From Season 3 Episode 1 recap: ‘Shatter’

In From Season 3 Episode 1 leans into the horror like never before, and we also finally find out who Boyd was talking to in the trailer and whether Tabitha is, in fact, in the real world. 

Given it’s been described as the horror version of Lost, there are plenty of unsolved mysteries as we head into From Season 3. 

Following the events of the second season, there’s still questions surrounding: the creepy music box; the even creepier ventriloquist dummy; the symbol visions; the changing seasons; the Boy in White; and the “anghkooey” kids… to name a few. 

Right at the end of the From Season 2 finale, Tabitha was pushed out of the lighthouse and woke up in a hospital room. But was this real or has she entered another realm? Warning: spoilers ahead!

From Season 3 Episode 1 kicks off with Tabitha

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The opening scene picks up where we left off, with Tabitha (Catalina Sandino Moreno) in the hospital. And after a long wait and many theories, a doctor finally reveals she’s in the real world – Camden, Maine, to be exact. 

She was found with no identification on her. In fact, all she’s got are her clothes and Victor’s lunchbox. After the doctor informs her the police are on the way to ask her some questions, she makes a run for it. 

Out on the street, she sees what looks like the Boy in White waving at her. She chases him down and accosts him in a cafe, only to discover it’s just a regular kid. It’s safe to say his mom isn’t too happy, so Tabitha makes her apologies and leaves. 

Fromville is falling apart

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Following the title sequence, we’re back in Fromville, where Boyd (Harold Perrineau) is tending to his gunshot wounds from Reggie (Zach Faye) in the Season 2 finale. 

He’s not alone… well, kinda. The ghost version of Father Rudra (Shaun Majumder) walks in, asking how Julie (Hannah Cheramy), Randall (A.J. Simmons), and Marielle (Kaelen Ohm) are after Boyd lifted their curse. 

Boyd’s trying to stay positive, but this version of Rudra likes to bring him down. “One of your own people tried to kill you three days ago, half the town is still afraid to go to sleep, you have a food shortage with no solution,” he says. “I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but it’s getting pretty cold outside.”

Their conversation is interrupted by a ruckus outside. It’s Ethan (Simon Webster) being dragged back by Tian-Chen (Elizabeth Moy). He’d gone missing looking for his mom Tabitha, understandably leaving his dad Jim (Eion Bailey) worried sick. 

Thankfully, Victor (Scott McCord) let them know where he’d gone, although Ethan’s not too happy with him for telling. 

Julie (Hannah Cheramy), meanwhile, it’s still reeling from what happened to her after the cicada attack, which saw her soul trapped in the dungeon before Boyd broke her free. 

Jim decides enough is enough and plans to go into the woods overnight, but Boyd tries to talk him out of it, knowing it’d be a death wish. Jim insists Julie and Ethan need their mother, and he needs his wife. 

Boyd tries reasoning with him, saying he only just made it out by the skin of his teeth when he went in with Sara (Avery Konrad). But Jim’s determined, so Boyd finally says, “If you’re gonna go, there might be a safer way to do this.”

Their food supply is dwindling 

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Back at the Colony House, Fatima (Pegah Ghafoori) is feeling the effects of morning sickness. Her now-husband Ellis (Corteon Moore) is concerned, pointing out there’s two people he has to worry about now. 

Tillie (Deborah Grover) reassures him, saying the first couple of months are “the worst.” After Fatima goes to rest, Donna (Elizabeth Saunders) rushes over to enlist Ellis to help harvest what little crop they have left before winter arrives. 

We cut to Boyd instructing Jim to use the hut where he found the Talismans as a base, saying it’ll be safer that way. After hearing this, Kenny (Ricky He) decides to go too – he doesn’t want to see Ethan and Julie lose both parents in the space of a week. 

Their conversation is interrupted by an object bursting through the window of Jade’s (David Alpay) house. If you cast your mind back to Season 2, Jade had been having visions of the mysterious symbol and the “anghkooey” kids. 

It appears to have left him in a bad way. Boyd and Kenny find him drinking in his house, lying beneath a network of rope to emulate the tunnels. 

He’s mumbling to himself that he “can’t see it,” while clutching his book containing drawings of the symbol. Boyd and Kenny hadn’t realized how bad of a state he was in, and decide to take him back to the station so he can sleep it off. 

Tabitha makes an important phone call

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Over in Maine, Tabitha is at a flea market, where she asks a teenager if she can borrow her phone. She reluctantly agrees, and Tabitha calls her mom, who’s understandably worried sick. 

As far as her mother’s concerned, the entire Matthews family have been missing for months. Although she begs her to come home, Tabitha knows she needs to find her husband and kids first. 

She reassures her mom not to worry, and tearfully hangs up the phone before spotting a church across the street.  

Back at the Fromville diner, Kenny’s with Kristi (Chloe Van Landschoot) picking up a truckload of rations put together by his mom Tian-Chen. 

They’re both worried about him, but he delivers the line that sparked speculation when it was revealed long before the From Season 3 premiere: “It’s gonna be fine. You guys worry too much.”

Meanwhile, Jim promises Ethan and Julie he’ll be careful. “I’ll be back soon,” he says. After a goodbye with Boyd, they head off into the woods. 

Boyd gives a pep talk

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Before Boyd has any time to worry, he’s called over to the fields by Ellis and it’s not looking good – their vegetable crops are all inedible. “Everything that survived the storm is rotten,” says Donna. “Boyd, we’re out of food.”

