Broken record here at this point, but FROM Season 3 Episode 7 is yet another powerful hour of television in a third season that has yet to do anything remotely resembling wrong. Or, well. That’s not entirely correct. Killing Tian Chen was wrong to us personally, just not in a “bad TV” kind of way. Same goes for Tillie. Anyway. This hour sees us exploring the fallout of the two big revelations from the end of Episode 6, and it’s incredibly fascinating how both of the main plot points in this episode involve a woman whose loved ones don’t completely know how to believe her about her own experiences, yet the two situations are very different. Because one issue very clearly involves a family trying to be supportive and kinda failing, while the other involves Jim.
Actually, that might be the theme of “These Fragile Lives” in a more general sense. Everyone wants to help the people they care about, and everyone is at a loss over how to be supportive. And it’s killing everyone who approaches the situation in good faith. People like Henry, who just wants to connect with his long-lost son but has no idea how to make him see the truth — that Jasper the dummy really can’t tell him any secrets. And people like Fatima’s whole village of a support system. (But then, there’s…Jim.)
Of course, this wouldn’t be FROM without the episode giving us even more mysteries to solve or one absolute knife to the gut (or, gardening tool to the chest as it were). This show really doesn’t like little old ladies this season, huh? And let’s not even try to figure out whatever Randall and Julie’s little drive led them to. Whatever they found in the woods can’t be good — because nothing in this place that manages to just reveal itself out of nowhere ever is.
If you’re not tired of Jim yet…how?
In FROM Season 3 Episode 7, Tabitha visits the place with the totems and the big, red rocks. After all, it’s the logical next step in her quest to find answers. As we learned in the previous episode, she’s been seeing this exact spot in a recurring nightmare since childhood. (Not to mention, we know something about that place spooked TF out of Jade when he was there in Episode 3. This place has answers. Or maybe more questions. Either way.) So, of course, Jim tries to mansplain Tabitha’s own dreams and experiences to her when they get there. Nothing to see here! It’s all just a coincidence! Tabitha’s silly, little woman brain is just making connections because there’s “a part of [her] that wants, so badly, for all of this to make sense.”
We could say this is coming from a place of concern, of wanting Tabitha to avoid serious danger. But we’ve seen how messed up this marriage is and how annoying Jim can be. So, no, we won’t give the benefit of the doubt to Jim, not even for being worried about Ethan being out there. Because it’s not like he’s exactly Dad of the Year when it comes to that adventurous little weirdo anyway. Dude can’t even bother to stop infantilizing the kid’s mom when he’s right there listening. So, whatever.
“It’s not just the stones; it’s everything. It’s…how it feels. I still remember the fear when I was running.”
As Tabitha tells Jim, she can’t just ignore the things that are happening to her. She has to know. So, that means she has to visit the rocks, regardless of what he thinks about it. And the instant sense of recognition Catalina Sandino Moreno portrays here, the second Tabitha lays eyes on those rocks, tells us everything we need to know. The same goes for the way she tells the story from her nightmare, picking out the specific rock she’d hide behind while whatever made everyone scream was on the other side, then looking up, and waking up screaming. This is a woman who isn’t just retelling some random dream, or making something up to grasp for answers — she’s reliving something that actually happened.
…but Jim still doesn’t want to believe her because he’s Jim. He has to start by asking if the story is true, not accepting it after everything that’s already happened in this place. And he also wants to know how unlocking these memories even helps. As in, he has no clue how to be anything but discouraging, skeptical, and unsupportive. Jade, on the other hand…now he has an interesting reaction.
“If that’s the truth, and you saw this place as a child, you really never had a chance, did you?”
David Alpay’s performance here is at once subtle and a glaring red rock flag. At the beginning of Tabitha’s story, Jade appears almost bewildered by all of it. Then, we he comes to his realizations about fate, Jade manages to be as passionate as ever without having that sort of manic quality about it. Maybe it’s because, in the same breath, he also, somehow, comes across as quietly defeated. But what does any of it mean? Is this simply a new theory that tilts Jade’s worldview just enough to have him react that way? If that’s not it, then what? Nothing happens on this series without reason…or does it? Like, maybe Jim’s right. (Had to laugh while typing that.) Maybe this is just another trick, a dead end, a big ol’ nothing. But if that’s the case, what else can we even look toward for clues?
At the end of the day, maybe it doesn’t even matter. Because we kinda just love watching what Alpay does with the role and live for Sandino Moreno, as Tabitha, refusing to back down just because Jim wants her to.
Donna, Boyd, a walk, and some tough decisions.
