***The following is review/breakdown followed by a detailed recap of episode 307 of FROM, “These Fragile Lives,” and it contains spoilers for the episode.***

This week’s episode, “These Fragile Lives,” once again has some scenes that are more about character development and moving the story forward as opposed to the actual mystery, but three of the main storylines of the episode are integral to the puzzle that is the show.

The first storyline which is a big part of the mystery is of course with Fatima, and it does weave into some of the others stories in the episode.

The episode picks back up with Fatima at the clinic, and it’s clear that she is the only one that actually believes she’s pregnant. They all are thinking it’s in her head, no matter what they pretend otherwise.

In the next scene, when Kristi and Boyd argue over the pregnancy, I can see both points of view. Kristi can’t help Fatima if she doesn’t know what is going on, but at the same time, Boyd is right, it wasn’t his place to tell her; it was up to Fatima and Ellis. Boyd though, as per usual lately is getting way too angry. How can he expect her to know what to do if he doesn’t himself? She may have medical training, but nothing is normal where they are.

Fatima is quick to anger when Marielle tries to help her, though I do understand why, because she doesn’t think anyone believes her, and to be fair, they don’t. I do think though that there might be something to Marielle’s words, that fear can only break you if you let it. Out of the three, Marielle, Julie, and Randall, she seems to be the only one who isn’t being affected all the time by what happened. The show has hinted in the past that perhaps fears become real or what is spoken could potentially come true (such as Kenny talking about losing two parents, etc). The question is, is she really not affected, or is she just much better at hiding it than the others?

At any rate, it’s Fatima that it’s happening to, who’s quite convinced it’s real, and there does seem to be some kind of force controlling her eating. It’s always possible that the town broke her, and it could be all in her head, but in this show, I feel that would make for some boring storytelling, so I doubt that’s the case. Is she pregnant and they just can’t see it? And if she is, is it even human?

It’s heartbreaking in a way that Ellis doesn’t even seem to believe her, but I understand why. It’s hard, because she does sound like she’s imagining things. More than that, like she says, if the baby isn’t real, then it’s something wrong with her, and I don’t think Ellis wants to accept that either, because if there is something wrong with her, he doesn’t know how to help.

Listening to Boyd and Donna’s conversation about the pregnancy, we are again given the option to believe either there is something no one can see or the place got to Fatima. Donna starts talking about what happened to Abby, and I feel like it’s paralleling the dilemmas and perhaps foreshadowing that Ellis may have to make a choice like his father did. If Fatima is losing it, regardless of whether something is inside her or not, it could come full circle to where Ellis could have to take her out in order to protect others. It would be awful irony if that’s the case. Regardless, Donna is right to be cautious and they do have to worry about the others.

When Ellis tries to steal the drugs, I think he just wants to do something, even if he isn’t thinking it through, rather than doing nothing. He clearly is thinking about what happened to his mother. I think the big difference is that Ellis is attentive and not ignoring the signs of what could be an impending breakdown. Hopefully, because of this, Fatima won’t end up with the same fate as Abby.

The big reveal is of course the final moment when Fatima stabs Tilly. Was it an accident? Did something force her hand? If so, it’s likely the actions of whatever may be growing inside her. Either way, Tilly doesn’t seem to blame her, since she tells her she needs to run.

The other thread that overlaps in the episode is with Elgin. At the beginning, he is acting like everything is okay, and he is just trying to cheer up Fatima, and I don’t doubt he is, but when the Polaroid goes off again, it definitely seems ominous and that something is coming that is going to change things. The fact that the audience doesn’t get to see the photo the first time only helps to foreshadow it stronger.

When we finally do get to see the Polaroid picture which shows the root cellar, we know that clearly the Kimono woman is leading Elgin somewhere. The show does play a lot with colors, and his yellow backpack stands out, as does the red door to me in that scene.

Once he’s in the room, what does the skeleton mean, and more importantly, who does it belong to? It looks like the person is wearing more masculine clothes, so I don’t think it’s Kimono woman. Regardless, whatever is going on, I don’t trust her at all.

