FROM Season 3 Episode 3 Review: ‘Mouse Trap’

FROM Season 3 Episode 3 brings us back to the action, the mystery, and — above all — the terror and dread that make this series so scarily good. Whether it’s Kenny leading a group back to the cabin to bring the people of Fromville more food, Fatima’s increasingly-gross cravings, or even Tabitha and Henry’s journey, “Mouse Trap” is a reminder that nobody and nothing is safe on this show. (Not that we really needed that reminder after the season premiere, but whatever.) Any false sense of security here is just that: False. And as the mystery continues to unfold, we’re constantly on the edge of our seats and finding ourselves asking more questions with every potential answer we find.

Case in point before we get started: Did anyone else notice how those…whatever they are…out by the cabins are all just slightly different from one another? What is that all about??? Totally digging the one with sunglasses on top of its head, personally speaking.

A “nice” trip to the forest

Watching FROM Season 3 Episode 3, we have…well, a lot of thoughts. But one thought we can’t let go of is just how much we’ve come to love Jade, of all people. Not only that, but David Alpay really brings it to every single scene in a way that almost makes us forget that he was once the F—face landlord on Suits. (But only almost because, well, the thought does always find its way back to us in a “wow. He’s totally unrecognizable. Can’t believe he did that once” kind of way.) In “Mouse Trap,” as Jade, Alpay gets to bring us both some of the creepiest scenes of the hour and some of the funniest.

Or, well, he’d be bringing some comic relief if we weren’t pretty much always terrified of what’s coming for our people next. The struggle is real.

The back-and-forth between Jade and Dale is completely brilliant, especially since it gives us an oh-so-precious break from the constant stress. Case in point: Kristi getting caught in that trap. We can’t imagine the pain she must have been in — not to mention our brains being like “ok but how up-to-date is she on her tetanus boosters. Is that a thing here?” — and that would be such an urgent and scary situation even in the most normal of circumstances. But nothing about the town, much less the forest around it, is normal. So, that adds an extra layer of “holy sh**! Are they going to free her before dark or just…leave her there to be slaughtered by those things?!”

Thankfully, despite their obvious differences — and the fact that Jade was about to GTFO literally right before Kristi’s leg got caught in the trap — Dale and Jade are able to free Kristi in time. Granted, they have to dismantle the “ancient tower of holy fairy sh**t,” as Dale calls it, to do that. So, given the group’s theory that the “talisman heads” could be there as some kind of protection, that…can never be good. But! Everyone’s alive and able to take shelter before nightfall, so this trip to the forest is, at least so far, a success. Now, if we can just get that primal scream from Chloe Van Landschoot from when they reset Kristi’s ankle out of our heads, we might be able to rest easy.

Just kidding. This is FROM. Nobody’s resting easy, especially after Jade saw the same eyeless dude twice here. And the second time…yikes. Hard pass on the sip of blood from the skull. Though, we’re again going to have to applaud Alpay’s work in FROM Season 3 Episode 3 for Jade’s reaction to that. And don’t get us started on how everything about these forest scenes was done for maximum “oh, this is going to be baaaad” effect.

Basically, we were sure Kristi was done for. Honestly, nobody dying — or, at the very least, suffering more serious wounds — after all that shows this series can still surprise us. Well done!

“Every first-time mother has these feelings.”

FROM Season 3 Episode 3 doesn’t exactly do anything to help Fatima’s baby beat the demon baby theory we had when she first started eating the rotten food in Episode 2. Even so, right before all H-E-double-hockey-sticks breaks loose with that crow busting into Colony House, we almost have some hope that the kid could be normal after all. Or, rather, Tillie almost gives Fatima some hope. We’re kinda not trusting anything here. Regardless, Pegah Ghafoori and Deborah Grover do some truly lovely, vulnerable work together in “Mouse Trap” that deserves all the praise in the world.

That such a quiet, personal moment stands out — even after the last episode was such a brilliant portrait of how we deal with grief, and even as the rest of Episode 3 is so ~~anxiety-inducing~~ good — is a true testament to Ghafoori and Grover’s performances. It also serves as yet another reminder that, even in a place like Fromland, life goes on. The “normal” human experience still manages to break through. Fatima feels so alone, so unable to share her fears with Ellis — or anyone, really. But Tillie has been there before. (Eh. As much as anyone can relate.) So, she’s able to break through by sharing her own bizarre cravings from when she was pregnant.