The image of Boyd and Donna, walking side-by-side through the fog as they discuss the newest revelations about Fatima’s pregnancy, is a stunner. There’s a melancholy that hangs over everything, and these two people who shoulder most of Fromville’s burdens alone are truly out there, isolated, with yet one more thing to work through. Then, there’s the genius that Harold Perrineau and Elizabeth Saunders continue to bring to each of their roles — especially when their characters are together. It just always works.
In that way of hers, Donna brings up what Boyd’s really worrying about — another Abby situation. And when Boyd says he’s not thinking about what he could’ve done differently back then, she tells him he should be. Nudges him with a “to what” when he tries to imply that Kristi will have had time to do…something in the few hours since they last spoke. Boyd might get upset when Donna mentions all of this and approaches the issue from a logical, matter-of-fact, sort of place. Sure. But this is what, and who, he needs in the moment. Which is why he talks to her about it in the first place. Well, there’s that and the even more obvious truth: they both love, and worry about, Fatima the way parents do.
That last part is vitally important to remember when we think about Donna’s big decision here. When she tells Boyd it’s probably not a good idea for Fatima and Ellis to stay at Colony House while they’re “figuring it out,” she’s not looking to hurt anyone. Also, this isn’t at all an easy thing for her to think about, much less say. It’s not that Donna doesn’t trust or love Fatima — far from it. But, as she tells Boyd, the demon baby (or whatever) poses a “threat to the people” at Colony House. People she’s responsible for taking care of. As much as she might want to, she can’t put one person over everyone else.
“I have to think about everyone here, Boyd. No matter how much I want to help you guys.”
Saunders’ work here, as this person who is making a decision she knows is best for everyone — but terrible for her because of her connection to Fatima specifically — is so good, and it just keeps getting better when Boyd responds as if Donna has rejected him. That “oh, Boyd! Come on” screams, “omg are we going to do this again because I thought we were past this mess.” Not only that, but with every difficult decision Boyd has had to make, he has got to know what Donna is going through in the moment. And if he can’t be rational about this, and see it from her perspective after all they’ve been through, what does that say about Boyd’s leadership and how much he may have been compromised by this point?
On some level, Boyd even knows Donna’s right — which he eventually admits in that frustrated, guarded, and quick way. But even though they both know the other person isn’t trying to hurt them, the scene ends with two people throwing up their hands with each other, Boyd needing to get away as quickly as he can before he explodes, and that long shot of Boyd walking away, now totally alone, on that road.
If the monsters’ goal this season is to break Boyd, they’re getting pretty close to mission accomplished. It seems like they may even be on the road to doing the same to Donna. And it’s all because of what they’re doing to the one person they both love, unconditionally.
“Believe me!”
Of course, the biggest story in FROM Season 3 Episode 7 is how everyone reacts to Fatima’s pregnancy, or not pregnancy, or…whatever the case may be. (We’re still going with demon baby. Human medical equipment obviously can’t detect that, right? Right.) As the episode opens and Kristi tries to calmly explain about psychosomatic pregnancies, Fatima is rightfully going out of her mind about nobody believing her. But, in a twisted sense of irony, everything she does to show how upset she is…plays into that “hysterical pregnancy” idea. She throws the glass of water Ellis offers her, screams at him for being worried about the rain when there are much more dangerous things — like the demon baby — happening to her, and just maintains those extremely heightened emotions for much of the episode.
The only time Fatima doesn’t appear to be on edge is when Mari is setting up her IV. At that point, in an emotionally devastating sort of performance from Pegah Ghafoori, she’s just…given up. The “do you” when Mari says she knows last night was “a lot” is supposed to be combative, yet doesn’t totally hit the mark because there’s so much emptiness there. This is not the warm, joyful Fatima we know and love; this is someone lost and completely on her own with this terrifying thing that’s happening to her. Depressed, even. We’d even say she’s quickly approaching rock bottom.
But there’s still some emotion left in her, as she starts to lash out again the second Marielle implies that she should try eating regular food again. It’s painful to watch, right up to the very end of the conversation and the desperate looks the two give each other as Mari leaves.
“Why isn’t anybody listening to me? It’s happening inside of me. I’m the one experiencing this. Why is my f—ing point of view the only one everybody assumes is wrong?”
And then, the performance kicks up another notch when Fatima confronts Ellis and asks him, outright, if he also thinks the pregnancy is all in her head, only for him to just…look away. Like, he can’t even say it, but it’s written all over him. And, of course she recognizes it…and just breaks. Even more. Even when it might have seemed like she couldn’t break anymore. Which, how could we blame her? That line about everyone assuming her point of view is wrong when this is happening to her body speaks volumes. Not just for Fatima’s situation but for a whole slew of people, mostly women, who have been the victims of medical gaslighting. And, yeah, that especially applies to anything having to do with pregnancy — particularly in the current political climate.