The third story takes place back at the cabins. I’m glad they haven’t completely dropped the story of what the noise was outside at night, but it seems each time like they are barely mentioning it, and I really want an answer to what has been lurking at the cabins.

The fact that Tabitha dreamt about the place before getting to the town is really big, and it just connects her even more to Miranda. We haven’t been given an answer to how they are connected, but I definitely do think that different people seem to pop up that perhaps serve the same purpose in whatever is happening, such as Jade and Christopher with seeing the symbol. There definitely is some kind of cyclical nature to the place. I for awhile thought that there was a possibility that Tabitha was actually Eloise who somehow got out of the town and grew up in the real world, but now that we have seen Tabitha as a child, and it’s not the same actress who played Eloise, that debunks that theory. Could Tabitha somehow be Miranda, perhaps reincarnated? The theory has been floating around the internet, and it’s starting to make some sense.

As for dissecting the dream itself, there are a couple things to consider. Whatever Tabitha is running from, it’s happening during the day, so it’s likely not the creatures they normally see in town. Everyone knows that the series foreshadows things a lot. Earlier in the episode, the one woman mentions to Jim that whatever they heard at night didn’t sound like anything back at town, which leads me to question, is it possible that whatever Tabitha saw is actually the same thing that they heard at the cabins.

I think the biggest question is whether the dream is actually a dream or a vision. If it’s a dream, dreams are often more metaphorical, so it’s hard to know whether we can take everything at face value. If it’s not, and it is a vision of some kind (or a vision she had as a child and now remembers as a dream), I definitely think all the details are important. I mentioned in the last breakdown how the totem she saw in her dream was different, but it does seem like there may be more around the area that we just have not seen yet, so I’m not sure what to think, although the fact that the totem in her dream had it’s eyes closed is still interesting to me.

I can understand Jim’s reluctance to follow whatever is happening to Tabitha to it’s conclusion. His own journey following clues did put people in danger, though it is surprising to me that he’s dropping things such as the voice on the radio, which he wouldn’t before. I actually hope that comes back at some point.

I think the idea of fate versus free will is the big take away from this part of the story, and it makes me wonder if everyone in the town was really fated to be there. The characters seem to perhaps each have a part to play in the town.

While most of the scenes with Randall and Julie aren’t necessarily relevant to the mystery, I did enjoy the character development, and it’s nice to see Randall taking on sort of a big brother role to her.

I think it’s very interesting that Randall sees the cicadas and Julie doesn’t. Does it have to do with whatever the creatures did to him the night Boyd left him? Are they just torturing him? Maybe Julie was smoking pot again and it suppressed them? I think if he would talk about what he’s seeing, even just to Julie, it could help, and might also help to answer some of these lingering questions.

It’s curious that they end up at the ruins, as they haven’t been there before, and they clearly have some kind of connection to them. I’m worried whatever Julie feels when she is there may drag them back to whatever evil is lurking inside. I’m not sure they could get to where Boyd did without a torch (although that’s never been definitively proven helped him travel out), but whatever is drawing them there is not likely to be anything positive.

There are a few other scenes that aren’t really part of the mystery at all, but they are good for character development.

Two characters this is definitely true of in this episode is Victor and Henry. While I appreciate that Henry is trying to calm Victor down in their first scene, I’m not sure telling him repeatedly that the doll isn’t going to talk is really helping, because Victor needs his support. If they were in the real world outside of the town, I would maybe agree, but in a town where there are monsters, for all he knows, toys could talk.

There is such a large ensemble in the show that all the storylines can’t fit in one episode, but I do hope that the storyline with Jasper moves forward in the next episode. Besides, Victor did say before that the basement was the place for secrets, so when he later goes to see Sara, hopefully that is foreshadowing that they will get some in the next episode.

Henry’s also has a conversation with Donna later in the episode that is really emotional. People often have thoughts they don’t mean when they are upset, but I can see why it would be gutting to him.

