Waiting for the Barbarians (2020) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Colonel Joll arrives from the Empire's core with a calculated agenda to impose control over the frontier. Unlike the Magistrate who maintained peace through diplomacy, Joll is determined to find so-called 'truth' about perceived threats, using brutal methods. His true motive appears to be demonstrating imperial power and provoking a conflict that justifies military action, regardless of actual guilt.

Foreshadowing: The fragile peace the Magistrate maintained is described as something the Empire views as weakness.

• colonel joll
• empire
• frontier
• military
• power

Joll tortures an innocent man and his nephew under false accusations of sheep rustling. He resorts to extreme cruelty not to extract real information, but to demonstrate the Empire's willingness to use violence. The torture serves as a warning to the local population and a way for Joll to justify his harsh rule. The nephew is horrifically tortured and forced back to his tribe as a message of intimidation.

Foreshadowing: Joll's arrival is described as bringing 'unsettling actions' before any violence begins.

• torture
• nephew
• colonel joll
• cruelty
• intimidation

After Colonel Joll departs, the Magistrate feels compelled to release the women and elderly men who were unjustly captured as 'prisoners of war.' This act reflects his moral conscience and his role as a just leader. He arranges for their safe return to their families, trying to repair some of the damage caused by Joll's brutality, though the community's trauma remains.

Foreshadowing: The Magistrate is described as someone who maintained peace through diplomatic skill, suggesting he values humane governance.

• prisoners
• magistrate
• release
• colonel joll

Upon returning from his journey to reconcile with the nomads, the Magistrate discovers Officer Mandel has taken command. He is arrested on absurd charges of treason, primarily because of his association with the nomadic girl he helped. The real reason appears to be that his compassionate actions and attempts at reconciliation threaten the new military leadership's agenda. He is stripped of his position and publicly shamed.

Foreshadowing: The Magistrate's kind treatment of the nomadic woman is noted as being misinterpreted by soldiers.

• arrest
• treason
• magistrate
• officer mandel
• false charges

The woman, who was tortured and had her father killed, initially accepts the Magistrate's help, food, shelter, and medical care. However, after sharing her tragic history with him, she chooses to return to her people. The Magistrate respects her decision, understanding that her place is with her tribe, not in the fort under suspicious circumstances. Her return represents a reclaiming of her identity and loyalty.

Foreshadowing: The woman bears both physical scars (broken ankles) and invisible trauma from her ordeal.

• nomadic woman
• tribe
• magistrate
• return
• trauma

The devastating consequences of Colonel Joll's military campaign, his brutal torture, wrongful captures, and apparent intentions to annihilate the mountain nomads, force the previously scattered tribes to unite against their common oppressor. The Empire's cruelty becomes the catalyst for collective resistance, transforming disparate groups into a formidable army determined to reclaim their homeland.

Foreshadowing: The tribes initially show hostility toward the Magistrate but grant him mercy due to his reputation as a just leader.

• barbarian army
• tribes
• unity
• colonel joll
• resistance

Colonel Joll leads a formidable military force into the mountains intending to annihilate the nomads, but the campaign fails catastrophically. He returns with only a handful of survivors, his army decimated. The nomadic tribes, now united, have dealt the Empire's forces a devastating blow. The body of one of Joll's mutilated men is brought to the fort as proof of this defeat.

Foreshadowing: The tribes unite specifically in response to Joll's campaign of destruction.

• colonel joll
• military
• defeat
• survivors
• nomads

The Magistrate becomes a shadow of his former self, disheveled, destitute, and rejected by his own people. Even after being released, he is unable to escape the chaos; his home and belongings have been seized. A former servant shows him compassion by providing food and shelter. The town descends into violence as the remaining soldiers scatter, and the Magistrate wanders through the devastation, haunted by his memories and the impending arrival of the nomadic army.

Foreshadowing: The narrative describes his descent as a 'straightforward descent into despair' with no redemption.

• magistrate
• downfall
• destitution
• end
• despair

As the Magistrate wanders through the ravaged town, he sees boys playing at sentry duty next to scarecrow soldiers at the fort's entrance. This chilling scene represents how the pervasive conflict has infected the next generation. The children mimic the soldiers they see, demonstrating the lasting psychological impact of war on the community and the normalization of violence.

Foreshadowing: This scene occurs after the soldiers commit horrific acts of violence against the townspeople.

• children
• soldiers
• town
• play
• psychological impact

The movie ends with the Magistrate hearing a distant rumble and seeing a shadowy figure emerge with a rising cloud of dust, a large army of nomadic warriors approaching. This signals the nomads' return in force to reclaim their homeland. The Magistrate, now broken and alone, witnesses the culmination of the conflict his empire created, with the town about to face the consequences of the Empire's brutality.

Foreshadowing: The tribes have united into a formidable army specifically to oppose the Empire's oppression.

• ending
• nomadic army
• town
• reclaim
• fate