We’re hurtling towards the finale of From Season 4, and based on the latest episode, things are going to go badly wrong. Several characters are in serious mortal peril, and while it seems like the Man in Yellow is on the back foot in some respects, even the best chance of defeating him and escaping is fraught with the unknown. We already know that most of the answers are going to be contained in Season 5, but in the meantime, there are multiple ways in which several characters could meet their demise, and everything could get decidedly worse for everyone.
Having said this, there are some upsides, and the evidence suggests that the citizens of Fromville may have the right idea here and there. I’m assuming that some combination of disaster and hope is coming to characterise the finale, which will only make the year-ish wait for the final season all the more agonising. Let’s break down what might take place.
Elgin Is Done For — And He Deserves It
While Sophia has been covering her tracks rather well, the Man in Yellow trying to cover multiple bases at once has meant that she couldn’t completely cover up all the evidence that might indicate something’s afoot. Annoyingly, though, especially since it was Acosta who was tasked with finding something, it was Elgin who stumbled on the smoking gun.
Elgin discovered a Polaroid depicting a couple, with Sophia lurking in the background. Given that the MIY’s presence is common knowledge at this point, what he should have done was take this information to Boyd, or even Donna, though I suppose in Elgin’s specific case you can understand why he wouldn’t. But what he does instead is simply show it to Sophia and tip his hand immediately.
This has almost certainly doomed Elgin. His death hasn’t been confirmed, but Sophia grabbed him after instructing Clara — now her blood buddy thrall — to lock the diner door, so whatever she has planned isn’t good.
Fatima’s Transformation Is Speeding Up
Using Clara, Sophia, aka the Man in Yellow, managed to get his tainted blood into Fatima’s system. Clara mixed it into a “family recipe” that she claimed would make Fatima feel better (as we learned earlier in the season, she’s currently clinically dead, so this was a bit of a stretch), and she downed a flask full of the tonic without thinking. That night, she woke up with crippling stomach pain and her hair falling out.
The common fan theory is that Fatima is turning into the Kimono Lady, and her exposure to the MIY’s blood is likely to hasten this process considerably. However, given the presence of the golem, will this factor into Fatima’s fate? Some fans think that the golem may help her escape this fate, either by allowing her to be reborn through it or perhaps taking on the curse and animating itself.
Sure, it’s a bit far-fetched, but this is From, so anything’s possible.
Henry and Victor Won’t Both Survive the Finale
From Season 4 has been setting up tragic developments for Henry and Victor for a few episodes now, and it’s highly unlikely that both of them will survive the finale. The likeliest theory is that Henry is swayed by his visions instructing him to sever himself from the anchor that’s keeping him there by going on an Abby-style killing spree, but I personally don’t think that’s going to happen.
Instead, I think Henry may kill himself, leaving Victor behind. Victor’s arguably too important to the plot mechanics to be killed off, especially since the Boy in White manifests to him primarily. He has knowledge that nobody else seems to have, and that has got to be important moving forward.
Uprooting the Bottle Tree Is A Bad Idea
Speaking of the Boy in White, he warned Victor in the latest episode that there would be serious consequences to uprooting the Bottle Tree, which is a vital component in Boyd and Jade’s plan to retrieve the bones. Granted, the Boy in White is being a bit too enigmatic for his own good, and delivering urgent messages through Victor, of all people, isn’t the best way to get them across. I’m still largely of the belief that the Boy in White is genuinely trying to help, almost like a counterpoint to the Man in Yellow, but he’s not doing an especially good job of it.
We don’t know how the Bottle Tree works exactly, but we do know some things that confirm its importance. Miranda built a replica in her front yard after escaping, and Tabitha used it as a portal. This seems to imply that it can be used by anyone to go anywhere, under the right circumstances, so there’s a chance that the residents would be pulling down their one solidified connection/door to the real world.
There’s also the fact that once that tree has been yanked, it all-too-closely resembles the fallen tree that blocks the road and leads everyone to get stranded in Fromville in the first place. This feels a lot like the cycles repeating themselves in predictable, inescapable ways.
The Man in Yellow Is On the Back Foot
Despite all this, it does seem very much like the MIY isn’t as all-powerful as we thought. Through Sophia and snippets of conversations with other characters, we’ve seen that he is fallible. He wasn’t sure whether the totems would kill the Creatures, and he revealed in the latest episode that everyone was on the right track in trying to take the children’s bones from the chamber. However, he was relying on the process being done incorrectly, since apparently Fromville was built on ritual, and in rituals, it matters not only what you do, but how you do it.
This is why Tabitha realising that it needed to be her and Jade retrieving the bones is such a big deal. If they’re operating according to the symbology of the talismans, it’s likely that they’re doing things correctly, which the MIY wasn’t counting on. This is all but confirmed when Clara needlessly snitches about the change of plan to Sophia, who’s visibly worried. After she has dealt with Elgin, she’s going to have to take more direct steps in sabotaging the plan, perhaps revealing herself.
Still, there’s plenty to worry about besides that, including the tarp in the chamber being held up with mere good vibes, and the rope ladder already having been sabotaged. I have a feeling that the finale may look like a win for the good guys initially, but will quickly reveal itself to be much more than anyone bargained for.
Do you have any theories of your own about the upcoming finale? Let us know in the comments below.
