‘From’s Biggest Tragedy So Far Has an Even Deeper Meaning for the Town’s Future

Editor’s note: The below interview contains spoilers for From Season 4 Episode 3.

Viewers may have been left with many unanswered questions ahead of From‘s return with Season 4, but the MGM+ horror series doesn’t force anyone to wait long before picking up right where the story last left off. The premiere ends with the reveal that the seemingly innocent Sophia (Julia Doyle) is actually the Man in the Yellow Suit (Douglas E. Hughes) in disguise. In case that wasn’t heavy enough, Episode 2 provides the absolutely devastating confirmation of what happened to Jim (Eoin Bailey) after he was murdered in front of his daughter, Julie (Hannah Cheramy), despite her apparent efforts to prevent his death from occurring.

Episode 3, “Merrily We Go,” both acts as a breather of sorts — seriously, if anyone’s entitled to the catharsis of smashing up a bunch of cars at this point, it’s Fatima (Pegah Ghafoori) — and confirms how the town is picking up the pieces (or not) after Jim’s death. For Tabitha (Catalina Sandino Moreno), there’s very little time to grieve, especially since the loss of her husband serves as a greater confirmation that she and Jade (David Alpay) were getting much closer to the truth than the town’s evil wanted.

Ahead of Episode 3’s premiere, Collider had the opportunity to speak with Moreno about the show’s unique approach to filming some of Tabitha’s most heartbreaking moments, whether Tabitha shares Julie’s fears about their family’s presence in the town, why Tabitha doesn’t confess the truth to Henry (Robert Joy) about who she really is, and more.

COLLIDER: How did you prepare yourself for Episode 2, both in terms of the family’s discovery of Jim and the scene of Tabitha delivering that speech to him about taking care of their family?

CATALINA SANDINO MORENO: I don’t think you can prepare for that. Because I have played this character for many years, and my connection with both Eoin and Jim… he was the protector of the family, the one who was always trying to shield her, and not having him, it was like a death, saying goodbye to an old friend. That speech, I remember asking Jack [Bender] how he was going to shoot it, because usually we use two cameras, and Jack was like, “It’s just going to be one. We’re just going to push [in].” That gave me a lot of relief. He’s like, “Just do what feels right. You can move. Don’t feel restrained.” He gave me a lot of freedom to do that scene.

I remember as soon as I saw him lying there, it was a reminder of, “I don’t have my companion. I don’t have my friend. I don’t have the father of my children. And I keep losing!” She lost a child once, and now she’s losing the father of her kids. This is not a game. This is real life. Although they’re in this crazy monster world, this is her reality. It was just beautiful, and I couldn’t thank Jack more than I have for shooting that scene how he did. I think that moment was so precious and so honest, and it’s human. It’s what you do. You might fight with your partner, but at the end of the day, he’s the father of your children! You love him, and you’ve stuck together. You were in the shit together, and now he’s not there anymore.

I just felt that that was the highlight of my season — that, and another scene I have later on with Victor. That’s just so much of the realism of how you say goodbye to your best friend. How are you going to tell this to someone that you love and cared about? Those are the moments that I live for, basically.

‘From’s Catalina Sandino Moreno Reveals How Jim’s Death Sets Up Season 4’s Biggest Theme

“We’re dealing with a different monster now…”

Image via MGM+

As brutal as the discovery of Jim’s body is, does that confirm to Tabitha, “I’m on the right track here — if this town, if this place is willing to go after the people I love”? Is there a part of her that acknowledges that, even through her grief?

MORENO: Of course. Of course. I think that anger towards Jade, it’s like, “You figure shit out. It should be you. Poor Jim was trying to protect our children, protect me, and you have done all these things!” But that’s part of grief, and that’s part of pain, and that’s part of the desperation, that she doesn’t know what to do anymore.

But yes, knowledge in the town comes at a cost. Sarah’s brother said it early on — that when you push for answers in the town, the town is going to push back. We’re dealing with a different monster now, of how much are you going to push? Are you going to be scared to push and maybe just be here forever, or are you going to defy this town, knowing that it could be deadly? That’s a good premise for this whole season.

At the diner, Julie gets upset at something Sophia says to her off-screen, and then Tabitha and Julie have the moment where Julie is openly questioning whether their family is the reason bad things have happened. Has Tabitha been holding onto that same fear at all?

MORENO: No, I think she feels cursed ever since her child died. There’s that beautiful scene where she goes into the church and says, “Don’t talk about God, because I’ve prayed so much, and my child died.” I think she feels cursed from that moment on. I don’t think everything started because they arrived. I think things have been hitting the fan since before they arrived, but now that they’re here, and Jade is here, it’s like, “We didn’t come in by ourselves. We came with Jade.” I think that started to shift things and move things and push. There are deaths, of course, because we were pushing, and we’re looking for answers. But I think she felt cursed ever since her child died, way long before they arrived in town.

‘From’s Catalina Sandino Moreno Explains Why Tabitha and Henry’s Relationship Is So Complicated

“She still feels strange, knowing that she is the recreation of Miranda.”

Image via MGM+

I really liked seeing you having more scenes with Robert [Joy] in this episode, with Tabitha feeling driven to find the lighthouse again, and then Henry insists on going with her, despite her warnings. What do you enjoy about getting to develop that relationship, which has a lot of layers to it?

MORENO: I think it would be more if he knew at the time that she was Miranda, but he didn’t know when we were going to the bottle tree. She still feels strange, knowing that she is the recreation of Miranda. With Henry, ever since she went out of town and found him, it’s been a great connection, but Tabitha feels responsible for bringing him to the town. She was the one who caused the crash, and she was the one who was like, “This is a crazy town. You’re not going to believe the town,” and he believed her. And because he believed her, he’s in this hole with us. She feels very responsible for that. So it’s very respectful. I don’t know what next season is going to be like with Henry and Tabitha, but I feel it has to change now that we all know who she is.

Why do you think, in this episode, that Tabitha doesn’t confess the truth to Henry about who she really is?

MORENO: I think it was not the right time. We’re right in front of the bottle tree. He was telling me so many beautiful things about his wife and remembering her. I mean, if it took her a while to understand that she was Miranda, I couldn’t imagine someone who had a child with her to understand. “What do you mean, you’re Miranda?” I don’t think it was the right moment for her to deliver that information to him, right in front of the bottle tree, where she died.

New episodes of From Season 4 premiere Sundays on MGM+.