Falling Skies - Reunion

Really?  Just like that he's gone?

Falling Skies had it's series penultimate episode with the entry, "Reunion" this past Sunday and what a reunion it was.  Making their return was none other than Lexi, Anthony, Pope and Rebecca or as we've been taken to call her, "Fauxbecca.

But what of Pope?  That's it?  No mano a mano fight with Tom Mason?  Isn't that we've been waiting for?  Wouldn't Pope want to dispel all his demons in a last grapple with Tom?

"From Hell's heart I stab at thee."

No?

To die in massive explosion seems rather impersonal.  So generic.  And what, no body?  I think we all know on TV if there is no body then there is no death.

But wouldn't that be insulting to the viewing audience to have Pope crawl out from the rubble to make one last stab at Tom?  We've seen that a million times and would reduce his "death" to a B level horror movie trope.

Not that I mind seeing Pope go.  He was always my least favorite character.  A square peg endlessly being fitted into the round hole.  From villain to hero to villain once again.  An inconsistent story line to the end.

But as much as I disliked him I thought his end would garner more meaning.  No last thoughts of Sara?  No final insult to Tom and his family as he rode his bike off into the sunset?

 It's a little difficult to walk (crawl) away from a blast like that.

Even seen from another angle the destruction seems pretty complete.

Pope also got his "send off" reaction shots from most of the series principles.

Tom and Weaver.

Hal and Maggie.  (You'd think Maggie would take the time to spit on the ground.)

Ben and Matt.   

Everyone got a last good look.

Here's our last look at Pope.  Spinning away from the fire.  No doubt that pillar saved him from the enveloping flame and the concussive blast.

Just a scratch! 

You won't hear me lament Pope's fate.  You will hear from me if he crawls out from the debris.  The last episode is titled, "Reborn."

God please no.

And speaking of flames, Lexi's back!

The awful platinum hair is gone too!

I guess the thinking that Weaver's old girl "Katie" was a one off experiment from the Espheni was wrong.  Here they are again with a "Lexi look a like."  Boy, they almost had me.  Maybe I just wanted it to be true.  

* Quick aside, can we see Lourdes again? *

Lexi made like a Trojan Horse and managed to worm her way into the Mason compound.  (Sorry 14th Virginia.) all courtesy of Matt Mason.  I have to say, ol Matt got off pretty lightly at the end when it was found Lexi was just another plant from the Espheni.  Everyone knew she was just a fake to worm her way into everyone's heart.  Hmm, if they have ear worms on Falling Skies does that make Lexi a heart worm?  There's pills for that you know.

So I guess that's it for the clones right?  Maybe Lourdes?

Or....

 

Aw, c'mon, no!  They wouldn't.  Would they?

Kind of a nasty send off for the Look-alike-Lexi.  Maybe we should call her Sparky from now on.  I do think it was a nice touch from the people at Falling Skies to give actress  Scarlett Byrne one last scene. They must have really liked her.

Speaking of likable cats.  Yay, Anthony gets redemption!  He takes a bullet for Anne and gets to issue an apology.  Good, he didn't belong with Pope's hateful fight gang anyway.  More points for the Falling Skies people.  (All to be deducted if a real Pope crawls out from the rubble.)

Here's Fauxbecca in all her porcupine-ish six legged glory.  She didn't seem to have her usual effect on Tom.  He seemed pretty stable for this episode.  Resisting Lexi's allure, not going all Mad Max warrior on Pope.

She brought her ultra cool spaceship too and with the beamer in tow.

Think we'll see these two craft play a role in the finale?  I do.  


Who will be in the final roll call?

Okay Dave, we get it, you want to see Lourdes again.

Anyone else we may see in the finale as a clone, dream sequence or hallucination?

 
They have to give Karen her due.  She went from cute girlfriend to major nasty.

Dai should get a homage.

Tector too.

Please, Deni also.  I hated the way she went out.

Seeing Jeanne again would be nice.

Anyone else?  

Would you like to see Porter one last time? Kadar? Uncle Scott? Crazy Lee? Marina Peralta, Jimmy, Rick or even Sara?

Just not you know who.  Please I'm begging you, no.

I said no!

What is the Price of Greatness?

Mild spoilers ensue.

Tonight is the penultimate episode of the second season Of Falling Skies.  It's been titled "The Price of Greatness".  Pictured above is a familiar face especially to those that followed the TV show "Lost".  Terry O'Quinn will appear in the last two episodes of Falling Skies and with this addition let's hope the stakes are raised for our hardy band of survivors.

