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Amidst the chaos and complexity of today’s world, there’s a profound beauty in simply appreciating the wonder of humanity. Hulu’s latest sci-fi offering, In the Blink of An Eye, which is now available for streaming, encourages viewers to do just that. This film, directed by seasoned Pixar filmmaker Andrew Stanton—known for his work on beloved films like Finding Nemo, WALL-E, and Finding Dory—and scripted by Colby Day, first made waves at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. There, it garnered the Alfred P. Sloan Prize, an accolade honoring exceptional films that explore themes of science or technology.
Featuring a stellar cast with talents such as Rashida Jones, Daveed Diggs, and Kate McKinnon, In the Blink of An Eye weaves together three distinct timelines, separated by centuries yet unified by a shared human experience. Despite receiving a lukewarm reception from critics at Sundance, there’s hope that its intricate narrative will resonate with Hulu audiences. For those who find themselves puzzled after watching, Decider offers a detailed analysis of the film’s plot and its enigmatic ending, including the pivotal moment involving Kate McKinnon and an acorn.
The narrative of In the Blink of An Eye spans three unique eras, each offering a glimpse into different facets of human existence. The journey begins in 45,000 BCE, amidst the twilight years of the Neanderthal period, focusing on a family’s survival in the region now known as Vancouver, Canada. We meet Hera (played by Tanaya Beatty), a Neanderthal mother, alongside Thorn (played by Jorge Vargas), the father, and their daughter, Lark (played by Skywalker Hughes). The film opens with a poignant image of Lark cradling an acorn, accompanied by a Sylvia Plath quote: “Remember, remember, this is now, and now, and now.” This sets the stage for a contemplative exploration of time and memory.
In the Blink of An Eye 2026 movie plot summary:
In the Blink of An Eye follows three different story lines, set in three very different times.
The first story takes place in 45,000 BCE, at end of the Neanderthal era, the now-extinct group of humans that predated the Homosapians. We follow a Neanderthal mother named Hera (played by Tanaya Beatty), a Neanderthal father named Thorn (played by Jorge Vargas), and their Neanderthal daughter named Lark (played by Skywalker Hughes), as they struggle to survive in what is now Vancouver, Canada. One of the very first images of the movie is of Lark holding an acorn, while the text appears on screen that reads, “Remember, remember, this is now, and now, and now,” which is a quote from Sylvia Plath’s journals.
The second story line takes place in the present-day, where an anthropologist doctoral candidate named Claire (Rashida Jones) is studying ancient remains of a proto-human, which is heavily implied to be the remains of our Neanderthal friend, Thorn. Claire gets romantically involved with another student, Greg (Daveed Diggs), and soon after gets the sobering news that her mother is dying of terminal cancer.
The third story line takes place 200 years in the future, where a “longevity-enhanced pilot” named Coakley (Kate McKinnon) and her AI co-pilot, ROSCO, are over 200 years into their mission to find a new planetary home for the human species, with over 100 years to go. When Oakley discovers a disease afflicting the space ship’s oxygen-producing plants, it’s up to her and ROSCO to find a solution to finish the mission… or let the entire human race die out.
All three story lines deal with themes of life and death, of survival and mortality. In 45,000 BCE, Hera grieves the death of her newborn baby. Later, Hera dies in childbirth, while bringing new life into the world.
In the present-day, Claire comes to terms with her mother dying while she begins a new relationship—and, eventually, a family of her own—with Greg.
And in the future, Coakley fails to contain the virus, and realizes the only possible way to continue the mission is to either kill her AI buddy ROSCO, or kill herself. Ultimately, Coakley says goodbye to ROSCO, her only companion. (While I understand how Coakley dying would save oxygen for the embryos, and I don’t fully understand why ROSCO dying would also help—something something space for a new garden—but, sure.)
But despite all this loss, all of our protagonists manage to work through their grief by forging new connections. Thorn, Lark, and the new baby are welcomed into a community of homo sapiens. Claire and Greg get married and have children together. And after a few failed attempts, Coakley successfully births one of the embryos in an artificial womb, and names her V.
In the Blink of An Eye 2026 movie ending explained:
Throughout the journey, Lark keeps a hold of her special acorn, which at some point she turned into a necklace hanging by a leather strap. She gives it to her daughter. When Thorn eventually dies of old age, his grand daughter places the acorn in his hand.
In the present day, Greg gives Claire a gift that he stole from lab, after she was forced to drop out of her program: A gilded acorn, which is what was clasped in the hand of the ancient human she was studying. It’s not explained how and when the acorn became gilded in gold, or put on a metal chain. That is not what petrified wood looks like, and that doesn’t seem like something anthropologists would do. So… did Daveed Diggs take this ancient artifact to his local jeweler? If so, wouldn’t Rashida Jones be angry about him doing that?
But if you’re willing to overlook that, then you can accept the fact that this acorn is the constant in all three story lines. Coakley raises V, more children are born, and V helps Coakley raise them. Eventually, the space ship reaches the habitable planet where humans will make their new home. Before she takes her first steps onto the new planet, it’s revealed Coakley has the gold acorn, and she gifts it to V, telling her that she is the future.
Why does Coakley have the acorn at the end of In the Blink of An Eye?
Greg and Claire’s son grew up to become the founder of the company, Elixir, that will eventually fund Coakley’s mission in space. Basically, Claire’s son invented the technology that allowed Coakley to live for hundreds of years, enabling her to complete the mission. Claire and Greg gifted their son the gold acorn, with a note to “take this with you into the future.” The son eventually gave the acorn to Coakley to take on her mission. (According to the timeline of this movie, we have only some 200 years before earth becomes inhabitable and Kate McKinnon becomes the last surviving human. Bleak!)
So what does it all mean? Well, the acorn represents the seed of new life, new growth. The point of the movie is appreciating the long, tenacious, improbable existence of humanity, from the very first humans to the ones we imagine might make up our future. And we’re all connected, just like these characters are all connected by the acorn.
In the last scene of the movie, Coakley attends V’s funeral, since her enhancements mean she outlives her children. In her speech, she outlines the theme of the movie.
“I really didn’t think I’d live to see this all happen. I thought I’d be the last person ever, maybe. I didn’t think, ‘What if we make it? What if we survive?’” Coakley says. “I just couldn’t imagine seeing you grow, and I couldn’t imagine once you were gone, that I’d still see you. And I’d see everyone that was there before you. And now I see you, and your children, and in your children’s children. I guess we never really go away. What a beautiful thing. We’re all still here.”