Beginning the third season with an absolutely heart-breaking first episode, From follows up with an emotionally charged account of loss and its varied effects on people, coupled with new revelations about Fromville, and newer threats looming on the horizon. Previously, after escaping from the town, Tabitha had ended up at Camden, Maine – and finding Victor’s address at the same town, she came across Victor’s father. At Fromville, Jim and Kenny decided to venture into the woods in search of Tabitha, and came across a bunch of rundown huts surrounded by voodoo dolls. While spending the night in one of the huts, Jim regretted his decision of leaving his children alone, and decided with Kenny to head back town the next morning. Meanwhile, the town faced a food crisis, resulting in the cattle being the utmost priority as a last food source – and the monsters took advantage of that by letting the cattle out of the barn. While bringing the cattle back into the barn, Boyd and Tian-Chen got trapped inside by a group of monsters, and to make Boyd suffer, the monsters made him watch as they tortured Kenny’s elderly mother to death. The second episode of the season deals with the aftermath of the tragedy, and new details about Fromville emerge as Tabitha learns about a strange connection with the town from Victor’s father.Â
Spoilers Ahead
The Town Mourns Tian-Chen’s Death
After spending a sleepless night, Jade decides to go inside the barn in the morning – anticipating the worst for Boyd and Tian-Chen, but he couldn’t have imagined the kind of gruesomeness which Kenny’s kindly old mother was subjected to. Somehow handling the initial shock, Jade sees a captive Boyd on his knees, dazed and mumbling prayers in terror, and quickly unties him. A devastated Boyd embraces the lifeless remains of Tian-Chen, as if he is trying to seek forgiveness from her for not being able to save her. Within a night, the town has been completely covered in snow, as survival is made more difficult than ever as the problem of food shortage is aggravated by trauma and the cold.
Tian-Chen’s corpse is brought to the town church, and the tragic news spreads quickly among the denizens of the town. Jade can’t help but ask Boyd the question which most obviously struck at the minds of everyone else, how is it that Boyd was spared alive? Boyd answers the truth, that he was forced to watch the harrowing event unfold. Donna is furious with Boyd, and she doesn’t hide the fact from him, despite knowing what he has gone through, but really she is disappointed with herself as she reckons hoping for a better future or eventual escape is futile. Kristie learns about the incident, and after offering her condolences, she tries to console Boyd by saying that there was nothing he could have done to save her. The Mathews siblings, who were already having a hard time after surviving death, are wrecked after learning about Tian-Chen’s demise, and the revelation is hitting them pretty hard, given how close they were to Kenny’s mother. While Julie is at a loss as to how she can familiarise Ethan with the concept of death, Victor takes the no nonsense approach and quite directly reveals everything to him. Childlike innocence is something of a luxury at this place, which they can not afford.
Is Fatima Turning Into One of The Monsters?
Ellis and Fatima are busy with their lives, and a pregnant Fatima’s condition continues to gradually worsen by the day, which she has been concealing from her boyfriend so far. But realizing things are going out of hand, she decides to reveal her physically deteriorating state to Ellis, and the duo visit the clinic to seek Kristi’s counsel. In her absence, Marielle offers to help, but initially Ellis is a bit sceptical about her prognosis – given her past issues with withdrawal and getting afflicted by the strange sickness which affected Randall and Julie as well. However, Marielle assures the couple that she is in the right state of mind at present, and as she checks up on Fatima, it is revealed that Fatima has been having trouble eating since the past couple of days. Marielle’s diagnosis reveals nothing concerning about Fatima and her child’s health – and the couple return to Colony House. However, as Ellis leaves to meet Boyd, Fatima seems to be oddly attracted by the rotten vegetables left at the porch, and making sure that she isn’t noticed, a famished Fatima hurriedly starts devouring them. These hints practically confirm something fans have been speculating about Fatima, that the unknown controllers of town have put a monstrous child inside her womb, which is slowly killing her, and at the end of ber pregnancy she will be turned into the hideous looking lady who haunts Elgin in his dream.
It is the cruelty residing in the very core of the place which allows Kenny to be happy while heading back to town, as he and Jim find a patch of land behind their hut full of grown vegetables, which can help keep the town’s food crisis at bay for the time being. As the duo enter the town with hopeful faces, the alarming silence and long faces convey to them something terrible has happened while they were away. Jim, who was feeling remorseful for leaving his children behind, starts fearing the worst, and reassuring him about the safety of his children, Boyd tries to muster the courage to break the news to Kenny. It doesn’t take any imagination what an anguished Kenny must be feeling, losing both his parents at the hands of nightmarish creatures, when on both occasions he was absent, unable to save them from their tragic predicaments. As Kenny retires to the diner, Kristi decides to follow as she tries to console him, and after reminiscing a bit about his mother, Kenny begs Kristi to see if she can make Tian-Chen appear like her usual self during the funeral, as the present, harrowing condition she’s in is not how Kenny wants to remember her as he bids his mother farewell. With Jade’s help, Kristi is able to do a mortician’s job. Sara, who used to share a strong bond with Tian-Chen while working at the diner, provides Kristi a dress Kenny’s mother liked very much. Everybody is trying to honour Tian-Chen’s memories the best way they can, and this will allow them to process the pervading grief in their own way.