O'Quinn apparently plays an authority figure of sorts in the surviving underground US government.  He also seems to have ties with Tom Mason judging from some of the internet spoilers that have been circulating.  A former mentor?  Perhaps an academic superior or even a former professor of Tom's?  If so, this figure could exert a certain amount of influence on Tom.

So what would the price of greatness be for Tom?  It seems Tom's reputation has preceded him as they enter Charleston.  Will his former mentor thrust greatness upon Tom in the form of an exalted leadership position in the underground government?  Will he have to sacrifice his time to his sons with new responsibilities?  Looking at the picture above, Tom has been asked to speak for the 2nd Mass and to the collected survivors of the collective resistance.  Note the backdrop to Tom, excerpts from the Constitution or Declaration of Independence?  I actually hope its from the Gettysburg Address, that way Lincoln's phrase from that passage, "the last full measure of devotion" would resonate more clearly as it refers to those that died for the cause to preserve the Union.  This scenario also serves to illuminate some of my suspicions of the new government in Charleston.

If we take a look at the promo picture above we see the Southern United States in the background to O'Quinn.  We already know the new seat of government is in Charleston which also happened to be the birthplace of the American Civil War.  (It also reflects where the war has moved to much like it did in the American Revolutionary War.)  If you read my last post you are familiar with this information.  I also noted the introduction of the skitter character of "Tyler" who was a US president that was sympathetic to the Southern cause and actually served in the Confederate congress.  

With these tie ins can we suppose that the "price of greatness" is to join a US government that is complicit with the Overlord invasion?  Are they to betray the basic tenets of the Union and compromise their ideals much like the Confederacy did.?  Does this new government owe their refit and reconstitution to the world's new masters?  So why hide underground?  Well, if they do owe the Overlords with their resurgence if could be because as the proxies of the Overlords they would be extremely unpopular with any survivors especially if they act as a human police force or army with semi-autonomous power as long as they keep the rest of the resistance groups in line.

Would Falling Skies as a TV show be willing to go to this extreme?  I'd love to see it but it would be a gutsy leap.  Humanity has a long history of collaboration.  See Vichy France, the Holocuast and those who serve with the US Army during the American Indian Wars.

Another scenario would be that this government is working with the Skitter resistance.   This would be fun also.  It would paint the new US government in a better light and would be in keeping with our collective American mythology of fighting the oppressors and joining forced with those that are similarly oppressed.  As a "Mason" Tom would naturally fit in as one of the new founding fathers and help form a new goverment representative of the people.  Unless, of course, this new government is much less than representative and that is the "price" Tom has to pay is to join a government that doesn't truly reflect his ideals.

Whatever the latest iteration of the US government is, it looks as though Captain Weaver is on board.  In the above picture he is sporting a brand new uniform of the military.  Tom however as Weaver's number two is still in his civvies.  Was he not invited to join the fighting forces despite his fighting for the resistance?  Or is the "price" Tom has to pay is quitting the armed faction and joining the civilian government?  This would be more in line with the way Falling Skies is written.  Safely.

Whatever Tom's decision is, to quit the military faction and or join the new government, there are people that still look up to him.  Maybe the cost will be too high and the 2nd Mass will decide to leave Charleston if it doesn't fit in with the way they feel.  We may even see the civilian faction break away and the military unit stay behind.  There are only two episodes left and since we are getting a third season I suspect another cliffhanger is in order.  They have their work ahead of them if they can top last years.

So there you have it, what is the "price of greatness"?

Death March?

When I read the title of the last episode of "Falling Skies" was going to be "Death March" I had visions of historical references to the Bataan Death March that U.S. servicemen had to endure at the hands of the brutal Japanese Army in World War II.  Or, perhaps we would get a reference to the Trail of Tears that American Indians were forced to undergo and remains one of the darkest moments in American history.

In doing so I believed we would bear witness to the near death of the 2nd Mass as they struggled to reach Charleston and the excruciating torture they would encounter at the hands of the Overlords along the way.  This was not to be.  Unless, of course, you count the tragic radiator hose break that Hal, Maggie and Pope suffered as they blazed the way south.

So what did I miss?

Why call an episode "Death March", a term with such grievous historical significance, if the worst thing that happened was the aforementioned hose leak or the death of some anonymous poor soul from dehydration.  (Hmmm, an engine bereft of water and a human in the same condition, no that can't be it!)

I don't mean to deviate from the actual events of "Death March" but I thought the title so compelling that there must have been more to it.  Apparently I am mistaken.

So let's get to some of the events of Death March and the things we learned fro it.

