HOLLYWOOD—I have not been hooked on a TV series to this magnitude in years. I think the last series that I had this massive affinity for may have been “Breaking Bad” and that was no mystery. With the MGM+ series “From,” its a mystery and its a hell of a mystery that hooks you in ways that you can never imagine.
I will admit I was not a “From” fanatic from the start. I heard about the series from my sister, and I became hooked immediately after watching just one episode, and in a matter of a single day I binged the entire first season before starting season 2, and I have been hooked ever since. Each episode reveals another clue, but the problem is the clues are not so obvious.
So let me break down this series for those who haven’t watched or if you’re intrigued to consider watching. It involves a town, where once you get into this town you’re stuck here forever. That may sound crazy, but oh, wait for it, it gets much more complicated and dangerous. In ‘Fromville’ as I like to call it, there are these monsters, creatures to be honest, that only come out a night.
Why at night? They are afraid of the sunlight/daylight, but at night they hunt. Who? The people trapped in the town. Oh, they look like townspeople, but when you allow them to get too close, they transform into their real selves and viciously attack. A lot of the time they fatally kill with a slash that strikes a major artery.
That is not the worst part, the creatures then devour your insides. So, your entire chest/rib cage is burst open and you’re savagely eaten apart. There is so much more to dig into regarding that, and I will do so when the time comes. This brings us to crucial players in the town which include Sheriff Boyd played to perfection by Harold Perrineau. Boyd is the person who found the talisman that helps protect the townspeople from the creatures at night.
See the creatures can’t come into buildings or certain places if a talisman is hung in that establishment. Its protective symbol that they are either afraid of, or wait for it, based on the town’s history prevents them from entering unless you invite them. It’s somewhat similar to vampires. Who created the talisman? That is a mystery still unknown, but I suspect Julie might be an integral part of it. Julie is the daughter of Tabitha and Jim Matthews.
The Matthews family finds themselves trapped in the town while taking a road trip. Tabitha is important because she is apparently a reincarnation of Miranda who is Victor’s mother. I know it gets twisted, which is why each episode of “From” is like a massive clue; you have to pay attention, or you miss something vital. Victor is a grown man, who has been trapped in this town since he was a little boy with his mother, Miranda and sister Eloise. Miranda and Eloise didn’t survive, but Victor did and for a very long time.
We have gotten clues about Victor’s past, he hid in a massive truck trailer when there was no talisman; he hid underground; he survived by eating peaches, he drew pictures so he could remember things; things that he has blocked out. I’ve said this before and I will say it again, the key players to this mystery are Tabitha, Julie, Ethan, Victor and Jade. Who’s Ethan? He is Tabitha’s youngest son, and Jade is another mystery player who arrived in town the SAME DAY that the Matthews family arrived.
Ethan is crucial because it feels like as a young boy, he knows more about the town than anyone. He constantly chats about telling a story and I think Ethan might be the storyteller of what is unfolding. How so? “From” is a massive story that is stuck in a loop that is constantly retold until the mystery is solved. That is one of my biggest theories, especially after hearing that conversation between the Man in Yellow and the Boy in White (they are very integral elements of the town and the mystery that has unfolded up till this point).
My other theory is that dreams/nightmares play a vital role. What you fear/dream about becomes a reality. Think about Kenny and the locusts, flashbacks of Tabitha when she was a child and dolls that an older guy feared. We saw the locusts play out in season 2 and the dolls become vital in season 4. Then we have the Boy in White. A child who can ONLY be seen by a select few people, Tabitha, Victor, Jade, Sara, Boyd and Ethan. Ethan, Tabitha and Victor more important than everyone else because the BIW provides them with subtle clues; clues that tend to give some insight to what is unfolding and how to rescue the ‘children.’
Scott McCord is fantastic as Victor; it takes some serious talent to deliver a character of that magnitude. The town has some big mysteries like the Bottle Tree, which is liked a Faraway Tree. Why are those trees important, they are like transportation devices. You enter the tree and you turn up somewhere else. The problem is you don’t know where that place will be. Boyd got trapped in a tunnel of sorts, Dale became a literal part of the vacate pool for the motel in town, Julie found her way back home, and Victor found himself in the caves/tunnels where the monsters hide.
Yes, “From” is this massive puzzle, but it’s a puzzle where I want to put all the pieces together and that is what fascinates me about the show via creator John Griffin. If you don’t know that name, he’s the guy who is responsible for that ABC hit “Lost.” Yeah, I watched “Lost” and it captivates you with its mystery, but I didn’t love the ending of that series. SPOILER ALERT: If “From” ends like “Lost” I’m going to be pissed especially if all our protagonists are already dead and just trapped in a world where they haven’t come to grips with their reality.
As of late I have been rewatching each episode from season 1 to connect the dots. I have NEVER EVER DONE THIS WITH ANY TV SERIES. That is how invested I am in this series. However, with some clues from Griffin it seems season 1 episode 1 has the most clues to solving the mystery. The problem is I’ve watched it at least 3 times and I’m still not putting everything together just yet.
I know the music box and the ballerina is important, I know the symbols matter, I know Julie is vital because she can story walk. The audience just isn’t fully aware how it works just yet, but the Man in Yellow, who made his presence known at the end of season 3. He is the big bad because he knows how the story ends and wants Tabitha of all people to figure it out. I think the music box is connected to some sort of ritual that is important in the town hence the MIY aka Sophia’s response when she saw it stashed in the diner.
The one thing I haven’t quite figured out is why the BIW pushed Tabitha out the window at the lighthouse and apologized during the process. What was the apology for? Wasn’t she supposed to be there or was the goal for her to go back to the actual real world and bring Victor’s father Henry back or was there a bigger purpose at play? Tabitha left ‘Fromville’ and was brought back to the town. That cannot be a coincidence, right? No, it was intentional.
This is where Jade comes into play because he like Tabitha is a reincarnation of a previous resident of the town who has tried countless times like Tabitha to try to solve the mystery to no avail. He and Tabitha are the ONLY ones who can see these ghostly visions of the children whose bones need to be recovered, and there is some sort of ritual tied to it. Perform it correctly and the people trapped might get the opportunity to go home, fail and they suffer a fate far worse than one can imagine.
Some of the deaths are brutal, heartbreaking and stick with you. You feel for staple characters like Sara, Boyd, Kristi, Tabitha, Julie, Ethan, Donna, Ellis and Kenny. Viewers from the start are connected to this people and we’re totally invested in their trauma. Something for “From” fans to savor on until we patiently wait until the fifth and final season returns sometime in 2027.
We’ve heard a ton about the Lake of Tears and a spider. I think the black spider is some sort of gatekeeper in the forest. Getting past that spider is key to one of two things: 1) Getting to the lighthouse or 2) Getting to the Lake of Tears that Jim told his son Ethan to find. There is so much of this town that has not been explored because you only have so much time to do things before the darkness dawns in the town
