Welcome back Falling Skies fans!
Our analysis of episodes “Sanctuary part 2” and “What Hides Beneath” reveals the darkest side of humanity. In both episodes the fate of innocent people hang in the balance. In both episodes Dreamworks Television continued to dovetail the travesty of human against human interaction during a disaster begun in the previous weeks episode “Sanctuary Part 1”.
As reported previously It seemed like our survivors might be getting some help from the Seventh Regiment of the Massachusetts National Guard when Terry Clayton portrayed by Henry Czerny appeared on the scene. As we learned however, Terry had no intention of saving anything but his own skin in a deal with the Skitters! Terry Clayton even come from? He came out of nowhere just in time to save the day as the episode opened.
Hal Mason (Drew Roy), Tom Mason (Noah Wyle) and Margaret (Sarah Sanguin Carter) had rescued the children from the hospital and Dr. Anne Glass (Moon Bloodgood) had surgically removed all of the harnesses from their backs. All but one child survived and to my surprise Ben Mason (Connor Jessup) actually remembered his father.
We learned that our tough girl Margaret is a cancer survivor and her and Hal seem to be getting close. I hope to see more of a relationship for these two in the future. We found out the Skitters have a maternal bond with our children.
Speaking of mothers, Sarah (Melissa Kramer) had her baby shower which brought a bit of normalcy to the survivors. Anne Glass and Captain Weaver (Will Patton) both mourned the loss of loved ones quietly and we actually got to see Anne turn bad ass and kill a Skitter. What sweet revenge!
While Anne is treating Eli, a desperate set of parents hold her at gun point and demand all her medicine. Medicine has been so hard to come by for the resistance, and Anne is reluctant to give it up. It looks like the pair is gonna get the medication until Terry Clayton comes along. Thank goodness it is someone that Captain Weaver recognizes. Weaver thought that the 7th Mass had fell apart after most of it was destroyed by aliens.
Terry Clayton looks tired, beaten, and very frustrated that his entire unit was taken out by the Skitters. He tells Tom Mason, Captain Weaver. Dai (Peter Shinkoda) and Mike (Martin Roach) that the Skitters are on their way to the school within days! According to Clayton, Porter (Dale Dye) wants him to take anyone under the age of 20 and leave the camp. He is to go to a farm that is not too far from the school. It seems reasonable that the children would be safe there.
According to Clayton, the Third Mass is in between them and the last attack. Finally a new face with ideas on how to keep the children safe! A few of the parents are reluctant to send their kids away. Tom Mason does not like the idea but of course Captain Weaver, who always has the final say, makes Tom relay this information to the rest of the parents. I would not want my children to be away from me if there were Mechs and spider-like aliens roaming around.
Newly recovered Ben Mason seems to be doing well this episode. So well in fact he can do 102 sit ups without even breaking a sweat. What on earth did the Skitters do to him? Talking to his younger brother Matt Mason (Maxim Knight), Ben tells him how the Skitters were like family to the children. The Skitters knew what they wanted and when they needed it without saying a word. Ben said he actually missed that. Missing multi-legged aliens? Hal hears Matt and Ben talking and takes his concerns to Anne. Hal is impressed that Ben is no longer a brat!
Jimmy Boland (Dylan Authors), who had been in trouble for an incident involving a pet dog and a robot, is eager to be put back to work. Captain Weaver agrees to let him act as a sentry and stand watch over the school. Parker and Jimmy are on sentry duty and see an approaching Mech. Parker who is not thrilled to be working with a 13 year old, is killed and Jimmy comes face to face with a Mech! Barely escaping Jimmy runs through the camp yelling “Mech Mech” to anyone that can hear him.
Captain Weaver comes to the rescue killing the Skitter and gives Jimmy a warm hug. We get to see a softer side to Captain Weaver. Jimmy is visibly shaken and what 13 year old would not be. This theme plays out in every episode we see. Humans being forced to deal with inhumane situations. The writers have done an excellent job with the script and each episode the characters get back in touch with their humanity. We still see humans fighting with humans in a fight for survival.
Some of the camp members are suspicious of Ben and the children that were rescued. One of the members refers to them as “razor backs”. Ben tells his father that he wants to leave with Clayton. He appeals to his father’s love of history by comparing the blitz of London in world war II to their parents having to send the children out first to keep them safe. Tom realizes his son has grown up and decides to let Matt and Ben go with Clayton. Tom is convinced the Third Mass will be there the next day so he convinces the other parents to let their children go as well.
There are touching moments between the Mason family this episode. Hal feels guilty having fought with Ben the day their mother died. Hal’s promise to his mom was to look after his brother and father. The one thing I did love this episode was we saw Tom Mason and Anne Glass hold hands towards the end as they watch the children leave with Clayton. I could not tell if they were feeling some sort of hope or was Anne lending support to Tom as his children leave.
Finally the children arrive at the farm and there are happy faces everywhere. Once the children get settled Clayton goes to see someone. That someone turns out to be Eli! Eli is the child whose parents left the camp with him just the day before. Where are his parents? Clayton says he is taking Eli to see his parents. Taking Eli to a path in the woods, he meets up with a girl named Megan.
Megan tells Eli she is taking him to see his family. Megan has a stoic look on her face and Eli starts feeling apprehensive. He makes one futile attempt to go back to camp but a Skitter quickly grabs him and takes him away. Clayton has just given one of the children to the aliens! I have contemplated over this for days now. How does Clayton benefit from this? Clayton leaves Eli with the Skitter and goes back to the farm. It is very obvious the survivors trusted their children with the wrong man.
Clayton heads back to camp and goes to the basement with a bowl of food in his hands talking to someone sitting at a table. I was excited to see that is was John Pope (Colin Cunningham)! Pope told Clayton about the children at the school in exchange for his life. I hope to see a lot more of Pope in the coming episodes. His comic relief adds extra to the show that Steven Spielberg has already made a winner.
This episode begs the question what do the Skitters want with our children. Ben talked fondly of the Skitters in one scene and it leads me to believe they have some control over the children even after they escape. I think we will be getting answers to this very soon.
Falling Skies continues this Sunday with “Mutiny” followed by “Eight Hours” season one finale. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
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Thank you.
Best Regards,
Kenn
