FALLING SKIES Steps Up

Episode 301 & 302 “On Thin Ice”

[photos: James Dittinger/TNT]

A lot has happened in the past seven months. And this becomes the mantra for both episodes that aired as Falling Skies made its return.

The new alien race is called the Volm, and the representative working with the human resistance goes by the moniker “Cochise”. Doug Jones joins the cast as the new non-human, and he confirmed with us via Twitter, that he’s the one both in the alien make-up and it’s his voice (albeit electronically modified).

And Tom Mason is the new President? OK. Probably not a good idea for him to be going out into battle, then, but since it’s Tom…

It’s clear from the very first scene, that the show’s got a bigger effects budget. From the new “mega-mechs” to the number of Skitters we see in this episode, it’s a visual effects load that we normally don’t get in a regular episode. One possibility is that they wanted to impress newcomers coming out of the gate, but since there were FX-heavy scenes in both episodes, I’m prone to think the budgets and technology got more advantageous.

Technology: over the last seven months, the Volm have given the 2nd Massachusetts augmentation on their weapons. Bombs that can send out an EMP wave to knock out the mechs, laser pulsers added to the machine guns, a machine that removes the harness without killing the host… and the Volm are building a Very Big Gun deep in the tunnels near Charleston — something only Tom and Cochise knew about until Tom shows Major Weaver (he got a promotion) to reassure him the Volm mean well.

A little about the Volm: according to Cochise, they were conquered by the Skitters — who got an official name at the end of season two: Espheni — and finally managed to take up arms and overthrow the Overlords. Since then, they’ve taken it upon themselves to travel to various Skitter-occupied worlds in a crusade to liberate them from the aliens. Weaver, of course, is suspicious. What’s in it for the Volm? How do we know they won’t just step in and take over once they kick the Skitters off the planet?

One of the biggest surprises is seeing Hal in a wheelchair — a lot’s happened over the last seven months — and it’s got to be a result of the little Ceti Eel thingamabob that went into his ear at the end of the season finale. Karen clearly has something going on, and the show does a good job making it unclear whether or not Hal’s having nightmares or really wandering out in the woods to meet Karen for some kissy face and Cyclon-spine bow-chicka-wow-wow. The reveal that it’s real — thanks to Maggie not taking things at face value and finding Hal’s mud-covered boots in the bureau — adds a new wrinkle to the idea that Hal has been compromised.

Naturally, this is going to lead the audience to think that Hal is the spy within the ranks at Charleston, giving the Skitters information about their plans. So when Tom and Weaver make a plan to take down the nuclear power plant the Skitters are using to power the megamechs, they make sure it’s a plan that can be shared. Of course, Pope isn’t too thrilled finding out they were bait while Tom took a team into the plant. But there’s definitely a spy, and all signs point to Hal, but I’m not too sure. I’m wondering if the writers are making it too obviously him.

One of the reasons I doubt it’s Hal is because of how Arthur Manchester reacts when he learns the spy’s identity — right before said spy shoots Manchester in the chest. It’s just ambiguous enough, but given that Anne was giving birth at the time Manchester was confronted, you’d think he would say something if it was Hal. But he didn’t, and that generic reaction to the shooter makes me wonder if we’re being set up for a big twist.

It won’t be Anthony. I think the writers got the message that fans like this character, so right out of the gate they’re giving him more to do. Which is great, considering a lot of the post-dystopian science fiction shows right now keep killing off the minority characters with aplomb — and Falling Skies has been guilty of this a bit, too. He’s in charge of finding the spy, and should get some pretty good scenes showing his police skills this season.

Nice to see Gloria Reuben in a series again. She’s the President’s chief of staff. And could she be the mole? Maybe. If only for the reason that she’s quiet, in the background, and the writers haven’t done anything to call attention to her. Which might be the setup to the twist. But since she’s a brand new character, we need time to get emotionally invested in her before the reveal of her betrayal can make any kind of impact. So either she’s going to get some meaty scenery to chew, or she’s not the spy.

And Robert Sean Leonard is not quite recognizable as Dr. Kadar, the agoraphobic genius keeping the power going in Charleston. It’s quite a different character from Wilson, that’s for certain. The moment when he lost his glasses in the power plant — because he’s the only one who knows how to blow it up without radioactive fallout — that moment immediately made me think of Burgess Meredith’s character in the “Time Enough At Last” episode of The Twilight Zone — not sure why, but that’s where my brain went.

Matt’s becoming the rebellious teenager, blowing up abandoned buildings without considering consequences and skipping school. His “You’re not my mother” to Anne felt forced, but it’s a natural outgrowth of the relationship she has with Tom. I can forgive the writers for going there, because mainly that kind of thing happens in real life a lot. Plus, Maxim Knight is getting to do some interesting stuff this season, being on the front lines a bit more.

And could there be some romance blooming for Ben? We’ve got a new character in Denni, another de-harnessed kid with the same powers “Benji” has — and that little personal touch is a nice bit. It adds just that one more piece to give these characters some depth and dimension, continuing to flesh them out and make them more fully-realized.

The big trippy part? Anne and Tom’s baby Alexis seems to have some kind of “accelerated growth” gene that’s got her talking and moving on her own after only a week? Is Alexis Mason the Star Child? Please, don’t let this get stupid…

Overall, a solid beginning to a third season that promises to be more nuanced and complicated, with more story arcs weaving amongst each other.

[Official Show Site at TNT]     [Previous recap: “A More Perfect Union”]   [“Falling Skies” on Twitter]