The MGM supernatural science fiction thriller series From continues with its 3rd season as we reach the halfway point with episode 5. After a couple of very intense showings, season 3 episode 5 is slightly underwhelming, mostly because it takes a breather to establish new plot lines. In the previous episode, Randall had been tortured by the monsters before being left in front of Colony House, while Tabitha had returned to Fromville after her mysterious trip to the real world. She had also brought along Henry, meaning that a reunion with his missing son Victor is now on the cards, while there is also one more death in the eerie town.
Spoiler Alert
Is Randall still alive?
In episode 4, the monsters had stepped up their evil antics one level higher when they directly made Sheriff Boyd choose whom to save between Tabitha and Randall. As Tabitha was still handcuffed inside the ambulance, Boyd needed to drive the vehicle away to a safe spot, and for this he needed the keys. Incidentally, the monsters had found the keys, and one of them teasingly dangled it in front of Boyd, stating that he needed to sacrifice Randall to get the keys, and the sheriff eventually chose to do so. As he left Randall at the mercy of the monsters, the young man was attacked and tortured by the supernatural beings, and his gravely injured body was teasingly put up for display in front of Colony House at the end of the episode. Although it had seemed like Randall had either already died or would soon die from the injuries he had suffered, From season 3 episode 5 confirms that the man is still alive.
As soon as the ambulance rolls up to Colony House, with Randall strapped to its bonnet, Donna and Boyd run out to check up on him. Although there are severe wounds on his body, including a deep cut on his cheek that almost makes his face fall apart, Randall is still alive, and so he is immediately rushed inside to be treated. Mari attempts to stitch the open wounds on his face when he suddenly gains consciousness and immediately shouts out at Boyd for having abandoned him. This means that the monsters have not just left Randall alive but also conscious enough to remember how he had been traded off for the ambulance keys by the only supposed lawman in the town.His extremely hot-headed temperament, which had already been established back in season 2, means that Randall is not someone who would let things rest after knowing about the betrayal. Therefore, he tries to fight Boyd and even throws punches at him, despite being in a heavily injured state. Once the situation is brought under control, Randall is taken to the clinic since the Colony house is deemed to not be a very safe place for him, mostly because seeing Boyd or Tabitha there would anger him further.
Did Kenny and his group bring back food?
Back in season 3 episode 3, Kenny, Kristy, and Jade were seen traveling to the forest in search of crops and food resources that were so readily growing out in the wild now. But it had led to an unexpected disaster when Kristy’s foot got stuck in a bear trap, and Kenny and Jade had to abandon their plan of harvesting resources to keep her safe. In an effort to pry open the trap, Jade had used metal bars that were part of the strange statues in the area, dismantling the statues in the process. This seemed to have consequences back in episode 4, although nothing too direct, as the three characters heard very loud thuds and noises of something huge walking by their hut in the middle of the night. But before more about this gigantic monster, or something even more terrifying, can be revealed, Kenny, Kristy, and Jade actually manage to return to town in episode 5. They are not able to bring back any food, although Kenny does mention that the rest of the group, of the lesser-known characters, will be fetching the supplies.
Despite not being able to spot what was lurking by the hut on two separate occasions, Kenny firmly believes that something extremely evil is out there, and he is sure that it will come for the humans in Fromville soon. He tells Boyd about the noises they had heard and how the statues falling apart was not a good thing to happen. After all, the statues did look like they were erected to specifically guard something, most possibly the huts, and now that these figures are gone, something is surely bound to happen. It might also be that the statues themselves came to life after dark, and they might come after the townsfolk soon. Either way, Kenny wants Boyd to stay on-guard for any such sudden attacks, and this might become the main matter of suspense in the episodes to come.
The group’s return to town also gives Kristy and Mari a chance to be with each other again, although their discussions still remain about the same old insecurities. Since Kristy is still very injured from the bear trap almost ripping off her foot, Mari takes over the responsibility of running the clinic, and so Kristy asks her to be careful, with no intention to hurt or ridicule her. But Mari is still stuck at their previous arguments, and she feels that Kristy is taking a dig at her addiction, and her suggestion to be careful basically meant that Kristy still fears she would steal medication and use it to cope with her drug addiction. Ultimately, Mari keeps treating Randall and also ensures that Boyd goes nowhere near him, as that would surely escalate the situation even further.
What happens at the town meeting?
After Tabitha’s unexpected return to Fromville, a town meeting is called at the diner, with the intention of letting everyone know about where she had gone and what she had experienced. But word of Tabitha’s miraculous journey to the real world already gets out before the meeting, and it becomes a real hot topic of discussion among the townsfolk. Even when the meeting takes place and almost the entire town gathers at the diner, this is the sole matter of discussion. People are extremely angry at Tabitha for not having made enough efforts to save them, or even herself, when she got the rare opportunity to travel back to the real world. Many of them are extremely frustrated and angry at her for having tried to do silly things like find the bottle tree in some random park instead of trying to get enough attention towards what had actually happened to her and her family.