Another scene that stands out is Acosta talking to Kenny. I enjoyed this conversation. In this instance she sort of represents the audience, asking all the questions.

I also could see Kenny and Acosta getting close down the road. While there isn’t really anything in the scene that shows tension or suggests flirtation, they just seem like they might make a good couple in my opinion. Acosta may be letting her emotions get the better of her, but she does seem like a good person who will come to care about the town and the residents, as we know Kenny does.

I also like when Bakta comes with the idea of getting the diner up and running again. It’s a positive place for people to go, and I think Tian Chen would want it there for people. I also think it could help Kenny, even if it might be hard for him for awhile.

Acosta also has another run in with Boyd this week, and they still are quite hostile towards each other. I see both points of view. Boyd wants to protect the town, and she should not lose her cool when having a gun if she is a cop. However, in the same circumstances, probably most people would have been shooting at the monsters whether it was working or not. At any rate, I liked the end of the scene because Boyd finally just gave her what she asked for, so she couldn’t say he didn’t, yet technically he didn’t since he took the bullets, and therefore he kind of had the last word. Check and mate.

All in all, the episode was solid and quite a lot happened. There might not have been tons of answers, but things are definitely moving forwards, and the truth about Fatima will likely be revealed soon.

RECAP

Kristi asks Fatima how long she’s had the cravings, and she tells her it’s been about a week. Kristy tells her that if they were anywhere else she would say she’s exhibiting signs of a psychosomatic pregnancy where your body believes it’s pregnant. Fatima asks if they mean what used to be called a hysterical pregnancy. Marielle tells her that no one thinks she’s being hysterical and that it wasn’t so long go that Boyd had worms under skin that no one could see, so they aren’t ruling anything out. Kristi says that she very well could have been pregnant. Fatima says she still is; it’s still there. She can still feel it. Fatima gets upset and throws the glass when Ellis gives it to her, and it shatters. She apologizes. Kristi tells her that her body’s been under a lot of stress, and she should stay the night; Ellis can stay too. Fatima gets upset and says she wants to go home. Ellis tries to stop her, but she leaves. Boyd tells him he should go after her. Marielle says she will go to Colony House, and she can at least get an IV started.

Kristi tells Boyd that he should have told her, but he says that it wasn’t his place. Kristi says that she can’t help if she’s in the dark and that either Fatima has something growing in her that they can’t see, or the place gotten to her head and made her she’s believe pregnant. She doesn’t know how to help her. Boyd yells at her to do her job and figure it out.

Victor is trying to make Jasper talk when Henry knocks and asks to come in his room. Henry tells him that he can’t keep doing what he’s been doing: he’s been up all night. He could hear him yelling at the doll from downstairs. He tells Victor that it isn’t healthy. Victor says that Jasper needs to tell him what he said. His father tells him that it’s just a doll, and Victor says that he doesn’t understand, because he wasn’t there. He gets upset, puts on his coat and picks up Jasper and leaves his father standing there calling after him.

Elgin is making a mobile for Fatima that he shows Tilly. He was hoping it might cheer her up. Tilly says she’s sure she will love it. After she walks away, the Polaroid goes off on it’s own. Elgin looks at it, but it doesn’t show what has developed.

Marielle tells Fatima that she knows the previous night was a lot and what it feels to be violated by the town. She tells Fatima that sometimes she can still feel the cicadas crawling around in side of her and that she has to remind herself that it’s not real. Fear can only break her if she lets it. Fatima tells her that what is happening to her is different. Marielle suggests she tries some regular food again, but Fatima tells her that she’s not eating garbage because she’s afraid or broken; it’s happening because something is making her do it.

