Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for From Season 3 Episode 1.

The third season of MGM+’s sci-fi horror series From returns to entrap us in its creepy little town where Harold Perrineau’s Sheriff Boyd continues to unravel the mystery that roots everyone in place. Last season, the townsfolk and the residents of Colony House were all worried about food and resources, especially after the storm, and sleep became more than a nightmare as the music box storyline played through. Cliffhangers are sprawled all over the show, with Jade (David Alpay) being harrowed by a strange symbol, Boyd wondering if destroying the music box was the right move, and Tabitha (Catalina Sandino Moreno) being pushed off a lighthouse and into a hospital in the real world — or is it?

From Season 3 premiere picks up right where Season 2 left off, with Tabitha all scuffed up in the hospital, completely bewildered by the nurse’s words. Apparently, her unconscious body was found in the woods by a couple of hikers, and she was in some type of coma. The nurse informs her that she is in Camden, Maine, and is concerned about all the bruising and scratches Tabitha is sporting. As Tabitha cautiously mulls over this information, she worriedly wonders how she will be able to reunite with her family, who are still trapped in Fromville, which is now changing at an unexpected and terrifying pace.

Jim and Kenny Find Creepy Statues in ‘From’ Season 3’s Episode 1
Image via MGM+

When we first meet Boyd in Season 3 of From, he is tending to his shotgun wound, courtesy of the loved one of the first victim of the sleep demon. While wounding the bandages around his bicep, he partakes in a conversation with the imaginary priest, Father Khatri (Shaun Majumder), and his concerns about the direction the town is heading in. Food, dropping temperatures, fear of sleep, and new dangers are lingering on his mind, as well as the interaction he had with his hallucinatory wife. Just before Boyd smashed the music box and released the three victims from its chokehold, his dead wife (Lisa Ryder) ominously asked him to second guess his decision because the forest was feeding on his hope.

His conversation with Khatri is interrupted by a commotion outside, as Ethan (Simon Webster) is dragged back home after trying to find his mother in the forest. As such, Jim (Eion Bailey) is galvanized into embarking on his own rescue mission to find his wife, but Boyd only permits him to leave with Kenny (Ricky He). Leaving his strained relationship with his kids behind, they set off into the woods together under Boyd’s detailed instructions. They come across a spooky site filled with ritualistic figurines made of sticks, twigs, and skulls. Instead of running off in the other direction, they decide to stay the night in one of the huts nearby, armed with a talisman. As night encroaches on them, Jim reaches an agonizing realization: Tabitha left the two alone because she would have wanted their kids to have at least one parent. Acknowledging his grave mistake, Jim resolves to return to town and his children the next day.

Tabitha Navigates Reality in ‘From’ Season 3 Episode 1
Image via MGM+

Returning to the “original dimension,” Tabitha escapes the hospital after finding out that the police are coming to question her. In fear of sounding crazy and being locked up in a psychological institution, where she would not be able to save her family, she heads out to the sunny streets of Maine instead. Disoriented by the unfamiliar landscape and the unanticipated pleasantries of being outside the gloomy and doom-laden Fromville, she sees two teenage girls with phones and has the bright idea of calling her mother. Borrowing one of their phones, she has an emotional and disheartening conversation with her worried mother, maintaining a level of secrecy so she is not disrupted as she tries to figure out what to do not.

Afterward, Tabitha is still confused and overwhelmed, and thus seeks sanctuary in a church, where she decides to head to the confession box. Once again, unable to divulge the true extent of her situation, her confession is vague yet poignant and visceral, even drifting into the past where she feels guilty about her baby son’s, Tomas’, death. Reaching an emotional pinnacle, she flees the confines and the verisimilitude of the box, only for the priest to run after her. They talk about Victor (Scott McCord) and his lunch box which is still hanging around her shoulder — this prompts her to peek inside, where she finds Victor’s address in Camden. Gaining new purpose in her stride, she arrives at Victor’s real-life home, where she comes face to face with Victor’s dad, Henry (Robert Joy).

‘From’ Season 3′ Introduces a Starvation Problem

Up in Colony House, things are looking dire as Fatima (Pegah Ghafoori), who is miraculously pregnant after being diagnosed as infertile, is suffering from severe morning sickness. Ellis (Corteon Moore) is deeply concerned about her, especially with the deathly shade of gray that arrests her face, but is pulled out of the house by Donna (Elizabeth Saunders) to harvest any crops that survived the storm. Additionally, Elgin (Nathan D. Simmons), one of the passengers from the bus that arrived in the previous season, is being racked by horrific nightmares of a gaunt, obsessive female spirit — causing him to avoid sleeping like the plague.

When Donna and Ellis reach the garden beds, they are informed that the crops are all rotten. Before, the food situation was worrying; now it is possibly fatal. Boyd, Donna, and Tian Chien (Elizabeth Moy) reconvene to plan a way to provide sustenance for the town and determine that the animals should hold them over while they try to spot-grow crops in different soils and areas until they find a location that prospers. However, young Ethan overhears this conversation and Boyd runs after him to comfort the boy. He had recently broken up a confrontation between Ethan and Randall (A.J. Simmons), where the latter was trying to take Ethan’s favorite goat, Alba. As such, Ethan makes a final chilling request to Boyd before conceding to his decision: they kill Alba first so she doesn’t have to watch her friends die.

Night Brings Psychological Horror in ‘From’ Season 3 Episode 1

When night befalls the town, the pace of the From’s premiere ramps up into a chaotic whirlwind. Boyd is in the police station with Jade, who wakes up from his drunken slumber after Boyd had dragged him out of the bar he had decorated with the symbol that haunts him. Boyd looks out the window to see a cow walking down the street — the night creatures had let all the animals loose from the barn. Boyd, Jade and Tian Chien jump out onto the street to herd the animals back, constantly glancing over their should for any danger. Meanwhile, Ethan also sees Alba trotting away and mindlessly opens the door to see a creature waiting. His sister, Julie (Hannah Cheramy), bundles him up and flees via the back door, and Sarah (Avery Konrad) ends up pulling the two into bushes. They later find safety in Randall’s bus and quickly see the events unfold on the other side of the street.

Jade’s cow’s throat is viciously slit by one of the creatures, and he is rooted in place with shock, until he is safely dragged away into a house, unable to help further. As such, Tian Chien takes it upon herself to help Boyd, who is struggling to motivate a particularly belligerent cow. Together, they lead the cow into the barn and quickly lock the door with the talisman, sighing in relief — until they realize it is a trick. The sickly smiling creatures were patiently waiting in the barn and emerged from the shadows, easily apprehending both of the unsuspecting residents. However, the truly grotesque part of this is when they tie Boyd up and begin torturing Tian Chien, forcing the sheriff to watch. The psychological torture is portrayed through an enduring shot straight at Boyd’s face, as he begs for mercy, yells at her to find strength, and tries to comfort her, all while his eyes betray the bits of his soul that are breaking away.

From Season 3 Episode 1 is available to stream on MGM+ in the U.S.

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