MGM+’s mystery thriller From has premiered the first episode of its third season, and as an avid fan of the series, I have to say; what a way to mark a return to Fromville! Without taking a moment to let viewers settle down, the first episode relentlessly reminds us of the true depth of the horrors of Fromville, takes characters to uncharted territories, explores new possibilities of answering the questions the town holds within it, and finishes off things with a brutal, harrowing end that will put even the strongest minds to the test. Keeping true with the tradition of the series, more questions were raised by the first episode than answers given, and viewers couldn’t have expected a better kickoff than this.
Spoilers Ahead
Tabitha finds freedom and meets Victor’s father
The cliffhanger ending of the second season of From left viewers on a wild ride of speculation as Tabitha’s escape from the town seemed too good to be true. The third season clarifies that Tabitha has indeed found freedom after the Boy in White pushed her off the lighthouse, and has ended up in a hospital in Camden, Maine. Tabitha is engulfed in extremely conflicting feelings; the fear she feels for her family still trapped in the town while she has managed to return to the outside world overcomes whatever positive feelings she might have been feeling about finding freedom. After learning from the attending medic that the authorities have been informed and will shortly be arriving for questioning, Tabitha sneaks out of the hospital, as she is not willing to face questions she cannot answer—and accidentally spots the Boy in White on the streets, only to realize it was a projection of her stressed-out mind. Later on, Tabitha catches up with her mother by calling her using a borrowed phone, and after an emotional reunion, she asks her mother not to reveal anything to the cops who are already in search for the missing Matthews family. Unable to reveal what really happened with them in the first place, Tabitha lies to her mother about her family being safe, and tormented by the guilt, she goes to a nearby church to confess.
Tabitha’s burdens are too heavy to be relieved by a confession, and as she decides to leave the church, the kind priest encourages her to at least try to share with him. As the priest questions her about Victor’s box she had been carrying with her since leaving Fromville, Tabitha finds Victor’s address inside of it—and shockingly enough, the location is in Camden as well. Tabitha finds the address and meets Victor’s father, who is stupefied seeing his son’s belonging with her. There is a lot to unpack regarding this possible connection, which we have shared in a separate article.
Jim and Kenny Venture Into The Wilderness
The focus shifts to Fromville, as Boyd is seen patching himself up after sustaining injuries from the gunshot wound in the previous season, and talking with the late Father Khatri, who is a projection of his imagination. A few days have gone by since Tabitha went to the wilderness and never returned, and Khatri, the personification of Boyd’s own skeptical self, warns him of impending dangers. The town is trying to pin its denizens down, as winter is coming in Fromville, and the rations are shrinking up real fast with the storm in the previous season destroying half of the resources. An ever-determined Boyd refuses to pay heed to his own anxious self as he shrugs off Khatri’s warnings. Boyd and Kenny later come across a manic Jade, who’s been losing his marbles ever since seeing the symbol inside the underground cave, and bring him to the police station.
Little Ethan is worried sick for his mother and often goes into the wilderness on his own while searching for Tabitha—much to everyone’s dismay. Jim, feeling hapless, decides to go out there alone, and even though Boyd repeatedly warns him not to take such a rash decision, he isn’t willing to listen to reason. Boyd instructs Jim by presentinh a rough direction through stone hut, with the hut acting as a shelter—in order to reach the lighthouse, which is the only chance they have in finding Tabitha. Kenny decides to accompany Jim as well, going against Boyd’s judgment; however, the duo end up on the wrong route. Jim and Kenny come across a number of voodoo dolls placed outside a number of rundown huts, and Jim proposes they spend the night there. However, at night, an unknown dread begins making its presence felt outside the hut, and Jim immediately regrets his decision of dragging Kenny into a dangerous situation like this. Tabitha had entrusted Jim with the security of their children, and Jim has made the grave mistake of overlooking that by venturing into the woods. Jim decides to return to the town the next day in the morning, if they survive the night, that is.
