FROM’s latest episode is probably the first one this season where I felt a little bored, slogging my way through endless conversations that mostly devolved into people arguing with one another, talking more than listening, and just generally being unlikable or dealing with people acting like jerks. It’s a bit exhausting, and frankly a lot of it feels like filler even if it’s probably building toward something. I’ll go over a few of these before we get to the few good scenes that almost redeemed an otherwise bizarrely uneventful episode.
- I take back everything I said about the police officer, Acosta. When she first came to town and Boyd and everyone else was a prick to her, I felt bad. But instead of taking her lumps and proving her worth, she’s almost instantly devolved into the most obnoxious blowhard character imaginable. She acts incredibly rude to Kenny and, after a brief moment of humanity when she learns about his parents, continues throwing her tantrum. She continues all the way to the Sheriff’s office where she ransacks the place looking for her gun. The way she proceeds to spout off to Boyd is pretty galling, and frankly I’m at the point where I hope she just gets eaten by the creatures before she does something stupid and gets more people killed. This show already has enough unlikable characters, I’m not sure why they needed to introduce another one.
- Jim is a real jerk when Tabitha tells him about her dream, instantly casting doubt on her rather than listening and possibly learning something or using the new information to help piece together clues. It’s bad when someone as erratic and short-fused as Jade treats Tabitha ten times better than her own husband. Jim has been a wet blanket all season, and it’s getting old.
- Ellis does pretty much the same thing with Fatima. Instead of taking her side and believing her when she describes what’s going on, he acts like she’s crazy. I get that his mom actually did go crazy and ended up shooting a bunch of people, but that was before we learned about the bugs under the skin and the other insidious ways the Town messes with not just peoples’ minds but their bodies. His lack of empathy—and need to “fix” it rather than just be there for her—leads to the tragedy at the end of the episode.
- Given the severity of Fatima’s condition—whether it’s a physical thing in her body or a loss of her senses—I’m incredibly confused why she isn’t being kept at the medical center under observation. Donna doesn’t even want her and Ellis at the Colony House. A good solution—and one that Boyd might have suggested when Ellis tries to steal meds for her—would be moving her down to a hospital bed. At least Kristi and Mari could be there to keep an eye on her, instead of just letting her fend for herself near all that juicy, rotten produce.
- I would have liked to see more of Victor and Jasper and Sara, but that was largely glossed over. Instead, we got a Henry and Donna scene that was . . . fine, but not particularly necessary.
- I did enjoy Jade and Ethan at the settlement. Ethan asks a lot of questions, and they’re mostly insightful. It’s weird that this kid is generally smarter and more observant than basically 99% of the adults in this place.
- The scene with the extras loading food back to town, when Tabitha, Jade and Ethan show up and Jim is talking to them, and the one extra asks “Jim, are you coming?” was so goofy to me. Lady, he’s clearly in an important conversation with his wife who just showed up. Why not say, “We’re headed back, you good?” Clearly he’s not just going to head out in the middle of a conversation with his wife.
We got two scenes that were a bit more story-driven this episode. In one, Elgin has made his way down into the mysterious cellar and found a great big red door, all in an effort to help the kimono woman he keeps seeing. We’re left hanging, however, and time spent seeing what he finds next is spent on all these dreary conversations instead.
The bits with Julia and Randall were better than the other dead-end scenes. He takes her out on a drive, ostensibly to teach her, but pretty much hogs the wheel. When cicadas start hitting the windshield and getting into the van, he freaks out and runs off into the forest. She doesn’t see any of the insects, and chases after him. They come to a mysterious ruins, and both of them can feel something there. Julia wants to explore; Randall has a bad feeling, and insists on going back to the van and getting home before dark. Probably the smartest Randall moment yet, but again we’re left with this new discovery and nothing to show for it.
Finally, we get the big cliffhanger. Fatima stabs Tilly when the old woman tries to comfort her in the greenhouse. I knew Tilly was dead, and suspected Fatima would kill her, the moment she and Ellis had a heart-to-heart in the kitchen. Fatima had already been talking about her anger issues, and she’d experienced a truly horrifying moment in the Colony House when something seemed to be moving inside her, and her stomach sucked in so tight that her ribs looked like they were about to explode.
When Tilly finds her in the greenhouse, she doesn’t take “no” for an answer, and Fatima grabs some sheers and stabs her in the chest. Tilly’s dying words: “You need to run.” Ellis enters and sees the body and Fatima hovering over it—will he stand by her and protect her, or will he think this is a repeat of his mom’s madness and turn her in? At this point, I’m not really rooting for either of these characters, both of whom have grown tiresome. I do feel bad for Fatima, but this thread has been dragged out too slowly at this point, and this very slow episode doesn’t help. It was certainly a big moment and things are going to have to kick into high gear soon now that murder is on the table. I sort of expected Fatima to start eating Tilly’s body the moment she dropped, honestly. That would have been pretty wild.
All told, kind of a nothingburger of an episode especially this late in the season. Hopefully things pick up for the final three episodes of Season 3, because while I’ve certainly enjoyed most of the last episodes and all the little clues and revelations, the fact remains that very little has happened in the bigger scheme of things, and dragging feet is not what this show needs right now. When just a handful of interesting things happen, buried beneath a bunch of pretty irrelevant and tiresome scenes, you have a problem. Too much filler fattening up this episode, and too little meat on the bone.
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