FROM S1 Ep5 Silhouettes

We open the show with a “previous on From” in which we see Sarah stab the car crash victim in the neck. Blood squirts everywhere. The family chooses their living quarters. Jade, the tech bro, takes the radio from the town deputy, Kenny. We see Jim and the rest of the Matthews’ family at the diner and Sarah, the waitress, receives the message from the monsters (demons?), carved into her arm. It says: “Kill The Boy.” She falls to the floor and has a seizure. The townsfolk come to her aid.

Ok then.

The episode starts with a shot of the barn. Nathan, Sara’s brother, is feeding the goats. A random towny comes running up to him and tells him that something bad happened to his sister, Sarah. She’s been taken to the clinic. Nathan forgets about the goats and sprints off toward the town.

We cut to Kristi, the town medic, checking on Sara in the clinic. Sara claims she is feeling much better after her seizure in the diner (covered in the previous episode). Kristi wants her to spend the night for observation. Sara doesn’t want Nathan to check on her. He worries too much, she says. Hmmm.

Boyd walks through the clinic door and speaks with Kristi in private. She updates Boyd on Sara’s condition. Boyd seems distracted. He wants to know about the seizures of both Sara and Ethan, the Matthews’ boy, who we see have a seizure inside the RV in the first episode. He wants to know if it’s possible for them to be having reactions to “this place.” Kristi has no idea, but she notices that Boyd’s hands are shaking. He states he’s fine but she wants him to come by tomorrow so she can take a look at him.

Just then, they see Nathan running toward the clinic to come check on Sara. Kristi explains to Boyd that Sara doesn’t want to see him, so Boyd goes outside to prevent Nathan from coming into the clinic. He promises Nathan that he’ll see Sara tomorrow, that she’s going to spend the night at the clinic. He persuades Nathan to go home.

We cut to the first scene with the Matthews’ family. Ethan and his mom, Tabitha, are in the kitchen. Ethan wants to know if Sara is going to be ok. Jim walks in as Tabitha comforts Ethan. Jim says they’re going to play a game. He wants to figure out why they’re stuck in the town. His solution is to ask any and all questions, no matter how crazy or unlikely, and to write those questions on the wall with a black sharpie pen. The first question he writes is “Where are we?”

Let me guess: They’re saving the most obvious question for the end of the episode, aren’t they?

We transition back to Nathan, who sits at the dining room table in his house, staring at Sara’s blood-soaked dress. The screen fades to black and the intro credits roll.

And we’re off!

We begin with a bird’s eye view of the town. It’s not a big town. You might even say it’s a one-horse town but I don’t see any horses (check the barn!). Both the diner and the hotel have neon red signs. Signs of hell?! Who knows.

It’s night time and we follow Sarah back at the clinic. She opens a drawer and sees a scalpel. There’s a flash back to the previous episode when she’s in the diner and the words “Kill The Boy” are carved into her left arm. Yikes. That looks painful.

Kristi startles Sara out of her flash back. She brought tea. Sara leaves the scalpel in the drawer and has a seat on the couch.

Sara remarks that Kenny and Kristi make a cute couple. Kenny the town deputy? Have we seen those two together? Krist states that they’re just friends. She’s got a complicated love life, she says, as she’s got someone at home waiting for her. Have these two never talked before? How long have they been in the town? Seems like important information. Character building, I guess.

Kristi was engaged to a woman named Mariel. I guess that makes Kristi bisexual? Nice. A gay friendly show! Kristi wonders if Mariel thinks she abandoned her. How long has Kristi been in the town?

Kristi asks if Sara has anyone back home. Sara says she was with someone but that it’s better that he’s not around anymore. She’s only got Nathan, her brother, now. She confides to Krist that her homelife wasn’t very good and Nathan saved her.

Is FROM a place where troubled people go?

Sarah asks an ominous question of Kristi: “Would you do something bad if it meant that they could all go home?” She wonders what this place means and why they’re there. Would you “Do this one bad thing and everyone gets to go home?” she asks Kristi. I assume she means “Kill The Boy.” I say do it! (More on that later.)

Kristi is dubious as to why Sarah is asking this. She answers, “I’d do anything to see Mariel again.” She doesn’t suspect anything of Sara’s inquiry.

