***The following is review/breakdown followed by a detailed recap of episode 303 of FROM, “Mouse Trap,” and it contains spoilers for the episode.***

Although there isn’t as much heartbreak in the episode this week, the plot is still moving fairly quickly. It’s clear from the beginning of the episode that the town is still screwing with everyone, in this case, Jim. I don’t think Jim would have any reason to believe anything different than that is their intent. Even if his son Thomas were still alive, he would not be old enough to call him in the first place, though this clearly would still be painful for him. The voice basically threatens his other children as well, of course, which makes it all worse. I appreciated though that he’s not listening to the voice and brushed it off quickly. I do think the person (?) on the other end fulfilled their purpose, however, because Jim is becoming very irritable and snapping at his children, whether he believes it or not.

A big part of the episode is what Boyd is planning, wanting to capture one of the monsters, which he mentioned to his son in the last episode. The biggest problem with this is he has no plan. We know the town is trying to break him, and it seems to be working somewhat in the sense that it’s getting him to act rashly, but thankfully, at least for the time being, his son and Donna seem to have calmed him down. This thread is picked back up, however, towards the end of the episode when he goes onto the bus with Randall and intends to watch the creatures. Hopefully he will watch them first and then formulate a plan before he follows through with trying to capture one.

As an aside, I did also want to mention that two people in the episode, Jim and the bus driver, asked Boyd if things were going to get worse, which makes me think there is a good chance that they probably are.

The second big part of the episode is with Kenny, Kristi, Jade, and Dale going to the cabins to get more food. It seems at first like it is a fairly easy task, but it quickly goes bad when Kristi gets stuck in the bear trap which brings more questions to the forefront. Who set the trap, and who was the trap for? It’s clear it is old, but that’s really the only thing we know about it. For all we know, there could be more as well. Also, Jade took part of the effigy scarecrow-type statue down to open the trap. He comments that these could have been used as talismans before. It really makes me question if taking it apart could be a bad idea and could cause something horrendous down the road. Throughout, Jade is having more visions which could be omens of more bad things to come. Regardless, he’s unraveling further, which can’t be good.

The third big story of the episode in the town is with Fatima and her pregnancy and Tilly finding out she’s eating rotten food. We don’t really get a ton of information on her pregnancy, but it is likely something is going to go wrong, judging by the crow that smashed through the window when Tilly was reading the tarot cards.

There are also two small side stories. The first is Victor and Sarah. It’s interesting Victor is going to Sarah for help, but we don’t get any information at this point of what he needs to remember.

Lastly is of course what I still found to be the most interesting part of the episode, Tabitha in the outside world. As much as we seem to get some more answers, we also get many more questions as Tabitha seems to think that maybe she’s still in the town or that Henry is somehow involved when she finds her bracelet in his glove compartment. At this point, I’m really not sure what any of it means, because she does seem to really be in the real world going by where the episode ends, which was a huge shock to me. It’s really interesting that Tabitha has apparently come back to the town. I have to question if things would have went differently if she and Henry continued on to the park and there was never an accident. Would they have made it to the other bottle tree? I think it’s likely she was going to meet the tree in the road either way. I do, however, have two big questions about this. The first is, why does the tree look different than the one she and her family came to in the RV? Is it more of a metaphor? Is it perhaps simply the props department couldn’t get the same tree? It remains a mystery. The other thing is there were no crows. I was under the impression that that was part of the experience when people are first stuck in the town. Perhaps not, but it makes me question it since we did see a crow earlier in the episode. Maybe it was foreshadowing her return.

I’m happy that we have some new people coming to the town, but what will happen next remains to be seen. I definitely hope that Henry makes it out of the ambulance, as I’m really looking forward to Victor and his father reuniting.

Although overall tonight’s episode felt a bit slower than the previous two, it still packs quite a punch, especially with the ending. Tabitha’s storyline continues to keep me the most interested, now that we know she has some kind of connection to Miranda (even if we don’t understand it 100%). But I question if it all means that she could leave again? I’m not sure she will attempt it, likely just wanting her family back at this point, but it’s definitely something to think about.

The episode is called “Mouse Trap,” and it could refer to a couple different things. One is of course the town as a whole, luring people and trapping them. I am, however, leaning towards it referencing Tabitha specifically, because she was shown a way out, “the cheese” if you will, but in the end, she still ended up trapped.

I’m excited to see what happens next and how the newcomers will integrate – or not – into the town.

RECAP

Picking up from where the last episode ended, where the phone rang and the person said it was Thomas, Jim is upset, but tells the person on the other end he knows he’s not his son. The boy starts asking him questions like why he let his “mother” go. Jim questions what he wants, but he says he only wants to help. However, it’s quite clear he doesn’t when he says that Jim shouldn’t let his kids play outside so close to dark.

Jim runs outside to find Ethan and Julie, who are right where they said they’d be, feeding the animals. Boyd meanwhile is ringing the bell. Jim starts to yell at his kids to go inside; it’s going to be dark soon, and Boyd questions he’s okay. Jim questions that things are going to get worse, but Boyd doesn’t respond.

