New killer threats prop up with each new episode of the fourth season of From, to remind the hapless denizens how dangerous it is to ever underestimate the forces at work in the Fromville. Living in a place that is constantly modifying itself to make the lives of its citizens a living hell, death is not even the worst form of punishment. Previously, Boyd’s plan of capturing a monster backfired terribly with the sudden return of Tabitha to Fromville, along with Victor’s father, Henry, as a strategic attack by the monsters resulted in Randall getting flanked by them. Boyd was forced to make a tough call as he decided to save the others while leaving Randall to his fate, who was spared by the monsters at the end after getting mutilated by them. Acosta, a cop, accompanying Tabitha and Henry, finds herself in jeopardy after reaching Fromville and confronting the monsters, and her trigger-happy tendency results in her accidentally shooting Nikki to death. Fatima’s hunger grows malicious as she savors the taste of a recently deceased Nikki’s blood. With Tabitha’s return, the discussion about the possibility of escaping from the town takes center stage, and another emotional reunion follows after the Matthews family reunion in the previous episode.
Spoilers Ahead
Randall’s Fate
The fifth episode begins with Randall being carried into Colony House by Boyd as Marielle provides emergency treatment for his gruesome injuries. It becomes a bit challenging to control Randall, who is writhing in agony and fuming in anger at the same time for Boyd abandoning him when it mattered the most. Boyd had made a judgment call, prioritizing the lives of Jim, Henry, and Tabitha over Randall, as he was forced into such a situation by the nocturnal monsters, and there is no way he can defend himself to the victim irrespective of whether his decision was justified or not. Later, Marielle treats Randall in the clinic and asks Boyd to refrain from meeting him for the time being.
On the other hand, Kenny, Jade, Kristi, and the rest of the foraging party return safely to the town and learn about the present predicament. Tabitha’s return rouses Jade’s inquisitive, curious self, and he practically runs off to the Matthews household to question her about the details of her successful escape. After all, in the second season, Jade and Tabitha worked together to find information from Victor about the strange symbol, escape routes, tunnel, and a lot of the town’s shenanigans. It is natural for him to assume that somehow their discussion about all those things resulted in Tabitha finally solving the enigma of the town and leaving. However, before Tabitha can answer Jade’s questions, she has to attend the meeting arranged at the diner, where almost the entirety of the town is eagerly waiting to question her about every possibility of escaping from the town.
Meeting of the Townfolk
The horrors and mysteries of the town affect its residents differently, which surely makes viewers wonder why Boyd and co. don’t simply discuss with each other more often about whatever they learn of the place. Perhaps getting aware of different aspects of the town and working together is the way to get out of this hellhole. For the first time in the series, in the fifth episode of the ongoing season, we see the townsfolk actually gathering together for a meeting to question Tabitha about her experiences of escaping and her eventual return, although two vital characters, Jade and Victor, remain missing in the meeting. Tabitha shares how she visited the lighthouse through the bottle tree, escaped to Camden, Maine, and while looking for clues about the town with Victor’s father, Henry, ended up in the town all over again. Tabitha is criticized by the townsfolk for not informing the authorities about the predicament of the townsfolk and wasting her opportunity after escaping. Even though she points out the nature of their predicament would have made for an account which would have been unbelievable to the authorities, a number of townsfolk are really trying to make her feel guilty. Fatima, who has been over the edge ever since her pregnancy has deteriorated her condition, is especially keen to blame Tabitha for not being able to do more. Boyd tries to manage the situation, but by then townsfolk have started getting ideas about venturing out on their own, going to the bottle tree, and escaping through the lighthouse—as if the entire thing was as simple as asking for directions. This is why town meetings didn’t happen in Fromville; the know-it-all tendency of the people, despite having little to no clues about the situation, to try to act on their own can prove detrimental. There is a reason Jade didn’t want to attend the meeting.
Ellis gets into an argument with his father, Boyd, after defending Fatima and demanding a change in approach involving taking the risk of venturing to the wilderness now that they know how to escape. Boyd gives his son a piece of his mind; as a leader, he cannot afford to believe in risks and chances, especially in the light of recent events. Boyd has an argument with the newcomer cop, Acosta, as well, who suggests he divert the attention of the townsfolk from the possible escape route. Boyd isn’t here to misdirect and force others to comply; he feels it is his duty to keep them safe, not to act like authoritative forces. Ellis approaches Fatima, who finally reveals to him the terrible predicament with her pregnancy.
Victor Meets With His Father
To get their hands on Christopher’s talking doll, Jasper, which Victor thinks can provide them with clues, Victor decides to venture into the tunnel, but before that, he learns from Donna that Tabitha has returned to the town, and his father, Henry, has accompanied her as well. For someone like Victor, who had remained stuck in this hellish town since a young age, lost his mother and sister, and lost any hope of reuniting with his family ever again, this is an extremely emotionally overwhelming moment—something which his sensitive self cannot handle, and refusing to meet his father, Victor rushes out of Colony House. Sara goes after Victor, and after learning about the situation and the fact that Victor fears that his father will find a changed person in Victor, she offers him some much-needed comfort by suggesting that his father might be feeling the same as well. Henry gets acquainted with Ethan, who reveals how Victor’s trauma has affected his mind during his prolonged stay at the town. Finally, at long last, Victor comes across his father while returning to the town with Sara, and an emotionally turbulent reunion follows. Both father and son had given up hope of ever having the chance to meet each other in their lifetimes, and now the whims of fate have guided them in an inexplicable way, leading to this moment where, for the first time in a long, long time, they feel alive again. However, given the town’s tendency to offer people hope only to torture them psychologically by taking it away, I have bad feelings about this as well.
Why Did The Faraway Tree Take Dale Inside The Wall?
On the other hand, Julie and Elgin catch up in Colony House while smoking weed, and the duo stumble across a stash of old clothes from bygone eras in the basement. As they dress up and take pictures of each other with a Polaroid camera, it seems the upcoming episodes will provide some clues about the time cycles of the town through the entirety of it.
Tabitha starts feeling guilty after the meeting and decides to venture to the bottle tree with Jade to recognize some sort of pattern or get more clues about the escape possibilities. As she and Jade finally share with each other exactly what they found in their search for clues, one of the exasperated townsfolk, Dale, who was acting too eager to find an escape, arrives at the spot, and ignoring Tabitha’s warnings, simply enters through the glass bottle tree. The faraway trees are unpredictable, as Boyd had previously warned the townsfolk; they can send people to random places, and apparently the same holds true for the bottle tree as well, as Dale is found stuck inside the wall of the dried-up pool beside the town diner. It’s a ghastly sight. As townsfolk gathering around get horrified, Boyd decides to put Dale out of his misery to find that he has passed away already. Needless to say, the denizens of the town didn’t need much convincing afterwards as to precisely how assuming things and acting on their own in this unforgiving, godforsaken place is like courting death. Jade and Tabitha had assumed the years written inside the papers of each of the bottles in the bottle tree might help them to find a pattern through all this, and that just might be the safest course of action regarding escape route at this point.
