Show is really upping the ante on dead kids this season.
But first! Maggie behaved questionably. Also, boys are stupid.
One of the things I’ve consistently liked about Falling Skies is that the women all seem to be reasonable and have common sense. There haven’t been any hysterical meltdowns from Dr. Glass, Lourdes, or Maggie. Or even from Karen, when she was still around. They shared information and kept cool under the pressure.
So, I was a bit surprised by Maggie’s decision to take on Evil!Karen all alone. She had the good sense to be suspicious from the start – it was incredibly convenient to find Karen alive among a gaggle of dead kids less than a klick away from the 2nd Mass’ location.
Maggie shared that concern with Hal, but it seemed unlike her to not bring in Tom Mason: Action Professor as soon it became clear that Karen’s target was Ben. She’s never really been that reckless.
But, I suppose there wouldn’t have been a girl fight then, huh?
It was clear early on that Karen was there for Ben. Everyone showed animosity toward her – he was the only one she actively tried to win over. I suppose I can’t fault Ben too much for falling right into the honeypot. He already has all the standard “no one understands me!!!!” issues most teenagers have. Add the fact that he really is different, really is an outsider in own species…..he’s easy pickings for a lovely infiltrator who also has glowy spikes.
That all makes me raise an eyebrow, but the most irritating development was the return of Pope. I was hoping it would be a good six or seven episodes before he showed up again and when he did, he’d be leading a malevolent army made up of humanity’s butt pimples.
Nope. Here’s Pope, injured and warning the 2nd Mass. There’s gonna be no getting rid of him, now.
Now, back to dead kids.
Show has already killed two kids this season – Jimmy and Rick (I think that was his name) – an put a rifle in the hands of the Littlest Mason. We get it. Things are dire.
This episode’s pile of dead kids seemed to be overkill. If feels like Falling Skies is using dead kids as shorthand for the following:
- To remind the audience how bad things are in this world
- To create a sense of danger without giving up any of the main characters
- To create a false sense of edginess, instead of just being genuinely edgy
It’s cheap. And it’s beneath this show
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Lisa Fary's earliest influences are Princess Leia, Rainbow Bright, Astronaut Barbie, and her 6th grade teacher, Ms. Palmer. She's angry that it's 2011 and she still doesn't have a hovercraft, but will accept a jetpack as consolation. That jetpack had better be pink with a rhinestone monogram. 