Henry wakes up in his chair when he hears Tabitha drop and break a glass from the kitchen. He comes out and tells her she needs to sleep, but she says she just needs answers; there has to be something in one of the paintings that she’s missing. Henry gives her a bandage for her bleeding finger. He questions about the Boy in White and the tower. She explains the tower was actually a lighthouse and that Victor sent her through the tree to get there, saying that his mother went that way to try to save the children. She stops herself when she is about to say it happened the night Miranda died. He tells her that it’s all right; he accepted they died a long time ago. Tabitha hears glass clinking outside, which he tells her are from the bottles hanging on a tree in the backyard. Miranda called it a bottle tree.

Back in town, Victor follows a map to near a tree and then digs.

Ellis, continuing their conversation from the previous episode, questions his father how it’s possible they can catch one of the monsters. Boyd says that if the talismans can keep them from getting into the houses, maybe they can keep them from getting out of something. He says that they can’t just sit around and play it safe anymore. Ellis talks about him almost getting killed when he went out before, but Boyd just responds that Kenny and Jim went out and brought back food. Boyd tells him that it’s not always going to work the way they want, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t take chances.

Donna comes in and interrupts, telling them that some of the people went down to get the food; they drew straws, and Dale threw a shit fit, but that they should be there by lunch time. He asks her how Kenny seems, and she says as good as can be expected and that Kristi is with him as well.

She realizes something is going on, and Ellis tells his father that if he doesn’t tell her he will, so Boyd tells her he wants to catch a creature. She says they did before, but he says that killing one was different; they need to learn about them. Boyd says they know they can talk, so they will have to make it talk. Donna just questions how they are going to do this. He just says they have to do something and that he’s working on it. She tells him that she misses Tian Chen too and that she doesn’t want them not to get their pound of flesh, but she also doesn’t want him to get killed because of a half-baked plan. She tells Ellis not to encourage him; he’s got a baby on the way and more to worry about now.

Clara is cooking the steak when Fatima comes in and offers some to Fatima, who refuses it. Clara quips she guesses it’s not a meat eater. Fatima goes to pour herself a drink but can’t stomach it and goes outside. She sees the pile of rotten food and sneaks some and starts to eat it. Tillie catches her, so she drops it and runs away.

Meanwhile, the group arrives at the cabins. Dale is freaked out by the effigy scarecrow things. Jade says to look at the way they are positioned and suggests that maybe they used them the same way they use the talismans, to ward off evil spirits. Kenny just says that whatever happened was a long time ago and that their people are hungry now. He says that the food he and Jim gathered is in the one shack and for Dale, Jade, and Roger to get started on that while the rest of them see what else they can forage.

Jim gives Ethan some stew that he made with what little food they had left, telling him that when they get back with the food they will be off rations. Julie walks in. Ethan starts asking about his mother’s body and who will bury her or if people will just find her body or bones left to rot. Jim slams the pot down and yells at him to stop. Ethan runs out and Julie goes after him, as Jim tries to apologize. The phone rings again, but he just picks it up and then hangs it up again.

Henry takes Tabitha to the bottle tree, explaining that Miranda created installations around town and this was one of her favorites. Tabitha says that the tree is different than the one in the town, because there is no hole to step into. He asks if she means like teleporting, but she says it doesn’t matter, because this one is just a tree. He tells her that it’s not the original, just a replica of one of Miranda’s installations. The original is in the park a few towns over – in fact, that’s where they dropped acid together, so it’s kind of where it all started. Tabitha demands he take her there.

Boyd is sawing wood in the church when Father Khatri appears and asks him if it’s part of his plan and does he think he can really catch one. He questions why he is changing things now and asks if he’s just going to lure one into a house, slap a talisman on the outside then wander around the house until it jumps out and rips him to pieces. Father Khatri says that the things said they wanted to break him it, and it means they wanted to change him, and they are, because the Boyd he knew would never do something so stupid. Boyd comments that he got him killed, but he says the he and Tian Chen died because they were trying to help people, and it’s arrogant of him to diminish the sacrifice by making it about him. Boyd, annoyed, says the wood thing he is making is a memory board. The graveyard doesn’t have any headstones and bodies are buried all over the place, but they don’t have a place for names.

Sarah is trying to glue the snowman figurine back together when Victor knocks at her door carrying a suitcase. She tells him she doesn’t know that she will ever be able to put it back together, but she’d like to try. He asks if she has a bedspread. He says he needs to build a fort, and then he is going to tell a story.

Tilly knocks on Fatima’s door, but she won’t answer her. She tells her through the door that she used to lick eggshells when she was pregnant, but it eventually stopped and that whatever is going on will pass. Fatima says she’s afraid to talk to anyone and that Ellis is so happy and encouraging she can’t tell him how scared she is. Tilly tells her that every first-time mother has those kinds of feelings. Fatima tells her that she was never supposed to be able to conceive and she just wants to know if the baby is going to be okay. Tilly says to come with her, and they will find out.

