From the season 3 premiere
Credit: MGM
It feels like it’s been a long time since the residents of FROM were trapped in the nameless town where they hid in fear from the demon residents who roamed at night. After all, it’s only been a little over a year. The reason it feels so long is probably because this show is so dreamlike and nightmarish that it disappears after a while.
Well, I doubt I’ll soon forget tonight’s horrifying season 3 premiere. Everything that makes this series great was on full display in the opening episode, and this gave me hope that the rest of the season would be just as captivating.
For a refresher, you can read our review of the season 2 finale here. I called this a “nearly perfect” season finale. No wonder it feels like a long time has passed since this show aired. We were all waiting to see what would happen next.
Either way, while this show is great, it can also be frustrating for a number of reasons.
Too many F-bombs! It’s not that I’m sensitive to name-calling, but I’m starting to feel like the writers are getting too excited about this word in particular. That, that, blah, blah. Well, there were some F-bombs in this episode, but it felt like it was rewound a bit and the dialogue sounded more natural because of it. Characters cannot communicate with each other! This week a friend shared with me a quote by George Bernard Shaw that I thought fit nicely into our discussion about FROM. Quote Shaw: “The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it’s happening.” This perfectly sums up the Fromville residents. They are. Never. talk. About. important. thing. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case on tonight’s episode. When Jim (Eion Bailey, an Irish name) tries to rush off to find Tabitha (Catalina Sandino Moreno, a Colombian name), Boyd (Harold Perrineau) stops him and they Said. Actual plan. Kenny (Ricky Hee) – Oh, poor Kenny! — also decided to join the search. Later, when all the crops die and food is desperately needed, Boyd and Donna (Elizabeth Sanders) have a serious discussion about what to do with the livestock. Yay for communication!
Those are the two biggest problems with this show. The third thing is the amount of random extras that pop up. This feels like a loving homage to LOST. After all, FROM is the spiritual successor to that show. Tonight’s episode featured some obnoxious extras, but they remain as annoying and ridiculous as ever. But this is a small problem.
Of course, not all of the necessary communication actually took place. Victor (Scott McCord) didn’t tell Jim about the Faraway tree he took Tabitha to, and he may have had a good reason for that. They may be more likely to do so if they have precise location information. However, he goes looking for her and instead finds a strange abandoned mansion surrounded by these very creepy mannequins.
from
Credit: MGM
There has to be some deep meaning to these things, probably some deep and fucked up meaning, but we don’t know what it is yet. That night, a knock is heard on the hovel where the heroes are hiding. It might be a new monster.
But that night, Jim realizes his foolishness and tells Kenny that he will be back in town at dawn. It won’t be a happy return home.
There’s also Jade (David Alpay), who has a better beard than ever. It feels like very little time has passed since the Season 2 finale, but Jade’s beard is bushier, grayer, and she has a longer, shaggy mane. It will even traumatize you.
jade
Credit: MGM
Jade had a pretty scary experience in the cave tunnels at the end of last season. The children lay like corpses, muttering “Ankui” over and over again, and the vines formed that strange symbol he kept seeing.
from
Credit: MGM
In tonight’s Season 3 premiere, Jade is having some sort of meltdown. Boyd and Kenny find him sprawled out on the floor of the bar, an improvised replica of the symbol strung together above his head. He is drunk, unruly, and most importantly, out of communication with his fellow Fromvillians. It might be a good idea for him to take his team there and see what they can find.
Meanwhile, Tabitha appears in what appears to be the real world. I realized from various clues (if they were really clues at all) that she was simply on another “level” of this twisted game, albeit less likely than before. , I was pretty sure that could still be the case. After all, she can use a stranger’s phone to call her mother. She also tracks down Victor’s lunchbox address and runs into his father (though the guy doesn’t look much older than Victor if you ask me).
Doctors at St. Anthony’s Hospital say she is in Camden, Maine, but at least some of the scenes were actually filmed in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. You know, I’ve been to Camden and it’s small. Camden doesn’t have a 13-story hospital. This seaside town of 5,000 people is home to beautiful colonial homes and a busy downtown. Dartmouth is a city of 70,000 people. I think it’s kind of funny when you’ve been to a place that’s depicted in a TV show or movie and it’s clearly not the same place.
