FROM Season 3 Episode 5 Review: ‘The Light of Day’

FROM Season 3 Episode 5 warns us, more than once, that hope is a dangerous and difficult thing. Henry talks about how he “couldn’t bear” that “spark of hope,” in the early days, that he may see Miranda, Eloise and Victor again. Julie confesses to Elgin that she thinks her mom only got out of town to make everyone suffer. And, ultimately, Dale loses his life to a particularly-toxic combination of his own ego and — yes — the hope that he can simply walk into the bottle tree and go home, maybe even save everyone else when he gets there.

But, as Boyd loses control of the town meeting and so many people in Fromville (Boyd included) begin to lose control over their own anger and despair, the hour also manages to pack in so much beauty, it can’t help but simultaneously make us optimistic that there is something better around the corner…and absolutely terrified because there’s now so much more to lose. As the halfway point for this season, FROM Season 3 Episode 5 not only delivers — it devastates in both the best and worst ways.

“What’s he gonna think? When he sees…me?”

FROM Season 3 Episode 5 features an emotional, beautiful father-son reunion. But it takes some time to get us to that point, which is one hundred percent the correct choice. Not only does it make sense that someone like Victor, who has experienced so much loss in this place, would outright deny even the possibility of his dad being here, but the journey we go on with him once he rushes out of Colony House after hearing the news is incredibly meaningful. Victor is so vulnerable with Sara, admitting he convinced himself “what came before” wasn’t real. Notably, that’s a sentence he doesn’t quite have to finish for us to get where he’s going with it. How long did that little boy spend, trying to erase those memories, while drawing pictures of everything that happened in town so “pictures would remember”?

And, of course, the biggest moment of vulnerability comes when he worries about what Henry will think of him. After all, his dad is “waiting for a little boy that drove away a long time ago.” Not the man who’s seen and suffered so much on his own, growing up to be the person we know now. That Sara, “the scariest person here,” winds up being the one to comfort Victor in the moment is also vitally important. People are not always what they seem, and Sara is not what this place turned her into. She genuinely cares for Victor and absolutely guts us, both through Avery Konrad’s incredible performance and the gorgeous writing, with how she provides that comfort.

Sara doesn’t lie to Victor, doesn’t tell him everything will be ok — love the little “you’re really bad at this.” Laughed even knowing Victor wasn’t trying to be funny, just displaying that usually-childlike honesty. She just…relates to him on the most basic human level, showing great empathy not just for him but for Henry, someone she’s not even met, too.

“I don’t know you that well. But you seem like a really good person. And that’s something to be proud of here. I would give anything to feel like a good person again. Maybe…maybe you’re not the only one who’s afraid. Maybe he’s afraid of not being the dad that little boy remembers.”

From the second he takes that awful pause before repeatedly saying “no” and storming out of Colony House, straight through to the end of the episode, Scott McCord delivers an utterly devastating performance. Obviously, the reunion itself is the moment for Victor and Henry, but what McCord does in that car scene with Konrad should not be overlooked. That scene is a gift. And we can confirm that watching it one more time after learning the absolutely heartbreaking moment when Victor lays his head on Sara’s shoulder came about naturally is difficult. Because there’s something just…real there. We don’t know how else to put it.

That the moment occurs out in the woods, in the wreckage, in the silence is also a stunning choice. Basically, it’s perfection.

“I don’t think he’s very happy that I’m here.”

The long wait for Victor and Henry to come together in FROM Season 3 Episode 5 also gives Henry a chance to share his fears and regrets. First, he opens up to Donna about that “spark of hope” we touched on at the beginning of this review. Again, much like when Victor shares with Sara, the dialogue and the performances are both second to none.

“For the first few years, every time I’d turn a corner, there’d be this little spark of hope that maybe — just maybe — I’d see all of them there. Miranda, Eloise, Victor. And they — they’d smile and laugh. We’d all cry together about what a terrible mistake it all was. Then…that was the hardest part. That little bit of hope. That was the part I — I couldn’t bear.”

…and, of course, he shares that it was easiest to give up, to convince himself his whole family was dead. To hear Robert Joy deliver those lines as Henry walks through his long lost son’s room, reverently examining all of Victor’s things, is to experience, all over again, just how much this character has also suffered alone for so many years. Just like his son. But to watch the way Donna basically mothers him like she would Victor — or any number of other Colony House residents — makes the impact that much greater. Elizabeth Saunders, in the silence, portrays a Donna with so much empathy, so much concern, so much grief for this newcomer, it’s really — to probably over-use the word here — beautiful, yet so painful to witness.

