Karen, Karen, Karen.

The New Overlord?

What does she want?  What is her agenda? Is she really the next Overlord?

According to Tom Mason she is, although my radar has detected a few false flags from the initial two episodes.  But look at that sweet face, who wouldn't want to follow her over a cliff into your complete and utter doom.

She has leader written all over her!

She certainly seems to have her tentacles everywhere.  And given proclivity for evil, tentacles seems and apt description of her reach.  Let's start with poor ol' Hal.  

As Maggie has claimed, Karen did something to him and it was in the form of one of the Espheni cyber-bugs.  As we all saw, Karen had placed a bug buried deep inside his cerebral cortex.  It allowed her to manipulate him with a Svengali like thrall.  He would come to her in the depths of the night in a dream like trance and from there she would work her magic as pictured below.

What of this "magic".  Let's take a quick look at another development.

Remember when Tom Mason disappeared aboard the Espheni ship and wasn't returned until later in season two.  Just about every member of the 2nd Mass thought the Overlords had manipulated him and they didn't trust him upon his return.  He didn't even trust himself.

Eventually, Tom was brought back into the fold and he and Anne worked a little magic of their own.  The product of which is "super advanced baby" pictured above.  Is this what Karen has planned for Hal?  The Overlords may have a new way of enslaving humanity outside the Skitters and their harnesses.  If the Espheni have developed a way of impregnating humans then the may have found a way of infiltrating Earth's resistance and placing themselves firmly in control of humanity with a whole new hybrid.

That would be a stunning development.

Where else do Karen's tentacles reach to?  There is the mystery of who shot Arthur Manchester.  One of the prime suspects is Hal under the mind control of Karen.  This is where my "false flag radar" goes off.  Yes, it makes sense he's the shooter.  He's under Karen's control and he obviously doesn't know what he is doing  in the dead of night.

But wasn't he up and about when Anne was about to give birth?

Who else has been acting suspiciously lately?

 Haven't things been a little fishy with Pope to start the new season?  Backing away from fights, making sure everyone has a drink in their hands and passing up chances to vamoose off to Mexico.  He says he has a plan so what is it?

He made a deal with Karen.

How's that for a plan?  His disdain for Tom's leadership has never been a secret but this year the vibe has been little different.  Pope's been keeping his nose clean and staying out of trouble relatively speaking.  I'm thinking Karen got to him and offered the leadership of the 2nd Mass in exchange for Tom and the 2nd Mass leaving Charleston.  She'll guarantee that no one will ever find out who took out Tom and in fact make Tom look like the goat in a stunning defeat for the resistance.

Of course that makes Pope a traitor but if no one finds out it's all the better for him.

Anywhere else for Karen's tentacles?

This one hurts a little.  Gloria Reuben's Marina has been a great addition this season.  Her chemistry with Tom Mason has been terrific.  We could even say that of Reubens in general and Noah Wyle.  The two stars clicked right away and in my opinion look better together than Wyle and Moon Bloodgood.

 We really don't know much about her however.  Where is she from?  How did she get so close to Tom so quickly?  Do you remember the look on Arthur Manchester's face when he saw his killer.  Instant recognition and stunned surprise.  Et tu Marina?

It seems Karen's reach can get anywhere.

 Before I conclude let's talk a little about the actress that portrays Karen Nadler.  Her name is Jessy Schram and she is perfectly cast in this role.  She can range between vulnerable waif and icy dominatrix.  Her romance with Hal is just as genuine as the plucky resistance fighter we knew early on as it is now that she seems to be leading the Espheni.  Kudos to Jessy for that.   If you saw her in the now canceled "Last Resort" you know she can play the hurt but loyal wife (girlfriend?) and the whip smart lady that couldn't be duped by the government.   Falling Skies is fortunate to have her as are the Espheni!

Karen's greatest coup may involve this man, more on this soon.

 

You're a mean one Mr. Grinch.

I mean Karen!  

You are deliciously evil don't ever leave us!

