Showing Up (2023) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Lizzy takes Tuesday off from her job at the Oregon College of Art and Craft to have uninterrupted time in her studio. She's preparing for a major exhibition of her clay sculptures and needs dedicated time for glazing and finishing her pieces. The day off represents her attempt to balance her administrative work for her mother with her artistic ambitions.

• tuesday off
• lizzy sculptor
• art show preparation
• studio time

Lizzy and Jo have an ongoing rivalry as artists who share a building, Lizzy rents from Jo, who is also preparing her own shows. The tension stems from competing priorities: Jo delays fixing the hot water heater while pursuing her own projects, while Lizzy struggles to keep practical matters from derailing her sculpture work. Their relationship is marked by barbed exchanges and sharp opinions, though they eventually bond over caring for the pigeon.

• lizzy jo rivalry
• neighbor conflict
• artist rivalry
• landlord tenant

After Lizzy's cat maims a pigeon that flew into her house, Jo discovers the bird the next morning and initially takes responsibility. However, Jo shifts the burden back to Lizzy, who finds herself caring for the fragile creature. Lizzy takes it to the vet, pays about $150, and the act of tending to the pigeon becomes a small but meaningful part of her daily routine, eventually creating an unlikely bond between her and Jo.

• pigeon rescue
• lizzy bird
• cat injured pigeon
• veterinarian cost

Lizzy's brother Sean has gone six months without contact with family and has become increasingly isolated. He believes his neighbors are sabotaging his TV antenna and claims to hear voices guiding him. While his mother describes him as a misunderstood genius, his behavior suggests serious mental health struggles that the family grapples with throughout the film. Lizzy tracks him down and witnesses him digging a massive pit in his backyard during a mental episode.

Foreshadowing: Earlier mention of Sean's six-month silence hints at his deteriorating mental state.

• sean brother
• mental health
• delusions
• family isolation
• TV antenna

When Lizzy reaches out to her mother seeking support and guidance about Sean's concerning behavior, the mother describes Sean as a misunderstood genius. This appears to be a coping mechanism, a way to frame Sean's mental health struggles as exceptional talent rather than acknowledging his deterioration. The comment creates tension, as it complicates Lizzy's sense of family duty and makes it harder to address Sean's actual needs.

• sean mother
• family dynamics
• misunderstood genius
• mental health denial

The weekend before Lizzy's exhibition, her final sculpture piece burns on one side in the kiln. This is a significant setback that threatens the consistency of her collection and adds pressure as she tries to salvage her work for the upcoming reveal. The accident represents the vulnerability of artistic creation and the thin margin between success and failure in preparing for a show.

• kiln accident
• sculpture burned
• art show setback
• ceramic firing

Lizzy convinces her mother to come see Sean after discovering him digging a massive pit in his backyard and insisting he hears voices. Others around Sean choose to look away from his deteriorating state, but Lizzy feels it's important for their mother to see the reality of his situation. Their mother eventually stays with Sean and helps him settle down after a mental episode, showing the family's attempt to care for him despite his resistance.

• sean mental episode
• mother intervention
• family responsibility
• sean pit

Although Sean was supposed to attend Lizzy's exhibition and wandered off when given the chance, he ultimately makes it to the show by taking a bus. His arrival demonstrates a desire to support his sister despite his mental health struggles. At the show, Sean participates in the pigeon release moment, symbolically connecting his own journey of mental illness with the bird's release and recovery.

• sean exhibition
• family support
• bus ride
• art show opening

At Lizzy's show, two unsupervised girls remove the bandages from the pigeon's wings, and Sean releases the bird into the air. The moment serves as a quiet symbol of trust, release, and recovery. Lizzy and Jo initially search for the bird but accept that it's ready to fly on its own, a small but meaningful victory that aligns with the show's themes of capturing emotion and movement in art, while also representing Sean's own fragile state and the family's hope for his recovery.

Foreshadowing: The pigeon's injury and gradual recovery parallel Sean's mental health journey throughout the film.

• pigeon release
• sean bird
• freedom symbol
• art themes
• movement emotion

Lizzy visits her father seeking perspective beyond her studio as she prepares for the show. At his home, she encounters a cadre of hippies who have moved in, and she distrusts them, suspecting they are more grifters than genuine friends. During this visit, she learns that her brother Sean has gone six months without contact, deepening her concern for his wellbeing and shifting her focus to family responsibilities.

• father visit
• hippies
• sean no contact
• family concern

The pigeon becomes an unexpected bridge between Lizzy and Jo, who are otherwise locked in ongoing rivalry. When Jo comes to retrieve the bird, Lizzy admits that caring for it distracted her from glazing her sculptures, a moment of honesty that reveals how intertwined their lives have become. Both women share concern for the pigeon despite their friction, and by the end, they search for the bird together, gradually accepting it's ready to fly free.

• lizzy jo relationship
• bird connection
• rivalry to bond
• artists connection