Plot: As the unwilling residents fight to keep a sense of normalcy and search for a way out, they must also survive the threats of the surrounding forest – including the terrifying creatures that come out when the sun goes down. In Season Four, the closer the residents of town get to the answers they seek, the more terrifying their search becomes.
Review: As it enters its fourth season, the MGM+ series From is close to struggling with the same problem that Lost faced around the same mark in its run. Having built a massive mythology with all sorts of twists and turns, the introduction of new characters, and the deaths of legacy ones, From has to build a lot while also answering a ton of questions. At the end of the third season, we learned a lot of the secrets about what was actually happening in this mysterious town. As the fourth season begins, the mythology has reached a point where if you have bought into the horror and twists of From, you are sticking with it for the long haul. That means this season is prohibitive to new viewers without going back and binging the first three seasons, but that also may not be a bad thing. With some intense and shocking revelations, From is hitting a high point with this new season.
The third season of From ended with characters on the edge of life, and others discovering the first hints of truth about the ghostly beings that emerge at night to torment the begrudging residents of The Township. Led by Boyd Stevens (Harold Perrineau), the reluctant and de facto sheriff, the cast of characters have banded together as much as they have been divided by their desire to escape The Township, which has served as the crux of each season’s need to fluctuate the significant cast members in the core rotation. Who has always remained central is Tabitha Matthews (Catalina Sandino Moreno), who escaped the town last season before returning with Henry (Robert Joy), Victor’s (Scott McCord) father. At the end of season three, Tabitha learned of her connection to the Township dating back an impossible amount of time, while Boyd found a way to destroy one of the monsters, leading to a final conflict with them that sets the stage for this fourth season.
In the early seasons, From dealt with a bunch of creepy-looking antagonists while focusing on the human characters to drive the conflict. Now, we have several key villains lurking in the shadows, including the gaunt Kimono Woman (Shuoxin Fu) and the Man in the Yellow Suit (Douglas E. Hughes), seemingly the leader or at least the strongest of the monsters. From has always benefited from excellent make-up effects to augment the sense of dread and horror in this series. While it is much easier to add ghosts with little logical explanation, the addition of new humans has been accomplished by having them meet the same fate as the rest of the cast: they reluctantly get trapped after passing a downed tree that redirects them into the Township. This season’s key new cast member is Julia Doyle as Sofia, a young pastor’s daughter who becomes a major addition to this ensemble. Doyle does a fantastic job of entering this storyline and quickly catching up on her backstory, something familiar to fans of Lost but handled in a distinct manner.
Series like From work when you don’t know what is coming next. Back in the day, we could watch Lost and countless other shows without having any leaks or spoilers online. Nowadays, you have to stay off your devices for a couple of months so you don’t ruin the jaw-dropping moments before seeing them live. Having seen the first six episodes of From, I had more moments I did not anticipate than in the previous three years combined. Some fans will be very pleased with the fallout of plot threads left dangling at the end of the third season, including what became of Fatima’s (Pegah Ghafoori) pregnancy, whether Elgin’s (Nathan D. Simmons) dreams came true, and whether there is an endgame in sight for these people to escape their fates. It is entirely possible that the most ardent fans of From will begin to wonder if the series is treading water as the creative team tries to determine if they can milk this series for another four seasons, but without seeing how the final four chapters of this season play out, I can only tell you that it starts strong and keeps the momentum going without feeling redundant.
As in previous seasons, showrunner Jeff Pinkner and director Jack Bender handle the bulk of the writing and directing, respectively, with others augmenting their work. Veterans of J.J. Abrams’ series Lost and Fringe, both Pinkner and Bender understand the Bad Robot founder’s “mystery box” approach to stories like From. There is not as much reliance on flashbacks in this series as there was on Lost, but the way each character’s development is handled as if they were the main character allows the audience to engage with each cast member as the primary protagonist. This makes it even more shocking when these characters make bad decisions or are written off the series. From has done a solid job of making it very apparent that no one is safe and that any character could see their run end at any point in the season, rather than being saved for a blockbuster finale. This season is no exception, with shocking truths and twists that start in the first chapter and run through each of the six episodes reviewed here.
Without a concrete endgame revealed, From could keep going for the foreseeable future, with the legacy cast members still bringing their A-game this season. Harold Perrineau is fantastic, anchoring this cast through the horrors they face from episode to episode. Knowing where this is headed will be key in avoiding the pitfalls that other serialized genre series have faced. From has been the top-rated series on MGM+, formerly Epix, since its debut, and has a strong fan following that will likely keep it on the air for one more seasons. Whether fans stick with it will depend on whether they find the twists and turns still engaging enough to invest in. For me, From has hit its stride with this fourth season, with a balance of scares, deaths, and explanations that give just enough of the mystery to you without ruining what could be in store next. Definitely binge the first three seasons if you are not caught up, because From is scarier than it has ever been.
Season four of From premieres on MGM+ on April 19th.
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