"A More Perfect Union" Part Two

At the end of my last blog post I asked some questions about some of the mysteries left behind by that season two finale.  So let's explore one of the more salient points and that would be that ear piercing shriek that heralded the arrival of the new species of alien.

The Shriek.

Judging by the screen grab above that shriek that sounded off when the new aliens began their descent I would say it was pretty harsh.  Could it be just a mechanical by product of their retro rockets firing off or is there a real purpose behind that ear splitting noise?  I vote real purpose!  My first thought was that it was a way to break the telepathic link between the Overlords and their minions.  It may also serve to shatter the mental reservoir the Overlords use to store their knowledge since it was divulged by Karen that they don't use computers.  (Or was it Ben that spilled that little gem?)  This audio disruption may even serve to break the mental link between each Overlord or as I should say, "The Eshpeni".

When I saw how it effected Ben I drew the conclusion that is why he couldn't detect the alien parasite that now infects Hal.  Earlier in the episode Ben embraced Hal just before the events of the Continental Army's massacre of the Skitter camp.  I thought that was deliberately inserted as foreshadowing to the events that came later as in "post Hal infection".  By the way, can we all agree that Hal was infected by Karen when she planted that eerie kiss on Hal once they were captured by the Overlords during the "Super-gun" attack?

It could be that Ben's link with the Skitters was broken once "Red Eye" died.  But then again Ben sensed the Overlord just before the breach to access the Super-gun and so this may mean his harness networks him with all aliens concerned.  The "shriek" inconveniently disconnected Ben from the Overlords so Hals infection now goes unnoticed.  Way to go new species.

Anne's Pregnancy.

Speaking of networking, Karen discovered Anne was pregnant by merely touching her or at least being in close approximation to her.  Did Karen just tip the hand of the Espheni's machinations?  Maybe now we have learned what happened to Tom once he was released by the Overlords in the first episode of this past season.  Tom may have been manipulated by the Overlords at a genetic level as some sort of lab rat so that if he impregnated somebody (poor Anne) a new skitter species may be born or some sort of Espheni derivative.  I'm thinking the Overlords are looking into making new minions much like the Skitters but this time without all the messy work behind getting a harness attached.  Seeing that the Skitters can maintain an independence of sorts, a new birth of Overlord slaves may prove more reliable.  Perhaps the Overlords are having problems with replicating but I think rather that this is a new form of slave to do their dirty work.

Karen's Prophetic Warning?

Just before Karen "skittered" up the wall of the Super-gun base she called out to Tom, "It's not over Tom, you'll never win".  When I first heard this I assumed that the Overlords may have lost a minor skirmish and Karen was just taunting Tom and the 2nd Mass and there are bigger battles to be fought.  But she may have meant more than that.  Knowing that the new aliens now have a toehold thanks to the Super-gun destruction, she may have been referring to the new aliens being worse for Earth than the Overlords.  "You'll never win" because these "newbies" aren't any better than the enemy you know.  Personally, I hope not.  I'd rather see this new bunch as a "third option".  Wherein, they aren't  Space Police or a "rival gang" but a species that manged to throw off the yoke of oppression of the Espheni and are now seeking retribution.  Their numbers may be small so by allying themselves with Earth we may be able to defeat the Espheni together.

The Espheni

I'll have to admit I was pretty disappointed that Tom slew the alien Overlord "off camera".  With the past that these two shared you'd think we'd see them locked in mortal combat.  I can only imagine that with the Overlord being a totally CGI'd character a battle between Tom and the "Fish Head" leader would have been too difficult to capture on film.  Now that Doug Jones has joined the cast as the new alien I'm sure we'll be able to see a closer interaction between the various aliens and we earthlings.  Look how far the Skitters have come in the context of how they are depicted on screen.

What I found interesting about the Overlord alien is that he had a "blade" extension that protruded from his wrist when it came time to do battle with Tom.  It reminded me of the extension that came from the alien from the movie "Signs".  Both were meant to incapacitate their respective foes and I wonder if the show-runners behind Falling Skies drew their inspiration from the Signs alien.  They are both certainly ugly enough!

