee to certain death on the surface.

• emma
• harpoon
• capture
• rescue
• alliance
• settlement