Individuals like Dale and Fatima are furious that she did not go to the police with the matter or report it to anyone at all to raise awareness about Fromville and the people stuck there. Tabitha has an impossibly hard time trying to explain how she would not have been taken seriously had she made such reports or claims, and her rational thought is mistaken for aloofness. She had genuinely believed that trying to solve the mystery of the bottle tree and Fromville by herself would have been better and more effective than approaching the authorities with it. She is supported by Henry in this regard, as the elderly man reveals how he himself chose not to believe Tabitha’s claims at first, and it was only because of his very specific circumstances that he had finally taken her seriously. But Henry’s words are not enough to convince the townsfolk, possibly because he is still considered to be a newcomer with no idea about the horrors of the town. The police officer, Acosta, tries her luck as well, saying how she and her team did not believe Tabitha even when she told them not to get out of the ambulance, highlighting how very unnatural this whole situation was. But the townsfolk, especially the Colony House members, are rather angry that Acosta is even allowed to attend the meeting after she had just killed one of their own. Ultimately, the situation at the meeting gets so uncontrollable that Tabitha and Jim simply leave the diner, frustrated by all the blame being put on her.
Why does Tabitha want to return to the faraway trees?
When Tabitha returned home from Colony House, she told Jim and the children the exact sequence of events that had led her through the forest, into the lighthouse, and then back to the real world. Jade had also returned from his adventure to the forest huts by this time, and he was also present at the Matthews house during this discussion. It is he who first pitches the idea of finding the faraway trees and studying them to understand how the tree trunks were acting like portals. When Tabitha is frustrated by the blames put on her during the town meeting, she too grows determined to find the faraway trees and reach the lighthouse once again, so that she can redeem herself in some way.
Jim obviously tries to stop his wife from leaving on another adventure right after she managed to reunite with her family, but Tabitha promises to be more careful this time around. As she and Jade step out to find the trees, the latter tells her about how he had seen the children inside the underground tunnels as well. He also tells her about the particular symbol that he kept running across, as well as the strange utterance of the word “angkhooey” by the children. Jade shares his inexplicable feeling that the mystery of Fromville can be solved inside those very tunnels, although neither he nor Tabitha can do anything about it just yet.They finally find a faraway tree and try to decipher the meaning of the numbers scribbled on pieces of paper stuck inside bottles hanging from the tree, but there is no logic or reason to it whatsoever. They do not want to immediately step into the hollow trunk of the tree since nobody could predict where they would get transported to, but a different townsman, Dale, does not care about such dangers.
Did Victor and Henry finally reunite?
From season 3 episode 5 also finally reunites Victor with his estranged father, Henry, but not before unnecessary drama is used to delay the inevitable, though. When Donna learns about Henry’s identity, she comforts him at Colony House and informs him that Victor is being searched for. Henry obviously wants to meet his son and is ready to discard his feelings of guilt and grief momentarily, but Victor is once again up to his childish antics when he learns that his father has come to the town. Victor tells Sara that he fears his father will not recognize him, or worse, not accept him because of how he has grown old during this time, and so he avoids meeting Henry at all costs. In this regard, it is evident that individuals spending time in Fromville age much faster than those in the real world, since Victor looks only a few years younger than his father in the town. Finally, as Ethan comforts Henry and Victor is out on a walk with Sara, the father and son come across each other, and it results in an emotional reunion. Whether the combined minds of Victor and Henry can cook up some solution, or even means of escape, for the people at Fromville will be interesting to see.
What happens to Dale?
Towards the end of From episode 5, one of the Colony House residents, Dale, decides to take matters into his own hands and not rely on central figures like Tabitha anymore. Most of the townsfolk attending the meeting expressed their desire to find faraway trees in the forest and jump into their hollow trunks to reach the lighthouse, and then travel back to their original realities in some miraculous manner, just like Tabitha had. As Boyd spoke of his own experience of having ended up in a dangerous dungeon after stepping into a faraway tree, most of them reconsider the plan and temporarily put it on hold. However, Dale grows desperate to return to the real world, and he goes off in search of the magical trees to test the theory.
When he finds a faraway tree, the same one that Tabitha and Jade are at, Dale disregards all the cautions and enthusiastically jumps into the hollow trunk of the tree. However, much to his and the rest of the townsfolk’s horror, he does not even get to be transported to a real, complete space. Instead, Dale’s figure pops out from the concrete wall of the abandoned swimming pool on the main street of Fromville, and the man is basically stuck inside solid cement. It does not take very long for Dale to start bleeding from the pressure of the solid wall around him, but there is absolutely nothing that Boyd and the others can do about it. Ultimately, Dale dies from the pressure, and his body remains stuck in the wall, as one more piece of solid (literally and figuratively) proof that the monsters are definitely winning the battle against the humans in From season 3 episode 5.