What Josiah Saw (2022) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Tommy snaps when Eli uncovers the wooden chest containing the remains of Mary’s stillborn child alongside Josiah. This devastating discovery, revealing the incestuous relationship between Mary and their father Josiah, breaks Tommy’s fragile psyche. Overwhelmed by the accumulated trauma of learning about his family's dark secrets, he grabs an axe and murders both Eli and Mary in a violent climax.

Foreshadowing: Tommy's mental instability has been building throughout the film, exacerbated by his forbidden friendship with Tanner and his strained relationship with his ghostly father.

• tommy graham
• eli
• mary
• murder
• axe
• climax

Josiah Graham has been dead for 23 years. The entire family has been interacting with his ghost throughout the film. Josiah appears as a spectral figure who continues to influence the family dynamics from beyond the grave, offering cryptic warnings and guidance that only become clear as the family's buried secrets surface.

Foreshadowing: Josiah's strange behavior and cryptic statements like 'God has something that needs to be done' hint at his supernatural nature.

• josiah graham
• ghost
• dead
• father
• supernatural

Eli discovers a worn wooden chest buried in the garden containing two shocking items: the remains of Mary’s stillborn child and the corpse of Josiah himself. This revelation confirms the incestuous relationship between Mary and Josiah, exposing the darkest family secret that has haunted all the siblings.

Foreshadowing: The mysterious digging sounds in the garden and Josiah's cryptic warnings about 'something buried' foreshadow this discovery.

• wooden chest
• stillborn child
• remains
• garden
• secret

Eli carries the burden of a 5-year-old statutory rape conviction involving a young girl. This past crime haunts him throughout the film, affecting his relationships and leading him to seek redemption through dangerous schemes. The fortune teller hints that his criminal past is connected to 'fleeing from something unspeakable,' suggesting deeper trauma tied to his actions.

Foreshadowing: Eli's troubled history is foreshadowed by his troubled demeanor and his desperate attempt to clear his criminal record through Boone's heist scheme.

• eli
• sex offender
• conviction
• statutory rape

Mrs. Graham died tragically in the garden decades earlier, though the exact circumstances remain somewhat mysterious. The oil company's investigation into the farm's history uncovers this dark event. Her death appears connected to the family's buried secrets and the traumatic events that would later drive the siblings apart.

Foreshadowing: The garden where Mrs. Graham died becomes a central location of trauma, frequented by Tommy and later excavated by Eli.

• mrs graham
• mother
• death
• garden

Tommy develops a friendship with Tanner, a local boy who has been deemed off-limits, marking Tommy's first venture beyond the farm's confines. This relationship represents Tommy's attempt to break free from his isolated existence. However, the friendship is complicated by the fact that Tommy is unknowingly violating a restraining order against his ex-wife and son, as Tanner is revealed to be his own child.

Foreshadowing: Josiah's harsh rebuke when Tommy confesses to visiting the garden suggests his disapproval stems from protecting Tommy from repeating family patterns.

• tommy
• tanner
• friendship
• restraining order
• son

The oil company representatives want to purchase the family's ancestral farm for drilling operations. Their investigation into the property's history inadvertently triggers the family's reckoning with buried secrets, as their probing questions force long-suppressed memories and tragedies to surface.

Foreshadowing: The arrival of the oil company serves as the catalyst that sets the family's dark reckoning in motion.

• oil company
• farm
• land
• drilling

Mary had an incestuous relationship with her father Josiah, resulting in a stillborn child. This traumatic secret has haunted both siblings, causing them to flee the farm years ago. The discovery of the child's remains in the wooden chest finally exposes this devastating truth that has shaped all their lives.

Foreshadowing: Mary's nightmares about self-destruction and her deep-seated fears about motherhood hint at unresolved trauma from this relationship.

• mary
• josiah
• incest
• stillborn
• trauma

Josiah's cryptic statement to Tommy comes after discovering Tommy's pornographic magazine and learning about his friendship with Tanner. The message is a ominous warning that foreshadows the violent climax. Given that Josiah is actually a ghost, this can be interpreted as either a warning about the impending tragedy or a supernatural incitement toward the brutal acts to come.

Foreshadowing: This cryptic message gains horrifying significance in the finale when Tommy commits the murders Josiah seems to have foreseen.

• josiah
• tommy
• god
• prophecy
• warning

Eli becomes involved in Boone's scheme to steal Nazi gold from gypsies because he desperately needs to clear his criminal record and repay his debts. The risky heist is presented as his chance at redemption and a fresh start. However, the plan goes wrong when Boone dies upon inspecting the stolen gold, leaving Eli to face the consequences.

Foreshadowing: Eli's desperation to escape his past as a sex offender drives him to increasingly dangerous choices.

• eli
• boone
• nazi gold
• heist
• gypsies

The fortune teller at the gypsy camp tells Eli unsettling predictions, revealing that he is 'the reason for his mother's pain' and is 'fleeing from something unspeakable.' These prophetic words hint at Eli's deep-seated guilt over his criminal past and suggest his actions are connected to the family's broader cycle of trauma and dysfunction.

Foreshadowing: The fortune teller's warnings about brutal retaliation from the gypsies foreshadow the dangerous consequences of Eli's heist.

• fortune teller
• eli
• prophecy
• gypsy
• crystal ball