Previewing From: “Strangers in a Strange Land” 

[Warning: General spoilers ahead.]

Y’all know I had mad love for From last spring, and I’ve continued to yell about it since it wrapped its first season. When screeners first dropped for Season 2, I waited a beat before watching because I wanted to preserve what was so precious about Season 1 just in case Season 2 didn’t measure up.

I’m thrilled to tell you that “Strangers in a Strange Land,” written by series creator John Griffin from a story by him and Jeff Pinkner, and directed by Jack Bender, absolutely does. It once again unleashes all the frights and all the feels, sometimes in the same moment, capturing the emotion of last season’s world building and dropping all our faves right back into the action of the events of the finale. Alas, there’s no hiatus for them in their timeline.

We pick up exactly where we left them, with the storm winding down at Colony House and Jim racing down the hill to find Tabitha, who’s safely escaped with Victor through the tunnels underneath her house. And then there’s that bus.

With Boyd off on his quest, it’s left to Donna to hike into town quickly get everyone up to speed and safely inside, and of course, there are an incredulous handful who are having none of this crazy talk about monsters in the woods. Donna’s already had a day, so she’s having none of it, either. Meanwhile, Tien Chen is leading the post-storm clean up.

Jim doesn’t find his wife, but he does initiate a sequential torrent of bad luck for himself and a couple of passengers who come to help. Kenny is doing what he can to be a deputy to Donna as they work two scenes, and between them try to reason with the newbies the importance of getting off the street before darkness makes the point for them. Fatima and Ellis try to help, too, while Kristi’s pulled into triaging multiple locations.

Meanwhile, Boyd is right where we left him, until help comes for him, too, and opens up a whole new round of questions that need answers. Victor leads Tabitha around the tunnels and she gets a closeup look at what’s been lurking just beyond her basement all this time. Jade continues to spiral into his own quest for answers about the symbol that’s plaguing him and draws a reluctant Ethan into his mania.

We also get a cursory meeting of our new arrivals, whose stories unfold and intersect with the series regulars over the course of the season. Nathan D. Simmons plays Elgin, who has the good sense to be terrified; Kaelen Ohm is the pediatric nurse who helps him out when he panics; Angela Moore is the extremely annoyed bus driver; AJ Simmons is the hothead Randall, whose swagger makes the wrong impression right out of the gate; and Deborah Grover is the pragmatic passenger who’s the least ruffled by the unplanned stop.

The premiere artfully weaves the new characters into the arcs of the characters we’ve built relationships with, while exploring new questions about reality, fantasy, love, and hope in the face of impossible situations. One of the things that was so terrific about the show in the first season continues, as it brings unlikely characters together to find connections–sometimes fleeting, sometimes not–that one or both need and can learn from at a specific point in time.

I love this show. I’m so glad it’s back. It’s been so worth the wait.

From Season 2 premieres Sunday, April 23rd, at 9 pm/8c on MGM+, where it will air the rest of the season, and is streaming online and through Prime Video in the US. All ten episodes of Season 1 are streaming online for free here. In Canada, you can stream it on Paramount+ via Prime Video subscription channels. If you missed any of our conversations for Season 1 and my new chat with Harold Perrineau, they’re all here.

Here’s a sneak peek of Season 2.

Photos and videos courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer