We Still Say Grace (2020) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Harold forces his family to drink poison as a test of faith for a future suicide pact. He is a religious fanatic who believes that demonstrating faith by drinking the unknown liquid proves their worthiness. Those who show fear or hesitation are seen as lacking faith. The poison is ultimately meant to kill the entire family in a ritualistic sacrifice to God.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in the film, Harold's extreme religious views are shown through his condemnation of the strangers' language and beer.

• harold
• poison
• faith test
• suicide pact
• religious fanatic

Sarah gives Luke poisoned lemonade because she is fully controlled by Harold and complicit in his crimes. She has been groomed and abused by her father since childhood, making her loyal to him despite the horrific nature of his actions. The poisoned lemonade kills Luke after he discovers the spike strip that caused the strangers' flat tires, which Harold likely planted to keep them stranded.

Foreshadowing: Luke previously witnessed Harold bathing with Sarah, and later accuses Harold of molesting her.

• sarah
• luke
• poisoned lemonade
• spike strip
• harold

Betty kills herself after overhearing Harold and Sarah discussing their intimate relationship, confirming the sexual abuse that has been occurring. Betty has been a passive participant in Harold's crimes, including the kidnapping and murder of the girls' real parents, but this revelation proves too much for her to bear. She removes herself from the situation rather than confront it.

Foreshadowing: Throughout the film, Betty appears broken and submissive, never intervening to protect her daughters.

• betty
• suicide
• harold
• sarah
• incest
• abuse

Harold and Betty kidnapped Maggie and Sarah after murdering their real parents. The note Maggie finds stating she is from Nebraska, combined with photographs showing the girls with different people, confirms they were not born into this family. The family moved to the isolated farmhouse to hide their crime and raise the kidnapped girls as their own.

Foreshadowing: The initial poison test serves as a dark foreshadowing of the family's violent history.

• kidnapping
• maggie
• sarah
• harold
• betty
• real parents

Harold lies about owning a car to prevent the strangers from leaving. By claiming he lives miles from civilization without a phone, he creates a scenario where the strangers must stay at the house. This allows him to isolate them and ultimately use them as sacrifices for his religious ritual. The lie is exposed when Luke discovers Harold has no vehicle.

Foreshadowing: Harold's immediate willingness to help with the flat tire and insistence they stay overnight raises suspicion.

• harold
• car lie
• strangers
• isolation
• trap

Sarah willingly drinks the poisoned wine because she has been fully indoctrinated by Harold's religious manipulation and abuse. She has been his victim since childhood and genuinely believes the suicide pact is a sacred test of faith. Unlike Maggie, who maintains enough independence to resist, Sarah has been broken by years of control and sees death as the ultimate fulfillment of her father's teachings.

Foreshadowing: Sarah's complicity in poisoning Luke and killing Fisher demonstrates her complete loyalty to Harold.

• sarah
• poison
• wine
• suicide pact
• brainwashing
• indoctrination

Maggie kills Harold by using the wine bottle to strike him after seeing him drink from an unpoisoned glass, realizing he never intended to die. When Harold pursues her with a handgun, she waits for him to lower his guard before cutting his ankles with a knife, causing him to fall. She then slashes his neck, killing him. Her survival stems from her refusal to fully submit to Harold's faith test from the beginning.

Foreshadowing: Maggie was the only one who showed fear during the initial poison test, indicating her unwillingness to comply.

• maggie
• harold
• kill
• weapon
• confrontation
• survival

Harold almost certainly set up the spike strips to ensure the strangers couldn't leave. By creating repeated flat tires, he keeps the three visitors stranded at his isolated farmhouse, allowing him to manipulate the situation toward his religious goals. This explains why he was so insistent they stay overnight and why he had no actual car to help them.

Foreshadowing: Harold's lie about having a car and his eagerness to help establish a pattern of deception.

• spike strip
• flat tire
• harold
• trap
• strangers

Harold has been sexually abusing Sarah since she was a child. Luke witnesses Harold bathing with Sarah, leading to his accusation of molestation. Betty overhears Harold and Sarah discussing their intimate relationship, which triggers her suicide. Sarah's deep psychological grooming makes her obedient to Harold, explaining her willingness to poison strangers and ultimately die with him.

Foreshadowing: Luke's accusation and his violent removal from the house hint at the dark truth.

• harold
• sarah
• incest
• abuse
• molestation
• grooming

Sarah shoots and crucifies Fisher because she is fully committed to Harold's religious ideology and sees the strangers as sacrifices. After Maggie frees Fisher from the basement, they discover Randy and Luke already crucified on the property. Sarah, still under Harold's control, shoots Fisher and adds him to the makeshift altar, viewing it as a sacred duty rather than murder.

Foreshadowing: Sarah's earlier poisoning of Luke demonstrates her willingness to kill for her father.

• fisher
• sarah
• crucifixion
• sacrifice
• harold
• ritual

Luke accuses Harold because he personally witnessed Harold bathing with Sarah at night, which appeared inappropriate and sexual in nature. This observation, combined with Sarah's strange behavior and the family's overall creepiness, led Luke to confront Harold. His accusation is the catalyst for his violent expulsion from the house and subsequent poisoning by Sarah.

Foreshadowing: Luke's night watch and discovery of the bathing scene sets this confrontation in motion.

• luke
• harold
• molestation
• accusation
• sarah
• witness