FROM Season 4 Episode 10 Delivers Heartbreak and Horror as the End Comes Into Focus

Critic’s Rating: 4.7 / 5.0

4.7

FROM always knows how to deliver a season finale.

Did it wrap up every storyline successfully? No. But it did a great job of setting the stage for the final season of the most underrated show on television.

I can confidently say at this point that I’ve never exited a season more excited for what’s to come.

FROM Season 4 has always felt like just a step toward setting up the endgame.

By bringing The Man in the Yellow Suit into the town and finally giving us a tangible, real villain, you could feel the series shifting toward real answers. And to some degree, they did.

FROM Season 4 Episode 10 was a rollercoaster ride from start to finish, and the takeaway centered around the whole concept of being careful what you wish for, right?

They wished for answers, and they sought them out, but in doing so, they may have made things worse. And it all started with the cutting down of the bottle tree.

The Boy in White was very adamant with Victor about not cutting the tree down, and in hindsight, obviously, that was advice that should have been followed, but it was the only feasible way they felt they could get Tabitha and Jade out of the tunnels.

The whole mission centered on retrieving the children’s bones, so what good would it have done to retrieve them only to get stuck down there or eaten by the monsters?

Now, they had no idea they’d get stuck down there anyway because of Sophia messing up the ladder, but it’s par for the course for them to be ill-prepared in that place.

The sky turning black was visually gorgeous and simultaneously terrifying, and that was maybe the one part of the hour that genuinely shocked me because we’ve never seen anything like that before.

Characters have died, theories have been debunked, and crazy situations have arisen, but the town plunging into darkness in the middle of the day was something brand-new and frightening for a variety of reasons.

Couple that with the earthquake that rumbled through, and the town was essentially plunged into this end-of-the-world-like scenario that, as a viewer, was impossible to turn away from.

No part of me thought both Tabitha and Jade would die this hour, but seeing them scurry through the tunnels was still anxiety-inducing because there was no way out for them.

And the fact that being trapped underground became their saving grace showcased again FROM‘s ability to find hope in the bleakest of scenarios.

While those two were trapped down there, I thought we’d get more time with them, but we mostly just got check-ins, which did work, though they also highlighted how much their dynamic was missed this year.

There’s an underlying tension between the two of them and a lot of unsaid things, and Jade’s decision to sacrifice himself didn’t feel quite as earned as it could have if we’d actually seen more of their relationship this season.

I have no doubt that there’s a lot of love between them, born from past feelings they probably don’t even understand, but we’re basically being told these two care for one another because of the reincarnation rather than what we’re actually seeing on screen.

Even so, their relationship is one of the most fascinating of the series, and it was particularly sweet to see the two of them work together and look out for one another, which has always been a hallmark of the town.

It’s always the most unlikely duos coming together when it matters most to help one another.

That was also true for the group that had to flee the bottle tree massacre when the town went dark, and my goodness, that whole car ride was maybe one of the most exhilarating things the show has ever done.

I just knew something terrifying was going to happen on that road, especially as Patty spiraled further.

Even though no one was harmed and the worst that happened was a window being blown out, the unease of the ride was magnificent.

You can go for whole hours without much horror on this show, but when they lean into the heavy, it’s top-tier.

When the town was plunged into darkness, there was no way everyone was getting out alive, because it was the perfect opportunity for something terrible to happen, given how unprepared everyone was.

One thing they have always understood is that daytime is sacred.

During those moments when the sun is out, they can feel somewhat safe, or at least as safe as one could feel in a place like that.

Taking that away and placing people in poor situations would be exactly the right moment for disaster to strike. And strike it did.

Jim’s death in FROM Season 3 Episode 10 will always be the series’ biggest death because the story began with the Matthews family at its center.

No one in this universe is safe, but the death of a member of the Matthews family really reinforced that idea and reset the show in a lot of ways. So, it was unlikely for any death here to be that impactful; still, what we got were two deaths that felt very full-circle.

Marielle and Elgin both entered the town at the same time, and they went on two very different journeys.

Marielle was reunited with the love of her life, and she battled an addiction, after being rendered comatose and stuck in a dungeon with Randall and Julie in one of the more bizarre FROM storylines that really hasn’t had much payoff when you think about it.

Much of her storyline this season has centered on her and Kristi disagreeing about certain things, and on how she viewed the town in a somewhat abstract way.

When it came to Fatima, she was one of the few who saw what was happening to her and her connection with Smiley as something that could be used for good, rather than being terrified of it, as Kristi and Ellis were.

Whether she was right or wrong in that opinion, Marielle took a backseat to Kristi in a lot of decisions, and, sadly, a lot of their last interactions were clouded with a bit of conflict. However, it was never in question how much the two loved one another.

When Fatima saw Smiley heading towards the clinic, it was apparent that something horrible was imminent, and the missing talisman foreshadowed what was to come later in the episode.

Smiley remains the scariest monster of the bunch, especially in the way he calmly stalks his victims, and even with Fatima there, you could just tell that there was no escaping this one.

Now, many people, including myself, have concluded that Fatima is slowly turning into a monster. While she didn’t make the explicit turn here, they primed you for the big reveal by having her screech back at Smiley in the way those monsters communicate and petrify.

You could see it on Marielle’s face when she realized what she was in the middle of. Even then, she still stepped in to try to protect Fatima and herself, ultimately paying the price for that with a brutal slash to the gut.

They could have had Smiley go for the jugular or rip her insides out, or any number of brutal deaths, but the writers are deliciously cruel in giving her the kind of injury that made her suffer but also allowed her time to say goodbye to Kristi.

