Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for From Season 4 Episode 2.

One of the most frustrating, but infuriatingly necessary elements of a mystery show is the nay-saying character who tries to dissuade others from digging too deep to avoid catastrophic consequences. In MGM+‘s From, that character is Jim Matthews (Eion Bailey), whose major purpose throughout the three seasons has seemed to be to guilt-trip Tabitha (Catalina Sandino Moreno) into prioritizing her role as a mother over her investigations into Fromville. He may have proved his worth occasionally in other areas, like the makeshift cell tower, but he mostly sticks to his role as a play-it-safe, family man, advocating for an important value in a redundant way. However, in Season 4’s newest episode, Jim makes his most meaningful contribution to the show.

Jim has always been an integral part of From’s cast — not necessarily likable, but a spokesman for family preservation and survival. As a character, he was as stubborn and fearful as he should be, and Bailey portrayed Jim’s desperation to keep his family together perfectly. Where everything falls apart is the way his role is shoehorned into the show, as** **viewers witness the same argument between Jim and Tabitha over and over again. Every few episodes, Tabitha would run off with Jade (David Alpay) and figure out some piece of the greater puzzle, while Jim was stuck at home juggling his children’s emotions in a usually futile way, only to lash out at Tabitha when she returned. Most of his points were justified, but repeated conversations with the same outcome simply don’t make for entertaining TV.

Harold Perrineau discusses Boyd’s fractured state of mind and the mood on set for ‘From’s most “despicable” moment yet.

These arguments become increasingly repetitive and frustrating, forcing another unnecessary cycle in a show already haunted by the routine appearance of new arrivals and a revolving door of threats. On top of this, it also trapped Jim in a never-ending rotation where he wasn’t allowed to evolve as a character, right until the end of Season 3, when he finally makes an effort to understand Tabitha’s perspective. However, this is also when** his life comes to a startling and gruesome end, one that benefits the show far more **than his words have. Jim’s insistence on Tabitha’s priorities was redundant during his life, but his death is disturbingly the most effective way to address this idea.

Upon finding Jim’s guts hanging from his corpse in Season 4, everything he had been advocating for is finally felt — and his death is a major turning point in the show. While there have been some grisly ramifications for Tabitha and Jade’s pursuit of knowledge, like Dale’s (Cliff Saunders) absolutely wild death following the bottle tree discovery last season,** **this is the first time the duo has experienced any real and meaningful pushback. Dale’s death was more of an unpredictable follow-up, while Jim’s came with an indisputable message that solidified a causal relationship: “knowledge comes at a cost.” With a family member dead, the stakes have never been higher, especially so close to the show’s final season.

Additionally, Jim’s words hold far more weight from beyond the grave than as a domestic dispute, as Tabitha finally cracks and pushes Jade away. It’s chilling to say this, but dying was the most meaningful thing Jim could do to effectively advocate for everything his character symbolizes. The idea of his death, rather than his words, pushing Tabitha to the brink, suits the drastic and horrific tone of the show better. It not only finally rids us of the repeated conversation that dragged the pace, but also sparks the jarring, emotional note that From needed for this point of the story.

Jim had been stuck in his own personal rut amid the nightmarish limbo of the town, but his death was by far the most crucial and impactful move the character could have made. It may be a macabre thought, but with his grisly demise,** From bares its teeth and feels more cutthroat than ever, especially as it moves towards the highly anticipated series finale.

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