And she’s right, that many of the things Fatima worries about are things any pregnant person — especially when pregnant for the first time, and especially when the pregnancy is kinda a miracle — would worry about. It’s a stressful time. The body goes through so many changes, and it’s just scary to think about being seen as nothing more than a host. Rather than break down every single thing about pregnancy that is weird AF, though, we’ll just say this: A a general rule, most folks just want their babies to be healthy. And because they can never quite know what to expect until they’re in that situation, it’s hard.

That’s all Fatima wants — to know everything is going to be ok. It’s just that, her particular situation comes with the added wrinkle of needing to know this thing inside her is actually human. For Tillie to have come in and comforted her in that beautiful moment they shared together, only for Fatima to crush Tillie’s heart later by calling her “kooky, batty Tillie” is particularly gutting. And Grover really portrays all that pain and betrayal so well in the moment. It’s really as if Fatima has just smacked her out of nowhere. Hard. But they move past that moment and eventually ask the cards the only question that matters to Fatima right now, the one that is just real: “Is my baby ok?”

And, well, FROMily. You saw the same thing we did immediately after she asked. So, uh. We’re thinking…outlook not good.

“You can say that tree is where this all started.”

Meanwhile, in Camden, Maine (if that’s even where Tabitha and Henry are), weird things start happening. Or maybe they were weird all along. Take your pick. Because we have questions, like “why does Tabitha cut herself the exact second Henry says she’ll cut herself?” And “how did she not look outside and see a big AF bottle tree sooner?” Also: “Why this song,” and “ok but how did that bracelet just appear again??”

By the end of FROM Season 3 Episode 3, the only thing we know for sure is that we really know nothing. Except for this: What Tabitha faces there at the end — doubting her own experience in Camden (?), doubting that Henry’s real, that any of this has been real — has got to be one of the scariest things this series has served up yet. And Catalina Sandino Moreno just utterly nails that sense of hopelessness, heartbreak, and impending doom in those final scenes. For his part, Robert Joy sells Henry’s desperation — of him pleading with Tabitha not to have been playing a game with him all along.

…and then…the ambulance actually makes us ask a couple more questions. First off, can we take a moment to go back to Henry’s earlier “you’re not going to do either of us any good if you end up back in the hospital” comment? Because um. We are, once again, going to have to ask if this man is somehow, even unknowingly, able to predict the future or something. Like, how many coincidences are we allowing for here. Second, does that blonde lady EMT look familiar to anyone else?? And finally…is that…the tree? That’s the tree, isn’t it??? The score, the way Tabitha just keeps saying “no” over and over, and even the timing that feels like everything’s slowed to a crawl…are we really headed back to ~~Hades~~ Fromville so soon??

Are these people just endlessly doomed or what. And why, for the love of all that is holy to the TV gods, is this show just so good?

