In one of his seminal works, Shawshank Redemption, Stephen King remarked through his character, Red, about the dangerous capacity of hope, which can turn a person insane. The series finale of MGM+’s From evokes a similar sentiment, as by the end of the episode, viewers are left to question everything that they had assumed about the mystery regarding ‘Fromland’. In the previous episode, an ominous rhyme in the form of a warning was heard by a number of townsfolk from the other side, which mentioned the demise of three people. In sync with what was foretold, Marielle and Julie get trapped in a nightmare scare, and Randall seemingly falls prey to the same as well. Tabitha learned from Victor that his mother considered that going to the lighthouse and saving the kids—the same disfigured ones Tabitha had been seeing in her vision—could have been a way to escape from ‘Fromland’. Jade was intrigued when sbe got to know that Tabitha had seen the strange sigils inside the underground tunnels—the exact ones that had been haunting her for a long time. All of these vital plot points come into play in the final episode of the second season, and revelations follow along the way.
Spoilers Ahead
Three Victims: What Happened To Randall, Mari, And Julie?
The episode begins at the Chen household, where the Matthews family is tending to Julie, who has been in a catatonic state since the previous day. Boyd and Kenny make a visit to assess the situation, and a feeling of guilt dawns heavy on Boyd as he thinks coming up with a way to kill the monsters resulted in severe consequences. Jade laments that they haven’t even had the slightest idea about the situation they are dealing with right from the beginning, and Boyd silently acknowledges the frustrating helplessness. In his desperation, Boyd decides to seek Sara’s help and brings Kenny along with him.
With how things had turned out in the past due to the voices in her head, Sara wanted to make amends for her actions by any means, and Boyd states that she has the chance to do so now. Boyd brings Sara and Kenny to the remains of the dungeon, where he meets Martin in the hope that Sara might sense something about the place. Sara starts hearing the tune from the music box and points to its location, which can’t be seen by anyone. She also starts sensing a presence right away, which mocks Boyd for unleashing it back in town. In her agonized condition due to sudden mental stress, Sara states that the trio will suffer and die unless the music is stopped. Unable to locate the box, they finally decide to return to town.
Meanwhile, seeing her daughter in such a horrifying state, Tabitha decides to follow the route Victor’s mother had taken years ago: going to the lighthouse and rescuing the kids, which she considers will put an end to this hellish existence. She describes her plan to Jim, as she feels only this last-ditch effort can save the lives of her daughter and all the other entrapped townsfolk.
Why Did Jade Enter The Tunnels?
Among the townsfolk, Jade is the one not really able to express or engage in emotional affairs, and seeing Julie in the state she is in eventually starts eating him away. As he goes to the town bar and engages in his personal mental reorientation process by breaking liquor bottles and matching broken shards, he starts seeing a vision of deceased barkeep Tom. Almost as if arguing with his own conscience, Jade starts chatting with Tom, who asks him to follow the symbols by going inside the underground tunnels. Jade finally decides to do so to seek out even the slightest chance of saving Julie’s life.
Inside the tunnel, Jade sees the vision of the same disfigured kids Tabitha saw earlier, who keep uttering ‘Anghkhooey’ repeatedly. Jade sees seven of the kids lying on seven rock pedestals, and looking upwards, he sees the same symbol created by giant roots of trees covering up a hole. The vision dissipates as quickly as it started, and Jade sees the hole blocked this time.
At the Colony House, the nightmare attacks have left the people shaken, and the couple Fatima and Ellis are growing despondent given the current situation. Fatima proposes to Ellis that they conduct their marriage to savor whatever little time the townsfolk have left, and the latter agrees. Unbeknownst to any of them, Reggie, who had lost his partner Paula previously during the nightmare attacks, starts losing his sanity and kills one of Donna’s associates to steal a gun.
Did Boyd Manage To Save The Trio?
Feeling utterly dejected after his attempt to search for a clue goes in vain, Boyd goes to the makeshift town church and starts ranting against the almighty. Donna interrupts him in the midst of it and invites him to his son’s wedding at the Colony House. As Boyd attends his son’s marriage, Fatima’s vows suddenly remind him of a possible missing link, and he hurriedly exits.
Boyd brings out the torch he had brought from the dungeon, hoping that using it might reveal the place all over again. However, a deranged Reggie confronts Boyd and shoots him, resulting in Boyd shooting him to death. Boyd goes to the dungeon, and this time, igniting the torch, he sees the dungeon in its former state, with the other selves of Randall, Mari, and Julie lying in the shackles instead of Martin. Seeing the music box at the place as well, Boyd proceeds to destroy it but is stopped in his tracks by the appearance of his deceased wife, Abby. Abby states that contrary to what Boyd speculated, the fear of the residents does not fuel the place; hope does. She warns Boyd of even more severe consequences, stating that the townsfolk will suffer an even more unimaginable ordeal; they will eventually die, and stopping this particular incident will only prolong their suffering. After a moment’s hesitation, Boyd decides to go through with it anyways and breaks the music box, and at the town, the trio returns to normalcy once again. As Boyd returns to the wilderness, he feels triumphant for not giving up against the worst of adversities.
Did Tabitha Escape From ‘Fromville’?
As Tabitha requests Victor to take her to the lighthouse, he states that he doesn’t know the way but can take her to the tree of bottles, which can lead her there. Victor brings Tabitha to the tree, which is a special kind of Faraway tree that has a fixed destination—the entrance of the lighthouse. As a gesture of kindness, Victor gives his lunchbox to Tabitha, who embraces him to reciprocate the gesture—perhaps for the first time in his life since his mother’s demise, someone has hugged Victor. Tabitha enters the Faraway Tree and reaches the entrance, and as she walks up the stairs, the ‘anghkhooey’ sound coming from all around confirms that she is on the right path. Tabitha reaches the top of the lighthouse, and we see the boy in white already present there. For the first time, the boy speaks as he apologizes to Tabitha for his action and pushes her, and Tabitha falls from the lighthouse, smashing through the glass panels behind her.
What follows is surely going to leave viewers absolutely dumbstruck as Tabitha wakes up in a hospital with signs of injury on her body and medical equipment attached to her. Confused, he asks a present attendant where she is, who states that she is in St. Anthony’s hospital, has been unconscious for three days, and was rescued by a bunch of hikers on their trail. In utter disbelief and regret, considering that she has escaped ‘Fromville,’ but her family and none of the other townsfolk did, Tabitha opens up the window, and a bay area is seen on the outside. The episode ends with a desperate Tabitha contemplating her next course of action.
The surprise ending, in true From fashion, raises more questions than it answers. Is Tabitha truly free from her hellish existence, or did she arrive at the next stage of a convoluted simulation? The question pops up right after taking a closer look at the hospital window, which doesn’t reflect Tabitha’s image; rather, a blonde girl is seen in her reflection. And if death was indeed the exit route, doesn’t that prove all the actions and decisions undertaken by Boyd were absolutely detrimental to the cause of the townsfolk? This one was a brilliant subversion to the usual trope of positive reinforcements of determination and steadfastness being prerequisites for survival, as From highlights a peculiar scenario where they aren’t. The finale is bound to boost the hype for the third season of the series, and speculations are about to run even wilder for another year or so until the next season drops.
