CATCHING UP: Falling Skies (Season One, Episode Four – “Grace”)

First aired July 3rd, 2011.

The mission to save Tom’s middle son Ben (played by Connor Jessup) is slowly underway. But, like a video game, there are several levels to complete before our heroes can go after the boss.

In this episode, the 2^nd Mass has to find motorcycles for transportation needs. Lucky for them, Pope knows exactly where they can find some. Instead of having the known criminal draw a map, the group takes him along for the trip. First chance he gets, Pope knocks out his guard and escapes, causing more trouble by blowing up a group of sleeping Skitters nearby. The noise attracts a small army of armed “harnessed” kids who attack them.

Hopefully, Tom will make his move soon to rescue Ben. While it is an interesting and compelling storyline, it has become the main one for the last few episodes. There are other story arcs the show should expand on such as the war against the Skitters. The sooner Ben is rescued, the sooner we can move on to new plots.

Back at home base Dr. Anne Glass (played by Moon Bloodgood), a pediatrician turned physician, tries to communicate with the captured Skitter using pictures and offering water. Dr. Harris, the man who left Tom’s wife to die, decides to use harsher methods, such as wheeling in the body of a dead Skitter. Although Harris is an enormous jerk, his way actually yields some results and we learn more about them.

When agitated or antagonized, the Skitter was able to channel radio frequencies. It also used a form of mind control to make Ricky (played by Daniyah Ysrail), the boy rescued in the last episode, reattach his harness and try to break it free. The Skitter also talks through Ricky but doesn’t say much except demand to be freed. Another weakness they have is that if you put something far enough into their mouths, you can knock them out and/or kill them.

Anne is a very interesting character and it’s a shame it’s taken four episodes for her to have a major storyline. In the first few episodes, she seemed to be nothing more than a possible romantic interest for Tom. Here, we learn that she is driven both by the deaths of her husband and son and desire to protect the people of the 2^nd Mass. What’s even better is she is shown taking steps to help bring down the aliens. The show was in need of a strong female lead and Anne definitely seems suited for the task.

While Anne is becoming more fleshed out, there is still little character development among the supporting cast. It turns out that Lourdes is not just a fan of religion but also a former medical student. When Karen (played by Jessy Schram) was kidnapped last episode, there was almost no reason to care because we knew next to nothing about her except that she was Hal’s girlfriend. We need to know these characters to care about what happens to them.

Quotes/Thoughts

The Skitters sound exactly like the raptors from the Jurassic Park movies.

“They killed my family. I would like nothing more than to take an ax and cut that thing’s head off.”

Eating a meal must be a life or death situation for Skitters.

I’m just enjoying the air. Didn’t mean to piss of the company gangbanger.” “Black man with a gun, that’s your default?”

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