This Is Not the End (2020) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Emma Watson returns to Franco's house after the initial chaos but misinterprets conversations she overhears. She fears the group intends to harm her, specifically believing the men plan to rape her. This misunderstanding, combined with the escalating paranoia among the survivors, drives her to grab the remaining drinks and flee back into the dangerous outside world.

Foreshadowing: The mounting fear and suspicion among the group creates an atmosphere where reasonable communication breaks down.

• emma watson
• franco house
• misunderstanding
• paranoia

Robinson volunteers to sacrifice himself while the group is trapped in Franco's car by a demon guarding it. He deliberately walks out to draw the demon's attention, allowing the others to escape into the vehicle. His act of selflessness fulfills some unknown spiritual criteria, and a blue beam appears, rapturing him directly into Heaven.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Jay's apocalyptic theories about the rapture being a sign of judgment gain credibility when Robinson encounters a strange being outside.

• robinson
• heaven
• sacrifice
• blue beam
• demon

Franco offers himself to the cannibals led by McBride, believing this selfless act will trigger a blue beam to take him to Heaven as Robinson's did. The beam does appear and begins pulling him upward, but Franco's arrogance leads him to taunt the cannibals rather than accept his fate quietly. This act of pride and defiance angers whatever force was granting the beam, causing it to vanish and leaving Franco vulnerable to being eaten alive.

Foreshadowing: Robinson's successful sacrifice showed that genuine selflessness was required, but Franco approaches the moment with hubris.

• franco
• sacrifice
• blue beam
• taunt
• cannibals

When the blue beam strikes Baruchel and begins lifting him toward Heaven, his physical presence on the ascent path somehow disrupts or blocks the beam's ability to also take Seth. Baruchel's weight and position on the path literally prevent Seth from being pulled up with him, forcing Seth to stay behind despite being equally worthy.

Foreshadowing: The earlier tension between Jay and Seth, stemming from Jay's hotel stay choice two months prior, creates doubt about whether their friendship is strong enough for both to be taken.

• seth rogen
• baruchel
• blue beam
• heaven
• left behind

When Baruchel's blue beam ascends toward Heaven, a second beam targets Satan. As Satan attempts to devour Rogen and Baruchel while they cling together, the celestial beam inadvertently strikes Satan's crotch area instead of killing him outright, effectively castrating him. This absurd, violent act represents the film's blend of horror and comedy.

Foreshadowing: The supernatural elements throughout, from the rapture to the demons, have operated by their own unpredictable logic.

• satan
• castrated
• blue beam
• heaven
• supernatural

After Robinson, Baruchel, and Rogen manage to dig through the floor to find water, McBride, still in denial about the apocalypse, drains most of the precious resource for himself. His selfish consumption of the group's limited water supply, combined with his earlier stubborn refusal to accept the reality of their situation, leads the others to force him out of the house.

Foreshadowing: McBride crashed the party and slept through the initial disaster, waking up still believing the danger was exaggerated.

• mcbride
• water
• expelled
• selfish
• house

During the night, Hill becomes filled with fear and hostility toward Baruchel. He prays for Baruchel's death, which apparently opens him up to demonic possession. A demon subsequently takes control of Hill, and the other survivors must attempt an exorcism to drive the entity out.

Foreshadowing: The group's escalating fear and moral compromises create spiritual vulnerability.

• hill
• possessed
• demon
• exorcism
• pray

In Heaven, Robinson reveals that any wish can come true in the afterlife. Baruchel, embracing the absurdist nature of their situation, wishes for the Backstreet Boys. The fantasy world delivers literally, the group bursts into their hit song 'Everybody (Backstreet's Back)', and everyone dances in celebration, demonstrating how Heaven grants whatever the departed truly desire.

Foreshadowing: The tone shifts dramatically once they reach Heaven, from dark horror to whimsical fulfillment.

• backstreet boys
• heaven
• wish
• everybody

The rapture-like event sweeps through the area, causing mass disappearances elsewhere in Los Angeles, but the party at Franco's house remains completely untouched. The exact reason is never explained, though it may simply be that the specific location was outside the initial rapture's scope, or the partygoers were deemed unworthy of being taken, both would align with the film's satirical take on religious judgment.

• rapture
• party
• los angeles
• survived

The sinkhole opens during the earthquake that rattles Los Angeles after the initial rapture event. The seismic activity tears open the earth in Franco's front yard, and several celebrities and partygoers fall into it and die. The sinkhole represents the broader destruction consuming Los Angeles, happening literally at the feet of the survivors.

Foreshadowing: The conversation at the convenience store about the uneasiness of the crowd foreshadows the night's catastrophic events.

• sinkhole
• earthquake
• franco
• yard
• deaths