Falling Skies Episode 1x05 Review

Episode 1x05: Silent Kill
Overall Season Rating: B
Episode Rating: B

This episode had its ups and downs, but I think it achieved what it set out to do. Certain characters were fleshed out a little more, and I hope this will make me feel for them a little more. We also get more information about the Skitters, and it's very strange. I really have no idea what to think about the new info, and I like that. What made shows like Lost and BSG so much fun was they would show you something, but not explain it at all. This forces fans to speculate, and theorize. I want to be told a story yes, but with a show like this I also want to be challenged. I'll get to this more in the spoiler section, but I think it's a good move for the show.

While characters are fleshed out, some behaved outright bizarrely. It's not so much the characters themselves per say, but more their actions didn't make sense in context. This was really my only gripe with the episode, and sadly there were several of these events. I'm not sure if Anne is a favorite of anyone, but she just pisses me off in almost every episode. Her actions make almost no sense. I asked last week why they put a pediatrician in charge of learning the Skitter language, and why the show decided surgeons are heartless psychopaths.

Overall an improvement from last week, and it is starting to embrace my large hopes for the series.

Spoilers below the fold.



The episode begins with Hal and his crew getting supplies. I guess this is the location Margaret knew about. I suppose it's a good thing they didn't tell us again, but wasn't this location like 50 miles away? That's a lot of gasoline. When they return they've also bought heroine. When asked how she knows, Anne says "I watch a lot of police dramas".  Um wow.  Okay, lets go back. Anne, is a pediatrician who also feels she's a linguistics expert. Now, she's an expert on illegal drugs because she watches CSI. I'm sorry, this is a horrible character. The actress is fine, and I'm not saying Anne is a bad person. I'm saying the character is written horribly. It makes no sense. Maybe Margaret should have pointed out it was heroine, and when asked how she knew she let on that she had a history with drugs. That not only MAKES SENSE, but it gives us information about her character. Anne's response not only makes NO SENSE, but it gives us no information about her at all.

It could of course turn out that Anne used heroine in the past, and that's how she knew. In that case, I will retract that it makes no sense, but I still will think it was handled really stupidly. She even could have said she dealt with a lot of heroine ODs at a hospital, and so she switched to pediatrics. Again, makes sense, and gives us info about her. It's called writing. I know it's cute to suggest your characters existed in the real world and watched CSI or Law and Order, but it's just lazy writing. Okay, that's a lot about a 5 second scene. I promise I will be much more positive about the majority of the episode.

The main part of the episode though is Tom's plan to get Ben. He finally is ready, and also has permission to do so. Weaver helps him with the plan in a scene that I liked a great deal. I said after the first episode that Weaver was too one-dimensional. I knew they'd flesh him out, but here he's the same man, just now he doesn't randomly hate Tom. Good move,Will Patton is too cool for me to dislike him. Tom also is very open to the advice which again was refreshing. Weaver is a military man, and he was trying to help. Many shows would have had the proverbial pissing contest, but the writers know that would not only be boring, it wouldn't make sense. Later Margaret helps Tom with his plan, and he seems open to this as well.

We then are introduced to a pregnant woman. Unless she gives birth to a Skitter I'm not really sure what purpose she serves. The even more random baby shower at the end of the episode maybe appeals to women, but I found it to be very strange. Jericho made the mistake of having too many "if we pretend things are normal they will be" scenes in the first season, and I think that killed it.  OH and the pregnant woman wants the Skitter dead. I guess that was supposed to be a "man on the street" moment, but it was very odd.

During the episode we find out that both Weaver and Anne had kids who died. Anne hasn't put a picture up cause she has no pictures of her son left. That is sad, but I would suggest putting up something that reminds you of him, or something he cared about. It may not be a picture, but it will be something personal. Sometimes that can be even more important. We find less out about Weaver, but he stops a record because it reminds him of something. I'm assuming it's a child, or maybe his wife. The way he was acting though, I got the feeling it was a child.

We then get a HUGE moment of the series. New doctor, and Tom's rival Michael gets KILLED by a Skitter. This was such a crazy turn of events. Michael and Anne once again were debating if they should keep it alive, then she leaves. The Skitter starts making a "new sound", Michael walks up to it and appears to open the cage. Next thing we know he's being choked, and falls down dead. I have no idea if he's slated to come back, but WOW. I did not expect that. Of course though Anne STILL doesn't want to kill it. Because...I really don't know. She thinks she can communicate with it with absolutely no training in any capacity.

Hall then goes and speaks to Rick. After some questions Rick says "They'll kill you all". This was creepy, and cryptic. I got the feeling he didn't mean on this mission specifically. From this conversation though Hal has a new plan. He'll go into the hospital wearing the Harness to fake out the Skitters, and take Ben. Tom is not a fan of this plan for obvious reasons, but Weaver says it's a very good plan.  Anne then lets the boys know you can knock out a Skitter by using the soft pallet in their mouth. She shows them by KILLING THE SKITTER! Yes, she shoves her hand into the Skitter's mouth and kills it. The same Skitter she's been defending for days now. Later she says she did it because she was thinking of her family. Again, this is not a very well written character.

At the hospital Hal heads in with the Harness. First thing I noticed when he meets up with the other kids is that the other Harnesses are all glowing. I would think that would be a clue to the Skitter, but I guess not. This scene was one of the strangest of the series so far, and in a good way. In the room with the kids, Hal lays down and they all sleep together, Skitter included. The Skitter pats their heads in a very parental way. I am so confused by this scene, and really wonder why Hal didn't tell anyone about it. Tom heads in with Margaret when Hal doesn't return and they arrive just in time to see Hal killing the Skitter. Tom sees Ben, and announces they are going to take all the kids.

When they bring them back, the kids begin to go through withdrawal, and start dying. Anne is able to save five, including Ben, but one does die. This didn't happen with Rick, so she's wondering what she did wrong. To that I would say it was only Rick then, so maybe there wasn't time for the withdrawal to set in before they removed the Harness. Ben wakes up at the end of the episode and appears fine. He also remembers his dad which again is different from Rick. The differences in the reaction to the Harness' removal is interesting, and could potentially be a much larger issue than we've thought.

Tom tells Hal that he's proud of him, and sees that he's becoming a man. It was a great scene and allowed Noah Wyle to show off his acting skills. We also learn that Margaret had cancer, and a doctor told her to get pot. To my knowledge marijuana is not legal in Massachusetts so this was very strange. Seeking it out is one thing, but for a doctor to suggest it to a 16 year old is downright fraked up. There has to be more to Margaret because right now she seems like this random person who has a past, and it was so horrifying. But she's also smoking hot, so I'm sure her life hasn't been that horrible. She doesn't look like she was a heroine addict for example.

Hopefully Margaret and Anne improve as characters, because they are really the only thing holding the show down.