Seriously, don’t get us started.
Why does Fatima kill Tillie in FROM Season 3 Episode 7?
The way Fatima just begs Ellis to believe her is so incredibly heartbreaking, and we can’t help but feel for both of them. Because he genuinely cares and is trying to find anything to help but can’t. Make no mistake: This is Fatima’s struggle and problem, moreso than anyone else’s. Even so, it affects the people who are watching her fall apart and totally unable to do anything. Ellis, probably most of all.
When Ellis finally gets a moment to himself, it’s painfully obvious how much he’s suffering. But then, Tillie comes in and offers to do whatever she can for him. The whole interaction makes the episode’s ending hurt that much more, which we’re assuming is…kind of the point. But it’s still a valuable scene in its own right. We get to watch Corteon Moore portray this person who just can not lose the woman he loves, who doesn’t have his usual support system there for him and is wary of this near-stranger who actually claims to care so much. At the same time, we get to hear Tillie’s beautiful message about how short life is and her belief that there’s a longer journey to come after all of this.
We also can’t help but wonder if more is going on here. Is it possible that Tillie’s assertion, that her offer to be here for Ellis and Fatima “may not be much,” not actually true? Like, the timing here is devastating, so we need it to mean something. Just when Ellis looks like he might be able to breathe, to keep fighting for himself and Fatima to survive, she goes through all that horrific physical agony. Which, we get to see her insides being sucked in and her writhing on that bed, but Ellis only sees the emotional aftermath. And we see Tillie just leaning her head against that doorframe, showing all that sympathy — just in time for Fatima to murder her in a fit of passion the next time they cross paths. Her last words, before Fatima turns on her, are words of comfort.
“Listen to me…You’re not alone…I’m gonna help you! Everything is going to be ok…It’s gonna be ok!!”
…and, Tillie’s very last words are still about protecting the person who’s just ended her life: “you have to run.”
What did she know? Or was it just a matter of getting her out of the way so Fatima and Ellis really would feel alone? Then again, could we be overthinking this? Maybe Tillie’s senseless death is just that — senseless. The violent outburst of someone totally at the end of her rope. We’d love to hear your theories on that…right after we’re done crying about Tillie, of course.
More on FROM Season 3 Episode 7
- Showing us the aftermath of Fatima explaining her situation to Kristi and Mari, as opposed to making viewers sit through a retelling of everything we’ve already seen, works. Why waste time on what’s known, when you can just pack an episode full of new big moments?
- In today’s “hurt people hurt people, y’all” news: Boyd and Kristi. That argument, especially the way Boyd yells at Kristi to do her F’in job and figure it out…is a killer. Love the way both Perrineau and Chloe Van Landschoot play that back and forth. The end, with them both looking so wounded, is also great. (Or, well, I don’t love them being hurt. But you know.)
- Honestly, we were starting to expect Jasper to actually be possessed. Now, though, it looks like he may really be, as Henry tells Victor, just a doll. But if that’s the case, then, now what??? There’s a lot to be said for how unreliable memory can be, especially when that memory belongs to a terrified child who never quite grew up. (But, as a fascinating contradiction, also had to grow up too much too soon.) Regardless, something happened with Christopher and that dummy. But what?
- Also, can someone please just…hug Victor? Watching Scott McCord do what he does with this role is always devastating. But for Victor to feel like he’s so close to being able to help and just…failing to get those answers, to the point where he’s screaming at that doll and tugging on that rope in frustration one minute and leaning on it for support the next? That’s a whole new level of pain.
- “You don’t understand. You weren’t there.”
- Elgin, perhaps someone your age shouldn’t be playing with grownup toys that went obsolete before you were born.
- “I also know what it’s like to feel violated by this place.”
- “I’m not eating garbage because I’m afraid or — or broken.” There we go with talking about breaking people again.
- That entire Fatima/Mari scene is just a stunner. So much emotion from both characters as they are both completely at a loss.
- “I told her it was a miracle.” Knife to the chest.
- Absolutely a huge fan of the way Saunders pulls back and gives Perrineau this look of, like, “ohhh???? Don’t try it” when Boyd starts yelling at Donna. It’s the type of thing that stands out, even in the middle of a scene packed with such great acting overall, because such a tiny detail can be such a strong reminder of who these characters are and what their long history is like.
- TL;DR Don’t mess with Donna. Period. Even, maybe especially, if you’re Boyd.
- “No. We’re good — we’re good!” Narrator: He was not, in fact, “good.”
- Once again living for the dark tunnel/flashlight beam aesthetics. This time, it’s because of Elgin doing God knows what (but 100% nothing good) in that root cellar. The timing in this scene, letting us explore from Elgin’s perspective and hear all that knocking/see the door at the back with that lighting, is truly remarkable. (My notes might or might not say it’s F—ing iconic, only without the censorship.)
