Fromville often feels like an allegory for the cruel whims of destiny, which toys with the trapped denizens who are constantly thrown into impossibly terrible circumstances, and every attempt to escape gets trampled. Things are getting worse around the town, and no one has the faintest of clues regarding how to tackle the new challenges. Previously, after Tian-Chen’s tragic demise, Boyd planned to challenge the existing system by taking on the monsters. After returning from the woods, Jim received a call—from his late infant son, Thomas. While convincing Victor’s father, Henry, about the truth of Fromville, Tabitha learned about Victor’s mother Miranda’s detailed visions of the town from even before she had accidentally ended up there with her children. A pregnant Fatima’s situation turns concerning as she suddenly finds a liking for rotten vegetables, while Victor, anticipating danger, goes off on his own mission. In the third episode, the situation turn even more dicey than they already are, as a family reunion is probably on the cards in the upcoming episode.
Spoilers Ahead
Boyd’s Risky Plan
The third episode opens with Jim realizing that a sick joke is being played on him by the unknown voice on the other side of the call, who is pretending to be Thomas. However, as the voice threatens Jim with the lives of his children, he is compelled to take the warning seriously and, rushing back outside, brings Julie and Ethan in from the barn. Boyd is seen using his good old bell signal to warn the townsfolk of sundown when he spots Jim in a rush. Later, as Jim tries to patch things up with his children over dinner, Ethan continues to ask troubling questions about Tabitha, resulting in Jim snapping at him for a brief moment. Ethan takes his leave, with Julie following him. As if to mock Jim, the house phone rings again, and this time, fuming with anger, Jim hangs up without answering.
Boyd is really adamant to catch one of the monsters by trapping it inside a house by putting a talisman outside after it enters, much to the dismay of his son Ellis, who discourages him from taking such a nonsensically risky idea into consideration. Later, Donna tries to talk some sense into Boyd as well, disapproving of Boyd’s suicide mission, but Boyd is certain that instead of being sitting ducks and letting the town take complete control over their lives, they should do whatever is in their capacity to fight back. As Boyd gets busy making a memory board at church, he hallucinates Father Khatri, who questions his judgment is really his skeptical mind asking him to stop taking rash decisions that might put others in peril. Boyd remains fixated on his goal and, much later, decides to trade places with Randall for the night, as he asks him to spend the night at the sheriff’s office while Boyd wants to keep a close watch on the monsters from the bus.
Jade’s Troubling Visions Continue
Kenny takes a team consisting of Kristie, Jade, and three other townsfolk to go to the wooden huts with voodoo dolls affixed, around which he and Jim were able to gather fresh fruits and vegetables for the town. Kenny doesn’t show it, but he is grieving his mother’s loss, and Kristie tries to help him open up, but finds out he is unwilling to let his emotional guard down that easily. On the other hand, after having an argument with the rest of the foraging party, Jade drifts off on his own when he sees a vision of a mortally wounded man with a nail through one of his eyes. Scared out of his wits, Jade decides to rush back to town, ignoring Kenny and Kristie’s pleas, who know it is impossible to make the journey back before nightfall. While trying to convince Jade to stay, Kristie chases after him and gets her leg caught in a bear trap. After initial attempts to free her go in vain, Jade brings metal rods by dismantling one of the voodoo doll constructs in front of the hut and somehow manages to free Kristie. While helping Kristie, Jade once again sees a vision of the injured one-eyed man, who drinks blood from a skull chalice and offers it to Jade. It seems that, like talismans; the voodoo dolls had a purpose to serve as well, which was probably thwarted by Jade’s actions. Now that the team has to spend a night at the huts, I am getting the feeling that something terrible is about to happen, and the accompanying townsfolk will become a victim of an impending disaster.
Victor’s Mission, Fatima’s Troubling Fate
Victor is seen measuring the distance between the trees around Colony House as he digs up a mysterious suitcase buried in the ground. He goes to Sara’s place, where she is seen trying to fix a broken doll her late brother Nathan gave her. Victor asks her for a bedspread, for he intends to make a fort as he is going to tell a story, and listening to him, Sara is as dumbfounded as we are. Victor’s suitcase might contain something important, which will probably be revealed in the upcoming episodes, and given how Sara used to share a connection with the mysterious controllers of the town, it seems something might go wrong eventually.