Cut back to Jim: He’s written questions all over the wall in the family room. He tells Tabitha the answer is twelve. Not sure what he meant by that. Twelve questions? Ethan is sleeping on Tabitha’s lap on the couch. Tabitha acts like they’re on vacation. We’re five episodes in and I’m still not sure about this character.

Jim and Tabitha go over the questions together. They know that everyone in the town comes from different parts of the country, and that they all see the downed tree and the murder of crows right before they discover the town. Tabitha questions what good it does to write the questions down. Jim states that they’re missing something, but they’ll find it. Tabitha says, ominously, “There’s a question we haven’t asked” and then, of course, she refuses to write it down. She doesn’t want to know the answer. Is the question: “Are we dead?” It better be! But before we get an answer, it’s time to shift back to Kristi and Sara. An in-episode cliff hanger. Ugh.

It’s now the morning and Kristi and Sara finish their girl’s night at the clinic. Is the show setting up a gay romance between these two? Sure hope so. Nathan, Sara’s brother, shows up to take Sara home and away from romance. They instead to get to the diner.

It’s our first scene with the angsty teenaged daughter, Julie, who lives in the cult with the mysterious artist, Fatima. Julie wonders aloud how bad it must be for their loved ones to not know what happened to them. Fatima pops the not-so-subtle question: does Julie have a boyfriend...or girlfriend? Our second gay romance possibility. I’m here for it!

Fatima goes outside to talk to Boyd’s son (and her lover?), Ellis, who is in the shed. He’s by far the least interesting person on the show. They need to develop his character more. Fatima says Julie is now “making the list” and that it’s time to “show her the Brundles?” What are the Brundles??? We’ll have to wait for the answer, it appears.

We cut over now to the comic relief character, Tech Bro Jade. He’s still in meltdown mode from the last episode. He’s mumbling to himself about science while also attempting to get a radio the radio he took from Kenny to work and, as he passes the gas-station-turned-bar, curly-haired Trudy says hello. We’ve seen Trudy only a couple of times. And she's now lirting with him. This episode is horny.

Jade is confused. So am I. She literally says, “Too bad you chose the town (to live in). I would have ridden you like an alabaster dragon.” This show is definitely horny. And then she walks off, much to Jade’s bewilderment.

We cut to Boyd and the deputy of this reverse-Mayberry town, Kenny. Boyd is staring at a map and asks Kenny to hold the fort down as he is going to visit his wife. He takes one of the talismans with him. My bet is that Kenny doesn’t last into season 2.

We’re back at gas-station turned bar with Jade. He’s the only one acting the way I would act. He yells at the patrons, asking why they’re just sitting around like everything is normal. I don’t know, Jade. I don’t know.

The bartender—we don’t have a name for this guy—serves him some home brewed vodka, which Jade immediately spits out. His meltdown continues. The bartender says "it gets easier.” Jade says, “That’s fucking rich.” I agree, tech bro.

Jade is babbling on about rats in a maze and a paradox. He asks to no one “how do we get out of here?” and starts throwing darts at a dart board on the wall. He thinks he’s going to figure it all out. He’s the type of guy that creates the maze of rats, he proudly proclaims.

The bartender explains to Jade, i.e., the audience, the paradox of Schrodinger’s Cat. If you put a cat in the box and close the box lid, then you must assume the cat is both alive and dead at the same time. The people in the town are the cat and the town is the box. Their loved ones back home are wondering if they are alive or dead. The bartender-philosopher states that he was a philosophy instructor at USC before he came to the town. This truly is hell. The bartender-philosopher tells Jade to get the radio to work so that the people outside the box at least know that they’re still alive. Huh. Smart.

We’re back to troubled Sarah. What’s she got in her pocket? She shows it to the audience. It’s the scalpel she stole from the clinic. You mean she wasn’t there just to flirt with Kristi?! Color me shocked. It’s clear the “Kill The Boy” story line is coming to a head. Right on cue, we cut to the mother-son duo of Tabitha and Ethan. Remember earlier when I said we’d come back to “Kill The Boy?” Here is my first digression:

Tabitha and Ethan are the shows’ worst characters. Tabitha falls under the unfortunate character arc of “bland maternal presence” and Ethan falls under the equally gag inducing category of “The kid that knows things.” The former offers nothing to the show other than a constant worried expression and a few words of encouragement to her children. I had to google her name because she has such little development. We’re five episodes in already. Not a fan.