Boyd’s worried about the news getting out and causing a panic, but it’s too late. The townspeople barge into Tian-Chen’s house, knowing much of the town’s food supply is in her basement for the diner. 

At the farm, Randall steals a goat to slaughter, one that happens to be Ethan’s friend. Even though he tries to stop him, Randall barges past him, but he’s stopped in his tracks when Victor pulls out a gun. 

Boyd, being the impeccable leader he is, steps in to try and calm everyone down. After disarming Victor, he points out that, as their only resource for eggs and milk, the animals are off limits.

He then delivers one of his pep talks, saying they all need to work together and be careful before repeating the same line from the From Season 2 finale: “This place will not break us.”

Jim and Kenny’s creepy discovery

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Over in the woods, and it doesn’t take long for Jim and Kenny to find something odd. As opposed to ventriloquist dolls or civil war soldiers, they come across a series of creepy skeleton-like effigies made from twigs, which lead them to a series of cabins. 

Kenny wants to head back to the hut before sundown, but Jim convinces him to stay the night with a Talisman attached to the doorway. 

We cut to Tabitha, who’s in a confessional, trying to explain to the priest her struggles without saying too much (in case he has her institutionalized). While chatting, he spots she’s got Victor’s lunchbox on her. 

She opens it to show him the contents, only to discover there’s a “return if found” address – and it’s in Camden. 

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Back at Colony House, and Elgin’s struggling – he’s too afraid to go to sleep in case the creepy ghostly woman manifests and tries to kill him again. 

Even though Boyd broke the curse and it’s okay to sleep again, he’s still concerned. “I feel like something is watching me,” he tells Tillie.

Tillie looks over and asks, “Is that her?” Lo and behold, the demonic woman is standing beside them, and she starts walking towards Elgin. Just as she’s about to close in, he wakes up. Yes, he was having a nightmare. 

Knocking on Victor’s door

Boyd, Tian-Chen, and Donna are talking about what they’re going to do about their food supply. The folks in Fromville stole all of Tian-Chen’s supplies and their crop is rotten.

Tian-Chen has the idea of planting smaller crops in different areas, but they’re going to need to wait a few months before they can harvest anything. As a last resort, they decide it’s time to start killing the animals in order to survive. 

Ethan is understandably devastated, but he accepts it on one request – they kill his goat pal Alma first, as he doesn’t want her to see all of her farmyard friends die. 

Back in the real world, Tabitha’s made it to Victor’s address. The owner tells her to clear off, until he spots the lunchbox. “Where did you get that?” he asks, to which she replies, “Oh my god… You’re Victor’s father.”

Jim and Kenny are now in the cabin, and it’s nightfall. They reckon they’re not on track, as they haven’t come across any of the spider webs Boyd saw on his previous trip. 

After hearing a stirring outside – probably one of From’s terrifying monsters – Jim has an epiphany. Ethan and Julie shouldn’t be without both parents, and Tabitha wouldn’t want him to risk his life. Together, he and Kenny decide to go home first thing in the morning. 

The smiling monsters take over

In the final sequence of From Season 3 Episode 1, we finally learn who the screaming woman in the teaser trailer is – and it looks like none of our theories were correct. It was, in fact, Tian-Chen, whose torment wouldn’t be out of place in a Terrifier movie. 

Before then, Fromville is launched into chaos when the smiling monsters open the gate and let the animals out. Boyd and Jade notice the cows roaming past from the station and, given they are the town’s lifeline right now, the chief risks his life to get them back in the barn. 

Grabbing a Talisman, Boyd and Jade head out, with Tian-Chen and Victor following suit. Although Julie and Ethan initially stay inside, when Alma walks past, Ethan opens the door, accidentally letting one of the monsters into the house. 

They run out the back, where Sara grabs them and gets them to hide in the bushes. Randall, who’s still sleeping on the broken down coach, is awoken by the ruckus, and when he sees the monsters closing in on everyone, he starts honking the horn. 

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Sara, Ethan, and Julie make a run for it, heading into the coach for safety. Meanwhile, after seeing one of their cows slain in front of them by the monsters, Boyd and Tian-Chen herd the remaining animals into the barn, locking the door and placing a Talisman above it. 

There’s only one slight problem – a whole host of the monsters are already inside. They emerge from the darkness, and the scene first shown in the trailer unfolds. 

“You said this place couldn’t break you,” says the Cowboy Creature. “Do you remember that, Boyd? ‘You don’t f**ing break me.’ That’s what you said.”

The monsters grab them both, tying Boyd to a pillar while holding Tian-Chen down in front of him. 

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“Kill me, but you leave her alone,” Boyd demands, to which the Cowboy Creature replies, “We’re not going to kill you, Boyd. That would be no fun. You think this place can’t break you? Let’s see.”

They then proceed to torture Tian-Chen, starting by ripping off a chunk of her scalp. It’s without a doubt one of the most brutal moments in From up until this point, leaving Tian-Chen screaming in agony. 

It’s unclear whether the monsters will kill her, but here’s hoping they don’t – that family has already been through enough. We’ll have to wait and find out in From Season 3 Episode 2, which drops on MGM+ on September 29. 

Until then, be sure to check out the best binge-worthy TV shows to watch right now, as well as the new series coming to streaming this month.