On the other hand, as Fatima gorges on rotten vegetables outside Colony House, Tillie spots her, and a panicked Fatima ends up fleeing from the scene. Later, Tillie meets Fatima at her room to provide some comfort by sharing her own experiences of being a mother for the first time, and Fatima opens up to her—how her fears regarding her pregnancy are exacting a toll on her mind. Fatima wasn’t supposed to have a child until she was inexplicably able to conceive after arriving at Fromville, and ever since, a series of events have indicated to her that there might be something very problematic associated with her unborn child. She cannot confide in her boyfriend, Ellis, about this, as he is overjoyed by the news of the pregnancy, and Fatima doesn’t want to concern him. To offer Fatima some peace of mind, Tillie offers to read her tarot to predict the future of her child. Initially, Fatima is offended, considering Tillie is belittling her concerns with superstitious beliefs, but after realizing that Tillie genuinely cares and believes in stuff like this, Fatima begrudgingly agrees. After all, given their present hellish existence, causality being predicted by pagan faith doesn’t seem that outlandish. However, as Tillie is about to answer Fatima’s questions regarding her baby, even before she turns the first tarot card, a raven breaks into Colony House and takes its own life by smashing itself against a wall. The ominous forebodings about Fatima’s pregnancy continue to pile up. The Raven tarot card implies prophecy, magical association, and transformation—does that indicate the possibility of Fatima or her child turning into one of the Fromville creatures? Hopefully upcoming episodes will shed some light on that.
Did Tabitha Return to Fromville Once Again?
At Victor’s father Henry’s home in Camden, Tabitha is desperately searching for clues regarding Fromville, as after learning of Miranda’s mystical vision of the place, she firmly believes that there might be a path hinted at by Miranda to bring the trapped denizens out of the town. As Tabitha gets intrigued by a clinking sound of bottles coming from the back of the house, Henry shows her the bottle-tree installed at the backyard of their house by his wife Miranda, which looks similar to the bottle-tree which Victor led Tabitha to, entering through which Tabitha was able to reach the lighthouse. Tabitha searches for an opening in the tree, like there was on the one in Fromville, when Henry reveals that this bottle-tree is a replica of the original, which Miranda had made in a park, located in a neighboring town. Tabitha gets excited to see the original and pleads with Henry to bring her there, as she believes more secrets can be unearthed from Miranda’s knowledge of the town.
As Henry starts his car, Tabitha gets a bit surprised after hearing the tunes of her and Jim’s favorite song on the music player, which turns out to be a favorite of Henry and his wife, Miranda as well. Tabitha’s surprise turns into shock when she discovers the bracelet she had made for Jim, which she had found in Fromville, inside the car’s glove compartment, as Henry reveals Miranda had made it for him. Tabitha starts panicking, believing that she is still stuck in the simulation of Fromville, as she refuses to believe so many coincidences can occur at the same time. Tabitha wants to get out of the car in her attempt to break the simulation, but Henry tries to stop her desperately by continuing to drive the car anyway. Revealing to him his son’s whereabouts, whom he had considered to be long gone, Tabitha has given Henry a sliver of hope, and he isn’t willing to lose that. The car meets an accident; Tabitha wakes up in an ambulance and sees an unconscious Henry strapped to a stretcher. The paramedics sitting in front of Tabitha recognize her, as she had sneaked out of their hospital previously, and Tabitha gets relieved to learn Henry didn’t sustain any serious injuries. Tabitha grows wary about getting taken back to the hospital or to the authorities, but she doesn’t have to bother about that much longer, as dismissing her assumptions she’s trapped in a simulation, the ambulance stops after coming across a fallen tree blocking the road. Tabitha knows the ominous sign too well; she is being taken to Fromville once again, this time with Henry, the paramedics, and the driver as well. As the episode ends, viewers can assume that Matthew’s family reunion will take place in the next episode, and it will be an emotionally heavy moment to see Victor being reunited with his father as well. But the question remains: what is the connection between the Kavanaugh family and the Matthews family, given they share a number of strange similarities? Also, is there no way of escaping the town? Even though Tabitha can guide her family and the rest of the townsfolk to the lighthouse, just like her, they could once again end up in the town all over again. The questions get more baffling with each episode, followed by more questions in a loop.