And, as usual with child characters in an adult show, Ethan is just annoying. Why do adult shows insist on putting kids in them? I don’t get this trend at all. It’s been that way for eternity too. And for a show like this, that is trying to muster up suspense, it works against the show. We know damn well they aren’t killing a child. This “Kill The Boy” storyline has zero teeth to it. I’d fast forward through it if I could. Ok, digression over.

Pale child Ethan thinks this town is special and that it is a place that is also trying to help them. Of course, the kid can see what adults cannot. A horror trope like no other. He thinks one of the questions they ask should be “is anyone trying to help?” He means the creepy ghost kid that he saw out his window in a previous episode, but he doesn’t explain that to Tabitha.

Sarah shows up and makes awkward conversation with them. Nathan is conveniently forgotten. Ethan invites Sara outside to play on the rusty merry-go-round. I guess when you’re the only (living?) child in a town full of murderous monsters, you ask the sketchy Gen Z’er to play with you. Is it time for Sarah to try and “Kill The Boy” yet (sponsored by Pepto-Bismol)? Nope.

Instead, we find ourselves with Nathan inside the makeshift church. He’s looking for Father Khatri. But before we can settle into this storyline, we are back with Fatema and Julie. I’m getting whiplash.

The two potential love birds are at the river, frolicking amongst the other hot, young cultists. Do any of these people take this town seriously? Gen Z’ers, amirite? Julie asks Fatima how she can stay so positive. I wonder that too, Julie.

Fatima states she grew up in Iran with an outspoken cleric for a father. She didn't come to the U.S. until she was eleven. One day, she explains to Julie, her uncle showed up to their house during a birthday party. Her mom was afraid of him and told Julie to hide. Her uncle and some other men dragged her father outside and killed him. The point of this story: Monsters are everywhere and the monsters don’t get to win. We’re saved from this story by the angst-ridden Ellis, who again has nothing useful to say.

We’re back with Sarah and Ethan on the merry go round. We learn that Sarah has only been in the town a few months. Really? She acts like she’s been there her whole life. Ethan talks about the “Cromenockle.” I vaguely remember this in a previous episode. Ethan says it’s supposed to help them get home but no explanation is provided.

Sarah wants to show Ethan the cute animals at the barn. Oh, it must be time to “Kill The Boy” ™. But, alas, Tabitha wants to go with them, which of course will give the show a convenient way to save Ethan. Sarah doesn’t want Tabitha to tag along. Neither do I.

Hey, there’s Boyd again! I forgot he was in the show. He’s at his wife’s grave. It’s marked by a wooden cross, with the name Abby Stevens carved into it, standing in the middle of a field of wildflowers. Must be spring time.

He talks to his dead wife about the monsters killing the little girl (in the first episode). He calls them “things.” So, nobody in this town has come up with a name for them yet? We’re just going to call them “things?”

Unburdening his soul, Boyd talks about getting tremors in his hands, just like his dad had. However, he has an idea. If it works, he says, he can get all of them home. But if he’s wrong or it fails, they’ll be even worse off. Does he share this plan with anyone other than his dead wife’s grave? Of course not. He says he needs a sign from her that “swinging away” is the right thing to do. Will he get his sign?

We’re back with Father Khatri. Nathan has found him. They’re also in the middle of a field, talking about why this place exists. Nathan wants to confess something and he wants to make sure it stays private, even if it’s bad. Before Nathan can unburden his soul, we cut to the farm.

Sarah and Tabitha are talking as Ethan pets a goat. Tabitha is relaxed, comfy in a grey sweater and drinking a cup of something hot, leaning against a wooden fence. I half expect the Folger’s coffee commercial song to begin. “The best part of waking up...is murder in your cup!”

Sarah wants to show Tabitha a talisman in the barn, in case she ever needs to hide after dark. She's clearly trying to lure Tabitha into the barn so she can scalpel Ethan to death. Go into the barn, Tabitha! Do it! (Sorry. Where was I?)

Sarah and Tabitha go into the barn to find the talisman. She leaves Ethan with the goats. Great parenting there, leaving your child in this hell place alone! .

