FROM Season 3 Episode 2 sees the inhabitants of Fromville dealing with their grief following Tian Chen’s death, and that loss is obviously most personal for Kenny (Ricky He). So, when we had the chance to interview Ricky He, having witnessed the many, many emotional scenes just packed into the episode, our first question was which one might have been most difficult and/or most meaningful for the actor.
Noting that Kenny goes through “a [series] of firsts” in Episode 2, starting with when he “first gets back to town and finds out his mom’s dead” and ending with “his first time actually seeing that she’s dead,” He told us “the challenge was to, first and foremost, keep it as organic, and real, and honest as possible.” Second, He didn’t “want it to feel like he’s just so sad [and spending] the whole time crying.” Because the sadness should be pretty obvious, given the situation.
He then went on to highlight a couple of scenes, telling us “for the scenes where it’s like, he is just completely broken down — like at the tunnel, for example — that part is hard. And then, when he’s in front of everyone, trying to contain it, that part is hard.” So, really, “it was just challenging the whole f**king way through.”
…valid. And can relate as viewers.
When we asked Ricky He whether there were any discussions ahead of time, or if he’s on the same journey with us as the FROMily and kind of found out about Tian Chen’s death in the moment, he confirmed it was more of the latter. But, he admitted, the cast “had this unique situation where, because we postponed shooting to support the strikes, we were shooting in December for two weeks just to get what we could to catch up to our schedule.” After that, “we went on winter break, and then we came back in January. So, I did have a little extra time than we normally would have for some of these scenes.”
On the cruel timing of Tian Chen’s death
If watching FROM Season 3 Episode 2 and seeing Kenny go from super excited about finding edible food with Jim to learning about his mom’s death felt like having ice cold water poured on you, first of all, you’re not alone. And second, Ricky He shared with us that there’s a version of events out there where that feeling could have been even worse. “The way that it was kind of written originally, in one of the earliest drafts, was that her death happens, and then, it cuts to the scene … The next scene right after that is Kenny waking up in the morning, and Jim’s like, ‘look at all this food! Oh, we’re going to save the town.’ And then, Kenny smiles and he’s like, ‘yeah.’” In fact, “I think it’s written in the description, literally like, ‘and it’s that smile that breaks our heart.’”
Mission accomplished. It does, in fact, break our hearts to see Kenny wake up to a new day, totally unaware of what’s in store for him back in the town, and actually feeling so much joy and hope when Jim shows him the food. Even in the order we see things in.
Aside from the obvious, the other really cruel part of all of this is how Kenny specifically left town with Jim to try and make sure Jim’s kids didn’t wind up losing both of their parents. But, in the end, it’s Kenny who comes back to find out that’s exactly what’s happened to him. When we asked whether there might be some resentment there, He assured us that the character “understands the circumstances that everyone’s been placed in and that it’s not really anybody’s fault. Because he made the choice to go. And Tian Chen told him not to go.”
That’s not to say that there won’t be any regrets at all. “I think that, maybe deep in his psyche, at some point he had thought, ‘maybe this is my chance to step up and be a hero. I could help the town.’ And so, I think that on some level, more than any rage or anger or resentment towards anybody else in town, there’s a little bit of this self-inflicted shame and guilt.” Kenny could be thinking something along the lines of “why did I think that this was worth it for any reason” and/or “I should have been here for my mom.”
As we told Ricky He at the end of our interview, we’re looking forward to seeing how it all plays out. But also kind of not — because this is FROM, and we know that until or unless everyone finds a way out of Fromville, no one is safe. And even if they are safe, who knows what else they’ll have to endure?
Watch our interview with Ricky He here.
Don’t miss Ricky He as Kenny in FROM Season 3; new episodes release Sundays on MGM+.
