What Lies Below (2020) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Michelle dismisses Libby's warnings because John has manipulated her through isolation and emotional dependency. Since proposing, John has positioned himself as Michelle's primary emotional support, making her view Libby's suspicions as jealousy or teenage rebellion. Additionally, Michelle is pregnant with John's child, which further blinds her to the truth and makes her reject any negative narrative about him.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes show Michelle expressing feelings of unworthiness from her father's side, making her vulnerable to John's charm.

• michelle wells
• liberty wells
• john
• disbelief
• manipulation
• pregnancy

The symbols represent a fertility goddess, hinting at John's reproductive agenda. The bracelet is coated with a substance or contains markers that later appear as red marks on Libby's wrist when she removes it, linking her to whatever John is planning. This suggests the bracelet was a tracking or marking device tied to his larger scheme of reproduction.

Foreshadowing: John's work involves helping creatures adapt, which takes on sinister meaning given his true nature.

• bracelet
• symbols
• fertility goddess
• tracking
• marks

John is not human but an aquatic creature that can mimic human appearance. He has a nictitating membrane (a translucent third eyelid) that he forgets to hide, revealing his true nature. Multiple identical versions of John exist, suggesting he is either a clone or part of a collective species. His goal appears to be reproducing with human women to create hybrid offspring.

Foreshadowing: John's work as an aquatic geneticist and his unusual interest in Libby's puberty are early clues to his nature.

• john
• aquatic creature
• mimic
• clones
• nictitating membrane

John invades Libby's privacy because he is assessing her pheromones and biological readiness for reproduction. As an aquatic creature, he relies on scent to determine if Libby has reached sexual maturity, which would make her suitable for his reproductive agenda. This invasive act signals his predatory intentions toward her.

Foreshadowing: John's obsession with Libby's first menstruation and his offer to clean up her blood establish his twisted interest.

• john
• liberty
• shower
• invasion
• pheromones
• reproduction

Michelle gives birth to a grotesque, moribund (dying or near-death) creature that appears inhuman. John assists with the birth while Michelle is restrained in a tank connected to an IV, suggesting the pregnancy was orchestrated rather than natural. The creature's deformed state implies John's species cannot successfully reproduce with humans, or this was an experimental hybrid.

Foreshadowing: The entire pregnancy was part of John's plan, as evidenced by his tracking bracelet and interest in Libby's maturation.

• michelle
• birth
• creature
• monster
• tank
• hybrid

John forces Libby to ingest a bioluminescent substance he regurgitates, which transforms her physiology. This substance appears to be either a parasite or genetic material that rewrites her biology, granting her aquatic adaptations like the ability to breathe underwater. The ending shows her acceptance of this fate with a smile, indicating she has been physically altered into something like John.

Foreshadowing: John's work with parasites and his earlier statement about helping creatures adapt to new habitats foreshadow his ability to transform humans.

• liberty
• underwater
• breathing
• transformation
• bioluminescent
• parasite

Marley is killed by John and placed in a water tank infested with parasites. Libby discovers her dead body in the tank, which serves as both a warning and a demonstration of what awaits Libby herself. John's violence against Marley removes a potential ally and intensifies Libby's isolation.

Foreshadowing: Marley's decision to help Libby makes her a threat to John's plans, making her elimination inevitable.

• marley
• death
• tank
• parasites
• killed

The red marks appear on Libby's wrist after she removes the bracelet John gave her. These symbols are identical to those on the bracelet, indicating it was designed to transfer a marker or substance onto her. The marks link Libby to John's other victims and suggest she has been tagged for his reproductive purposes.

Foreshadowing: The bracelet is presented as a gift but carries sinister undertones from the moment John gives it to her.

• liberty
• bracelet
• red marks
• wrist
• symbols
• tracking

The multiple identical men reveal that John is either one of many clones or part of a collective aquatic species that reproduces asexually. These men work together to maintain the underground facility, peeling away walls to reveal tanks filled with unconscious women. This suggests a larger operation involving abduction and reproduction with human women.

Foreshadowing: John's aquatic geneticist background and his interest in adaptation hint at his species' reproductive methods.

• john
• clones
• identical men
• underground
• facility

The bioluminescent substance John regurgitates into Libby's mouth appears to be a transforming agent or parasitic carrier that alters her biology. It causes her to develop aquatic adaptations, specifically the ability to breathe underwater. This process marks the completion of her transformation into something non-human, similar to what John is.

Foreshadowing: John's work with parasites and genetic adaptation directly relates to this transformation method.

• bioluminescent
• ingest
• transformation
• parasite
• aquatic
• adaptation

John proposes to Michelle as part of his reproductive scheme. By getting her pregnant, he ensures a human host for his offspring while establishing a cover of normalcy. Marriage allows him to stay close to the family and continue his experiments while diverting suspicion. Michelle's pregnancy was likely part of his plan from the beginning.

Foreshadowing: John's interest in fertility and reproduction, symbolized by the goddess bracelet, makes his proposal strategic rather than romantic.

• john
• michelle
• propose
• marriage
• pregnancy
• scheme

Libby's vision shows John's true nature and abilities. The red-lit lake reveals he can enter and move through water in ways humans cannot, and he emerges completely dry despite walking into a lake. His explanation of sleepwalking is a cover, but the vision proves Libby is correct to suspect he is not human.

Foreshadowing: This vision occurs as Libby is beginning to understand John's supernatural aspects.

• liberty
• john
• vision
• lake
• sleepwalking
• red lights