After 4 Years, From Just Delivered Its Most Sadistic Twist Yet

Warning: There are spoilers ahead for From season 4, episode 2, “Fray.”Four years and 32 episodes after the series first debuted, From has delivered the show’s most sadistic twist yet. The MGM+ horror series has never been shy about tormenting characters in the most twisted way possible. A precedent was set in the first episode’s cold open, where what appears to be an elderly woman convinces a child to open a window, only to transform into a monster and devour the child and her mother.

Since then, the devastating twists have only gotten worse for From‘s characters. One of the monsters, Smiley (Jamie McGuire), was seemingly killed in season 2, only to be reborn after Fatima Hassan (Pegah Ghafoori) was pregnant with him throughout season 3. At the beginning of season 3, the monsters made Sheriff Boyd Stevens (Harold Perrineau) watch as they ripped apart and ate Tian-Chen Liu (Elizabeth Moy).

The From season 3 finale presented another horrifying twist when Julie Matthews (Hannah Cheramy) time travels to try and save her father, Jim Matthews (Eion Bailey), only to see him killed by the Man in Yellow (Douglas E. Hughes). In season 4, episode 2, present-day Julie discovers her father’s fate, and the way it happens is the most sadistic thing the show has done so far.

The Bait-And-Switch With Jim’s Body Is From’s Most Sadistic Twist

Chris Reardon/©MGM+/Courtesy Everett Collection

At the beginning of season 4, episode 2, Boyd sees a large bag with blood dripping out of it hanging from the motel sign. He and several others begin to suspect that the corpse of Jim, who did not return the night before, is in the bag. Naturally, Boyd does not want Julie or Ethan to see their father like that, nor does their mother, Tabitha Matthews (Catalina Sandino Moreno), so the children are sent to the Town’s barn.

However, this is exactly what the Man in Yellow wanted, as it’s a dead animal in the bag while Jim’s body has been left hanging upside down in the barn. Placing Jim’s corpse in the barn, which had previously been a place of comfort for Ethan, and ensuring that he and Julie would be the first to see their father’s mutilated body is a new level of evil even for this series. The Man in Yellow knew the Matthews children would be sent there and staged it so they could discover their father’s fate in the worst way possible.

The sadism is made even worse when re-watching the scene, as on their way to the barn, Julie promises Ethan that they will find their father. She is correct, as they find him almost immediately after that, but not in the way she meant, instead finding him in a disturbing manner that will forever stay with the siblings. After that, it makes complete sense that Julie is determined to storywalk back in time to try and save Jim, with the hope that this entire chain of traumatizing events can be undone.

The Man In Yellow’s Sophia Disguise Means The Next-Level Sadism Is Only Getting Started

Credit: MGM+

As sadistic as the bait-and-switch with Jim’s body was, it will likely be topped before the series ends and possibly even during this season. Now that the Man in Yellow is disguised as Sophia (Julie Doyle), he can easily create more unprecedented horror for the residents during the day and at night. He already teased his plans to get the residents to tear one another apart, and what he did with Jim’s body is only the start of achieving that goal.

The Man in Yellow already seems to know intimate details about the characters and the lives they lived before being trapped in the Township, but he can also weaponize the information they share with him in confidence when they think they’re talking to Sophia. Much of his time in the disguise so far has been spent around Kenny Liu (Ricky He), and in season 4, episode 2, he spends time with Sara Myers (Avery Konrad).

This may make both Kenny and Sara prime targets for whatever imminent horrors the Man in Yellow has up his sleeve. Potentially targeting Sara is particularly concerning given her history of being manipulated into killing and letting the monsters inside at night. She has come a long way since then, but her progress, or the progress other characters have made, could be undone by the Man in Yellow’s next move in From season 4.

Release Date

February 20, 2022

Network

Epix, MGM+

Directors

Jack Bender, Brad Turner, Alexandra La Roche, Bruce McDonald, Jeff Renfroe

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  Harold Perrineau

  Boyd Stevens

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  Catalina Sandino Moreno

  Tabitha Matthews