I’m not a parent, but you don’t have to be one to know; the loss of a child is one of those things that parents should never have to deal with. However, just about every adult we have met so far on Falling Skies is living through this particular pain. Tom Mason is the most fortunate of the group, actually having been able to save his son. Anne Glass and Captain Weaver will not be so fortunate.
Anne’s story moved to the forefront this week. Meek probably isn’t the word I would have used to describe her before, but I certainly wouldn’t have gone with aggressive. Now, aggressive would probably be pretty accurate. I don’t blame her for blowing off Uncle Scott (Am I the only one who actually thought Uncle was a shared term of endearment that everyone was using?) when he asked her about putting a picture of Sam up on the bulletin board. Even if she had a picture (and how sad is that?), I can only imagine how horrible the emotions of putting her son that she knows is lost, up with the pictures of the people who still might be found. Then, to lose one of the children Tom’s team rescued? She had a really bad day.
A day, however, that ended with her stopping by the baby shower, and then she was back in the clinic. This was the proverbial “getting up and dusting herself off moment” that she needed, having come so far from the emotional moment of the bloody handprint on the bulletin board. Anne could well turn out to be my favorite character on this show. She’s got this quiet, steely quality to her. Plus, it is only time until she and Mason hook up.
Weaver is another story altogether. Between his taking the Jimmy Cliff album from Scott, the kids drawings on his desk, and the popping pills when no ones looking, Weaver is in a very dark place. Despite that, we did see some growth. I liked that he actually lent some of his military experience to Tom and Hal’s plan. Plus, the look that he gave Tom and his reunited family was pretty cool. Are these little bits and pieces representative of an actual change, or is Weaver going to spend this entire season at odds with everyone around him?
At least Tom’s family is finally reunited. There were some touch and go moments during Hal’s mission. The skitter caressing the hair of the harnessed children? Just a little creepy, no? Falling Skies is letting details about the aliens and their motivations out slowly to the audience, and so far, it is working. Rumor has it that by the time the season is over, we will look at the aliens in a whole new light. Something significant is going to have to be revealed for me to look at the whole “caressing” thing in a different light.
Notes & Quotes
Clacked by Ivey West 
on Jul 11, 2011 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
The head caressing was more disturbing than if the skitter decided to eat them. I really enjoyed this episode. Did not see the death of the Wings doctor coming, and was also surprised at Anne’s gumption – Wow!
Why is no one worried about the missing girlfriend?
I certainly didn’t see the whole caressing thing coming at all. After killing 90% of the humans now the skitters seem to have some sort of affection for their enslaved kids? The creep-o-meter was definitely at 11 in that scene.
The show still has a lot of stupid moments like why would you leave a live skitter alone, or alone with just a doctor? There should be at least 2 armed guards at all times there. Also as you said, why is nobody talking about the missing blonde biker girl? After trying to autopsy a dead skitter only to say it had decomposed too much we see Dr. Anne kill the prisoner then nobody thinks to cut it open ASAP to maybe get an idea of how they function? They communicate via radio waves, but so far nobody’s even thought that maybe they can be damaged by radio transmissions? They’ve taken out several mechs, but so far there’s been no talk of researching them and/or using the weaponry from them?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m loving the show, but I find myself yelling at the TV a lot over things like that. With no modern technology to rely on I’d be all over mech parts trying to hack together some weaponry.
Thank you, the “no armed guard” thing was really lame.
We talk out loud in open mockery of these things at my house. That said, we are still having a good time watching it! :)
Okay, yeah this show has gotten into the habit of scaring the crap out of me. The loving caress of the head thing…totally a twilight zone moment. And the look on Hal’s face was priceless.
And I’m not wondering so much about where the guards were, as I am how stupid…or psychotic…do you have to be to open a door, no matter how small and piss off an already seriously cranky skitter? That’s like poking a bear with a stick when all you’ve got to defend yourself is a squeaky toy.
And the other problem I have is the fact that no one has so much as mentioned Karen since that episode where they had to go get the motorcycles and Pope got away. After the way they went on and on about getting Ben back, I would’ve expected a little more about Karen too. I’m not asking for a soliloquy, just a glance at they keychain that Hal picked up, or a casual mention.
Can’t wait til tonight, I’m starting to get used to my Monday night heart attacks. In a world where tv shows with alien invasions are getting axed left and right, it’s refreshing to know that this show’s already gotten picked up for a second season. Steven Spielberg is a god!