Falling Skies: “The Eye” Review

After a sub par season premiere last week, “The Eye” had it’s work cut out for it. Needing to not just pick up the pace, but truly show where this season is headed. And while better than the premiere, there are still a lot of areas that need fixing.

Let’s start with the good shall we? Every scene at the camp was top notch in terms of action, plot development, and good character moments. Tom roasting that Hornet-Skitter was awesome, as was the sight of another “Ghost” appearing to help out. You know what they say about symbols…

Anyway the “warden” of the complex made his move and demanded that the Ghost be handed over, or the people will starve. Tom happily obliged to do so…albeit with his own agenda in mind. On the ship we found out a LOT of information. From what the Hornet-Skitters actually are, to why the Espheni are taking prisoners alive now without harnesses, and that there may just be something out there that they fear more than the Volm.

Yes, that’s right, there may be a THIRD alien species we meet, and possibly soon. The question is, is this a good thing or bad? On one hand, diversity in regards to aliens is a good thing, as it changes things up. The Volm were easily a highlight of Season 3, after only seeing the Espheni and Skitters for 20 episodes. But one has to wonder, how much is too much? Cause if this leads to an “enemy of my enemy” situation, some may cry foul. Especially if they’re easily defeated and then the war between us and the Espheni begins anew like nothing happened. Time will tell, regardless though, lot of interesting things to ponder.

Like how to escape from prison! In the premiere, we met a man named Dingaan, who claimed he had escaped from three prisons before. I wasn’t sure what to make of him at first, but he not only seems on the level, but willing to prove he can do what he said he can do. Also, he has a radio! Come in Cochise!

Other characters who prospered in the prison scenes were Hal, Pope, and Weaver. Each had their moments, and each had their time to help advance things along. Especially Pope and Weaver who may have unintentionally found an escape route if they can get the fence down. Exciting!

Anne and the 2nd Mass carried on their mission to find where the kids were going. It really is good to see Anne take charge and be totally different than Tom. She’s aggressive, passionate, and not willing to take lip from anyone. For her, the mission comes first, and it shows. Her interrogation of the Skitter showed just how angry she was about the loss of Lexi. Killing it while still connected to her friend was cold.

It was interesting to here it talk about “The Hybrid” aka Lexi in such a revered tone. Yet it may not be all that it appears to be. Interesting…

…and know for the non-interesting parts. Pretty much everything else!

Ben’s mission to save Lexi from the hippie town did turn up some interesting things…but it was also weighed down by characters who are acting way weird, even for an alien show, and twists that weren’t exactly twists.

First off, Lexi may be dying. Is she? Isn’t she? We honestly don’t know. As the good doctor (welcome back Robert Sean Leonard!) said, “sometimes, 1 +1 = 3”. And there’s no precedent to guide her grown off of, which is why he was worried. But his worry lead to people resenting him, luckily, Ben was on his side, and things got done. Until…

LORDES!!!! I don’t know why, but it always seems they don’t know what to do with this character. First she was pining after Hal, then she became a competent doctor and helped Anne, and then she was a traitor, and now she’s a power hungry maniac! Seriously, what the heck?

In the premiere, she was clearly attached to Lexi, which was fine, as she did save her life. But now it has escalated to full on rage to anyone who isn’t a believer. Every scene with her was painful to watch, which was sad cause she’s able to be a great character when written right.

Lexi showed her “true colors” more or less as we truly got to see some of her powers. It’ll be interesting to see how far they take this. Sadly, her “there is only peace” speeches get old really quickly. And the “reveal” of the Espheni at the end was hardly a twist, especially give what Lexi said in the premiere about everyone being united.

Ben is truly the only sane person in the place outside of the doctor, not even Maggie is exempt. True, she is better than last week, but the odd exchange at the end means there will be more cringe worthy events in the future.

Which brings us to our final storyline, Matt at the reeducation center. I still have no idea what to make of this. There almost seems to be no point. Again, what can Matt do on his own? Especially now that his team is down a kid. Also, is it a point in this show to hook-up every member of the Mason clan? Just saying.

In the end, “The Eye” did bring some things forward plot wise. But questionable character moments, and unclear story threads drag this episode down. Falling Skies can make it back from where it is, but they need to do it soon.

3.5 Nerds out of 5