Push someone to the extreme, and reaction should be expected, which is what the shocking midseason finale of MGM+’s mystery thriller series From aptly conveys through a tumultuous situation. In the previous episode, a number of townsfolk, including Tabitha and Kenny, started a witch hunt for Sara, who eventually gets shunned out of society after being berated on multiple occasions. Kenny’s trust in Boyd has been broken after knowing that he not only hid the fact from Kenny that Sara was responsible for his father’s death but also actively aided her despite knowing the truth. Randall unknowingly discovers that a fearless approach against the nocturnal monsters can be part of a deterrent method. On the other hand, Kristi’s fiancée, Marielle, seems to be struggling with addiction, and all these plot points get connected in what is perhaps the best episode of this season so far.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Is Boyd’s Condition Worsening?
After the truth about Sara is revealed to Kenny and his mother, Boyd tries to make amends for his mistakes by apologizing to Kenny’s mother, Tian Chen. The episode begins with Boyd at the diner, trying his best to explain to Tian that he needs to trust Sara because she can prove to be the key to their escape from the entrapped existence of the place, and even if that means hatred and resentment from her and the townsfolk, Boyd has to stick to his actions. As Boyd explains himself to Tian, an enraged Kenny enters the diner, who isn’t too pleased to see the person he hates the most right now talking with his mother. Boyd takes his leave and goes to the church to make a visit to Sara, but finds her to be absent. Instead, the mysterious music box that Boyd had seen in the wilderness appears in front of him and starts playing. All of a sudden, a ballerina, dressed similarly to the doll affixed to the music box, appears in front of Boyd and starts dancing. Soon the ballerina includes Boyd in her dance routine and opens her mouth to reveal worms wriggling out from inside.
Boyd is taken aback and bleeds after falling on his head, and it is revealed that the entire bit was a vision he witnessed while leaving the diner. Kenny comes to assist him and sets out to take him to Kristi at the clinic. He might feel aghast at Boyd’s supposed betrayal, but the fact remains that he looks up to Boyd like his father, so taking care of him is a priority.
During their journey to the clinic, Boyd tries to strike up a conversation with Kenny about the incident of his keeping the truth from him, but Kenny at once expresses his disinterest and starts taking his leave. Boyd starts having spasms due to the skincrawling worms affecting him, and he once again witnesses the music box-ballerina episode. Despite Boyd telling him the truth about his previous experience in the wilderness being the cause of all this, Kenny starts thinking about the possibility of Boyd finally losing it and proceeds tk clinic. Irrespective of what Kenny believes, Boyd’s encounter with the mysterious old man named Martin is the reason his situation is aggravating gradually.
At the clinic, Kristi discovers Marielle’s addiction problem, and viewers get to know that it isn’t the first time the problem has plagued the couple; it returned after Kristi went missing and ended up in the town, leaving Marielle sinking into depression. The duo have a brief argument that has to end as Kenny brings Boyd to the clinic.
Boyd describes the details about his experience in the wilderness in the past to Kristi, and all the talk about skincrawling worms and blood exchange sounds too crazy to believe for Kristi too. Later, Kenny shares his concerns with Kristi that Boyd’s Parkinson’s condition might be leading to display having early signs of dementia, something that afflicted Kenny’s father, Mr. Liu, in the last stage of his life.
Boyd once again sees a nightmarish vision of the ballerina dancer who is seen trying to choke him to death, and as Mari appears suddenly, Boyd, in his excited state of mind, pulls a gun on her, but immediately realizes his mistake and apologizes. Later, Boyd is visited by the vision of Father Khatri, and while he is having a conversation with him, Kenny arrives and, noticing that, believes that Boyd isn’t in the right mental shape at the moment.
What Is Bothering Ellis And Fatima?
Meanwhile, an inevitable food shortage crisis hits the town as part of the supply was already destroyed due to the storm (when Jim and Jade wanted to make contact with the outside world), and there are more mouths to feed with newcomers from the bus now living alongside the former residents. Donna secures her last stash of food and moves away to preserve it in Tian Chen’s house, asking Ellis and Fatima to control the situation in the country house.