Later, in another fitting creative choice, Henry winds up having a little heart-to-heart with Ethan. Ethan, who calls Victor his “best friend.” And Ethan, the little explorer who his mom told was “helping by staying here.” He’s the one who gets Victor enough to let his dad know it’s not that he doesn’t want to see him — it’s that he’s afraid to. And, of course, Ethan is also the only person who would see Victor, know he was avoiding Henry, and still be just…childish enough to call out for him the second he sees him.

As far as the reunion itself goes, it may just defy words — but we’ll try to put some here. The stillness, that long, loaded pause when Henry and Victor run into each other is one of the most meaningful, emotional, gorgeous moments in FROM Season 3 Episode 5. And that’s saying a lot, considering the episode is exquisite overall. But, for Victor just break like that, to tell Henry “I didn’t know how to get home” and, really, to just whimper-sob it…and all while his dad just tries his best to tell him “it’s ok” over and over…wow. The timing, the visuals, the thought of all the things this father and son have been robbed of, them coming together in this awful place and kind of having a second chance — but with so much more danger and even more to lose now — it’s everything. Just everything.

Meanwhile, in “everything is awful” news…

Learning that Tabitha was able to leave town, yet came back without any real answers and without at least alerting the authorities back in the real world, frustrates the people stuck in town. As Catalina Sandino Moreno warned us in our interview, that winds up being “angering” for a lot of them. So, in FROM Season 3 Episode 5, we see exactly what that anger looks like during the town meeting. And, even if we were to take every bit of dialogue out, just seeing the camera work in those town meeting scenes tells a whole story. This isn’t a meeting. People aren’t here to learn Tabitha and Henry’s story. They are appearing before a tribunal, and they have been judged foolish, unworthy, and guilty of letting everyone else down.

But, as it turns out, Boyd — who wasn’t part of Tabitha’s escape — is another guilty party on trial. And his leadership has been found guilty of being worthless, lacking, overbearing, and wrong. Of course, Boyd knows the dangers of running off without thinking things through because he’s been there before. As he says at one point, he tried going into one of the faraway trees and almost died because he wound up in a chimney underground. But nobody wants to believe him, or Tabitha, or Henry because they have this hope to hold onto — this dangerous thing — that tells them there’s an easy way out. Somewhere, deep down, they all know better. But it just doesn’t matter.

Boyd has been unraveling all season, and that comes into play in a big way in FROM Season 3 Episode 5. He can’t bring calm into that chaotic meeting, so he storms off. (A legit choice at this point. None of these fools want to listen, so f**k them.) And then, there’s that confrontation when Ellis catches up to him. Harold Perrineau gives us yet another fantastic performance, this time as a Boyd who just forces Ellis to see his side of things by putting his son in the same impossible position he’s always in.

“Who you gonna march out there next? Huh? Huh?! You wanna do something, right? So tell me! Who’s next? Who’s your pick — who’s your pick?!! Exactly. What happened in there is a dangerous thing. Is a dangerous…”

The way Perrineau starts throwing his words out there like punches — quick jabs to the gut and the throat, just trying to cause some pain — is a thing of beauty. It’s also a fascinating choice to block out the scene so that Boyd goes from right up in Ellis’ face to, essentially, screaming at his profile as he tries to look away/stay in denial and can’t. And, of course, Boyd’s right here. If everyone is so desperate to just run off without thinking things through…who do they want to sacrifice? This is the burden Boyd has had on his shoulders, all this time, as the leader. If everyone thinks he’s so terrible at his job, who’s going to step up and start making those impossible decisions?

No one. That’s who.

Just like Bakta tells Boyd later on, he’s just trying to protect people from their own stupidity. On that note, unfortunately, Dale exists. And his level of stupidity refuses to be denied. Even Tabitha, who has traveled by tree before, tries to warn him not to go into the bottle tree. He does it anyway…look how that ends up. And when you do, make sure to marvel at yet another insane performance from Perrineau.

“Okay. All right. Who’s — who’s next, huh? Still wanna go to the tree? Go ahead then. WHO THE F**K IS NEXT. HUH? You think I want to do this? You think I want to be the one who….I AM TRYING TO KEEP YOU ALIVE. DON’T YOU SEE THAT?! I CAN’T HELP YOU IF YOU DON’T LET ME! I CA—….”

As everyone looks on in horror, Boyd twists the knife. He doesn’t just rub salt in the wound; he digs in, makes that wound deeper, and rubs and rubs and rubs. Good. They deserve it. Or, well. Almost everyone deserves it. Notice the way Boyd completely, abruptly shuts off the rage when Donna comes and sees Dale…like…that. We’ll certainly be thinking about her reaction as we wait for the next episode. Oof.

