Falling Skies
Episode 7: Molon Labe
By: Carlos Uribe
Falling Skies is a show about the human resistance against an alien
invasion force-months after they wiped out most of humanity.
Spoilers Ahoy!
This
is a surprise. This is the second episode in a row that was actually
pretty good. There was a small weakness in the episode and that's it
lasted a bit longer than it should have: I kept expecting the end to
come at the end of a scene, only to find out there's even more
scenes. This is a small problem that doesn't detract from everything
that came before it, or for the actual scenes themselves. The ending
simply could have been paced a bit better. The rest of the episode
had great narrative momentum and there was some actual tension in
many of the scenes. It even killed off a character, although it was a
character that hadn't been developed much. This is the best episode
that Falling Skies has had and it's nice to see the series actually
have a streak of good episodes. I wonder if the streak will be able
to hold, but this might be a sign that the series is actually finding
it's footing and improving itself. This is good news.
This
episode introduces new enemies. Every video game that involves some
sort of alien usually has some small bug-like creates that swarms the
player. These are weak enemies that can easily be defeated. They gain
strength in the sheer numbers. These enemies can be deadly to any
player who doesn't deal with them. It turns out that these enemies
exist in the Falling Skies universe. There are some small bug-like
creatures that start to swarm the hospital. They are in the vents and
are able to eat through medal. The way they were introduced was very
effectively. It begins with some of the characters finding out that
Jamil had been attacked. He's bleeding and slowly dying. The
characters aren't aware of what happened to him, he merely has a
warning to not open a door. The series is therefore able to establish
not only that these new enemies are dangerous but it is able to build
them up in an effective manner. When the bugs swarm out of Jamil and
forces the characters to abandon him to his death, it's one of the
most creepy scenes this show has done.
There
might have been new enemies, but we also learned a bit more about the
old ones. The characters had managed to find Ben and Karen, just as
Ben was to be captured by the Overlords and the Skitters. The Second
Mass manages to save Ben and capture one of the Overlords. They
quickly figure out that this Overlord is important. While the aliens
lose no time in surrounding the hospital, the characters are able to
eventually communicate with the Overlord. It's through this
discussion that Tom is able to discern that the skitter rebellion has
the Overlords worried. Tom shoots the overlord, but doesn't kill him.
This allows the second mass to be able to escape in a deal they make
with Karen. It's a pretty effective story but it's all grounded in
that the entire fragile situation happened because of Ben and Karen.
It's partly Ben's fault that the hospital was surrounded and that the
events of the episode largely occurred.
It's
not Ben's fault because he left with Karen but because he hadn't left
earlier. His contact with the skitter rebel leader has made him a
number one target for the Overlords. His mere presence in the second
mass is endangering the lives of everyone in it. He sees that the
only way to protect the Second Mass is to leave and fight with the
skitters. When Ben leaves at the end of the episode, his father can't
do anything but allow him to leave. I'm hoping that the series
doesn't ditch Ben until a future episode, because it would be
interesting to see how the skitter rebellion is doing. It would also
allow us to learn more about the skitters and even the Overlords.
This is a great opportunity for a story and I'm hoping the series
takes it.
Falling
Skies had it's best episode yet. It managed to do this by having a
new credible threat and a constant sense of danger from the
Overlords. It grounded this sense of danger with the characters. This
is the best episode of Falling Skies because it built tension, kept
things entertaining, and it had great narrative momentum. The ending
might have dragged on a bit, but it doesn't really weaken the rest of
the episode. Good job Falling Skies: you've shown what you're truly
capable of. If it can replicate this in a more consistent manner,
then that would be to the great benefit of the series.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please be respectful of people's opinions. Remember these reviews are MY opinion and you may disagree with them. These are just TV shows.
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.