There was a promotional Facebook post touting Maggie's big reveal and what did everyone think of it?  I saw the post but didn't read it not wanting to spoil the episode that I had scheduled to watch Monday night.  To tell you the truth I thought she was going to come out as a murderer.  Especially after watching the episode unfold and Pope taunt her with the "truth".  As it turns out she had fallen into despair after her bout with cancer, taken to drugs and drifting and experienced an unwanted (?) pregnancy.  While sad this is hardly Earth shattering.  Did Pope and Maggie think this tale of woe would doom any relationship with Hal?  Is Hal so naive that a woman that ran with Pope's armed thugs would be chaste?  At the very least he should have reached out to her upon hearing this revelation despite the fact that it was a lot to take in.  Maggie's problems are pretty miniscule when taken in context with 90% of the Earth's population being wiped out.  Aren't these people battle hardened yet?

Let's deal with another reveal of sorts and that is the introduction of the character, Jenny.   Tector (how's that for a great name? "Tector" is also a class of Star Destroyer from the Star Wars movies. I wonder if his parents were big fans?) gave her a good thump when she jaywalked in front of the convoy.  Being part skitter makes you pretty tough and it wasn't long before she was on her feet and asking questions.  And she had a lot of questions!  Isn't there and old saying if something smells like you know what it must be "you know what."  Weaver caved once again and it wasn't long before Jenny started pumping Matt for information.  Didn't they learn anything from Karen?  How naive are these people?  I would have screamed, "She's a spy!" at the TV if I didn't know how dense these people are already.

At least Jenny had some information of her own to spill and it provided us with more insight into the background of the skitters.  She refers to them as "Guardians" and the harnessed kids the Guardians care for refer to themselves as family with each being brothers or sisters.  Additionally the skitter that cared for Jenny's brood was a female, so at least you don't lose your sexuality once undergo full skitter conversion. I wonder if the male skitters are hunter gatherers and they rely on that primeval structure in order to survive or bend to the will of the Guardians?

Jenny's "brother" was named "Tyler" which made me think of the tenth president of the United States and who was also sympathetic to the Southern cause prior to the Civil War.  Tyler also served in the Confederate congress and with the 2nd Mass heading towards Charleston South Carolina where the Civil War began I thought the historic symmetry and symbolism looked rather gloomy for Boston's best.  (More on this in a future post.)

This being a science fiction show I also thought that the character of "Jenny" may have been a nod to the character "Jenny Hayden" of "Starman" renown.  Anyone else see that movie?  The Starman played by Jeff Bridges responded to the invitation recorded on Voyager 2.  I wonder if Earth accidentally beckoned to the Overlords.  The military did seem to be taken off guard in what little evidence we learned from season one.  We'll have to keep an eye on this to see if Earth dropped the ball and brought doom upon themselves by inviting the Overlords here and then had their welcome betrayed.

The last revelation of Death March was that Charleston wasn't a burnt out cinder after all.  Psych!  Either ending to this episode had to be a bit cliche.  We either get the "march for nothing" or we get "Kidding!"  "Charleston's alive and well underground."  Both are derivative of the way Battlestar Galactica ended.  So what is the other shoe that has yet to drop?  As we approach the Death Star that is Charleston all I can think is,  "I have a bad feeling about this." 

Next up, how bad can it be and what is the price of greatness?

A Homecoming of Sorts?

Falling Skies is now officially more than half way through it's second season and with it we get the episode, "Homecoming".  As I have often blogged before the test of family unity is often explored in Falling Skies and that theme is no different in this particular episode.  The title, "Homecoming" suggests an end of trials of sorts and a return to normalcy that one should get when one "comes home". 

Unfortunately, that is far from true for the 2nd Mass  and the word "normal" rarely applies. 

Let's start with the relationship between Tom and Anne.  (Above image courtesy of VaginaCon.com and is perfect for my discussion.)  It seems Tom and Anne's relationship has moved to the next level.  They have built a "home" of sorts despite the vagaries of war and find solace in each others company.  I'm all for this because I find nothing wrong with two mature people with common needs seeking the reassurance of love amidst the turmoil of war.  Sadly, this seems tenuous at best when the stress over how to treat the infected Capt. Weaver spills over and Tom reverts to his prior relationship and calls Anne, "Rebecca".  This shatters the illusion of this relationship and despite Tom's efforts to patch things up later and uneasy truce is settled upon.

Homecoming denied.

The most overt example of a "Homecoming" is the return of Karen to the fold.  In my previous blog post I wondered if the return of Rick as a "reborn" or Lazarus like figure was portentous of the return of the other children (Read A Skitter Call to Prayer.) and that seems to be the case as many of the harnessed children were found in the woods with Karen the only survivor. (Not much of a homecoming for those other children!)  Yet despite the obvious affection that Hal still has for Karen, we eventually find it all a ruse as Karen is linked to Ben instead and she not the person she used to be.  She's a Trojan Horse of sorts and her inclusion into the fold is also illusory and short lived.