Tabitha also visits the priest because she can’t think of anyone else to talk to and her story is apparently pretty crazy. It remains to be seen what Victor’s father thinks about it. We still don’t know if this is actually the real world or just a horrifying fantasy. The only clue that Tabitha is still trapped is a boy dressed in white. She found him on the street and he waved, but when she tried to find him he was gone. Is she just seeing things? The prisoner Boyd encountered at the end of Season 1 said that the town was just the “tip of the spear,” so he learns that this “real world” is actually a deeper level of cruelty and deception. I wouldn’t be surprised.
victor’s father
Credit: MGM
Speaking of cruelty, it’s finally time for the horrifying final act of the season 3 premiere. As night falls, the monsters come out, only this time they don’t just bang on the walls or try to trick their way inside. Instead, they go to the animal pens and barns and release all the livestock. Boyd and Jade saw what was happening and rushed out into the street to get the cows, sheep, and goats back to the barn. Others join them, including Victor and Tianchen (Elizabeth Moy). As they struggle to get the animals to safety, a monster appears.
Young Ethan (Simon Webster, who doesn’t look like he’s aged a day) spots his favorite goat, Alma, on the street and rushes to the door to save her. But his older sister Julie (Hannah Cheramy) wasn’t quick enough to stop him. A creepy old woman forces her way in and the children run away. “Don’t you want to play?” the monster asked, and her face changed into that of a vampire monster behind a fake face. She lets out a bloodcurdling scream. Outside, Sarah (Avery Conrad) grabs the children and hides in the bushes. Other monsters arrive, and everyone’s favorite good-looking guy, Randall (AJ Simmons), stops them and runs to the street, where they are safely taken by a bus.
Victor begins pushing the sheep into the bar while Boyd, Jade, and Tianchen push and pull the two cows. A monster approaches Jade and rips out the cow’s throat, leaving Jade in shock. Victor grabs him and pulls him into the bar and into safety.
jade
Credit: MGM
Boyd and Tiancheng pushed and pulled the last cow into the barn, slammed the door, and Boyd slapped an amulet to protect the cows. But the monsters are already here and waiting. “I told you this place couldn’t break you,” one of them said ominously. They grabbed him, cut his arm, and handcuffed him to a pillar. Tian Chen is dragged towards him. “We’re not going to kill you,” the monster told Boyd. “That would be too easy.”
The massacre begins. One of the monsters rips a chunk of hair and skill from Tiancheng’s head. She is speaking frantically when Boyd tells her, “Look at him, it’s okay, you’re so strong.” Thankfully, we don’t know what they did to her. She screams as Boyd watches, the screen goes black, and the credits roll.
Rest in peace Tianchen. You were brave and courageous and always tried to do the right thing. You continued to run the diner and faced off against a horde of annoying extras. Poor Kenny is now an orphan.
Tien Chen
Credit: MGM
All in all, a thrilling return to one of my favorite TV series. Yes, I’m sure a lot of the little nitpicks that bothered me last season will rear their ugly heads again. No, I don’t think the town meeting that I keep asking for will happen. That way, everyone can pool their brains and think about what to do. But if the episodes continue to be this tense and exciting, I’m here for it.
Scattered thoughts:
Elgin (Nathan D. Simmons) continues to suffer from sleep problems. The ballerina’s demon is gone and cannot harm them, but he still sees her in his nightmares. Is this a natural result of that fear, or is she not as dead as we expected? In this episode, Victor points a gun at Randall and Boyd takes the gun from him. I still maintain that every time a gun is depicted in a show like this, it’s a hint of what’s to come. Chekhov’s gun. Will Victor need it later, or will he not have it, will someone else get it, or will having it save Boyd’s life? Will it be rejected? Again, Boyd seems safe for now. The monsters don’t want him to die yet. Fatima (Pega Ghafouri) is suffering from severe morning sickness due to her pregnancy, and I can’t help but wonder if this is not a natural child. She wasn’t supposed to be able to get pregnant, and unlike the healing powers of Lost Island and Rock, I think this place is completely malevolent. The devil baby is coming. . . .
I’ll add more scattered thoughts as I come up with them. Anyway, what did you think of the Season 3 premiere? please let me know TwitterInstagram or Facebook. Also, please subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me on this blog. For more entertainment and culture reviews and commentary, sign up for our newsletter.