Ugh. We’re back with Father Khatri. Whatever confession Nathan told Father Khatri has upset him. Does he know Sarah intends to kill Ethan? The two leave their peaceful field to go warn the townsfolk.

Meanwhile, back at the barn, Sarah locks Tabitha inside a small closet. Tabitha is royally confused. She bangs on the door, asking to be let out. Sarah says that she “is doing this for you!” We see the scalpel in Sarah’s hands. It’s time!

But first, we’ve got one more scene with Father Khatri and Nathan. They’re back in town and Father Khatri tells Nathan to go get his sister. Boyd walks up to Father Khatri and wants to know how he can look for a sign. Before Father Khatri can answer, we follow Nathan into the diner as he looks for Sara. One of the patrons, just minding his own business, tells Nathan that he saw Sarah heading toward the barn with Ethan and Tabitha. We all know where this is heading. And I’m already disappointed.

And finally, it’s time. The big climax of this episode has arrived. Sarah walks back to the goat pen and kneels in front of Ethan. She needs to tell him something, she says. No, you don’t Sarah. You need to just “Kill The Boy!” ™

Sara tells Ethan that what she has to say to him is going to save everyone. She grabs his arm. Ethan struggles to free himself. He calls out for his mom, who is shouting from inside the barn.

Nathan arrives just in time. Ethan escapes and runs away. (Told you so!)

Nathan and Sarah wrestle. Sarah accidentally slices Nathan’s throat. Nathan dies at the barn. Saw that coming too. Father Khatri shows up too late to save Nathan. He does not approve! Sarah is distraught. Serves you right for trying to “Kill The Boy” (Officially Retired Slogan).

Ethan runs away and finds Julie, Fatema, and Ellis. Small town. He fake cries to Julie.

Tabitha pleads to be let out of the closet in the barn. It’s like she’s asking for a top off of her coffee. I am not a fan of this actress. Or the writing of her character. Or both. The town’s people arrive, including Jim, who lets Tabitha out of the barn. Julie and Ethan run up and Ethan is reunited with his family after missing for a total of literally ten seconds.

Kristi the medic checks on Nathan and confirms that he’s dead. The entire town is out at the barn now. Father Khatri confirms that Sarah has disappeared. He shakes his head disapprovingly.

As the townsfolk head back to their homes, Boyd asks Jim and his family if they’re ok. Tabitha carries Ethan like a sack of potatoes.

Father Khatri tells Boyd and Jim that say Sarah ran off into the woods and that if she doesn’t come back before dark, then “It’s handled.” He means the monsters will get her. Let’s hope so.

Jim wants to know what is wrong with all of these people. He says that they talk about their circumstances like it’s “fucking Mayberry.” I agree, Jim! Finally, someone said it!

Jim storms off back to his house, where Julie has reunited with the family. She takes Ethan upstairs. Everyone is concerned for poor Ethan.

Tabitha is finally ready to write her own question on the wall (because it’s the end of the episode). She writes in bold, black sharpie, “Did we survive the crash?”

Called it!

Which means, of course, that our town heroes are not dead because I have a feeling this show isn’t going to give up answers that easily. Which is unfortunate. It would be ok for the audience to know something that the characters do not. LOST lesson number one: Not everything needs to be a mystery.

We end the episode with Boyd at the diner with medic Kristi. She blames herself for not seeing Sarah’s motivation during their girl’s night. Boyd tells her not to blame herself. He tells her she’ll save more lives before “all of this is done.” Foreshadowing, me thinks.

Boyd clasps her hands and asks for a favor: to cut herself some slack. Suddenly the mini jukebox on the table begins to play Lyle Lovett’s “If I Had A Boat”. Boyd’s ears perk up. He exclaims that he just got his sign. He did? Are we supposed to know what that means? Is there a boat? We end on a cliffhanger.

Best episode of the show so far, although still very uneven.

Strongest characters: Julie? Boyd? Jade? We’re struggling here.

Weakest characters: Tabitha and Ethan by a long shot.

The show drags when it concentrates on Jim’s family and picks up when it’s basically about anyone else. However, if the show can maintain, at the least, the level of intrigue and excitement of tonight’s episode, and continue to world-build, I think it has a chance. But if it stays uneven, or worse, continues to dip into bad character tropes, it’s going to be short lived.

See you next week!