The cruelty of the place knows no bounds, as a jukebox suddenly starts playing while Kenny is mourning the death of his mother – as if someone is getting a perverse pleasure seeing him in a distraught state of mind. In anger, Kenny demolishes the jukebox, and remembers the fact that the townsfolk are always being watched.
What Did Tabitha Learn From Victor’s Father?
As Tabitha wakes up in the Kavanaugh household, Victor’s father reveals that she had fainted on the porch. However, he remains extremely sceptical about Tabitha and how she got hold of Victor’s box, and keeping a gun in his hand, he makes it clear to Tabitha that he is adamant to learn the truth. The truth Tabitha shares obviously doesn’t seem believable in the least to Victor’s father, and even as she shows her missing reports online of people who are trapped in the Fromville, he refuses to trust her. Victor’s father is also revealed to have called the cops even before Tabitha woke up, and she finds herself in a tough corner. However, as Tabitha accidentally mentions the lighthouse, and her assumptions about saving the children, Victor’s father gets really bewildered, to the point that he even agrees to keep Tabitha’s presence a secret from the authorities and fixes her up a meal. Apologizing for his actions, Victor’s father reveals that, forty years ago, his wife Miranda had said similar things about a lighthouse and saving children, before going missing forever with their two kids – Eloise and Victor. Aside from the investigating detective, Victor’s father didn’t share this information with anyone, and after listening to Tabitha’s words, he is forced to acknowledge that there might be some truth to Tabitha’s words after all. Victor’s father has never given up hope of finding his family one day, despite all odds, and learning about his son – he is overwhelmed by a sense of relief and joy. Tabitha reassures him, stating that she is being completely honest with him, and Victor’s father decides to bring her to the basement of their house.
On the 35th birthday of Victor’s father, before his family went missing, he and his wife, Miranda were revisiting their past hippie days for old times’ sake, and in an elevated state of mind, Miranda had drawn numerous morbid sketches of the town – the ones which appear during the opening credits of the series. As Tabitha looks at the pictures in disbelief, which match with everything related to the town one way of other, she learns about that night Miranda had premonitions about Fromville, and Victor’s father recounts the metaphysical nature of the place in details, as his wife had shared with him. He assumes, like Miranda, Tabitha must be one of the chosen ones who was brought to the town by unseen forces.
Whose Voice Did Jim Hear Over the Call?
At the town, Boyd meets Kenny to have a heart to heart, and finds him bottling up alcohol from the makeshift distillery – as he aims to venture inside the dungeon and kill every monster he can find. Despite knowing the risks, Boyd actually approves of his decision and offers to join him in his quest as well. If this allows Kenny to heal and put his mind at ease, then it is worth trying for Boyd. As the town attends Tian-Chen’s funeral, Boyd meets with Ellis with the intention of bringing him along as well. The townsfolk are doomed anyway, but for Boyd it’s better to meet the end with dignity than await the inevitable end – which has been either a boon or a curse for the denizens of Fromville, depending on perspective.
Jim tries to reconcile with his children, but that road needs to be repaired in the absence of Tabitha. Julie meets Sara to thank her for saving her and Ethan’s life, and can’t help but share her fears about the town trying to take over her mind as it did to Sara. Jim retires to their home alone, and gets perplexed as the phone in the dining room starts ringing. Any outside communication in Fromville is never a good sign, and always ends up bringing bad news, as the first season finale saw someone unknown warning Jim about his wife’s fate, which was followed by the collapse of their house and a severe storm. Jim cautiously answers the phone, and the episode ends with a voice on the other side which introduces himself as Thomas, the dead infant son of Jim and Tabitha.
While it initially seems that the town is trying to subject Jim to psychological torture by mentioning Thomas’ presence, the revelation could also hint about a speculation about the metaphysical nature of the town, the spirits of the departed end up in the world of Fromville, and bring their loved ones into the place as well. It is crucial to remember that, not long ago, Julie had mentioned to her father how Thomas’ demise resulted in Jim and Tabitha falling apart from each other – which once again highlights that the people of the town are under constant surveillance. Is Thomas somehow connected with the Boy in White? If Thomas’ existence is indeed real, then From seems like a spiritual successor to Lost as both seem to share common theme of people and their connection with their close ones who have departed. The upcoming episodes will reveal further connection this phone call might entail, but as of now, it seems like one of numerous bleak signs which indicate things are taking a worse turn too soon.Â
