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The Way Things Are Now

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"The Way Things Are Now" is the second episode of the first season of From and the second episode of the show overall.

Synopsis[]

At Colony House, Tabitha and Julie grapple with their new nightmarish reality. Out in the forest, Jim, Boyd and Kristi struggle to treat Ethan's injuries. Tragedy strikes from an unexpected source as a new threat arises.

Plot[]

Out in the forest during daylight, a bloodstained Kenny furiously chops at a tree with an axe.

Back in the RV at night, Ethan stops seizing when he hears movement outside and someone asks if they are ok in the RV. Jim thinks that the townspeople have returned for them, but Boyd refuses and restrains him. Meanwhile, Kenny leads his group to Colony House, and they struggle to make it through the rain. Father Khatri, who is carrying an unconscious Jade, falls, and Kenny helps him up. However, the people inside sound the alarm. Fatima tries to let them inside, but the guard doesn’t believe that it’s really them. As the Creatures approach, Donna arrives and grants them entry. However, she orders that Tabitha and Julie be tied up, as per protocol, much to their distress.

In the RV, Jim asks Boyd and Kristi what the Creatures are. Boyd answers that he doesn’t know, only that the talismans prevent their entry into enclosed spaces. Ethan then wakes up, but Kristi quickly sedates him to keep him calm. Inside Colony House, Ellis ties Jade to a bed, while Trudy asks about the cars. After Ellis stops Trudy from stealing Jade's watch, she remarks that he’s attractive. As he leaves, he has her promise not to touch anything, though she stays just to look at him.

Donna approaches Tabitha and apologizes for their treatment of her, cutting her ropes loose. Tabitha immediately makes a run for it, but is stopped by an armed guard. Donna sits down with her, and explains that though none of it makes sense to Tabitha, these are precautions they must take. She promises that no one wants to hurt her or her daughter, and they have all been in her shoes before. Donna then begins to explain the situation of the Town and some of the laws and customs.

Downstairs, Victor retrieves a can of peaches from the pantry near where Julie is tied up. Victor remarks that two cars haven’t been seen together in a long time, and asks her what she thinks it means. As Julie begins to cry, Fatima arrives and shoos Victor away, apologizing for him and explaining that he has simply been trapped there for a very long time. She further apologizes for the restraints, but explains that it’s only because they don’t want anyone to get hurt. Fatima then unties Julie, and shows her Ellis’ room, which is covered in his artwork, remarking that he’d love to draw Julie because she’s beautiful. Fatima then shows her the view from the window, in order to show that if you climb high enough, even a nightmare can resemble a dream.

Back at the RV, a voice outside says that they should have let them help. A scared Jim asks what happens if they get in but neither Boyd nor Kristi answer. Boyd calms him by reminding him that with the talisman up, they can’t get in. Kristi also begins to get rattled, but Boyd reminds her that the Creatures are just playing their usual tricks. They then hear footsteps on the roof, but Boyd tells them to focus on Ethan.

In Colony House, Kenny complains to Father Khatri about getting guns pointed at them when Ellis tells them that there’s a room prepared for them. Kenny and Ellis begin to argue over who’s was to blame for their almost getting stuck outside but Khatri calms them.

In the Clinic, Bing-Qian wins a game of chess against Gina, who declares herself not very good. Bing-Qian tells her that she is good, but he is simply better. He explains that when he came to America, he couldn’t speak English, but he could play, and it was like a universal language. Gina remarks that it’s nice that he taught Kenny. Bing-Qian says that Kenny’s name is Fu-Hen, but Kenny wanted to be American and to have an American name. Bing-Qian then begins to get confused and starts speaking Cantonese before declaring that he wants his son. Gina calms him down and promises that Kenny will be back tomorrow..  

In the RV, Kristi leads Boyd and Jim in successfully pulling the table-leg out of Ethan’s leg. In the Clinic, Sara talks to herself near Tobey’s body, and declares that she doesn’t want to and can’t do it, before apologizing to Tobey’s body.

