WARNING! This article contains major SPOILERS for From season 3, episode 1!The town is rocked by yet another tragedy in From season 2’s ending that included a variety of ing characters. As the operator of the diner and Kenny’s mother, Tian-Chen has been one of the most important characters since the beginning of the show, so her death will have major consequences on the town’s societal structure.

At the end of From season 3, episode 1, the monsters let loose the town’s farm animals at night, using them as bait to draw the townspeople out of the safety of their homes. The town is running desperately low on food, so Boyd, Tian-Chen, and Jade try to wrangle the cows into the barn as the monsters gradually surround them. After Tian-Chen and Boyd believe themselves safe in the barn, the monsters enter and tie Boyd to a post. The creatures proceed to slowly, cruelly rip apart Tian-Chen as Harold Perrineau’s From character is tragically forced to look on.

From's Monsters Killed Someone They Knew Boyd Would Desperately Want To Protect

Tian-Chen's Death Tests Boyd's Ability To Protect The Town

While it just so happened that Tian-Chen was the one helping Boyd get the cow back into the barn, her randomly selected presence gave the monsters a more devastating victim to torture Boyd with. In From season 2, Boyd taunted the town by telling its forces that it wouldn’t break him after he saw something manifesting itself as his dead wife, Abby. In revenge, the monsters devised a plan to do their best to “break” Boyd, which involved forcing him to watch helplessly as someone he’s sworn to protect is torn to pieces right in front of his eyes.

Boyd had maintained a strong relationship with Tian-Chen throughout the hit sci-fi TV show, which was strengthened further by her son Kenny ing the police force under Boyd’s guidance. He felt a great kinship to the Liu family, so being unable to help Tian-Chen as she was brutally murdered a few feet in front of him would have made Boyd, as the town’s sheriff, question his ability to properly defend and protect his fellow residents. Additionally, it means Boyd has to go home relatively unscathed and tragically tell Kenny why he couldn’t save his mother.

At this point, From also had to raise the stakes right off the bat for season 3 by killing off a major character. Plenty of ing and unnamed figures have died throughout From, but Tian-Chen being brutally killed by the monsters means very few of the remaining main characters are safe. Similar to when Charlie was killed in Lost to truly raise the stakes, Tian-Chen’s death will open the eyes of the characters and audiences alike as they face increasingly vengeful and manipulative forces in From’s town.

Will Tian-Chen's Death "Break" Boyd Like The Monsters Want?

How Will It Affect Boyd In From Season 3?

The sadistic monsters in From took Boyd’s words that the town wouldn’t break him as a threat, and Tian-Chen’s death happening right in front of him is a big test. It’s unlikely that Tian-Chen’s death will actually be what “breaks” Boyd, however. Not being able to save her will put his confidence in protecting the town to the test and will make him feel incredibly guilty around Kenny, but it would take a much more personal death to “break” him.

Tian-Chen’s fate is apt to make Boyd more intent on getting revenge on the monsters and finding a way out of town, so their plan may actually backfire.

Watching his mentee Kenny, kids like Ethan or Julie, or Boyd’s own son Ellis die in front of him would be more likely to give him that response. Boyd has already experienced his wife’s death and has seen countless residents become victims to the monsters’ tortures; at this point, it’s upsetting to say that it would take more than Tian-Chen’s death to send Boyd to a place of no return. Tian-Chen’s fate is apt to make Boyd more intent on getting revenge on the monsters and finding a way out of town, so their plan may actually backfire.

What Tian-Chen's Death Means For Kenny & The Other Residents In From Season 3

Tian-Chen's Fate Will Greatly Impact The Community's Dynamics

Tian-Chen’s demise will have far more devastating effects on the town’s dynamics and structure than if Jade, the other character helping Boyd, had been the one who died in From's season 3 premiere – and the monsters are well aware of that. They want to introduce more chaos into the town’s relationships and sense of security with each other, and killing the mother of the sheriff’s deputy, manager of the diner, and one of the most well-respected of the community is certain to accomplish this.

Kenny's father, Bing-Qian Liu, died in From season 1 after creatures entered the clinic and killed him.

Since Tian-Chen was managing the diner, the town has to find a replacement who can be trusted with the food resources, especially at a time when their rations are quickly running out. It will also cause another devastating period of grief, anger, and perhaps even resentment for Kenny, as he’s now lost both of his parents in From’s town. It’s possible that Kenny will blame Boyd for not saving his mother, which would heighten the community’s problems with cohesion by causing some major tension between the sheriff and deputy. After Tian-Chen’s death, chaos will doubtlessly follow in From season 3.