More on FROM Season 3 Episode 5

The way this episode both begins and ends with so much chaos…can these people get a break?
…J/K we know they can’t.
“If I’d known I was gonna see him, I…would’ve worn a better shirt.”
Love how Donna leans in like she’s telling Henry the best secret ever.
“Last night was…was a bad night.” Understatement.
I am not exaggerating when I say every time I watch the “that’s not possible scene,” it hurts more. Can not stress this enough.
Absolutely insane how so much happens in this episode — every episode of FROM, really — and there’s still always time for these pauses that say so much in the silence.
“Donna said my dad is here.” “What? How?” “It doesn’t matter.” Ouch. And, like, check out how obvious it is that Sara aches for Victor in that moment.
“How do you go from a lighthouse in the woods to a hospital in Maine?” That’s…literally what we’re trying to figure out here, Julie.
“Oh. You mean, besides the magic tree.” I love everything about the delivery on this. There’s just enough of the “old” Jade in there with kinda being a jerk, but at the same time…he’s completely in the right here to be so frustrated — and deliciously sarcastic — with Jim. Also, I laughed. Important with a show like this.
I also love how Alpay abruptly interrupts himself, yet almost has to force out Jade’s apologies to Ethan for his, uh, French.
“Well, f**k the town meeting!!!” My kind of guy.
The very tired, “not another thing now,” look from Boyd when Kenny talks about the “something different” out by the cabin, though. He has enough to worry about, ok???
“I think they want us to look at it. When the sun’s up. They want us to remember what’s coming at night. Part of the thing that keeps people sane here is we get to pretend during the daytime. Pretend that we’re safe. With Randall walking around, then we don’t get to pretend anymore.”
The “can’t we worry about each other” bit from Kristi and Mari is just…🖤🖤🖤.
“All that time my little boy was here. Alone. What kind of man gives up on his family? No wonder he doesn’t want to talk to me.” When Robert Joy’s voice gets so weak on the “alone” part…
Oh, Donna has had enough of these people in this meeting. Same.
“Are you ok?” “No. Not really.” Remember when Julie said she was trying hard to be ok? The way these two characters connect, coaxing the most…personality, for lack of a better word, out of Elgin he’s had all this time, is so sweet. And there’s really no one else for either of them — except maybe Mari or Randall (who’s kinda got his own problems at the moment) — to confide in about this. So, I’m glad they got the time.
“Best way to make us suffer is to give us hope. I don’t think it’s ever gonna let us go.” Can someone please give Julie a hug?
“Yeah. They may have thought you were crazy, but what if they didn’t?” And in this moment, I decided that demon baby inside of Fatima had eaten her brain. Of course no normal person on the outside is going to believe anything about this place.
“It’s not just hoping and wishing anymore.”
“One thing you’ll learn when you’re older: any meeting with more than three people is basically pointless.” Again gonna say he’s my kind of guy.
…I’m just very sick and tired of Jim. He’s really out here guilting Tabitha about the time she was gone, when she just went through that at the town meeting. GTFO, man.
The whole “80s vintage” thing makes me feel so old, but also I love what they did with that jacket and side ponytail on Julie. So cool.
“Great! Go be sorry then. Try not to kill anybody. You let me worry about how to take care of my godd**n town. THANK! you.” Look how much hate is in his eyes and the way he approaches her!!! Basically, what I’m finding/remembering is I’m a huge fan of any time Perrineau gets to be AngryAF!Boyd. Art.
But: The cop lady…might be right about giving the people a distraction. Heartbreaking. The worst person you know just made a great point.
“There’s a motel sign here…there’s a pool. Where’s the motel?”
“What do you think he’s scared of?” “That I’m gonna die? Everyone he ever loved here died.”
“She was someone, who tried so hard to make everything right. And she always ended up feeling like she was wrong.” I am in this photo and I do not like it.
Bakta for President, honestly.
2659? So…not dates? Or 2-6-59? Something else?
Huge fan of the entire conversation by the tree…until Dale interrupts, of course. So much passion from Jade, and Alpay’s portrayal of what it is to be just on the verge of a huge breakthrough but with something blocking you is spot on.
“I don’t know. Piecing this together is like…it’s like trying to grab ahold of water.”
“It only looks like chaos until you understand the pattern.” As someone whose education is actually in Mathematics, I appreciate this line on so many levels, it’s ridiculous to try to attempt explaining.
This place keeps finding creative ways for people to die horribly. Amazing. The first time I saw Dale in that pool, my jaw dropped and did not go back together until several minutes later. What an image.
The grief when Boyd lowers his gun…
So, uh, now what? I’m thinking we’re going to cool it on the trees?