Falling Skies: At All Costs

What a schizophrenic episode. There were two plots that stood out and worked, and two that felt very forced. If you've read my other reviews for this season, you'll probably guess which ones I didn't care for.

Falling Skies: Badlands

Tom: "In the last two years, I've been kidnapped, tortured, shot, implanted with an eye worm, last week I was almost torn apart by a harnessed kid and contaminated by a nuclear reactor. I think we can count on something happening, don't you?"

Falling Skies: Collateral Damage

Tom: "Dan, stay frosty."
Weaver: "Like a winter in Buffalo."

This review covers Part 2 of the two-part season premiere.

We go from lots of clichés and set up, to even more clichés and set up. This time we get more about the relationships and the stakes of the war. Plus even more creepy baby... yay?

Falling Skies: On Thin Ice

Tom: "Our real weapon, the weapon that will ultimately gain us victory, is the strength and tenacity of the human spirit!"
Pope: "I think I'm gonna be sick."

This review covers Part 1 of the two-part season premiere.

So its seven months later and an entire seasons worth of stuff has happened off screen. Why?

Falling Skies: A More Perfect Union

Red Eye: "Keep the fight going."

I guess the theme for this final episode was trust. Can the 2nd Mass trust Bresler? Can Bresler trust the 2nd Mass and their alliance with Red Eye and his rebel Skitters? The answers to those questions turned out to be surprising. Bresler was just as bad as Manchester said he would be. He betrayed the rebel Skitters without even blinking, and treated the 2nd Mass with as much skepticism and dismissal as Manchester did. But what was truly surprising was that Red Eye was not only trustworthy, but somewhat noble.

Falling Skies: The Price of Greatness

Matt: "We were safer on the road, weren't we?"

Second chances are never what they should be, are they? That was the theme this time, what do you do when your slate is wiped clean. Except it never really is, there is always some emotional baggage left over. So the 2nd Mass finally made it to Charleston, didn't last long did it? Can't say I didn't see it coming. But at the same time, would it really have worked if it was all perfect and shiny?

Falling Skies: Death March

Tector: "They need you now more than ever."
Weaver: "I don't know what to say."
Tector: "I respectfully suggest that you make something up ... sir."

In practically every television show with a serial format, the episode before the final two is when a big change happens, or there is a big revelation, or they do a frustratingly repetitive clip show. This episode didn't break that mold, although it wasn't exactly what I thought it would be. So the theme this time was rather transparently, secrets... how ironic. What I find interesting is that we got what was essentially an entire episode of exposition, and yet it seemed like there was some significant progress in the overall story. I guess it was a bit of an emotional state of the show, where everyone lays out their issues so that we know explicitly where they are in their heads.

Falling Skies: Molon Labe

Anne: "I've had enough creepy crawlies to last a lifetime."

"Molon Labe" is an ancient Greek phrase roughly translated to mean "Come and take them". It was supposedly said by King Leonidas I in defiance of the Persian army's demand that the Spartans surrender their weapons at the Battle of Thermopylae (which is the historical event that the graphic novel/movie 300 is loosely based on). Which makes it a very fitting term for the episode that featured a hopeless battle against a far superior force. Except in this case the 2nd Mass won.

Falling Skies: Homecoming

Weaver: "How much fuel did we burn saving my sorry ass?"

That was an intense episode. So many things happened in such a short amount of time.

Falling Skies: Love and Other Acts of Courage

Maggie: "The problem is, I don't know how to stop myself from going too far."

Yet another strong episode, and this time it was about relationships. There is a lot of interpersonal stuff going on in the 2nd Mass. and apparently there's some interesting stuff going on in the Skitter ranks as well. Is Red Eye being honest? I have a theory about that, but I'll get to it in a bit.

Falling Skies: Young Bloods

Jamil: "It doesn't mean you stop hoping. Just means you gotta hope for something else. You know, for Charleston, for a new life, one day a new family. Hope's all we got."