More on FROM Season 3 Episode 3

Credit: Chris Reardon/MGM+

Love the look on Eion Bailey’s face throughout that phone call with Thomas. (Or is it “Thomas”?). Jim is, like, barely holding it together at this point. Maybe that explains why he’s such a schmuck to Boyd when he runs outside.
“Things are getting worse around here, aren’t they?” Ya think.
Even outside of all the big stuff, Robert Joy has some great beats in FROM Season 3 Episode 3. Case in point: The way Henry startles awake like “oh, f—…” from his nap? Big, relatable moment.
“The tower was actually a lighthouse, and in order to get there, I had to go through a tree.” The way Tabitha like…prepares herself for Henry to think she’s nuts here. So good.
“Miranda used to call it the bottle tree.” Tabitha’s “o_0” reaction to this is 100% me. Like, what.
Also: How are they casually talking about all of this, patching up a normal cut, Henry rocking that old drip coffee maker? Just continues to be completely wild to me.
Victor is clearly up to something, whether we see anywhere near enough of him in FROM Season 3 Episode 3 or not. (We do not.)
The whole Boyd/Ellis/Donna scene: We do not deserve Harold Perrineau. Love how he uses his hands for emphasis on “every. Godd**mn. Night.” Even bigger love for the side eye, head tilt, and the way he wags his finger with allllll that frustration on “we gotta fu**in do something.” Throw in the awkward beats when Donna asks what’s up…just great stuff overall.
“How you gonna do it?” “I am. WORKING on that.” “Great. Work harder.” He has a concept of a plan ok.
This is a thing I say with a lot of my shows, but: For the love of God, just listen to Donna.
Ghafoori’s commitment to showing how starved Fatima is, how she devours that slop, and how much she enjoys it as she does…plus with that tiny bit of fear and disgust underneath if you really look for it. Love it.
Tag yourself. I’m Tillie just totally freezing and staring like “WTF she doing.”
“Great! Let’s just walk right past the scary voodoo tower and go sort some veggies.” Dale has a point. Several times in this episode, actually.
“What if someone finds her someday, and they don’t know who she is because all they find is bones?” Someone really needs to get Ethan some therapy, like, yesterday. Kid’s just casually eating, talking about bones and collecting spiders or something. If he never gets out and gets therapy, can someone at least teach him what tact is?
I bet the monsters don’t even treat their spawn that way, though. Jim needs to get a grip.
Always here for building up some suspense with a ringing phone. Where my Scream fans at?
“So you would…step into. The tree like…teleporting?” Henry is me last season. I am Henry.
“Those things said they wanted to break you. And that means they wanted to change you. So far, so good. Because the Boyd I knew would never do something this colossally stupid.” Absolutely adore every single thing about Boyd vs. Ghost!Khatri. The way he tries to hammer loudly to avoid the conversation (can we call it that?) at first, the way points are made, the memory board…so good.
Speaking of points made: “You know, you might want to get down off of that cross of yours every now and then. You know that?” “F**k you.” I laughed. Hard.
Also, THIS. “Tian Chen, she died because she was trying to help people. Do you have any idea how arrogant it is to diminish that sacrifice by making this all about you?”
Yeah, I’m basically quoting the whole scene there. Sue me. (Please don’t.)
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to put it back together, but…I’d like to try.” Is it bad to just…feel for Sara at this point? She’s done so many awful things because of the way this place infected her. But wow, does that make her just…such a tragic character. And this talk about being unable to put her little snowman back together can apply to so much more for her.
“Small world, huh?” Ok but how small. Like, as in…stuck in a different part of Fromville small? Or…?
“Oh, will you SHUT THE F**K UP!!! You have no idea what I’ve been through here. No idea what I have seen!” He snapped. For real this time.
I felt Jade’s “F*** THIS!!!!” So hard.
So, as we can see, Kenny is trying to throw himself into the mission instead of really taking time out to grieve. Kinda inevitable, given the situation he and the others are in. But ouch.
“Who TF likes it anywhere? It’s a forest full of nightmares!” Again, Dale makes a very good point here.
So, about the so-called “talisman head” things: Is the one with three holes in its forehead and one “eye” different than the other maybe, somehow, connected to the dude Jade keeps seeing out there? Thoughts????
Another great Perrineau moment: Boyd getting hit right in the feels when Ethan talks about washing everything up so it would be how Tian Chen would like it. The way he’s just…stumbling to speak before landing on “I’m sure she’d appreciate that” is everything.
“But what I do know: that no matter what this place throws at us? We’re gonna win.” My dude, I want to believe you. But look around. How.
Not Kristi being the only one with sense when she’s stuck in a trap and in excruciating pain.
Jade really always expects people to be caught up to wherever he is when he’s talking, but he’s forever bringing them in, in the middle of his thought process. Sometimes even at the end. Love me a slightly-deranged genius.
Now, what did the cards tell Tillie about this place?
Uh. About Randall and the locusts…anyone else worried? J/K we’re all worried, all the time.
“I went through a magic tree and traveled to a lighthouse like something out of a fairytale. I wake up in the hospital that just happened to be here. You just happen to be here.” Yeah…
“Just more of this place. Torturing me, punishing me, right?” Someone please hug her.
But also, someone please hug him. “You can’t! Do this! You can’t just show up at my door, say the things you’ve said, TELL ME MY SON. IS ALIVE! My boy?! That he’s out there. And then just decide that you’re gonna give up on that.” Like, imagine what this man is going through for a second. This random woman shows up, gives him hope he’ll see his son again, and then suddenly she freaks out over a bracelet and is like “no, you’re a liar. Let me go.” Oof.
“We’ve had patrol cars on the lookout for you ever since you ran out of the hospital the other day.” Whomst is we. Actual, human healthcare workers looking out for this strange woman’s safety? Or, uh, something else.
…say it ain’t so.