It’s almost a year since Spielberg’s Scifi show Falling Skies ended its 5 season run, it had a very promising start but it had a lot of critics say the final 2 seasons were a mess. So decided to look back at the shows best bits and where it went wrong.
Falling skies began 6 months after the alien invasion and most of the human population had been wiped out, the aliens – a race called the Espheni, also known as Overlords are the brains of the operation. They created Mechs which are alien robots and then there are the Skitters – the foot soldiers, who we later find out are another alien race who have been harnessed/controlled by the Espheni. The Overlords do the same to human children, they harness and enslave them through alien bug-like creatures attached to their backs. Falling Skies centres around Noah Wyle (ER, The Librarians) as History Professor Tom Mason and his 3 sons who are a part of a group of survivors called the 2nd Mass. The group is led by Will Patton (Remember the Titans, Armageddon) as Captain Weaver and Tom is 2nd in command, who’s knowledge of military tactics and war history helps get the 2nd Mass out of some very sticky situations.
Each season felt very different with an even darker tone than the season before. Season 1, was less about defeating the aliens and more focused on general survival, trying to find food and avoiding the aliens as much as possible. It was a stage of discovery, as the 2nd Mass learnt how to kill the Mechs and Skitters, remove the harnesses, discovered the Overlords and finally learnt to trust each other. Season 2, the 2nd Mass were on the defensive with the skitters on their tails, they journeyed to Charleston where a new government had been set up. Season 3, was more political, it dealt with new alliance with another alien race known as the Volm, maintaining the new government and finding the mole. Season 4, was very different, the 2nd Mass was split up and we see the Espheni’s next attempt to control the humans through experiments and ‘brainwash’ camps. Season 5, was the lead up to the final battle to destroy the Espheni for good.
It’s not just all alien action, the most compelling part of the show is the relationships, especially between Tom Mason and his sons, the love and desperate need to protect each other is portrayed consistently well throughout and remained one of the most engaging aspects of the show. They are also not afraid to kill off a few important characters, upping the stakes, but still maintain the main themes of hope, trust and family. There was great character development and an incredibly talented cast. Also they had some amazing guest stars, such as Terry O’Quinn (Lost).
Memorable Moments:
It wasn’t just the aliens they had to worry about but also other groups of survivors. One of the more memorable groups was the 7th Mass from season 1. Led by Terry Clayton (Henry Czerny), they made a deal with the Espheni to hand over any children they could find to ensure their own survival and freedom. It showed the desperation and darker side of humanity, and led to the death of the first major character, Mike (Martin Roach) – who died saving the children and his son.
In season 2 episode 4, we meet a group of child survivors and as usual things go wrong. These children (plus Matt Mason – Toms youngest son) are captured by skitters and taken to a harnessing facility. Of course the 2nd Mass get there in time to save them, but not all. In one of the darker moments we see a young boy being harnessed and the screams and cries are quite chilling.
Another, is Tom’s interrogation in season 3 as the Espheni attempted to extract the location of the next attack, Tom was put in a dream-like state where he woke up and the invasion never happened. It was a fun and interesting episode, also reminded us of the life they might have had before this crazy new world.
Honourable mentions: the Critters, Hal’s eyeworm removal and Lexi’s powers.
Seasons 4+5:
A lot of critics did not like season 4+5, and I must agree they were not as good as the first 3 seasons. However, I don’t think they were as bad as some people made out, sure they had their flaws, maybe it was the change in showrunner or just hard to top the excellent execution of the previous seasons. I feel that the scenarios got more ridiculous and risky, they needed more explanations, a lot was left in mystery like the powers of half alien Lexi. Some plots were never resolved, such as the effects of the harnesses which seemed to be forgotten about after season 3. Further, other story arcs seemed unnecessary like the love triangle between Hal Mason-Maggie-Ben Mason, it seemed a little forced. Although I’m being overly critical as I did still enjoy the final seasons and was still emotionally invested in these characters. Ultimately, we can’t like every decision the writers make. To season 4’s credit, they killed off a lot of characters, making it feel more realistic and heart-breaking to suffer real loss. The alien action and fight sequences remained good and it’s hard not to enjoy a good old inspirational Tom Mason speech. Some argue the finale was anticlimactic, maybe that was due to the lack of action, I feel it could have used a final big action sequence. It also felt a bit rushed and a little cliché, be that as it may, it was a satisfying and natural end unlike some shows that take too many risks and ruin it. I’m glad it ended in a Tom Mason speech and after all they had lost they got a happy ending. In addition, I like the idea of bringing the story full circle and the suggestion that the story was at the point of view of Matt Mason was a nice touch. Overall, Falling Skies remains one of my favourite shows even with its flaws and I will continue to binge on the box set.
Let us know your thoughts on Falling Skies, what are your memorable moments from the series. Did you enjoy the finale? And if you haven’t seen it, it’s still worth the watch, check out the Season 1 trailer below.
Loved the first couple of seasons…. 4 and 5 were HORRIBLE! Lexi ruined a lot, and then the magic bullet finale ending that came out of nowhere was very unsatisfying. My guess is Lexi was to play a much larger part in the victory, but after many, many, many fans complained about her ridiculous story arc and they did what they did… (trying to lessen spoilers)… they had to quickly think of something… so yet another new, this time unexplained, alien race shows up with that thing… ugh. Why couldn’t the humans just win?
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