Ok, let me get this out of the way. We’re going to the freaking moon baby!!! YEAH!!!
*ahem*, sorry. If there was one word to sum up the latest Falling Skies episode, it would, “relationships”. As not one, not two, not three, but four relationships were put to the test today. Sadly though, only one shined, and it’s the one we’ve had since basically the beginning.
Everything kicked off though with confirmation that the Espheni power source, the focal point of all our woes, is on the moon. Some might think it’s dumb to put it there, and maybe on some small level it is. Mainly that if we do a moon mission it’ll be low budget. But story wise, it actually makes sense. It’s out of reach of the humans. The Volm (as proven by Cochise) would never think to look there. And because of its “wireless electricity” and it’s orbit, it can power units in multiple points during the day and night. See? It is smart.
dang it...I didn't think of the moon....
Now, the reaction to Tom saying, “well I guess we have no other choice then”, inferring they were going to the moon was hilarious. As Weaver, Hal, and even Tom himself knew the ridiculousness of the statement. The Espheni wiped out all of their air forces, how would they get up there in the first place? Well…remember that beamer Cochise shot down?
The race was on to free the beamer, but with reduced numbers and a lot of rubble it would take a long time to get it uncovered. Fortunately, some Volm foresight (via a secret supply cache) could save the day.
It’s in these first scenes that our first (and obviously best) relationship reached it’s story focused. Anne wants to find Lexi, Tom wants them to focus on the mission and by extension the moon. Tom has been given some great speeches lately (two in this episode if you include the JFK speech), but his one about not being able to have faith lined up perfectly with the one from last week. Tom is a realist, he believes in history, he believes in what he can achieve, he can’t place faith in small chances. He can hope they work out, but he can’t rely on faith. Unlike Anne, who up to this point has been all but running on faith.
It’s episodes like this that remind us that Tom and Anne have honestly been friends and partners for a while. They know each other very well, and have been through a lot together, it’s nice to see them go through actual relationship problems. And be rewarded for them later on…
Sadly though, the next relationship was an eye-roller on nearly every level. The salvage mission lead Tom, Anne, Weaver, Matt and Cochise to “reunite” with Vera. Who we haven’t seen since they rescued Matt. Gee, I wonder how she’s been?
Obviously, Matt wanted her to be ok and join them, almost blindingly so. Tom, Anne, and Weaver though knew it was too good to be true. Especially when she all but laid out what she was going to do to them. This was a telegraph punch if there ever was one. But the thing that ticked me off was that they didn’t search for the whistle. Heck, they didn’t search her at all! She could’ve been carrying a gun for all they knew!
"How's it going?" "Oh you know, about to trick you to let me go so I can blow the whistle on you."
Thankfully, her inevitable betrayal led to an awesome fight between the brainwashed leaders of the school and our heroes. Cochise’s shock gun was awesome, and Anne saving Tom was nicely handled. Yet the death of the team leader was the best scene of all. Sticking to his creed to the end, and revealing he gave up his own mother because he believed in it so much.
I’m going to speed through the next few segments cause honestly they don’t need to take much space.
Pope and FemPope? Very unwatchable. Between their three arguments (one that was off-camera!) and soap opera like dialogue it was very unnecessary. I know why they’re giving Pope a relationship, but does it have to be this…well bad?
Speaking of bad relationships we don’t need. Ben and Maggie everyone! Yeah…that was sad. True, Maggie is going to be an unstoppable force on the battlefield, and her scene with the guns was top notch, but everything else? Not so much.
The kiss was thankfully a means to an end as Ben heard that Maggie was attracted to him at all before she was transplanted with his spikes. And Hal decking him after seeing them kiss was just plain awesome. I don’t know why this triangle exists. If you call, Ben has a girl…or had a girl…I don’t know why they’re suddenly not together but I don’t like it. This needs to stop.
Thankfully for all of us, the ending of “Till Death Do Us Part” was equal parts long overdue ceremony, and unexpected plot twist.
The wedding of Tom and Anne was short, sweet, simple, and of course, interrupted because of the mission. Why not? That’s how Falling Skies is after all. In all seriousness though, I really did like that they’re now married. I honestly thought they already were because of…well…things. It’s nice to have it cemented though, and with Weaver being the pastor!
Shaq (never gets old) however brought the best wedding gift of all. Using the whistle they took from Vera, he brought the beamer back to life in grand style. I honestly didn’t see that coming. To the moon 2nd Mass, to the moon!
In the end, “Till Death Do Us Part” brought us great advancement in terms of the season long story arc, but along the way we had to endure painful moments between a lot of the main cast. With three episodes left this season, let’s hope it picks up.
Todd Black
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!
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