Many Faces Of Dread: Food Shortage In Fromville
At the Colony House, a pregnant Fatima is seemingly feeling a bit under the Fromville weather, and Elgin desperately tries to keep himself awake, as the moment he dozes off, the haunting lady appears in his nightmare. Donna takes Ellis to gather whatever harvest they have left, only to realize that the entire lot has gone rotten. Kenny’s mother, Tian-Chen, faces trouble while handling the huddling crowd, who desperately start seeking to secure rations after learning about the harvest crisis, whereas Randall tries to take one of the goats from the barn and gets into a scuffle with Victor, who decides to pull his gun on him. It’s an absolutely chaotic situation, which Boyd somehow handles at the end. He too knows the situation is going out of control pretty fast and engages in a discussion with Tian-Chen and Donna to come up with a possible solution to the food crisis. The only way to sustain the townsfolk is revealed to be using the cattle as a direct meat source, who were only used so far as a source of milk and eggs for obvious food scarcity reasons—and Ethan overhears their conversation about taking Randall’s approach. This is a harsh reality that Ethan, a kid, has to face as well, and Boyd tries his best to comfort him, stating the cattle are going to be their saviors when they manage to survive the entire ordeal. A pensive moment follows as Ethan requests him to kill his favorite goat, Alma, first, so that she doesn’t have to see her friends gone one by one. This innocent statement carries much significance when taken in context with the way Fromville tortures its denizens by taking away people from their loved ones and also acts as a terrible foreshadowing, which we will be discussing next.
Why Didn’t the Monsters Kill Boyd?
At night, a bunch of nocturnal monsters unlock the barn and let the cattle loose in the town, prompting Boyd, Jade, Victor, and Tian-Chen to rush outside to safely herd them back to the barn. Randall, who has been stationed inside the bus to spend the night, notices a group of monsters moving towards the Matthews household and desperately tries to warn them by honking the bus horn. Julie and Ethan get into trouble when Ethan mistakenly opens the door to save Alma, resulting in the elderly grandma monster (from the pilot episode of “From”) entering their home and chasing them. Sarah takes the Matthews children to safety in time, somewhat redeeming herself for her past action of trying to kill Ethan. Randall alerts them and brings them to safety inside the bus, effectively saving their lives. Will we see Randall going through a heroic arc in this season? This scene kind of hints at something like that.
Jade freezes in horror after seeing one of the monsters disemboweling a cow right in front of him, and Victor somehow shakes him out of his stupefied state to get him to safety. Boyd and Tian-Chen bring the rest of the cattle inside the barn, with the monsters ganging up outside, and Boyd locks the barn, considering themselves safe with the talisman at his disposal. Alas, inside the barn, five monsters were waiting for them already, which makes the talisman totally ineffective in this situation. Two of them hold on to a terrified Tian-Chen, while the rest of them drag Boyd to a corner—but despite having the chance to cripple the townsfolk by killing their leader, the monsters don’t kill Boyd. The supposed leader of the pack, a cowboy monster, taunts Boyd by reminding him of his own words—after destroying the music box in the dungeon, Boyd had emphatically remarked in the wilderness that this place will not be able to break him. The monsters are here to put a dent in Boyd’s resolve, and the cowboy monster ties Boyd to a pole inside the barn with his own handcuffs and makes him watch as the rest of the pack viciously torments and murders Tian-Chen. It is difficult to put to words exactly what Boyd’s face reflects—seeing a person close to him getting torn apart right in front of his eyes while he remains helpless. Kenny’s mother had entrusted Boyd with her son’s safety and held Boyd in high regard. Seeing her meet a fate such as this will haunt Boyd throughout his life, and the fact that the language barrier exists between them adds to the tragedy, as Boyd tries to somehow ease her mind by reassuring her in the final moments. Time and again, the town reminds us how there is a fate worse than death, and this is the most heartbreaking example of it. Torturing Tian-Chen and killing her while forcibly making Boyd watch and sparing his life is as bad as killing Boyd a thousand times. It will be a miracle, or an instance of superhuman mental fortitude, if Boyd doesn’t snap afterwards. The episode concludes with Tian-Chen’s anguished cries, making the scenario undoubtedly the most tragic, emotional gut punch in the history of the series itself.
