Falling Skies- "Sanctuary" / "What Hides Beneath" Review

MORE MECHS MORE MECHS

After the airing of "Sanctuary, Part 1" a few weeks back, due to the simultaneous airing of Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage on HBO, I began to fall behind on Falling Skies. However, I'm going to begin catching up now, and will watch the season finale after it airs, and am now ready to review the two-part episode "Sanctuary". And it was definitely a successful two-part storyline, more so than the season premiere (mainly because this was crafted as a two-parter, and the first two episodes were different stories spliced together). This should have been the first two-part episode. Anyways, in Part 1, the sudden appearance of one of the leaders of the 7th Mass, Terry Clayton, led to the kids departing from the adults in an attempt to prevent them from being captured, so as soon as Ben returned, he was gone again. It's still not entirely clear whether Ben is OK, as he remembers his identity unlike Rick, but seems to be very halfhearted about being back, and the skitters continue to have a profound effect on their former hosts. However, the first big twists of the story came out the end of Part 1, when it was revealed that Clayton, in fact, was handing kids over to the skitters, in an attempt to make peace with them, and saw the 2nd Mass as a veritable gold mine. This, in turn, was followed by the return of Pope, who was forced to supply Clayton the location in order for his life. Then came Part 2, which brought with it some of the most action of the series thus far, along with some real stakes not quite present until this point. Once Mike discovered that Clayton was planning to trade the kids, he managed to get everyone out, at the cost of his life, thus killing off the first character we actually care about (as opposed to the doctor, who was a jackass). Pope's escape was welcome, as was him siding with Hal to fight against Clayton's men. Tom's plan to lead Clayton's men back to the eponymous sanctuary was well-thought out, only to be overwhelmed by Weaver's forces. Clayton's character ended up becoming a tragic figure, a symbol of how far humanity could fall in a harsh world. Pope being back can only be a good thing, while Mike's funeral was a strong capper to the episode, especially in regards to Rick's words to Ben. There's definitely still more to the skitters and those harnessed kids than meets the eye, and with the end of the season fast approaching, it's good to know that more Falling Skies is on its way next year.


"Sanctuary, Part 1" - 4/5 stars
"Sanctuary, Part 2" - 4.5/5 stars

The Masons make a shocking new discovery.

 I decided, after watching "What Hides Beneath", that I would combine it with the review for "Sanctuary", leaving the review for the season finale standalone. "What Hides Beneath", in contrast to the sprawling nature of "Sanctuary" that let everyone get a little time in onscreen, was a episode centering on one of the shows most mysterious characters: Weaver. Will Patton is a great actor who should really be given his due here, as he goes from hopeful and confident to an emotional wreck with believable skill. We finally learn Weaver's origins in the war, and boy, are they dark. His reveal that he lost his wife and one daughter, then killed his second daughter while trying to remove her harness, was a dark path that this show had been unwilling to take thus far, and, coupled with Weaver's new motivation, made him a far more compelling character. Another interesting tidbit was Rick's assertion that the skitters "love" him and Ben, and will return to save them, showing where Rick's loyalties still lie and making Ben question his own. Karen finally returned as well, predictably harnessed, but from previews, it looks like she will have a pivotal role in the season finale. Other stuff includes Pope befriending Matt, and his find that by using skitter-modified bullets, mechs can be beaten, perfect for their counterstrike plan looming in the finale. However, by far, the best things about these episodes were both skitter-centric, and may be directly tied to each other. One is the fact that the skitters were discovered, through an autopsy by Anne, to have been beings mutated into skitters by harnesses, which may or may not be caused by the second new discovery, as Tom and Hal discovered in the second picture above. And that is that the skitters are actually henchmen to a completely different race of aliens. They look nothing like the Xenomorph-like skitters, being more like a hybrid of the heads of the aliens from Independence Day, merged with the head color and body structure of the Kaminoans from the Star Wars prequels. These aliens may have been the ones who harnessed the skitters, and the same thing may eventually happen to kids like Ben and Rick. And as Rick takes off during Pope's demonstration during the finale, Ben follows him. And on this note the set-up for the finale ends. All in all, a darker, quiet but compelling episode that perfectly sets up the events for the finale. I will have a review up for that tomorrow.

"What Hides Beneath" - 4.5/5 stars