The first four episodes of From build up tension and dread nicely and give insight into the people who live and are trapped in this town. However, as “Silhouettes” moves towards the end of the first season, this week feels like a misfire. It continues to explore what is going on here but with less suspense. Instead, we see predictable behavior from a few characters.
The newcomers in town are not content to try and settle in and accept their fate. The Matthews family, especially Jim (Eion Bailey), followed by Tabitha (Catalina Sandino Moreno) and Julie (Hannah Cheramy), begin making a list of what has gone on. They trace history by writing it on the walls of their new house. It’s a rather effective plot tool as the writing looks maddening and erratic on the walls, adding to the existing tension and stress. It might not seem practical, but nothing about their situation is normal, so it works well.
Jade (David Alpay), however, is not doing well. He seems to slowly lose touch with reality as his logical and problem-solving persona can’t figure out what is happening. He walks around town, mumbling to himself, clutching a radio tight to his chest, as if it will inspire him or is his last hope of finding a way out of his situation. It is entertaining to watch him try and cope, but it is somewhat disturbing at the same time. We may see him slowly slide deeper into a place he might not return to.
Our resident wild card Sara, who seems to be getting messages from the monsters in the forest, sets a plan in motion to line up ‘her’ next kill. Avery Konrad plays Sara well, giving her that wild-eyed look of someone shifting in and out of control of her actions. What the grand scheme is in terms of why she is receiving these messages is still unknown. Still, it’s an interesting storyline inserted into a town trying to cope with its circumstances (although this is not really what one would call living in any sense).
This sounds pretty good in terms of an actual structured episode, but there are too many storylines that are either bland or you can see coming a mile away.
Sara’s mini rampage was predictable. Also, the episode takes a step back this week and lets the characters try and breathe and catch their collective breaths, which for a short season seems like a strange idea. Ellis (Corteon Moor) and Fatima (Pegah Ghafoori) try to show Julie how they cope, and while it makes sense for them, it feels strangely out of place here. The idea of seeing how this group of people cope is interesting, but the delivery this week falls flat, and the storylines feel forced.
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Boyd goes off and seeks some guidance from a trusted source, talking about an idea he had to save this town that is full of risk, which also feels out of place. People seem so slow to react to obvious threats and/or red flags, which may partly be due to their situation, but still, some things don’t make sense. Also, I understand they are trying to avoid showing the monsters in the forest every episode, but I think it’s time to take a deeper dive into that origin story.
The episode felt like a missed opportunity in many different ways. While “Silhouettes” gave the characters time to breathe and figure things out, the execution faltered numerous times. Let’s hope they ramp things up next week and push the tension to the heights we witnessed in the first few episodes.