This September, we’re being thrown right back into the reeling enigma of a purgatory that forms the intriguing landscape of MGM+’s underrated sci-fi horror series From. Created by John Griffin, the third season had a convention debut at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, drumming up anticipation for its streaming release. Interestingly, it is one of the rare shows that gains momentum with every season, with its third finding more sure-footing in its perplexing world. The first season of From offered us a fascinating premise with Lost‘sHarold Perrineau at the forefront of a talented ensemble cast. With each season, the direction of the show strengthens, culminating in the first four episodes of Season 3, which are more purposeful, terrifying, and off-the-rails than the series has ever been.
What Is ‘From’ Season 3 About?
Once you drive off the highway and are blocked by a fallen tree with ravens circling in the sky, your fate is sealed in From‘s twisted universe. The show’s characters are perpetually trapped in this remote American town that seems to exist on its own plane and harbors maleficent creatures that go more than bump in the night. Season 3 doesn’t miss a beat as it picks up right where Season 2 leaves us, with Tabitha (Catalina Sandino Moreno) waking up in a hospital after being pushed off the elusive lighthouse. As seen in the Season 3 trailer, it seems as if Tabitha has found herself in the real world, and is the only known person to ever achieve such a feat after being doomed to the hellscape. Initially, the season is split between the strange town and Tabitha’s real life journey to seek answers, where she is joined by new castmates Robert Joy and Samantha Brown.
Meanwhile, Perrineau’s Boyd Stevens continues his duties as a sheriff and doggedly strives to protect and inspire the terrified townsfolk. However, last season’s concern over resources, namely food, is amplified tenfold, ratcheting up the stakes and tension as survival becomes a race against the clock. We meet familiar faces as new mysteries and dangers are uncovered, and our beloved characters demonstrate a range of emotions, from terror to desperation to despair, that tug at our heartstrings. Hope is quickly becoming non-existent as this third season places a tremendous strain on both the audience’s and characters’ nerves like never before.
‘From’ Season 3 Finds Purpose and Mastery Over Mystery
Season 3 of From thus far has proven Griffin’s greater and deeper understanding of the show and concept, as it gains a more defined sense of purpose that previous seasons were a tad lackluster with. Season 1’s main draw was the premise of an inescapable town and uncanny creatures who use trickery to enter victims’ houses. But it is clear that Griffin hadn’t fully fleshed out where he believed the series was going, as it frequently veered into the danger of stumbling around in the dark, directionless. The season lingered on that initial premise, playing around with the idea again and again without moving forward. Season 2 captured a sense of direction as the show gradually built momentum in its ideas and goals, cascading into these four incredible episodes of Season 3. Between the increased urgency in the tone of the show, and the deliberate storytelling surrounding each of the new entities, there is a more determined feel to this season — it is far more sure of itself.
Loud and dramatic beats are the bread and butter of Season 3, and it is this confidence that the show was missing earlier. The premise itself is ambiguous, bizarre, and otherworldly, and thus the narrative beats are finally wholly catching up with this. We are hit by new entities and dilemmas (some sci-fi, some survival-related) at every corner. Griffin expertly stays away from the pitfall of muddling these narrative points into an overpowering blur through a controlled pace, allowing each distinct twist and emotion to stand on its own. He brandishes the fast-paced, cutthroat, and terror-inducing scenes between slower, earnest and intimate moments, perfecting the precarious balancing act that takes us on this roller-coaster journey.
That being said, with its loftier ambitions, the season is split into countless diverging storylines that interweave in and out, above and under each other, creating a somewhat convoluted web. With sequences ending on jaw-dropping cliffhangers and some subplots only squeezing in a couple of minutes in an episode, it can become difficult to keep track of. However, there is still an overarching direction the clamor is driving towards, and it’s this undercurrent that tethers us to the events on screen. Of course, the confusion and ambiguity add to the show’s major appeal: its mystery. From masters giving us satisfying revelations and answers while also conjuring up new questions to be captivated by. It’s a headlong rush into the shadows, but we eagerly relinquish control, excited about where the show will take us next.
Unprecedented Vulnerability Seeps into Harold Perrineau’s Performance in ‘From’ Season 3
Perrineau returns with his acting chops on full display as the noose of leadership tightens around Boyd’s neck in From Season 3, leaving the actor to find a middle ground between the guiding light we are used to and full-on madness. Many characters who we relied upon to be fair-minded, tough, and dependable begin to succumb to the panic-stricken milieu that threatens to tear the town apart, leading to visceral and soul-bearing performances that strike the same fear into our hearts. Perrineau, in particular, swings on this emotional pendulum, using jittery body language and darting eyes to deftly convey the trauma that wracks him, even if his voice still somewhat retains its commanding tone — especially after the show’s iconic creatures switch up their approach to tormenting him. We also see notably intimate and poignant performances from Ricky He as Kenny, Elizabeth Saunders as Donna, Eion Bailey as Jim, and Scott McCord as Victor — they all reach a level of visceral emotion we have never seen from them before.
Moreno also stumbles into the real world with a standout performance, as she effectively imbues Tabitha with a gut-wrenching arc that begins with tentative hope and spirals into her second-guessing herself. Her storyline plays with the fabric of reality and this mind-bending effect is conveyed by Moreno’s gradual deconstruction of her character’s trust in herself and her surroundings. Her eyes light up as she grasps at fleeting hope but can be instantly dashed away by the faintest of doubts, with Moreno’s micro-expressions foreshadowing the inevitable onset of panic and doom. David Alpay‘s Jade also undergoes a reality-bending transformation through the strange symbols he hallucinates, removing him so far from the self-assured businessman we once knew. From‘s cast taps into a dark and grim vulnerability that deeply resonates, especially since this season unnervingly and overtly focuses on psychological danger over physical.
‘From’ Season 3’s Shift into Psychological Horror Makes it Scarier
If you thought the dreaded music box from Season 2 was scary, wait until you see the debris it left in its wake. Despite the danger passing, the townspeople are still wary of sleeping, and the three characters who were inflicted by the music box’s wrath are still muted by fear. There is a thick and unwieldy tension in the air that could be ignited with the tiniest spark, especially as more “mundane” fears of starvation and hypothermia also threaten them. Psychological horror was a by-product of Season 1; Season 2 dabbled in it; and Season 3 made of it. The costume designs and SFX of the creatures certainly still invoke a sentiment of dread, but their new modus operandi truly ramps up From‘s horror to a dizzying level. Once again, this relates back to the show’s newfound confidence in embracing the otherworldly and bizarre, but the shift to psychological torture from multiple facets makes for a claustrophobic and terrifying ordeal that has no conceivable end in sight.
Sure, there is still space for growth in terms of off-the-charts horror, and it would be far more gratifying if the audience was provided with more discrete answers, but there is something inexplicably petrifying about the unknown. While there is a more thoughtful direction, From still dances between ambiguity and clarity, and needs to make up its mind about embracing its Lovecraftian potential or not — though the first half of Season 3 is certainly suggesting it is leaning towards the former. Season 3 shamelessly pours accelerant onto the building inferno of hallucinatory enigma and ghastly horror of previous seasons, resulting in a berserk and brave installment that we ardently applaud. From is finally growing into its own.
From Season 3 will premiere on MGM+ on September 22.
