The Godsend (1980) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

The pregnant stranger, who appears to be a supernatural being, deliberately chose the Marlowe family and gave birth in their home before vanishing. She left behind no explanation, but the ending reveals she is pregnant again, suggesting she intentionally inflicts these children on families as part of a repeating cycle. The family never learns her true motivations, and she disappears without a trace after the birth.

Foreshadowing: The woman stares at Alan intently from the moment she arrives, indicating she has selected him specifically.

• pregnant stranger
• baby bonnie
• abandonment
• supernatural mother

During a family picnic, Davy wandered away from the group and drowned in a creek. When Kate found Bonnie, she had scratches on her hands. The family interpreted this as Davy trying to save Bonnie from something in the water, though the exact circumstances remain unclear. The scratches became the first piece of evidence that linked Bonnie to the tragedies, though whether Bonnie caused the drowning or was merely present remains ambiguous.

Foreshadowing: The stranger's unsettling presence and the cut telephone line hint at her sinister nature before any deaths occur.

• davy death
• creek drowning
• bonnie scratches
• first death

Kate develops an obsessive attachment to Bonnie, defending her even as evidence of her involvement accumulates. She interprets any suggestion of Bonnie's guilt as an attack on her own judgment for accepting the child. Kate's denial stems from her need to believe she made the right choice in keeping Bonnie, and she projects maternal affection onto Bonnie while dismissing the danger as paranoia. This refusal ultimately leads to the deaths of Sam and Lucy.

Foreshadowing: Kate immediately takes Bonnie's side when Sam is blamed for breaking things, showing her protective bias early.

• kate marlowe
• denial
• protection
• refuses bonnie

During a game of hide and seek, Sam was found dead in a barn. When Kate investigated, she discovered Bonnie's ribbon near the scene. This concrete evidence, that Bonnie was present at the location where Sam died, deepened the family's suspicion that she was responsible. The specific detail of the ribbon moving from Bonnie to the crime scene suggests either direct involvement or that Bonnie somehow orchestrated the tragedy.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Bonnie had been breaking things in the house while Sam was blamed, showing her destructive capability.

• sam death
• barn
• ribbon evidence
• mysterious death

After Bonnie deliberately kisses Alan while he is ill with mumps, he experiences a dream-like sequence that shows flashbacks to each of his sons' deaths, Davy drowning and Sam in the barn, with Bonnie always present nearby. The dream confirms Alan's growing suspicion that Bonnie is responsible for the tragedies, suggesting she possesses some form of supernatural awareness or control over these events. It serves as a narrative device to connect all the deaths directly to Bonnie.

Foreshadowing: Alan's earlier observation of Bonnie as a 'cuckoo in the nest' attempting to push others aside foreshadows this revelation.

• alan dream
• flashback
• death memories
• supernatural vision

At a London playground, Bonnie deliberately causes an unoccupied swing to swing toward Lucy. The chain tangles dangerously, but Alan intervenes and saves Lucy. This incident demonstrates that Bonnie is willing to harm other children, not just the boys. It appears to be a test of her powers or an attempt to eliminate competition for parental attention. Lucy is the only child Kate explicitly says Bonnie loves, making this attempt at Lucy's life particularly significant.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Kate notes Bonnie shows affection for Lucy specifically, making the attack an unexpected betrayal of that claimed bond.

• playground attack
• lucy
• attempted murder
• swing

Alan leaves Lucy with the Taverner neighbors while he goes to work, but Bonnie locks Lucy inside the apartment and uses some unseen control to force Lucy to leap from a window to her death. Alan arrives too late to prevent it. This final tragedy cements the family's belief that Bonnie possesses mind-control abilities and is deliberately killing the children. It is the only death shown from start to finish as a direct result of Bonnie's actions.

Foreshadowing: The playground incident proved Bonnie could influence objects to harm others, this time applying that power to people directly.

• lucy death
• jump
• window
• mental control
• killing

The film strongly implies Bonnie is not a normal child but a supernatural being. Evidence includes: the mysterious pregnant stranger who deliberately abandons her, the children's deaths occurring exclusively in her presence, her ability to cause objects to move without physical contact, and the dream sequence confirming her involvement in each death. The ending reveals the pregnant stranger is pregnant again, suggesting Bonnie is one of possibly many supernatural children born to harm families. The exact nature remains ambiguous, she could be demonic, cursed, or part of a wider predatory species.

Foreshadowing: From arrival, the stranger's unsettling behavior (cutting the phone line, intense staring) signals she is not human.

• supernatural
• demonic
• origin
• power
• stranger

The anonymous letters arrive after Sam's death, accusing the Marlowe parents of killing their own children. The source of these letters is never identified in the film. They may have come from neighbors suspicious of the family's tragedy, a tabloid reporter's campaign, or possibly supernatural forces attempting to further destabilize the family. The letters contribute to Kate's depression and the family's isolation, but their origin remains one of the film's unresolved mysteries.

Foreshadowing: The letters arrive shortly after Sam's death, intensifying external pressure on the grieving parents.

• anonymous letters
• accusations
• mysterious letters
• harassment

After the playground incident proves Bonnie tried to kill Lucy, Alan becomes desperate to remove Bonnie from the family. He kidnaps Lucy and presents Kate with an ultimatum: Bonnie leaves or Lucy leaves. Alan believes he can save at least one child by forcing Kate to finally acknowledge the danger. When Kate refuses to choose between them, Alan takes Lucy and leaves, though this ultimately fails to protect her since Bonnie follows them to London.

Foreshadowing: Alan had repeatedly pleaded with Kate to send Bonnie away, and his theory about Bonnie being a 'cuckoo' pushing others out shows his desperation.

• kidnap
• ultimatum
• alan
• choice
• desperation

In the final scene, Alan spots the original pregnant stranger in a park, now visibly pregnant again. She is speaking with Bonnie's mother, the woman who raised Bonnie after birth. Alan chases after them to warn the family they are with, but the trio vanishes. This ending strongly suggests the entire cycle is repeating: the supernatural beings are deploying another child into another family, implying Bonnie was never an isolated incident but part of an ongoing predatory pattern.

Foreshadowing: The opening established the stranger chose the Marlowes deliberately; the ending confirms this was not unique.

• ending
• cycle
• pregnant stranger
• repeating pattern
• warning

After Lucy jumps from the window, Alan attempts to kill Bonnie but is restrained by Mr. Taverner. Despite witnessing Lucy's death and having lost three of her own children to Bonnie's apparent influence, Kate chooses to remain with Bonnie. This choice represents her complete psychological break, she cannot accept that her decision to keep Bonnie was wrong, so she clings to the remaining relationship rather than face her own culpability. Her attachment to Bonnie has become more important to her than her surviving family.

Foreshadowing: Kate's earlier refusal to send Bonnie away, even when evidence mounted, predicted this final choice.

• kate choice
• stays with bonnie
• family destroyed
• denial