Homecoming denied.

 The character of Ben has been a conflicted one ever since he returned to his family and the 2nd Mass.  The group as a whole is suspicious of him and their trust in him is at a pitiful low.  He's mostly reviled and insulted behind his back.  Even Ben is suspicious of himself and is well aware he is not the person he used to be.  His harnessed enhanced body sets him apart and he is uncomfortable in his own skin and with the others.  Even in within his own family.  When we learn of the connection between Ben and Karen and we, as the audience, become suspicious of Karen's motives we suspect Ben is a short timer in his familial surroundings.

Homecoming denied.

 Ironically, the most authentic homecoming belongs to the prodigal son Pope.  (Above image courtesy of Wormholeriders.net) At one time reviled and banished from the group, he returns with a crucial piece of information that the 2nd Mass has been duped by Karen and her Overlord masters.  Pope's return marks the most truthful part of the episode and instead of being illusory it exposes the facade that the 2nd Mass has been living behind in their stay in Richmond.  This is what Weaver may have been alluding to when he told Tom and the militia that they have become complacent and need to pull up stakes.  The illusion in that message turns out to be the very low stockpile of fuel.  Something that Weaver didn't confide in with Tom.

Homecoming realized with Pope but denied to Tom and the rest.

So once again we find the family unit tested and the sense of home broken.  Our hardy ban hits the road once more with none of the comforting solace they should find in their relationships, family or sense of roots.  The diaspora continues and the promised land is no where in sight.  What does the future hold?

We Aren't Family...

It seems to me one of the major themes that Falling Skies is pursuing this season is the disintegration of the family unit and the desperate attempts by Earth's survivors to preserve this fragile entity.  Yet, at times, Earth's human inhabitants are their own worst enemies.  Witness last Sunday night's brain puzzler.  Fresh after the events of "Young Bloods" where Capt. Weaver is reunited with his long missing daughter, he confronts Tom Mason in, "Love and Other Acts of Courage" and basically tells Tom that his son Ben is a liability and should be put down.

Huh?

Didn't Weaver learn anything about the cost of war, the pain of separation, bittersweet reunion and the agony of being separated again?  I guess not.  Weaver even went so far as to threaten Mason with mutiny and  death not long after saying he couldn't do without his number Two just a few episodes ago.  Maybe Weaver isn't cut out for command.  He certainly doesn't portray much of a father figure.  (Also after realizing he wasn't much of one to his daughter.)

Weaver isn't the only one bent on destroying the nuclear family.  Take the case of Maggie and Hal.  I think we all know that future lies with the children and what better way to produce children than to, well, couple!  After some serious cuddle time with Hal in a damaged car  Maggie flashes her best bedroom eyes and then spends the rest of the episode pushing him away.  Good grief.  Granted, Maggie's is a bit damaged.  What with Pope's entrapment and servitude not to mention her bouts with cancer.  But, really, Hal's old girlfriend, Rita, may have had Jazz pants but the way Hal looks at Maggie she is Jazz all over!  C'mon Maggie I thought you were made of finer steel.

Here's another way that Falling Skies has contradicted itself.  Another one of the children (the future, remember?) returns to the fold in the form of Ricky and by episodes end he is dead.  It wasn't that long ago that Jimmy met a similar fate (Another lesson lost on Weaver) in the episode "Compass".  Maybe that's the point, these people have no compass and they have lost their way.  They can't even preserve and protect their future. 

It could be that the writers want to beef up the maturity of the show and do without so many "child" story lines.  I can understand that.  Jimmy wasn't much of a character anyway.  I was thinking it would be interesting to introduce a pregnancy into the show and replicate some sort of "Flight to Egypt" type of biblical analogy as they flee their oppressors.  Then again we had a pregnancy in season one and we haven't heard from that again!

Strikingly, the Overlords and the skitters seem to understand the value of children.  If it wasn't for the harnessing of the children the Overlords would have no one to impress into slavery.  So do you see what I mean by a contradictory message delivered by Falling Skies?

OK, one last example.  Tom Mason, as in Masons being the founding fathers of our country and our aptly named Tom as the new leader of a new world?  Nope, children are dying all around him.  What are we to think Falling Skies, should Matt be watching his back?

I think I've made my point no matter how fractured my presentation.  Perhaps the first half of the season is all about the splintering of the family unit and the second half will be about it's re-integration and preservation.  One can only hope.  At least Tom and Anne have the right idea, judging by their off camera "room exploration".  Remember you two, the children are our future!!!

Next up:  A skitter call to prayer?