However, Fatima is disgruntled over the fact that Ellis knew about Boyd aiding Sara but still didn’t inform her about it, as he had promised his father not to disclose anything. Ellis wonders whether Fatima is still processing the shock of the first night for the newcomers, when they had to helplessly witness people being slaughtered by the monsters. Their conversation is cut short when a commotion is heard in the dining area of the country house. A longtime resident, Dale, who has a few screws loose, accuses the newcomers of stealing their supplies and causes a panic. As Ellis approaches him to calm the situation down, Dale accidentally stabs him with a knife, causing him to bleed profusely. The sun has set, which means it isn’t safe to venture outside to go to the clinic either.
Displaying great courage, Elgin decides to escort Fatima and Ellis to the clinic against all odds, and evading the monsters, he drives the duo to their destination. A pretty neat sequence follows through a third-person perspective inside the van, capturing the tension and emotions of the characters involved properly.
Donna Proves Why She Is A Great Guardian Figure
At the Liu household, while helping Donna preserve the available food sources, the Matthews family discovers the shortage of resources. While Jim is of the opinion that they need to address the situation immediately by letting the townsfolk know, Donna forbids him, stating that if a rash decision like this is taken, it will result in mass panic, which is the last thing they want in the given situation. Jim remarks that this is the exact situation ‘they’ would want, creating anxiety and mistrust among townsfolk for ‘their’ amusement. All the negative talk rattles little Ethan a bit, who expresses his concern about the food shortage. To avoid the topic, everybody gets busy real fast.
Later, Ethan confesses to Tabitha how scared he is, despite pretending otherwise in front of his parents, and that he wants to go home. To encourage the scared kid, Donna shares valuable advice about the necessity of fear; after all, its presence conveys the need to be courageous, something her mother had shared with her during her younger days. An elated Ethan hugs Donna, reinstating the importance of the character to the viewers.
What Did Boyd Do To Save His Son’s Life?
Meanwhile, at the clinic, Kristi rushes to aid Ellis, whose injury can become fatal if too much blood enters the chest cavity. Kristi performs I&D, which saves Ellis’ life but causes a lack of blood, and the only donor present with a matching blood group is Boyd himself.
Boyd refuses to do a blood transfusion with his son, as he fears that whatever he contracted from Martin through blood transmission might affect Ellis as well. Considering Boyd’s continuous stress on the affliction and wild encounters to be crazy rambling, Kenny puts Boyd at gunpoint at first and asks to pass Boyd’s affliction to him instead. Boyd disagrees, but taking a cue from the statement, he does the unthinkable and goes outside in the dark.
Boyd taunts and lures the nocturnal monsters into coming close to him, and the creepy smiling variant appears (the one who massacred an elderly couple in a bus in the second episode of the ongoing season), followed by a number of other ones. Boyd cuts his own hand, slits the throat of the creepy-smiling monster (to no effect), and rubs his blood on him. Initially, no effects can be observed, but soon the monster starts getting choked, reverts back into its original grotesque form, and presumably dies. The rest of the monsters take a look at their fallen comrade and go off in their own directions, leaving Boyd unscathed.
What Did Fatima Reveal To Kristi?
Fatima was already mentally troubled with everything that has been going on in the town and in their relationship; she gets extremely nervous considering she almost lost Ellis. She has a word with Kristi in private and asks her whether she has any pregnancy test kits or methods available at the clinic.
This was a big revelation, considering the fact that the possibility of townsfolk getting pregnant in such a hellish existence was never raised, and where they aren’t even sure of their existence itself, it was always a far-fetched consideration. The reason for Fatima being on the edge seems understandable now, as the mere possibility of raising a child in such a place seems too scary to even consider. The future episode will surely deal with this shocking revelation, and the way everything seems to be connected, it won’t be a shocker if it gets known that the update is somehow related to understanding the place in a better way.
The episode ends with Boyd and Kenny momentarily reconciling, with Kenny apologizing for his mistrust of Boyd and the latter brushing it off as he considers the end justifies the means. The duo ponders whether the creature is truly dead or not, which they will find out soon enough with the beginning of a new day.
