The Block Island Sound (2020) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Tom begins experiencing strange sensations and behavioral shifts after encountering an unseen force near Block Island. His late-night fishing trips and moments of unresponsiveness coincide with escalating wildlife disturbances, suggesting the mysterious presence is affecting him directly. This influence ultimately leads to his disappearance and death at sea.

Foreshadowing: Early scenes show dead fish washing ashore as the first sign that something unnatural is affecting the island's ecosystem.

• tom lynch
• behaviour change
• missing
• drowning
• mysterious force

Harry experiences visions of his deceased father and becomes increasingly paranoid after Tom's death. The psychologist suggests he may have electromagnetic hypersensitivity linked to the Block Island Wind Farm, but a former patient reveals the true cause is an otherworldly force manipulating him. This force intensifies his symptoms until he becomes violent and abducts Emily.

Foreshadowing: Harry first notices his father's odd behavior including unresponsiveness during conversations, hinting at a shared susceptibility.

• harry lynch
• mental health
• paranoia
• visions
• wind farm
• electromagnetic

Harry borrows scuba equipment and dives to the spot where Tom disappeared, but he loses consciousness underwater. He later wakes up on his father's fishing vessel with all electronics scrambled and a strange hum filling the cabin. This event marks a turning point where supernatural elements begin directly affecting him.

Foreshadowing: The timeline shows Tom vanishing at night after sailing out alone, establishing the location Harry investigates.

• harry dive
• underwater
• scuba
• electronics
• unconscious
• boat

The psychologist theorizes Harry's symptoms could stem from electromagnetic hypersensitivity caused by the Block Island Wind Farm. However, this explanation is revealed to be insufficient, the former patient clarifies that an otherworldly force is actually responsible the wind for both farm disturbances and the psychological effects experienced by Tom and Harry.

Foreshadowing: Reports of strange phenomena begin shortly after Tom's initial encounter, suggesting the force predates or operates independently of the wind farm.

• wind farm
• electromagnetic
• block island
• phenomena
• science
• explanation

During the climactic scene, Harry abducts Emily onto the fishing vessel, and Audry races to stop him. As they struggle, the boat begins rising into the sky along with everyone inside, Harry, Audry, and Emily. This supernatural ascent represents the force taking them, though its exact purpose remains unexplained. By morning, only Emily remains in the empty cabin while Audry is dropped into the ocean.

Foreshadowing: The strange hum and electronic disturbances that affected Harry earlier intensify during this scene.

• fishing boat
• ascent
• sky
• supernatural
• abduction
• climax

Audry is carried upward with the boat during the supernatural ascent but is ultimately dropped into the ocean. She survives and is found treading water by authorities. Emily is discovered alone in the boat's cabin, while Audry's mysterious survival raises questions about the force's intentions.

Foreshadowing: The buildup to this moment includes increasing supernatural activity and the warning that someone could get hurt.

• audry
• ending
• ocean
• survival
• boat
• rescued

Piles of dead fish appearing on Block Island's shoreline are the first visible sign that something unnatural is affecting the marine environment. These disturbances prompt Audry and her team to investigate, linking the ecological anomaly to the supernatural force that later influences Tom and Harry. The dead fish symbolize the boundary between the known world and the unseen presence.

Foreshadowing: Tom wakes to a chaotic fishing vessel scene, and the dead fish appear as the island's initial reaction to the force.

• dead fish
• shoreline
• wildlife
• disturbance
• ecological
• warning

The former patient, contacted after the psychologist's recommendation, tells Audry that the paranoia affecting Harry is driven by an otherworldly force that watches and influences people. He warns that someone could get harmed if Audry doesn't remove Harry from Block Island. This warning proves prophetic as Harry's condition escalates to violence and abduction.

Foreshadowing: The psychologist's theory about electromagnetic sensitivity was only a partial explanation, masking the true supernatural cause.

• former patient
• warning
• audry
• force
• harm
• remove island

After Tom's death, Harry begins experiencing visions of his father, which intensify as he becomes more influenced by the supernatural force. These visions distract him during daily activities, like driving, and drive him to investigate Tom's disappearance underwater. The force appears to use these visions to manipulate Harry's behavior and draw him deeper into the mystery.

Foreshadowing: Harry first notices Tom's unresponsiveness and odd behavior before Tom's death, suggesting both are susceptible to the same influence.

• harry
• visions
• tom
• father
• dead
• manipulation
• force

The closing voiceover features Audry explaining to Emily how scientists justify removing individual fish from their habitat to study them, a metaphor for humanity's tendency to take from nature to understand it. This echoes the film's themes of curiosity versus consequence, suggesting the mysterious force may be responding to human intrusion, or that the family's tragedy mirrors the fragile balance between observation and destruction.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes show Audry teaching Emily to fish, establishing the thematic connection between human interaction with nature.

• voiceover
• ending
• fish
• metaphor
• study
• nature
• curiosity
• consequence