Ellis comes in asking if everything is okay and Marielle leaves. Ellis tells her that Marielle just cares about her. Fatima asks why no one is listening to her; it’s inside her. She’s the one who is experiencing it, yet her point of view the one everyone assumes is wrong. Ellis tells her that no one is assuming she’s wrong; they are just trying to see it from every possible angle that they can. Fatima asks if he thinks it’s all in her head, but he doesn’t answer. He brings up when they were in the sheriff’s station when the bus pulled in and she broke down in his arms and said she couldn’t take it anymore. She yells at him that what is happening has nothing to do with that. He asks what he is supposed to do, but she just wants him to believe her. She tells him that she’s been measuring herself every day and her stomach is getting bigger. If it’s in her head, how does he explain her body changing? Fatima says whatever is in her is getting stronger, her cravings are getting stronger, and she’s angry all the time. If there is nothing there and the baby isn’t real, that means it’s her.

Donna and Boyd are walking down the road. Donna says that she told Fatima the pregnancy was a miracle; Boyd says everyone got excited. She asks if there is anything they could have missed, but he tells her that nothing shows up on the machine and that the way Kristi sees it, either there is something there like the worms under his skin, or the place finally got to her. Donna questions he means like Abby. Donna thinks he’s thinking about things he could have done different, but he says he isn’t. She says that he should be. If it’s some kind of worms under the skin type thing they will have to cross that bridge, but if it’s psychological, than they need to find a way to bring her back. Boyd asks that it all stays between them. He’s going to talk with Kristi later. He says that he’s just telling her because they promised not to keep secrets from each other, and she’s living under her roof. Donna says that while they are figuring it out, she doesn’t think it’s a good idea for Fatima to stay in Colony House. She’ll be there for them, but the truth is there are two possibilities, and each one poses a different threat to those in the house. She has to think about everyone. Boyd says he can make room in the sheriff’s station, but she says it doesn’t have to be today; it’s just something to consider.

At the cabins, Jim and the others are going through the food to take back to town. The one woman says that whatever was outside at night didn’t sound like anything back at town. Jim says that whatever it is, he’ll be glad when that place is in his rear view.

Tabitha, Ethan, and Jade walk up. Tabitha tells him that everything is okay. Jade tells Jim that it was his idea for her to go out; she needed to see the place. Ethan explains that she saw it when she was little, just like Victor’s mom. The others go on ahead, and Jim stays with his family.

Randall comes out of the clinic while Julie is walking up and asks her if she’s moving in. She says she’s going to spend the night, because her family is at the settlement, and it’s creepy in her house by herself. She asks him what’s wrong, but he says nothing is. She questions that they got high together on the bus and now he’s gonna be weird towards her. He says he’s not being weird. He tells her he’s going for a walk, and she invites herself along, even though he doesn’t want her to come.

Elgin follows the Polaroid picture to the root cellar, the camera around his neck, carrying yellow backpack. He goes down inside and sees a cabinet on the wall, which he opens, but it’s empty. He goes to leave, but he hears three knocks so he turns back around. He moves the cabinet and sees a red door behind it, which he opens and enters the room.

Acosta is looking at one of the graves, perhaps Nicky’s.

Kenny is alone in the diner when Acosta goes in. He tells her that they aren’t serving food there anymore if that’s what she wanted. She asks why there is a diner or a sheriff’s station that looks like a post office or a travel agency sign. She asks what kind of psycho built the place. He asks if she wants him to go over them one at a time. Acosta says she wants to know why no one is asking those kinds of questions. Kenny says that they did. He offers her some tea.

Ethan is following Jade around as he draws one of the totems and tells him that the place is creepy. Jade agrees. Ethan asks him what he thinks lived out there, but he doesn’t  know. Ethan asks him what he thinks happened to them, and Jade says that maybe they got out and went home. Jade tells him to just careful where he is stepping, because there are bear traps.

Jim says to Tabitha that given what’s happened that there may be a part of her that wants so badly for it to make sense. She questions that he thinks she’s making it up. It wasn’t just some random nightmare; she had it over and over for months and would wake up screaming. The totems are the same. She questions if he wants her to just give up. Jim says that he thought that he had everything figured out, and then he almost got Donna killed. He reminds her that Sara heard voices and then tried to murder Ethan. Tabitha says that those are different, because they happened after they got to town; she had the dream when she was a kid. She says that she is scared too, but she can’t pretend things aren’t happening to her; one way or another she needs to know.

