FROM Season 3 Episode 1 Review: Shatter

FROM takes on a brand new approach in its first outing of the season with Season 3 Episode 1, “Shatter.”

After a years-long hiatus, FROM is back and better than ever, breaking down the horror elements we know to be accurate and completely changing the narrative structure. 

With Jack Bender at the helm as director and John Griffin as writer, “Shatter” takes everything we know about the rules of the land and flips them on a dime. The scares are even more fear-inducing, the pacing is exquisite, and viewers are left with burning questions to obsess over until new episodes. 

Picking up with no considerable time jump in between FROM Season 2 Episode 10, “Once Upon a Time,” and now, Tabitha is exploring the new reality she’s suddenly immersed in, and Jim and Kenny are on a mission to locate her. 

Meanwhile, the town is resorting to violence as food becomes a luxury item after their crops are ruined, leaving them with virtually no food left. 

A New Reality

Tabitha’s journey in the first outing of the season is spent exploring her new surroundings and attempting to confirm whether she’s found a way back to her old life or another alternate dimension. This question is quickly answered when she finds herself asking to use someone’s cellphone at a flea market, and calling her mother. 

Where “Shatter” excels is allowing Tabby to collect her thoughts and re-ground herself with reality before immediately jumping into hero mode. Rest and a moment to reflect on what’s happening right in front of her after spending months evading impending death are needed, even if that worry for her family hasn’t gone away. 

While FROM is certainly laser-focused on the horror aspects and keeping the creepiness factor at a level ten, it has never shied away from the emotional characteristics that tether us to these characters. Because of that, Tabby’s phone call with her mother is only more critical and heart-aching. Out of all the crucial plot points introduced and the build-up for what’s to come, this moment is my favorite because of the relatability. 

Tabitha’s storyline is undoubtedly one of the most interesting of the season and brings a completely unfamiliar aspect to the series. Even with Boyd, Jim, and everyone else’s new adventures back in the town, there’s a sense of familiarity because we know it eventually leads back to the monsters torturing them. 

With Tabby’s new adventures this season, nothing is off the table and there’s no way to anticipate what’s to come, especially with Victor’s father entering the picture. It feels too abnormal to assume she won’t encounter monsters this season, even if she is back in the real world. After all, her hallucinations of the children who led her to the tower are still happening, so whatever they’re using her for, they aren’t finished just yet. 

Starvation on the Horizon

With all their crops taking a fatal blow, the town is on the brink of a potential civil war. Boyd, Donna, and Tian Chen work well to try and keep the peace while simultaneously finding a way around their predicament, but it isn’t enough to keep the peace when people are under the guise of starving to death.

I don’t know about you, but life wouldn’t feel all that important to fight for if I was having to avoid starvation, all while evading certain death from monsters that want to rip me apart.

It’s apparent that this season FROM is going to be introducing a new side of these monsters to viewers. We’ve seen them play with their food, aka the townspeople, before, but their adamance to make Boyd eat his own words about being unbreakable will bring forth a new dawn of terrors.

Instead of killing for the fun of it, they’re now on a mission to tease, haunt, and utterly terrify Boyd, which means those around him will be up for collateral. 

An Unfortunate Loss

Nobody in town is a stranger to death, but Tian Chen’s murder is likely to be the catalyst for a major change in how they operate. Instead of simply avoiding the outside and riding it out each night, now they must actively prepare a way to protect their livestock from another imminent skillfully planned attack.

Logistics and how her absence changes the playing field in town aside, it’s a heartbreaking moment for several reasons. The primary one is Kenny’s newfound status as an adult orphan.

Kenny to Boyd: Someone’s gotta make sure Jim comes back in one piece. I know what it’s like to lose a parent here, and I’m not gonna watch Julie and Ethan lose both their parents in the same week.

Without giving too much of a hint, Tian Chen’s death is outwardly predicted within the first 20 minutes of the episode with Kenny’s speech to Boyd on why he must accompany Jim into the woods.

This minor detail is what makes an already tragic situation even more unfortunate. Kenny willingly put his life on the line to save Ethan and Julie’s father, and in return, lost his last surviving parent. 

Losing a loved one changes a person, but the loss of a parent is an otherworldly feeling, and with nowhere to truly escape and decompress from her death, Kenny is bound to experience a personality change this season.

Elizabeth Moy has delivered stellar performances throughout her time on the series, and her delivery in “Shatter” is no different. Her talent will be sorely missed!

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One of the more defining aspects of the series is the interactions between the townspeople and the monsters. That constant fear of avoiding them lives in everyone, but it’s about to be increased tenfold now that we’re entering a new era for the monsters. 

FROM is Grade A psychological-horror television and “Shatter” only helps that statement ring more true. The monsters are more sinister, the stakes are even higher, and with starvation now on the table, the townspeople’s hopes for an escape are at an all-time max.

Stray Thoughts:

• I have many questions about how Fatima’s pregnancy will play a point of importance later in the season. There are many moments of miracles where women can conceive even after being informed otherwise, but in light of the horrors they’re accustomed to in town, it doesn’t seem plausible.
• Jim and Kenny’s discovery of the cabins out in the woods is an exciting new plot point to explore and will hopefully allow them to learn more about their place of captivity.

What did you think of this episode of FROM? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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FROM airs Sundays at 9/8c on MGM+.

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