- Kenny just sighing the sigh of all sighs that have ever been sighed when the cop lady starts asking questions. Because he has been here before. Poor guy is exhausted before he even gets started.
- “Right. And you’re not the type to just…’ACCEPT THE WORLD AS IT IS!!’” Shoutout to Kenny/Ricky He for the fabulous Jade impersonation. Still can’t believe how far this character has come (and how right he’s been on so many occasions).
- “Every question you’re asking has been asked before; every theory that you have, someone else has had before you. And at some point….you either adapt. Or you lose your mind.” …but are the writers trying to tell us something or.
- That genuine, quiet gratitude for the cop’s condolences, though.
- Can we talk about how Nathan D. Simmons somehow manages to perfectly embody this sort of mental “Spidey senses are tingling” cue? He lets us know that Kimono Lady, not any other horrific possibility, is going to be behind Elgin so easily.
- “Is this really how it happens?” How what happens.
- Randall is suddenly very human and kind. Like, WHAT?! Mind blown.
- …but he’s right. Giving Julie a sense of normalcy, like teaching her to drive, is an emergency. Especially since her whole family ditched her.
- One thing this series is going to do is break your heart over and over and over, even with the littlest things. Brought to you by: Donna getting a second to collapse while washing dishes, only to have to be back “on” again when Henry, facing his own heartbreak, wanders in.
- …does Boyd not know better than to be like “who’s there” in a horror show, though.
- The whole Boyd/cop scene is a masterpiece from Perrineau. Although everything is pitch perfect, I’ll list a few favorite beats: the way Boyd gets in her face on the “everything about you is my business” line, the look he gives her that screams “FAAFO” before that smirk on “you want your gun,” and the show he makes of taking the bullets out one at a time.
- I’d be here for that taunting “whatever you say. Sheriff” from Acosta if I didn’t love Boyd so much, but at any rate, props to Samantha Brown for holding her own in that whole scene. Not easy to have standout moments when Perrineau’s on level 100 out of 10. Especially when you’re playing a character we didn’t exactly get a positive introduction to. And yet.
- Also: Huge shoutout to the sound folks with the sound of that slamming drawer when Boyd kicks it in in that empty office. Art.
- “I stood there today in his room, and I — I had a thought I’ll never forgive myself for. I wish I had never come home here…wish Tabitha had never found me. Because…it was easier when I thought he was dead. It was only for like a second. What kind of father thinks that about his child?” Robert Joy, y’all. The delivery here…so. much. pain.
- Can we talk about how awful it has to be to know what your son has been through all this time, see what he grew up to be, know you’re totally unable to do anything for him, and just hate yourself for even wishing for the mercy of him not having lived to experience all this???
- Donna having to hear this from Henry after the day she’s already having is so cruel…but who else would listen like that?
- “If fate exists — if you were destined to come to this place…since you were a child…Then, one way or another, you were always gonna come to that tree in the road.”
- “A good friend once said to me, ‘enjoy every moment. And don’t grieve the living before they’re gone.’” Putting this here just minutes before that is so cruel.
- Same goes for this: “Are you afraid? Of dying.” “Sure. At first I was, and then I got angry. And one day, I realized just how small life is. How…it all goes by so fast. You start to wonder how it could be anything but the beginning of some grand adventure. Or maybe it’s the middle. But I don’t think it’s the end. Not anymore. Once i realized that, things didn’t seem so scary. None of us. Get to stay forever.”
- “I’m old, and I have cancer. I like a good love story. That work for ya?” Hashtag crying about it. And let’s not forget Moore’s little grin — plus, the split second where it doesn’t yet reach his eyes — before the “yeah. That works fine” either.
- So, Julie can’t see Randall’s phantom bugs either. Interesting.
- “Which f—in nightmare am I supposed to be afraid of? Which? You know, she’s f—ing falling apart. Right in front of me. And I don’t know what to do — I can’t do anything to help. Dad, I don’t know how to help.” UGH HIS FACE CRUMPLING BUT NOT TOTALLY BREAKING. AND THEIR HUG.
- “Let’s just go…please” and that fear all over Randall when he and Julie both are drawn to that place like a magnet. What is it???
- Stuck on “you have to run” and the many things it could mean. Did Tillie know things after all??? Or does she just realize nobody at Colony House is going to be happy about having a murderer in their midst?
- Also: I refuse this ending. Refuse it.
What are your thoughts after watching FROM Season 3 Episode 7 “These Fragile Lives”? Leave us a comment! And stay tuned for more as we head into the last few episodes of the season!
New episodes of FROM stream Sundays on MGM+.
