While each movie in the Final Destination franchise tells a self-contained story, some recurring elements tie the franchise together. Among these is Tony Todd’s William Bludworth, a mysterious coroner who often crosses paths with the plucky teens marked by Death. Appearing in Final Destination, Final Destination 2, and Final Destination 5, Bludworth always has some knowledge to impart to the survivors, helping them understand the rules Death follows when tracking down victims who escape its previous traps. Yet, the franchise never addresses Bludworth’s past or explains why he has such detailed knowledge of Death’s design. The latest installment in the franchise, Final Destination Bloodlines, finally addresses the matter, telling fans why William Bludworth knows so much.

Final Destination Bloodlines revolves around Stefani Reyes (Kaitlyn Santa Juana), a college student who starts to have horrific nightmares about an accident that happened 56 years earlier. Stefani’s dreams recount, in detail, the fall of the Sky Tower restaurant, a tower that collapses, killing hundreds of people, including her grandmother Iris (Brec Bassinger). However, Stefani never met her grandmother, who is still alive, so her nightmare makes no sense to her.