Julie is walking with Randall and tells him how her mother is convinced that the creepy children she sees need her help. She says that her dad is freaking out, because the last time he went down a rabbit hole about the place he almost got people killed, including the idiot who tied Donna to a tree in the middle of the woods. He’s not really listening that well; he’s looking for mushrooms for Kristi’s and Marielle who have been on some holistic foraging trip. She asks him where he was going on the bus, and he says to Detroit like everyone else and makes up a reason why. She tells him that she never got her learner’s permit. Everything stopped after Thomas died. Her dad was supposed to take her to the DMV but never did. He says to come with him.

Back at the diner, Kenny tells Acosta that things are different when you first get there. You think that other people may have given up and accepted it, but you are going to figure things out. He says there is nothing wrong with that, but it will pass. She says the idea of giving up isn’t how shes’s built. Kenny tells her that he’s had the same conversation before with others and been on the other side of it. He tells her that the thing you come to realize is that every question you’re asking has been asked before. Every theory that you have, someone else has had before you, and at some point you either adapt or you lose your mind. She asks if that’s what he did, adapted. He says that he didn’t have a choice. He was busy taking care of his father who passed. She realizes he lost both of his parents there and tells him she’s sorry. He asks about her family back home, but she says she doesn’t really have anyone. He tells her that the good news is they have the talismans to keep them safe, which wasn’t always the case. She asks where they came from, and he explains that Boyd found them in the forest. She says that’s why he acts like the god king of the world. She says Boyd is kind of a dick. He says she didn’t meet him under the best of circumstances. Acosta complains that Boyd took her gun, and Kenny asks if she can blame him. She says that she will have to carry the weight of what she did for the rest of her life. Kenny suggests that they have clothes up at Colony House that might be be more comfortable in. She starts to get frustrated and says that she doesn’t want fresh clothes or tea or his adapt or die philosophy. She says she doesn’t plan on getting comfortable there and will figure it out. Suddenly the radio goes off playing “O-o-h Child” and he says it does that sometimes. She asks if that’s something you get comfortable with. She thanks him for the tea and leaves.

Bakta comes in, hoping to talk to Kenny about reopening the diner.

Elgin pushes a bed up against the wall in a small underground room. He lifts a blanket off of a skeleton and asks the Kimono woman, “Is this really where it happens?”

Victor, carrying Jasper, knocks on Sara’s front door and asks to go in her basement. He says he needs Jasper to tell him a secret.

Julie questions the van is for emergencies. Randall says it is one and tells her to just get in. He starts explaining how to drive and he pulls out.

Donna is washing dishes when Henry comes in. He’s looking for something and says that he could use a drink. She tells him she could too and leads him out of the house.

Boyd comes into his office to find drawers open. It’s clear someone has been in his stuff. Acosta comes out when he calls, saying that he took her gun, and she wants it back. He tells her to get out. She says to give it to her, and she will. They start screaming at each other. Boyd tells her that someone is dead because she shot someone. She says that she panicked because she was being chased by things that should only exist in a nightmare. He says they exist there, and until she proves she can handle that, he’s not letting her near a loaded gun. She shows him her badge and says that she doesn’t have to prove anything to him. She’s a cop, a real one, unlike him playing make believe. He asks when she got out of the academy, knowing it wasn’t long ago. She tells him it’s none of his business. He tells her it is, the place is, because he’s the one who makes sure people stay safe and alive. She tells him from what she hears he’s been doing a shit job of that. He tells her to leave, but she won’t. She demands her gun again. He removes the board from in front of a hole in the wall and pulls out her gun, taking out the bullets. He gives it to her and says she gets the bullets when he feels she deserves them. He tells her that the next time she comes in there without his permission they are going to have a problem.

