Last week, Sophia (Julia Doyle), a.k.a. the Man in the Yellow Suit, made Henry a special cocktail featuring one very unusual ingredient: her blood. This week, FROM fans and the residents of Fromville find out what kind of hangover comes from drinking the blood of one of the town’s creatures. Elsewhere, Boyd (Harold Perrineau) decides to take a more proactive approach to learning about the Man in Yellow, while Fatima (Pegah Ghafoori) grapples with her own unique brand of postpartum complications.
So, it’s time to hunker down with the good people of Fromville and see what new horrors await. Warning: Spoilers for Season 4 Episode 7 “Best Laid Plans.”
Regarding Henry
Henry is more than a little hammered after his night of drinking with Sophia, a.k.a. the Man in the Yellow Suit, when Boyd drops a bombshell on him and Victor (Scott McCord), while Tabitha (Catalina Sandino Moreno) breaks the same news to Julie (Hannah Cheramy) and Ethan (Simon Webster): Tabitha was once Miranda (Sarah Booth), and she and Jade have been to the Town many, many times.. It’s a hard pill to swallow, and one that sends Henry fleeing the room. Left behind, Victor insists they need to learn more about the Man in Yellow, believing he is the key to everything. If they don’t figure him out, Victor warns, “it can all happen again.”
Henry is not handling this revelation well. Still reeling from the news, he tells Jade (David Alpay), “The only thing you will cause is pain. You cannot save dead things.” The Man in Yellow’s blood martini seems to have given him more than just a hangover. It’s made him a little more volatile.
Chris Reardon/MGM+
He’s also starting to see things. First, he catches glimpses of himself hooked up to an EKG monitor. Then, as he continues his drinking binge and lashes out at Jade and Tabitha, accusing them of filling Victor’s head with “nonsense” about his mother, things take a turn. In the middle of the argument, Henry suddenly flashes somewhere else. For a moment, he’s no longer in Fromville. He’s lying in a hospital bed, and Victor, dressed in a suit, is standing over him, looking concerned.
“Dad? Stay with me.”
Just as suddenly, Henry snaps back to reality. The vision is jarring for everyone in the room, especially Henry.
Well, this isn’t good.
TV Insider asked Robert Joy what makes Henry a target for Sophia, also known as the Man in the Yellow Suit. Joy believes Henry’s vulnerabilities stem more from the emotional wounds Sophia exploits, particularly his alcoholism and his desire to reconnect with Victor.
I don’t think that he’s more susceptible than anyone else, because a lot of people’s imaginations have been tampered with in the other seasons, but because he’s victimized by Sophia, it’s a particularly painful task for Henry to try to hold on to his love for his son and the mission that he’d set for himself to be a good father,” explained Joy. “I think he is vulnerable, especially through the alcoholism that has haunted him.”
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Looking into the Man in the Yellow Suit
Boyd enlists Acosta (Samantha Brown) and her police skills to help dig up anything she can on the Man in the Yellow Suit. He hands over every scrap of information he has: the mysterious figure was around back in the 1970s when Victor was a child, and that’s about it. Happy hunting.
Meanwhile, Victor, Tabitha, and Ethan head to the Man in Yellow’s abandoned car, where Victor makes a disturbing discovery: a bag of human teeth tucked inside the glove compartment. The find sends Victor spiraling. He tells Tabitha that the last time the Man in Yellow appeared, only “the boy” survived (him), growing up alone and terrified. Now he fears history is repeating itself, only this time it’s Tabitha who has the boy and the girl, not his mother, Miranda.
Convinced the Man in Yellow is going to kill everyone, Victor becomes determined to prepare Ethan for a future alone, just as he was, so he won’t be afraid when the end comes.
The good, the bad, and the undead
Sophia/The Man in the Yellow Suit continues to make trouble, trying to dissuade Boyd from heading into the tunnels to dig up the bones. In the process, she learns about Boyd’s plan to use the spear totem to kill the creatures, and she is not happy about it. Not one bit. She then heads over to the livestock and nabs an egg before making her way to Roger’s body, which still lies with its eyes and mouth sewn shut. Whispering into the egg, she crushes it against his chest and says, “It’s time to play.”
Soon, Roger’s husk comes back to life, screaming at the horror that was done to him while tearing at the crude stitches holding his face together. Eek.
As night falls, everyone hunkers down and does their best to make sure the town is as safe as it can be. Meanwhile, Boyd’s plan finally comes together. He gathers Kenny (Ricky He) and Ellis (Corteon Moore) and decides that an hour after nightfall, they’ll head out and put the spear totem to the test. Kenny insists on being the one to go. After everything Boyd has been through, he doesn’t think Boyd should be out there “in his condition.” (Boyd isn’t doing too hot health-wise, and still has the shakes. What happens if his leg gives out?)
That night, Kenny gives the theory a go and drives the spear into one of the creatures. The monster lets out a scream, then breaks into a grin. “Just kidding.”
Kenny bolts for safety and takes refuge on top of a bus, but Smiley follows as creatures surround the bus. Smiley is kind enough to remind Kenny that he killed his father. “He made such funny noises. Do you make funny noises?” As he speaks, his face twists into something even more hideous.
At the same time, back at Colony House, Fatima realizes she can see through Smiley’s eyes. As Smiley is about to attack, Fatima screams, causing him to suddenly dissipate, giving Kenny the opening he needs to shove Smiley off the bus and make his escape.
And finally, Colony House is amok when Roger comes home. Everyone thinks he’s a creature, unable to comprehend that he is asking for help, given that he has no eyes and no jaw. Elgin stabs Roger, killing him yet again. Sophia watches with satisfaction at the chaos she has caused.
FROM, Season 4, Sundays, 9/8c, MGM+