Since its launch on what-was-Epix (now MGM+) back in 2022, “From” has scratched an itch for TV viewers who miss the twisting sci-fi tales of not just “LOST” but its many imitators. Often directed by that show’s legendary director Jack Bender and starring Harold Perrineau in a role that doesn’t feel that different from Michael on the ABC hit, “From” tells another tale of people trapped in an impossible situation, one that seems to be feeding off their own back stories and primal fears. Even the score sometimes sounds the same.
Also similar to “LOST,” a creeping sense that the writers of this show are asking more questions than they’re answering has seeped into the narrative over the last couple seasons. A program that once felt like it was confidently building a world and a history now often feels like it’s making things up as it goes along. There are still bursts of engaging sci-fi television, and the ridiculous twists that often force each episode into a cliffhanger make it consistently watchable, but I get increasingly doubtful that anyone has any idea where this is going.
“Are you seriously ok with him taking magic mushrooms that he found in a haunted forest?” One almost has to admire how much “From” is the only show on TV that could predictably have a question like that one in one of its screenplays. If you’re totally unfamiliar, a quick primer of the very basics of a show that has become extremely un-basic over four seasons: Perrineau leads the ensemble as Boyd Stevens, the leader of a group of survivors in what looks like smalltown America but is secretly a sort of purgatory that people can drive into but never leave. And then the creatures come out at night.
The premiere back in 2022 also introduced us to the Matthews family: Mom Tabitha (Catalina Sandino Moreno), Dad Jim (Eion Bailey), Daughter Julie (Hannah Cheramy) and Son Ethan (Simon Webster). To start the show, the newcomers to the town were basically our window into this world and its rules, learning about things like the talismans that ward off evil and the back stories of the other residents like Boyd’s deputy Kenny (Ricky He), Boyd’s son Ellis (Corteon Moore) & his girlfriend Fatima (Pegah Ghafoori), a maternal leader named Donna (Elizabeth Saunders), another newcomer named Jade (David Alpay), and a couple of the town’s more disturbed residents: Victor (Scott McCord) and Sarah (Avery Konrad). Since then, more residents have become stuck in the world of “From,” a few have died, and Julie even left and came back with Victor’s father Henry (Robert Joy). Don’t ask. It’s complicated.
How complicated? In “LOST” terms, we’ve reached the time travel and island moving sections of the narrative. At the end of last season, Julie discovered that she has an ability to move through the “story,” crossing realities and timelines, but she’s not really sure how to do it. Jade and Tabitha learned they have a connection to the history of the region that has brought them back there over and over again, a discovery that was repaid with one of the most powerful villains of the piece ripping out poor Jim’s throat.
That action ripples through most of the new season as Julie and Ethan both set out to reverse what happened to their father: Julie through her newfound ability and Ethan through the power of a place where death has been more of a nebulous idea than in reality. Meanwhile, Jade and Boyd are both empowered and terrified by Jim’s death, knowing that it happened because they’re getting closer to the truth about this place, and possibly even a way to leave it.
Of course, “From” drops in new residents in the form of a pastor and his daughter Sofia (Julia Doyle), but they are definitely not what they first seem in a way that the show has asked us not to spoil. Suffice to say that Doyle brings new energy to a season that really needs it.
Since about the beginning of season three, when the writers worked their way out of the cliffhanger that saw Julie possibly escape, there’s been a lack of direction that has led to too much repetition. “From” often feels like it has two new questions for every answer, which can only last for so long. It doesn’t help that this season seems to lack stakes compared to the last few. One of the most daring things about “From” has been that, like “LOST,” no one is safe. Killing Shaun Majumder’s Father Khatri early in the show’s run was a stunner, and, yes, losing Jim was major but I’m not convinced that’s going to last. There needed to be more momentum in season four, and that could have come with a more defined threat.
The truth is that “From” isn’t about definition, something that alternates between being a weakness and a strength. For the latter, Perrineau is particularly good at playing an ordinary guy stuck in an extraordinary situation. He’s smartly not always a hero, understanding that the show works best if we believe Boyd’s confusing journey, and we always do. It’s not really the fault of the ensemble as much as it is the writing, but too many of the supporting characters have become pawns on this board. Moreno is always solid, but He, Moore, Ghafoori, and Saunders (at least until episode six) are underwritten this year.
Despite feeling like the writers room has as much idea where all of this is going as the fictional Boyd, “From” often remains remarkably watchable through the lack of direction. A friend once told me that the main reason he binged “LOST” was because every episode ended with someone saying, “Look at that over there!” and he had to know how that cliffhanger resolved. “From” has a very similar energy: Every time the writing gets frustrating on a critical level, the sheer momentum of the piece keeps you engaged.
I also have a feeling that the last four episodes of the season that weren’t sent to press will finally give us some answers and raise those slight stakes. There will probably be a body count and a deepening of the show’s mythology. And probably a cliffhanger or two, too.
Six episodes screened for review. Premieres on MGM+ on Sunday, April 19th.
