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TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Falling Skies Season 04 Episode 07: “Saturday Night Massacre”

August 4th, 2014 by Todd Black Comments

There are two phrases that can sum up the events of “Saturday Night Massacre”. 1. No battle plan survives contact with the enemy. And 2. Murphy’s Law sucks!

After the dialogue heavy episode last week, Falling Skies didn’t hold back on the action this week, delivering not only the biggest battle of the season, but giving us not one, not two, but three major character deaths. Along with many off screen deaths of course. Massacre indeed.

The episode started with a bang, picking up right where we left off, with Lexi coming out of the cocoon, and the change was immediate. True, she didn’t turn into an Espheni physically, but it’s clear her mind has been altered. Her change in attitude confirmed what many, including Hal, believed, that she was a threat to them all.

And as if her “there’s no hope for you” speech wasn’t enough…she killed Lordes!!!! Now true, I was not happy with either character this season. I really feel there was rushing in one aspect, and a completely unnecessary 180 personality wise in the other, that being said I didn’t expect Lordes to die by Lexi’s hand. It’s clear her powers are growing both in strength and in control. She’s a threat. Told you so.

This revelation (and subsequent use of powers) did two things. 1. It caused a crisis of faith and family in the Masons. As Tom was losing hope, Anne was clinging to her motherly instincts, and Hal was livid that Tom didn’t listen to him.

2. With Lexi gone, sanctuary became anything but, as the burned Overlord came looking for blood, specifically Mason blood.

For about 10 minutes, this felt like tried and true Falling Skies. Going back to making battle plans, making diversions, using what they had to overcome the enemy (thermite FTW!!!), it was great. It was like “Exodus” all over again…

Sadly though, once things started happening, it became the opposite of “Exodus”. Despite losses upfront (I’ll get to that in a minute), the first wave of attack was excellently done…until we discovered there was a gas leak. Murphy’s Law everyone.

The result lead to the death of dozens of the 2nd Mass. Many died off screen, but the feeling was still there. One such death we saw up close though was the death of Dr. Kadar. Though we’ve only known him since Season 3, he was still a terrible loss. It was also horrifying when we could tell that something was coming out of his back…yet he didn’t notice. He was desperately trying to get everything he needed to find out what was happening to Lexi. Doctor to the end.

Their ranks decimated, and friends lost or dead, you could tell that things were going to go south even more. Though a plan was conceived, you could tell Tom had had enough. He was sick of all of it. Noah Wyle really sold this scene as he proclaimed he would kill the Overlord himself, and end it all. Even if only for one night.

This led to the third and final major death of the night. No, not Tom, or the Overlord even. But Tector. The loyal Marine who wanted to teach history took Tom’s place (forcefully I might add) and saved him at the cost of his own life. Though I hated to see him die, I can smile saying he went out with a bang!

The aftermath of the massacre is sure to be felt going forward in the next few episodes as the season winds down. Will anyone be the same after this?

Two people who definitely won’t be are Hal and Ben. Hal had his own little crisis of faith, stating that the Espheni use love against us. It’s true to a degree, they love to hit them where it hurts. Ben, Karen, Lexi, Jeanne, all were controlled, manipulated, warped, and it was because of love that the 2nd Mass and others fought, died, and were hurt to try and save them.

The problem was when Maggie went missing, he wanted to find her at all costs. Which was fine…if he didn’t do that speech to her beforehand. Oh well.

That leads to Ben, who not only didn’t give up on Lexi, but went after her to try and stop what was coming. He failed, but Lexi decided to take him with her on the ship. What happens next? No one can be sure.

One final note. I thought it was a nice touch to show the followers of Lexi form a line and try to stop the oncoming Espheni by showing that they meant them no harm. This showed just how powerful, and dangerous, Lexi was when she was preaching peace. We all knew they were going to die, but they truly believed they wouldn’t if they showed peace and not violence.

In the end” Saturday Night Massacre” was an action-packed, gripping episode that showed no one is safe in this show. War will get you, whether in mind, body, soul, spirit, or all of the above. The final shots showing the lost and the dead was very gripping. I’m very eager to see where the next episode takes us.

 

Todd Black is reader of comics, a watch of TV (a LOT of TV), and a writer of many different mediums. He's written teleplays, fan-fictions, and currently writes a comic book called Guardians (guardians-comic.com). He dreams of working at Nintendo, writing a SHAZAM! TV series, and working on Guardians for a very long time!