This episode was pretty clearly about what family means. We had the Masons struggling with where they all fit into each other's lives, and where they belonged among the greater community. Then we also had Weaver's sudden reunion with his long lost daughter Jeanne. But even with all that family drama, there were some interesting developments in the ever-growing Skitter mythology.

Falling Skies: Compass

Tom: "I'm just a history professor."
Avery: "And I was a manager at the Carpet Corral. But look at me now. I'm Paul Revere in a prop plane."

I was seriously conflicted about this episode after I watched it. It pulled me in two different directions. I couldn't quite figure out why I felt that way, until I saw it again.

Falling Skies: Shall We Gather at the River

Pope: "Hey, Cap. I heard they pulled a circuit board out of Tom's head."

The theme of this episode was trust. Can we trust our friends, family, allies and most importantly, ourselves? Tom's struggle with his own mind and his doubts about his sanity and trustworthiness were the stand out sections of the episode. At the same time the B-story about the bridge was fully paid off with that awesome chase at the end. Much like the first episode this season, it had a different pace and tone. Each character had a chance to have a moment to shine or work through some issues, or reveal something new about themselves.

Falling Skies: Worlds Apart

Margaret: "Looks like the bad guys are growing a brain."

This almost seemed like a different show. The tone felt like they turned it down a few shades darker, plus new sets, new make-up, and better monster effects. They even reduced the annoyance of the score, a little. The theme this week was about how things continue even if they are torn apart or changed. We had two stories, Tom's journey and the 2nd Mass. trying to survive without him.

Falling Skies: Eight Hours

Weaver: "Good shot."

Well, this was an improvement. There wasn't really a sense of urgency, but there was tension. This felt like combat, where you wait endlessly to engage the enemy, only to be thrust into chaos when you least expect it, until there is a reprieve or you're dead. This entire episode was essentially one long evacuation/military action. So I'll split up my thoughts along the same lines.

Falling Skies: Mutiny

Tom: "We don't have enough people left for a suicide mission."

Why do I feel like they took three steps forward with the 2-parter and "What Hides Beneath", only to take two steps back here? Not that there wasn't some good stuff in this episode. But why did they have to revert Weaver into the super bastard again?

Falling Skies: What Hides Beneath

Weaver: "Bastards might be from outer space, but their engineering is strictly Architecture 101. Get close enough, we can kill' em."

Well, this was a game changer. We finally got answers about Weaver, we found out a little more about the mysterious tower in the middle of Boston, we were introduced to a new alien, and we found out an absolutely horrible secret about the Skitters that just launched the show from merely good to really interesting. Plus we got Pope showing the 2nd Mass. how to really fight back.

Falling Skies: Sanctuary, Part 2

Tom: "Rest easy, Mike. We'll take it from here."

The theme of this episode had to be sacrifice. A lot of things happened in this episode, and it was an improvement over the solid first part. We got an escape, a painful death, and some really great character moments. The writers finally seem to have discovered that individual episodes must have their own narrative. The simple addition of basic structure really brings this second part up to be the best of the series so far.

Falling Skies: Sanctuary, Part 1

Clayton: "He's a good kid."
Weaver: "Yeah, and he should be in junior high school with his arm around a cheerleader, not fighting a damn war, but there it is."

The very first scene of this episode informed us that not everything is the way it seems. It was a very well crafted story hook that pulled us in right away. That level of tension wasn't kept throughout, but it did pop up in a couple of really great moments. So the theme this time is logic versus emotion, or what is right on paper versus what we feel is right in our hearts. Tom had to make a choice between his instinct and what was supposedly right for the group. He should've listened to his gut.

Falling Skies: Silent Kill

Margaret: "You guys belong at Medieval Times."

I don't think there was a theme in this episode, or at least I didn't see one. Which is disappointing for an episode with several pivotal plot points. We did have some great scenes, and some interesting character development. The mission out into the world was one of the best we've seen yet. So why didn't I feel that this was the best episode of the season so far?