MGM+ ‘FROM’ Season 4 Episode 5 Review - Minnows in a Shark’s Net

I’ve got to admit, this episode delivered some seriously effective jumpscares. My hand instinctively flew to my chest when that doll suddenly attacked Roger from behind in the cabin—it genuinely caught me off guard. There were multiple perfectly timed scares scattered throughout that got me every single time.  What was disappointing, though, was the total absence of any mention of Acosta for the second episode in a row, while Ethan somehow seems to have forgotten about the Lake of Tears.

The fifth episode opens with the food collection group—Donna, Tabitha, Ethan, Ellis, Roger, and Patty—struggling to drag a mysterious object out of the lake. It turns out to be three oversized dolls. There’s nothing creepy hidden inside them; the dolls themselves are eerie enough on their own. Tabitha finds them strangely familiar, but she can’t quite place where she’s seen them before—not until the very end, when it’s already too late. That night, the dolls launch a brutal attack on the settlement. Unlike the usual creatures, the talismans offer no protection against them. One of the dolls tears Roger apart on the spot, killing him instantly. Patty is injured but alive, while the rest of the group seems to have survived… for now, after Tabitha was able to somehow remember something from a past life on how to hurt these dolls.

Back in the Colony House, Fatima is still hard at work on her Golem, while Henry is already drunk after finally learning the gruesome truth about how his wife was killed. Victor and Kenny try to calm him down and gently escort the broken man back to his room. In his haze, Henry confesses to Kenny that Victor’s mother was eaten by the Man in Yellow. He’s left stunned and deeply saddened, unable to comprehend how Victor has carried that horrifying secret with him all these years.

In the town, Jade takes the mushrooms to see if he can remember anything from the past. He sees a young version of himself playing a violin and guides him in the woods and the past. There are some big revelations here, including that Jade has been here not just once but multiple times in multiple lives. If we go by the revelation in the episode, Jade has been here at least four times before, and each time he has been murdered by townspeople after they come to know that those children were calling for him. The same things happen to Tabitha. All this time, it seems Jade was actually walking with Boyd in the woods, until the end, when Jade wakes up from the nightmare after the creatures bury him in a tombstone. Boyd was right in front and told him that Jade had been on the chair for hours and hadn't moved. Jade reveals he knows a way home and how to find the children.

Meanwhile, Sophia has begun playing her twisted mind games at a slow, deliberate pace, with Mari as her second target. She’s tormenting the poor girl by making her feel handcuffed to the wall—one of Mari’s worst nightmares—while secretly savoring every moment of her pain. At the same time, Sophia puts on a convincing act of concern, pretending to care for her right alongside Kristi.  Though her moves have been gradual so far, Sophia has already claimed the minds of two people: Sara and Mari. All of these points to something much bigger in the works—something eerily similar to what happened with Victor’s mother all those years ago.

Overall, it was a satisfying episode packed with solid jumpscares and a genuinely meaningful story. Titled “What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been,” the fifth episode pushes the plot forward while layering on even more mysteries. Jade and Tabitha each recall something useful from another life, but it still doesn’t quite unlock the full puzzle—plenty of questions remain. Julie and Randall were also shown arguing, yet Julie’s intriguing storyline from episode four doesn’t advance any further, which left me a little disappointed. That said, I’m really hoping we dive deeper into her arc in the second half of the season, which finally kicks off next week—here’s to more screen time for her and some real progress on that front!

Final Score - [7.5/10]