Donna pours Henry a drink and asks if it’s going okay with Victor. He tells her he doesn’t think it is. Henry tells her that he stood in Victor’s room and had a thought he’ll never forgive himself for. He wished he’d never come there and that Tabitha had never found him, because it was easier when he thought Victor was dead. He says it was only for a second. He asks what kind of father thinks that about his child. She pours him another drink.

Ethan asks if the rocks are the same ones from her dream. Tabitha says it’s not just the stones. It’s everything; it’s how it feels. She says she still remembers the fear when she was running. She explains about hiding behind the rocks. She says that whatever making everyone scream was on the other side of the rock. She would look up and would wake up every time. Jim asks that even if she actually saw the place, how it helps. Jade says that maybe Aristotle got it wrong, free will and determinism. He says that Miranda said she was chosen. If seeing this place, in visions or dreams, if that’s the proof, and she saw this place as a child, she never really had a chance. If fate exists, if she was destined to come to this place since she was a child, one way or another, she was always going to come to that tree in the road.

Ellis is making tea when Tilly asks him how Fatima is doing and tells him that he doesn’t have to pretend; she told her about the rotten food. She says that she knows he doesn’t know them well, but that she’s there if he needs anything. He tells her about the ultrasound showing no baby and says that either it’s something that isn’t human and they can’t see it, or the place has broken her mind; he can’t lose her. Tilly says that he hasn’t lost her; she’s still there. She says that a good friend once said to her to enjoy every moment and not to grieve the living before their gone. She told her family that after she was diagnosed. He asks her if she is afraid of dying, and she tells him that she was at first, but then she got angry. She realized just how small life is. It all goes by so fast that you start to wonder how it could be anything but the beginning or middle of a grand adventure, but not the end. After that, it didn’t seem so scary. She tells him that none of them get to stay forever. He tells her he doesn’t need forever. He asks why she cares, and she quips that she is old and has cancer and likes a good love story.

Fatima wakes up scratching at the IV; her arm is bleeding. She throws up. Her stomach starts hurting her and she screams as it moves and she looks skeletal for a minute, but when Ellis comes rushing in it’s normal again. She asks what is happening to her. Tilly comes in with the tea trying to help, but he just holds her.

Randall agrees he will give Julie a turn driving, but then he sees cicadas on the windshield and coming into the van. He starts freaking out, but she doesn’t see anything. She tells him to stop the van. He pulls over badly and gets out and tries to get them off of him. She asks him what’s wrong, but he just says they need to go home and heads off into woods.

At the clinic, Boyd comes in to find Kristi screaming at Ellis to put the drugs back, but he says he needs to do something. She says that they are powerful antipsychotics and he doesn’t know what the drugs will do. He asks if he’s supposed to just do nothing. She not the one sitting with her watching her go to pieces. She tells him that she’s the doctor and it’s her job to use her brains and not her emotions. What he’s doing could make things a lot worse. Boyd agrees, saying to give the bottle back. Ellis runs out, angry. His father follows him. Ellis asks him what he’s supposed to do. He saw what happened with the worms and also with his mother. He asks which nightmare he is supposed to be afraid of. He says that she is falling apart, and he doesn’t know what to do to help her. He asks him not to let this happen. His father tries to comfort him but can’t, so Ellis leaves.

Julie looks for Randall and finds the ruins we’ve seen before. She asks him what it is but he doesn’t know. She asks what happened to him, why he ran off, and Randall says he’ll tell her on the way back. She asks if he can feel that. He tells her they should go, but she wants to check it out. He stops her. Julie tells him she knows he feels it, but he denies it. He tells her it’s going to be dark soon; they need to get the van back to Colony House. He asks her to leave.

Fatima is in the greenhouse about to eat some of the rotten food, but she changes her mind. She turns away but starts feeling pain. Tilly comes in to help her as she yells. She tells Tilly to go, but she keeps saying everything will be ok. Fatima has picked up gardening shears and turns to her saying she told her to go and ends up stabbing her. Fatima says she didn’t mean to, and Tilly tells her she has to run as Ellis walks in.