Them That Follow (2019) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Mara feels immense pressure from her father and the community's expectations. She has been raised in a strict Pentecostal environment where marriage is expected, and she struggles with the shame of her secret pregnancy. When Garret proposes, she reluctantly accepts because refusing would raise questions and bring dishonor to her family, even though she knows the child is Augie's.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, the timeline shows Mara is in a serious courtship with Garret while hiding her secret, setting up the tension between her public relationship and private truth.

• mara childs
• garret
• pregnancy
• arranged marriage
• community pressure

When a death occurs during one of Lemuel's snake-handling rituals, a police investigation looms. To protect his congregation and his own authority, Lemuel allows Garret to take the fall for the incident. This results in Garret losing his job, but it shields the church from legal scrutiny and preserves Lemuel's leadership position.

Foreshadowing: The tragedy during the snake-handling ritual creates the immediate conflict that leads to this decision, showing how Lemuel prioritizes the church over individual members.

• lemuel childs
• garret
• snake handling
• church
• blame

Hope discovers Mara is not a virgin and is pregnant during a purity assessment. Despite her role in the church's strict traditions, Hope shows compassion and chooses not to expose Mara publicly. Instead, she informs Augie directly, urging him to seek redemption for his actions, believing this approach might lead to a more honorable resolution.

Foreshadowing: Hope's position as a powerful figure in the community gives her knowledge of Mara's situation before anyone else, setting up the eventual revelations.

• hope slaughter
• mara pregnancy
• secret
• purity
• augie

After learning from Hope that Mara is pregnant with his child, Augie desperately wants to reconnect with her. He attends church under the guise of a spiritual transformation, hoping to prove himself worthy and win Mara back. However, he underestimates the danger of the ritual and gets bitten, nearly dying from the snake bite.

Foreshadowing: Hope telling Augie about the pregnancy directly triggers his desperate return to the church, where his lack of faith and experience with snakes leads to disaster.

• augie
• church
• snake bite
• redemption
• desperation

After learning about Mara's pregnancy and losing control of the situation, Lemuel believes he must "cleanse" his daughter through the ultimate test of faith. In his twisted interpretation of the church's traditions, having Mara handle a snake during a church service becomes his way of either restoring her purity or punishing her failure. Her survival convinces him she has been forgiven.

Foreshadowing: Lemuel's rigid adherence to the sect's beliefs and his desperate need to control his daughter's fate builds throughout the film, culminating in this dangerous ritual.

• lemuel
• mara
• snake handling
• purity test
• church ritual

After Augie is bitten by a snake during the church ritual, his family refuses to seek medical help due to their deep religious beliefs against mainstream medicine. Instead, they decide to perform an amputation themselves to save his life, believing their faith and actions will determine his fate. This reflects the extreme teachings of their community.

Foreshadowing: The family's decision stems from their isolation from secular society and their belief that faith alone can heal, a theme established by their connection to Lemuel's sect.

• augie
• amputation
• snake bite
• family
• faith healing

After surviving her father's snake-handling test, Mara gains clarity about her situation. She realizes she cannot live under her father's oppressive control any longer. With Augie recovering from his amputation and needing support, and having received blessing from Augie's parents, Mara chooses to leave with him, prioritizing a life built on genuine love and freedom over her father's doctrine.

Foreshadowing: Mara's survival of the snake test marks her breaking point with her father's authority, as she finally asserts her own will over his demands.

• mara
• augie
• ending
• freedom
• escape

Garret loses his job as a result of taking the blame for the snake-handling tragedy. This loss, combined with his feeling of betrayal when he learns about Mara's pregnancy and her relationship with Augie, contributes to his violent outburst and attempted assault on Mara.

Foreshadowing: Garret's job loss creates mounting resentment that later explodes when he discovers Mara's secret.

• garret
• job loss
• snake handling
• consequences

When Augie is bitten during the snake-handling ritual and pleads for medical help, both his family and Lemuel deny his request. They refuse because seeking medical treatment would contradict their religious beliefs about faith healing. Augie is left to attempt a gruesome self-treatment, highlighting the dangerous extreme of their faith.

Foreshadowing: Lemuel's encouragement for Augie to participate in the ritual, despite Augie's distance from the church, sets up this moment of denial.

• augie
• snake bite
• denial
• faith healing
• church

Garret's violent outburst is triggered when Dilly reveals to him that Mara is pregnant. Feeling publicly humiliated and betrayed, Garret confronts Mara and attempts to assault her. This violence is stopped by Lemuel, who then learns the full truth about Mara's situation from Garret's revelations.

Foreshadowing: Mara's decision to confide in Dilly backfires when Dilly tells Garret, directly causing the violent confrontation.

• garret
• mara
• violence
• pregnancy reveal
• dilly