Summary
From sees out Season 4 with a few fairly predictable turns, but it’s still a substantial shifting of the status quo that sets the stage well for the final season.
Okay, folks, we’ve got a lot to go over. Even though it can’t be said that the finale of From Season 4 was full of surprises, since various leaks and prominent fan theories gave the broad strokes away well ahead of time, Episode 10 was nonetheless an engaging shake-up of the status quo with pretty serious consequences, including multiple character deaths. It’s not so much an ending as it is a setup for Season 5, but that isn’t surprising anyone at this point. And besides, there’s still plenty to discuss.
The Bone Heist
Picking up exactly where we left off, Jade and Tabitha are trapped in the cavern of bones, protected only by a talisman and a very flimsy bit of tarpaulin. The Creatures are dissuaded enough to leave them alone, though, which allows enough time to hustle the bones into a couple of holdalls. There’s only one problem: As soon as the Bottle Tree comes up, all bets are off, and the only way they can ensure they get the bones out is by Jade sacrificing himself to buy Tabitha time.
Tabitha isn’t keen on this plan, but it seems like the only way. They give the signal through the radio, the tree is uprooted, and the Creatures come to life. They can’t, however, enter the light that is peeping through the newly revealed hole, so it seems, at least for a moment, like things might be going unexpectedly well. But the fact that Sophia sabotaged the rope ladder means that the planned escape goes pear-shaped, and Jade and Tabitha end up trapped. To make matters worse, the skies darken immediately, despite it being the middle of the day, which means the Creatures can get to them.
Jade and Tabitha slip through a crack in the wall that leads them deeper into the tunnels as an earthquake begins to rattle the foundations and cause dangerous collapses across the entire town.
Mari’s Death
Most people predicted that a transforming Fatima would kill Mari at the clinic, but even though this isn’t quite what happens, Mari nonetheless bites the bullet. As it happens, she’s offed by Smiley, who is able to walk right in since the earthquake dislodged the talisman. Fatima can see him coming from his own point of view, which only builds the tension as he manages to corner the pair of them in a side room.
As Smiley screams in full Creature form, Fatima screams back in the same manner, seemingly involuntarily, proving she is transforming into one of them (though not the Kimono Woman specifically, as far as I can tell). Smiley disembowels Mari but leaves Fatima, whom he calls “Mother”, alone. Kristi, Ellis, and Randall, who are pulling up outside, see Smiley happily leaving and find Mari inside. Mari kisses Kristi goodbye and dies in her arms.
Eventually, after preventing a terrified Patty from shooting herself in the head, Boyd arrives and consoles Kristi, being able to relate.
Elgin’s Death
While it’s easy to make fun of Elgin, fair play to him. He’d rather die than make a bargain with Sophia, and that’s precisely what he does. After a little sales pitch in the diner, she offers him the chance to go home if he helps her, but he just isn’t buying it. He prays for salvation instead of switching sides, and she angrily kills him by… aggressively squeezing his hands, causing him to bleed from the eyes and mouth. Whatever works.
Sophie tells Clara that the sky darkening in the middle of the day means that the end is coming, and she’s going to light the match that’ll set the whole place burning. She sets about this by travelling all over town while everyone is distracted and stealing all of the talismans. Clara does the same. By the end of From Season 4, Episode 10, the entirety of Fromville is defenseless, and nobody has even noticed.
Victor Lives to Fight Another Day
Despite all the foreshadowing indicating that Henry was going to kill Victor, this doesn’t quite come about, though the finale spends a while pretending it will. The sky turning dark solidifies Henry’s belief that the town isn’t real, and he also begins recalling his time in the “real” world, where “real” Victor told him that as soon as he accepts the dream isn’t real, it’ll provide everything he needs to sever his connection to it. Conveniently, Henry finds the bullets from the gun Victor kept in his lunchbox, and Donna tells him that the weapon itself is probably at the sheriff’s station.
Henry retrieves the revolver and, when Victor returns to his room, he’s waiting for him. He pulls the gun and waves it at a very confused Victor, but luckily Ethan arrives at that moment, causing Henry to confusedly point the gun in his direction. Victor takes the opportunity to disarm his father, so both survive the ending of From Season 4. However, I’d still say they’ve probably got some things to talk about.
Fatima Becomes A Creature
Things begin to look particularly ropey in the Township when red lightning shoots out of the hole where the Bottle Tree used to be, lashing the sky with a vicious storm. When Jade and Tabitha don’t return, and cupboard doors start slamming in houses, things start to seem very real, especially for Ethan, who immediately begins to panic about being alone (credit to Simon Webster, who plays him — I usually want to fire child actors into the sun, but he’s really great here).
When Boyd receives a signal from Jade and Tabitha, who are still stuck underground, he decides to mount a rescue mission with Ellis and Fatima, who reveals her connection to the Creatures. They all descend into the tunnels and manage to find Jade and Tabitha squatting in a little nook protected by a bone gate. Boyd shoots them free, but the Creatures are descending on them. The only thing for it is another self-sacrifice. Fatima offers to stay behind and buy them time to escape, turning into a Creature and screaming at her attackers as the others escape back the way they came.
Sophia and the Boy in White Have A Chat
The final scene of From Season 4 seems to confirm that Sophia/the Man in Yellow is in some kind of perpetual battle with the Boy in White. She bumps into him as she’s jauntily walking through the woods with a bag full of talismans. The Boy in White mentions that the gang has the bones, which we should probably assume is a good thing, but she counters that the Bottle Tree is gone, which we should probably interpret as a bad thing. “You’re gonna lose this time,” the Boy in White says. “I guess we’ll see,” Sophia retorts, as she tips the talismans into the Farway Tree.
If the Boy in White was trying to fight the good fight, he didn’t do an especially good job of it, did he? I’m assuming the ways he can interact with the residents are much more limited than what the Man in Yellow can do. That’s probably one of many things that we’ll find out next season. I’ll see you there.