In Colony House, Kenny drinks with Khatri and worries about his mother, before talking about how even when his father’s dementia gets bad, he can still remember chess. Kenny further compliment’s Kristi’s care for his father, and Khatri promises that they will all be ok and they’ll get them in the morning. Kenny however says he won’t go out, explaining that he is hanging by a thread and cannot find any more bodies. Upstairs, Ellis returns to his room meets Julie.

Meanwhile, Tabitha calls Donna crazy after getting the full debriefing. Donna laughs before questioning Tabitha on the number of times she drove along the loop and notes that she saw the Creatures. Tabitha replies that she doesn’t know what she saw. Donna laughs and says her sister said the same thing. As she pours them drinks, Donna explains that she and her sister were on a hunting trip when they saw the tree and the crows just a bit before sunset. Instead of doubling back, they pressed on and arrived in Town after dark. The first time they drove through, they saw some people on the road. The second time, a smiling Creature stood in front of the car. Donna’s sister exited the car with a  shotgun and threatened the Creature, who proceeded to rip her face off. Donna ran away until she found a hiding place in the forest, listening to the screams of her sister as the Creatures tortured her. Donna tells Tabitha that she was lucky the sun was still out when she arrived. Donna finishes by saying that she has been trapped in Town for 3 years, 6 months and 17 days, and she can still hear her sister screaming.

Meanwhile, Jim notices that the saline is kept in a mason jar. Kristi explains they have little in the way of supplies, save for what they stripped from an ambulance a few years prior, but most of it is improvised. Jim asks if she is a doctor, and she explains that the was a third-year medical student, and asks him his profession. Jim explains that he helped build rollercoasters and theme parks, and Kristi wryly notes that he is still using the present tense. Ethan wakes up, and says he saw drawings on the wall, while up in Colony House, Victor’s room is adorned with exactly that as he draws the scene of their car crash.

Kenny and Khatri drunkenly climb the stairs while Kenny talks about his father’s dementia diagnosis. One night, his father left the house and took the bus all the way into the city, and on the way back, they became trapped in Town.

In Town, Sara showers in her home while her brother knocks on the door outside and says he’ll get dinner started. A tearful Sara then tells Nathan that she didn’t have a choice, and asks for his help. In the Clinic, Gina leaves Bing-Qian to go check on Tobey. She brings him a tray of food, only to find his bloody corpse. She sees that Creatures have made it inside, and rushes back to the basement.

In the RV, Kristi has a nightmare that the Creatures have broken in, but she wakes up to find that it is morning. Kenny, Khatri, and the Matthews women arrive in the van, and the family happily embraces. Back in Town, Sara reminds Nathan of the story about the little girl in the room filled with broken glass. The little girls knows the pieces used to mean or be something, but in trying to put the shards back together, they cut deep into her skin. Nathan begs her to tell him what she did, and Sara reveals that she left the Clinic door open.

As the van pulls up to the Clinic, Kenny sees the open door and rushes inside, and finds Gina’s corpse in the basement. Khatri tries to tell him he doesn’t have to see this, but Kenny walks further inside and finds his father’s torn-apart body, which he cradles and sobs over. Kenny then goes out into the woods and begins furiously chopping a tree. Boyd finds him and Kenny explains he needs wood for the new chess set, as the one he made with his father is now ruined by blood. Kenny recalls how every game he played with his father always ended with him down to his final piece desperately avoiding his father’s. Kenny then points out that the Creatures always walk and never run, as if they know there are only so many places the people can go. Kenny then hands him the bloody chess piece and concludes that they are running out of space on the board. Boyd then returns to his office, and erases the sign that had said “NIGHTS WITHOUT INCIDENT: 96.”

In Colony House, Julie tells another story with Ethan’s toys, telling him that everything will be ok. However Ethan is distracted by a vision of a Boy in White outside the window, who shushes him.

Trivia[]

  • Main cast member Elizabeth Moy (Tian-Chen Liu) does not appear in this episode.

Appearances[]

Cast[]

Locations[]

Deaths[]

Gallery[]

Credits[]

  • Photos created by Epix/MGM+
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