Meanwhile, outside the town, Tabitha gets in the car with Henry and a song comes on. He says that the tape has been stuck in the stereo and it does that. It was Miranda’s favorite song. Tabitha tells him that it was her and her husband’s song.

Back in the woods near the cabins, Dale is complaining about having to go there saying that it was rigged, and Donna knew he would get the short straw. Then he complains that Jade isn’t helping. He and Jade go back and forth a bit until Jade gets pissed enough and screams at Dale and walks off. He walks over to a grouping of large red rocks and goes to the bathroom. Suddenly he sees a man from the past with a railroad spike in his eye. He grabs Jade, but Dale comes up and interrupts the hallucination.

Kenny is picking blueberries when Kristi tries to talk to him. He just gets annoyed and yells at her for not looking for food. They see Dale run past following an irate Jade who says he’s going back to town, but they tell him he won’t make it back in time. He says that he does want to help, but he’ll be more help in town and will make it if he runs. They try to stop him, but he runs off, and Kenny says that he should make it back to the hut before sundown if he runs. Kristi says he’s going the wrong way and chases after him. Running, she gets her foot caught in a bear trap. Jade hears her scream and turns back as Kenny and Dale also come running out. Kenny starts blaming Jade, but Kristi says it’s not his fault. Jade tries to pull the release on the trap, but it breaks off.

Ethan is at the diner with the bus driver helping her wash dishes when Boyd comes in. He says they are trying to make sure it’s the way Tian Chen would like it. The bus driver talks to Boyd a bit about finding Ethan there cleaning and also how she’s still processing what happened. She asks if it’s always like this and if it’s going to get worse. Boyd tells her that he doesn’t know, but that no matter what the place throws at them, they are going to win and going to find a way home. Ethan walks out and ask what they do if there isn’t one. Boyd says if there is a way there, there is a way back, but Ethan says he doesn’t really know that; he just hopes that. Ethan says that Tian Chen and his mother thought they were going home. Boyd says that they aren’t giving up on his mother, but Ethan says that maybe they should.

Back in the woods, they are still trying to remove the trap. Jade says they need something with more leverage and takes off with Dale following him.

Back at Colony House, Tilly sees Elgin sleeping on the couch and mentions he’s exhausted and she’s glad he’s getting some rest. She gets her tarot cards, and Fatima gets upset. Fatima says that she confided in her and calls her kooky. Tilly questions that she thinks she would just be goofing around about something so important. She says that it’s fine if she doesn’t believe in them, but she bets before she saw the tree in the road she didn’t believe in half the stuff they’ve seen. Tilly says that the cards played a big role at a crucial juncture in her life, and she wanted to share it with her. Fatima relents and she deals the cards, saying that she was given them by a woman in hospice care with her husband that did a reading for her after he passed. She says that the cards told her about her cancer and about the town – not in so many words, but the signs were there if she knew how to read them, which she knows now how to do better than before. She gets Fatima to ask them a question saying that at worst she’ll feel silly after. Fatima asks if her baby is okay. Suddenly a crow flies into the window. It smashes it and flies around the room until it eventually runs into a wall and falls.

Jade pulls apart the scarecrow effigy thing, which Dale thinks is a bad idea. Meanwhile, Kristi is telling Kenny that Boyd told her what his mother said and that he’s not alone. Jade brings back the metal poles and they all work together to get her foot out. She says her ankle is dislocated and they need to set it. While Jade’s helping, he has another vision of the man from before, now with one eye, drinking blood from a skull. They pop her foot back in as she screams. They need to get back before dark, so they carry her towards the cabins.

Randall is on the bus carving a skull out of a piece of wood when he starts to hear and see cicadas attack him, but Boyd comes on the bus, and they aren’t really there. He won’t tell Boyd what happened and asks him what he wants. Boyd says that he wants to switch locations for the night, and he can take the sheriff’s station, because he wants to watch the monsters when they come out of the woods. Randall asks him why, and he says that he thinks it’s time for things to change around there.

Tabitha is getting car sick, so Henry tells her to get some crackers from the glove compartment, but when she opens it, she finds the bracelet she had found before in the diner. He says Miranda made it for him. She starts freaking out and says it was his mistake, that he went too far. Tabitha doesn’t think they are actually in Maine and that the town is still torturing her. She tells him to pull over and asks what happens if she doesn’t play along. She tries to get out, but he gets upset and tries to close the door, hitting the gas, saying that she can’t tell him about his son like that then decide to give up. In the struggle, they are hit by another car.

Tabitha wakes up in an ambulance. Henry is passed out. A female cop and an EMT are in the back with them. The one EMT tells her she was in an accident and that he is still monitoring Henry. The police woman, who found her lunchbox, says that the hospital had patrol cars out looking for her. Tabitha tells them she doesn’t want to go to the hospital and says to let her out.

Suddenly, the EMT driving the ambulance stops – there is a tree in the middle of the road.