Season 3 of the fascinating psychological horror thriller From on MGM+ has dropped, and the first episode has already delivered what appears to be a game-changing moment that will steer the narrative moving forward. Sheriff Boyd Stevens (Harold Perrineau) and Tabitha Mathews (Catalina Sandino-Moreno) are part of an outstanding ensemble cast of characters trapped in a mysterious Midwestern town inhabited by flesh-eating zombies who come out at night searching for prey. Throughout the show’s first two seasons, these creatures walk very slowly. They have an eerie grin on their faces and appear human until they take on a grotesque visage with enormous mouths filled with rows of dagger-like teeth. The first episode of the new season made them more than just bloodthirsty monsters, and it could mean a sea change for the story and where showrunner John Griffin wants to take the underrated series.
What Are the Creatures in ‘From’?
When the audience is first introduced to the creatures that emerge from the dark woods surrounding the rural town each night to feed, they appear to be some of the original people who lived in the berg many years ago. A milkman from a bygone era, an elderly couple, and a cowboy figure are among those who haunt Boyd and the unfortunate people who have come to the town, unable to leave. It is made clear to the new visitors who arrive in town that if you are not hidden away from these monsters in a safe and secure spot, they will tear you apart limb by limb and feast on your innards.
Different townspeople offer several theories as to why they are trapped and tormented by these zombie-like monsters. One theory proposed by Jim Matthews (Eion Bailey) is a fan favorite but was largely overlooked as Season 2 came to a close. However, a line uttered by one of the creatures makes us think that he may have been right about what is going on in the horrifying hamlet of existential dread and fear.
What is Jim Matthew’s Theory About the Town in ‘From’?
Midway through the first season, Jim Matthews, his wife Tabitha, daughter Julie (Hannah Cheramy), and young son Ethan (Simon Webster) are trapped as a family in the town. He submits the theory that what they experiencing is some psy-op (psychological operation) or social experiment designed to see how far people will go before they mentally break down and start to turn on each other. Boyd and the others largely ignore it as being a paranoid theory, noting that people really have died, and who could possibly organize such a large-scale endeavor?
As Season 2 came to a close, other story arcs and angles were explored in more detail, including the mysterious black ballerina music box that continues to plague people’s dreams. Also, the strange theory fostered by Tabitha and Jade (David Alpay) that includes a series of peculiar and foreboding symbols and a group of emaciated children that inhabit their nightmares, threatening to drive them mad, is explored. But Jim’s psy-op theory got some support with just two lines from one of the monsters in the Season 3 premiere, steering the show toward Jim’s psy-op theory.
What Does the Creature Say That Supports the ‘Test’ Theory in ‘From’?
Food is becoming scarce in the town, and Boyd and Donna (Elizabeth Saunders) have agreed that they will begin using the small herd of cattle and sheep as food until more crops can be grown. As Boyd and Tian-Chen Liu (Elizabeth Moy) try to corral a few loose heads of cattle into the barn during the night, they are accosted by a handful of monsters inside the barn. In past seasons, that would have meant immediate death, as the creatures would eat the humans from the inside out, but this encounter is different.
In the barn, only one of the monsters reveals its “death face.” They take to tying Boyd up instead of devouring him. Tian-Chen is not as lucky as she appears to get scalped and is bleeding out as the episode ends, but the cowboy creature utters the most interesting and curious line of the episode and maybe the entire series to date. He tells Boyd, “You said this place couldn’t break you.” He then repeats to Boyd as Tian-Chen is being tortured, “You think this place can’t break you?! We’ll see.” This would indicate that something or someone is pulling the strings behind the nightmare that is the town in From.
The fact that these mutated beings can reason or possibly have some method to their madness is a first for the show and adds many more possibilities. What if there is an “endgame” that these creatures are a part of? This also points to Jim’s “test” theory being spot on. It will be interesting as we wade through Season 3 further to see whether this fan-favorite plot point is explored in greater detail.
From is available to stream on MGM+ in the U.S.
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