Struck by Lightning (2013) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Carson creates the literary magazine primarily to strengthen his college application to Northwestern University, where he hopes to become an editor for The New Yorker. His guidance counselor suggests submitting to a literary magazine, so Carson proposes starting one at his school. However, when the submission box turns up empty, he pivots to using the secrets he's discovered about his classmates as leverage to force them to contribute, turning the magazine into a tool for both artistic expression and social control.

Foreshadowing: The scene at the writer's club where Carson tells Malerie that ideas have to find you establishes his belief in pursuing ambitious creative projects despite obstacles.

• literary magazine
• Northwestern
• college application
• Carson Phillips
• blackmail

Carson is accepted to Northwestern University, but he never confirms his enrollment. Later, his mother Sheryl reveals that she threw away the acceptance letter to protect him from potential heartbreak. She believed that even if he got in, he might not get financial aid or could face rejection from achieving his dream, so she made the decision to spare him that pain.

• Northwestern
• acceptance letter
• Sheryl
• college
• Carson Phillips

Sheryl throws away the letter because she wanted to protect Carson from the potential disappointment of not being able to attend Northwestern even after being accepted. She feared he might not receive adequate financial aid or that the reality of pursuing his dream would crush him. This decision reflects the film's recurring theme of protection becoming suffocation, Sheryl's attempt to shield her son actually prevents him from pursuing his lifelong ambition.

• Sheryl
• protection
• Northwestern
• disappointment
• mother

After discovering Nicholas Forbes kissing Scott Thomas (the drama club president), Carson agrees to keep the secret in exchange for their contributions to the school paper. When the magazine fails to receive submissions, Malerie reveals that Claire Matthews (the head cheerleader) had an affair with Coach Walker. These secrets give Carson leverage, and after the writer's club is humiliated during the homecoming parade when cheerleaders steal their float, Carson and Malerie use the threat of exposure to force multiple students, including yearbook members, paper staff, and others, to write for the magazine.

Foreshadowing: The moment Carson witnesses the kiss between Nicholas and Scott plants the seed for the blackmail scheme that drives the entire magazine operation.

• blackmail
• secrets
• Nicholas Forbes
• Scott Thomas
• Claire Matthews
• Coach Walker
• magazine

Malerie uncovers and reveals that Claire Matthews, the head cheerleader, had a sexual affair with Coach Walker, the school's coach. This revelation becomes one of the most damaging secrets that Carson uses to pressure students into contributing to the literary magazine, as the affair could ruin both Claire's and Coach Walker's reputations if exposed.

• Claire Matthews
• Coach Walker
• affair
• cheerleader
• scandal

Carson visits his grandmother, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease and no longer recognizes him. This emotionally devastating scene underscores the film's themes of memory, loss, and the fragility of personal connections. The moment adds depth to Carson's character by showing his vulnerability and reinforces the broader theme of people fading from memory, which gains tragic resonance after his own death.

• grandmother
• Alzheimer's
• memory loss
• family

After completing the literary magazine and writing his own reflective story about how he managed to get others to contribute, Carson steps outside. Thunder rumbles ominously, and he is struck by lightning, killing him instantly. The tragedy is compounded by the fact that his body is not discovered for three days, leaving his death lonely and undignified before his community gathers at his funeral.

Foreshadowing: The recurring thunder and storm imagery throughout the film builds toward this inevitable tragedy.

• lightning
• death
• storm
• Carson Phillips
• funeral

The film does not explicitly explain why Carson's body lies undiscovered for three days, but the implication is that he died alone outside, likely in an isolated location near the school or his home. This delay in finding his body adds to the tragic nature of his death, as he passes away unnoticed despite being surrounded by peers and family who later mourn him at his funeral.

• body
• three days
• death
• discovery

After Carson dies, Malerie takes over as president of the writers' club, continuing the work they started together. She also maintains her habit of filming everything, believing firmly that the present moment is the most important one, a philosophy she shared with Carson. Her continuation of the literary magazine represents Carson's lasting legacy at the school.

• Malerie
• writers club
• president
• legacy
• after death

During a confrontation with April (the pregnant woman who becomes her husband's other partner), Sheryl reveals that she gave up everything for Neal in the past. She confesses that she once had a child specifically to try to hold onto him, but the relationship still ended in abandonment. This painful confession explains Sheryl's complicated relationship with both Carson and Neal, and why she makes the protective (if misguided) decision to throw away his Northwestern letter.

• Sheryl
• Neal
• sacrifice
• child
• abandonment
• past

While working late on the school paper one night, Carson discovers Nicholas Forbes (a wealthy student) kissing Scott Thomas, the drama club president. Nicholas begs Carson not to reveal this moment, and Carson agrees on one condition: Nicholas and Scott must contribute to the school paper through graduation. This secret becomes the first piece of leverage Carson uses to build his literary magazine operation.

Foreshadowing: This late-night discovery is the catalyst for the entire blackmail scheme that drives the film's central plot.

• Nicholas Forbes
• Scott Thomas
• kiss
• secret
• drama club

Northwestern represents Carson's entire life plan and identity. He wants to become an editor for The New Yorker, and attending Northwestern's journalism program was his carefully crafted path to that goal. The dream is portrayed as his ticket out of his complicated family situation and small-town life. His meticulous planning for the future contrasts sharply with the film's tragic outcome, emphasizing the theme of unfulfilled potential and the unpredictability of life.

Foreshadowing: The opening scene at the writer's club establishes Carson's belief that ideas have to find you, showing his dedicated approach to pursuing his writing career.

• Northwestern
• New Yorker
• editor
• dream
• future
• journalism