‘From’ Season 4, Episode 1 Recap & Review: Round and Round the Town Goes

This article contains spoilers for MGM+’s FROM Season 4, Episode 1

FROM walks the line between town lore, horror, and humanity. The Season 3 finale was a perfect example, blending all three in a brutal fashion. The episode introduced a new character, The Man in the Yellow Suit, and featured the death of Jim Matthews (Eion Bailey). It’s a hard act to follow. 

MGM+’s FROM Season 4, Episode 1, “The Arrival,” does an excellent job of continuing where we left off. We see the characters at the end of their collective ropes, ready to take things to a whole new level of terror. 

There is a lot to deal with after the Season 3 finale, and Episode 1 doesn’t hesitate to jump right in. Fatima (Pegah Ghafoori) has not only given birth to one of those creatures in the woods, but it’s Smiley, the only one they managed to kill, or so they thought. The fallout from the torture of Elgin (Nathan D. Simmons) by both Boyd (Harold Perrineau) and Sara (Avery Konrad) begins, and no one has yet discovered that Jim is dead. It’s a lot to take in right away, but it doesn’t shy away from the complications and pain that are about to come.

To add to the chaos, a car pulls into town and crashes into the police station. The driver, a pastor (Rhys Bevan-John), is unconscious, and the passenger, a young woman named Sophia (Julia Doyle), is visibly shaken but has only minor wounds. They are taken to the clinic, now trapped in this town.

Before this car crash, we witnessed The Man in the Yellow Suit (Douglas E. Hughes, terrifying in this role) digging up a suitcase and changing clothes. It leads one to believe he is trying to remain hidden from the others as he puts his mysterious plan into motion.

Whatever is about to unfold, it’s clear that the powers keeping the people trapped in the town are not happy when the townsfolk begin digging too deep for answers. The revelation that both Jade (David Alpay) and Tabitha (Catalina Sandino Moreno) have endured this pain and suffering many times through reincarnation, trying to save the children, was going too far in search of answers.

The Man in the Yellow Suit said as much, right before he killed Jim. Now, one of the many questions they face is how to move forward with this information and use it to their advantage. Whatever they decide, it won’t be easy.

Boyd, who has done his best to lead this town and make the tough decisions when no one else would, is beginning to unravel. He feels lost, and the sense that they are fighting a losing battle is taking its toll. With his physical health on the decline, it was only a matter of time before he began to mentally collapse under the stress.

RELATED: Harold Perrineau Says ‘FROM’ Season 4 Gets “So Mean It Makes Me Mad” (Exclusive)

MGM+’s FROM Season 4, Episode 1, shows all the recent events of Season 3 hitting Boyd hard. He has crossed a line for himself, and now the ripple effect from Elgin’s torture might tear the town to pieces if that information gets out. Nothing stays secret forever in this town, so while he tries to get a second wind, he knows time is running out.

There are people in this town with strange connections to things, most of which remain unsorted. Julie (Hannah Cheramy) can still pass in and out of hidden areas, but again, the information she finds comes at a price, leaving her virtually defenseless in the real world. It is almost as if she can walk through parts of a story but can’t influence them while there, only bringing back information if she actually survives.

The whole Matthews family seems to be key to this town’s survival. While they sort out the pieces, time ticks away, and more people seem to pay the price for their efforts.

The big reveal comes at the end, when the innocent-looking Sophia is revealed as The Man in the Yellow Suit, having shape-shifted into her form and getting the poor Pastor to pick her up en route to the town. With a touch to his chest, she causes the car crash. At the end of the episode, she ends his life by smothering him, but not before revealing her plan to get the town to rip itself apart.

She smiles with all the evil you could imagine, talking about how this is her favorite part of the story. It confirms that what has played out in the town so far has happened many, many times before.

RELATED: ‘The Walking Dead’ Is Sleeping On Its Most Powerful Story

“The Arrival” covered all the key points, moved the story at a steady, tense pace, and introduced the snake in the grass in the form of Sophia. She is no doubt going to cause chaos and death as she exploits the people of this town’s weaknesses.

However, the crumbling humanity is always front and center in every episode of FROM. The premiere did a good job of reminding the audience, yet again, that the struggle to hold onto their humanity is now worse than ever. Lines are already being crossed, and it begs the question: just how far will some people go in order to survive?

MGM+’s FROM Season 4, Episode 1, is now streaming on MGM+.