Come to think of it the Signs alien is a little more humanoid and may even bear a closer resemblance to the new arrival alien of Falling Skies.  What do you think?

More clues are sure to be dropped during this off season, when they appear and they have any link to the season two finale I'll be sure to blog something about them.  Til then keep your heads down and your eyes to the sky.  It could be falling!

"Come and Take Them"

We're talking about the children right?

The famous two word quote, "Molon Labe" is attributed to King Leonidas in response to the Persian demand to lay down his arms during the battle of Thermopylae.  "Come and take them" is the translation.  It is also the title to our most recent episode of Falling Skies.  So, its safe to assume the Overlord invaders aren't after the weaponry of the 2nd Mass.  They're after the children specifically Ben Mason.

Before I get too deep into this episode let's talk about a child they already have, Karen.

Don't you just love her now?  I used to think she was so vanilla.  A simple two dimensional adolescent.  Not anymore!  Now she is deliciously evil.  Her speech is wicked and cutting, not to mention arrogant.  She still exudes a teenage charm with her placid pale face and pulled back blonde hair.  The perfect cupie doll.  Or rather than doll, puppet to the Overlord "Master" that pulls her every string.  How about her little performance in front of Ben when she dangled the neck hugger with its opiate like effect.  Creepy!

But one child like her isn't enough.  Thanks to Ben's brief link with the Overlord master he knows they are afraid of the nascent rebellion.  With that there is renewed vigor to his capture.  There have been many solid themes to this seasons Falling Skies, family, home and the importance of children.  This was definitely a "child" episode.  One minor case  in point were the heroic actions of Matt Mason.  No panic or infantile mewling this time.  He took charge of the situation with Anne and Lourdes and even was willing to sacrifice himself and gave up his weapon.  Impressive.  Speaking of Lourdes, despite her adult responsibilities, I still count her as one of the children.  She learned a cruel and bitter lesson about love and war.  Her demeanor thereafter was dark and broken much like her newly wounded heart.  A laceration a child should carry forever.

Let's get back to Ben.  He was duped (seduced) by Karen but in that short lived relationship he (and we as the viewing audience) learned two important facts.  The Overlords have a "task" before them and they will eventually move on.  Secondly, the Overlords attack populations that they perceive as at war with each other.  Karen divulged this through her parroting of the Overlords taunts.  The planets they attack are always divided and weakened by historical/tribal feuds.  I think its safe to extrapolate from this that the Overlords target planets in a weakened state.  I take from this they aren't as powerful as they seem and may well be very few in number.  Hence they need for children to increase their number even if it is in the form of slave labor.  My hope is that this is linked to my original theory that the Overlords are on the run from something bigger and badder than they and need to accomplish the "task" at hand and move on quickly.

So what is this task?  The secret of the Universe of course and the miracle nature of sub-atomic particles!  (Too bad for Falling Skies we discovered the Higgs Bosun in the real world.) Another telling gem provided by Karen.  Let's hope we get more information into the useful nature of these sub-atomic particles.  I have a suspicion they have something to do with altering time.  Whatever the Overlords are guilty of they want to flee from it's protectors.  Hopefully, the Galactic police are after them and they need these particles to escape their prosecutors.  Not that the Overlords harbor any remorse for their crimes, they are just looking for the ultimate getaway.  Time.

In closing, did anyone else get a Battlestar Galactica vibe at the end of this episode?  Especially after Lourdes bitter outlook for the future.  What happens if Charleston is a smoldering cinder much like the first Earth the Humans and Cylons discovered near the end of that SyFy series? (Spoiler alert!)  Things did not bode well despite the 2nd Mass getting away. (Did anyone else yell "Shoot him" at Tom when he had the Overlord at gunpoint and Ben was being tortured?).


Oh yes, Ben.  He's gone and he had to go.  This will breathe life into the rebellion storyline and we should learn more about the Skitters and their past. But I still can't get Lourdes recriminations out of my head.  Her loss of hope was harsh and acrid. 

Is there no hope for the future?

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?