Everything about Marielle’s death scene was steeped in despair, and it’s all the more painful when you consider that Kristi now has to mourn Marielle for a second time.

Kaelen Ohm and Chloe Van Landschoot were mesmerizing in that final goodbye scene, and I couldn’t stop sniffling even if I tried, because their love story deserved so much more.

This has never been, and will never be, a show centered on love and happiness, rainbows and butterflies, but human emotions still exist. And there was a love between them, a second-chance love, that was beautiful, kind, and patient, and now it’s over for real this time.

When Kristi cried into Boyd’s arms, it was one of the sadder things I’ve seen on television this year.

You could feel her pain viscerally, and I couldn’t help but think about how many times Boyd has had to be in that position, trying to comfort someone during the worst moment of their life.

FROM doesn’t really give people much time to wallow in their grief because things move so fast in there, and there’s always another crisis right around the corner.

But Kristi’s situation is so unique and cruel.

Elgin’s death was a little more expected, and it played out in a way that gave Elgin a bit of a redemption after everything that happened in FROM Season 3.

Nothing about Elgin was truly nefarious, but he fell victim to the town’s manipulations, and much like Sara, he made decisions that would stick with him forever.

If anything, he was somewhat lucky that only a small number of people actually knew what he’d done. And the person he’s harmed the most was the most understanding of everyone.

In the end, Sophia gave him a choice, and unlike Clara, he stayed true to himself, refusing to hurt people again, which is commendable. He was going to die before he betrayed people again, especially knowing that all he was doing was keeping himself safe in exchange.

And make no mistake about it, Elgin knew he was a dead man.

It’s a painful end for two characters who had storylines that served specific purposes at certain parts in the story, but they both got lost in the shuffle this season.

Two characters I’d been worried about were Henry and Victor, and Henry’s attempt to kill his son has been building for weeks.

Sophia’s blood liquor sent Henry down a dangerous path where he was struggling to distinguish what was real and what was not, and it was always going to lead to him believing that killing the version of Victor in the town would send him back.

The scene in which Henry pulled that gun out felt rushed, almost as if they knew they were building towards something and had to cram it into the hour, but it lacked real punch.

I was most worried about Henry trying to shoot Victor and accidentally shooting someone else, or someone killing Henry when he was making his move, but luckily, none of those things happened.

I feel pretty confident in stating that no one would have recovered if Ethan had been shot.

Next season will likely deal with the fallout here. You have to feel for Victor because the reunion with his father has been complicated at best, leaving him even more confused and unmoored.

A reunion with his dad should have been a bright spot on an otherwise crippling journey, and yet, it’s now culminated in his father trying to kill him.

It was just another plan put into motion by Sophia, who was walking around town collecting talismans like they were Infinity Stones, while the town endured earthquakes, fire, and lightning.

That general feeling of, “What the hell did we unleash?” permeated the whole hour, and Boyd was doing his very best to keep things in check, but even he was at a complete loss for words.

You could sense that the end of the hour was going to devastate one way or the other, and I think Boyd knew what was going to happen when they went into those tunnels, while Ellis was still very much in denial.

Fatima’s tether to Smiley was always much deeper than anyone wanted to fully recognize, or even explore.

Her ability to control him was initially fascinating. But seeing soon thereafter that she was physically dying made it clear that it was something much deeper than what it appeared to be.

Couple that with whatever Sophia made Fatima drink, and we ended up down in those tunnels with a Fatima that was slowly turning into her worst nightmare.

It kind of felt like we were watching one of those zombie movies, like 28 Days Later or even a vampire flick like From Dusk Til Dawn, when it was just a matter of time before someone made a full transformation into a monster.

Once Boyd and Ellis freed Tabitha and Jade, they were never getting out of those tunnels without someone sacrificing themselves to slow those monsters down, and who better than a fellow monster in Fatima.

Were you surprised by the reveal? It’d been hinted enough that the surprise element really didn’t hit all that hard, but it was still a gutting moment because this is a first for the town and arguably sadder than someone dying in a way.

You like to think that when someone dies, they’re going to a better place, but now we have to assume Fatima is just one of the monsters and will eventually be bound by her new nature.

It’s incredibly difficult to imagine Fatima out there haunting the town and the woods and seeking to kill the people she once considered friends, but the beauty of FROM lies in turning the unimaginable into an even bigger nightmare.

Loose Ends

• Sophia and The Boy in White having beef is hysterical, and I love that they’d played this game so many times, but this is the time the boy clearly feels like the town has the advantage. I hope that when the town wins, the boy is there to celebrate.

• Ethan’s breakdown was so sad, and it’s naturally wearing on him that all signs continue to point toward every worst-case scenario.

• There were so many characters that disappeared toward the end of the season, like Acosta, Randall, and even Donna to a degree. I know a robust cast means everyone gets less to do at various points, but I hope the final season spreads the wealth a bit more.

• I’m bringing back the ‘Who has it worse in there?’ Olympics, because Ellis had to watch his dad kill his mom (who was trying to kill him), and now his wife is a monster. He’s definitely in the running for gold.

• So now that we know the bones are truly important, what do you think they need to do with them?

There was a lot to like about this finale and plenty to keep us guessing and invested in what’s to come in the final season.

Here’s hoping we don’t have to wait two years for it to arrive!

It’s always a pleasure talking about FROM every week. Make sure to leave all your thoughts and comments below so we can discuss!

Catch up with all four seasons of FROM on MGM+.