Falling Skies: Reunion
August 24, 2015 11:09 AM - Season 5, Episode 9 - Subscribe
Tom gains a powerful new weapon against the Espheni. Ben puts his life on the line to extract enemy plans. Pope discovers that Tom is alive, and launches a final attack. Meanwhile, the 2nd Mass must reassess their situation when an unexpected visitor appears.<
Is anybody else still watching Falling Skies? We just rounded the penultimate episode last night, and so wonder what other folks thought about the episode and how it's coming to an end at next week's finale.
Is anybody else still watching Falling Skies? We just rounded the penultimate episode last night, and so wonder what other folks thought about the episode and how it's coming to an end at next week's finale.
Just watched this episode last night. It looks like they're killing off as many unresolved characters as fast as possible, in case we don't get another season.
The next episode will be all make or break, so if you haven't seen this season, catch up fast.
posted by arzakh at 5:47 AM on August 25, 2015
The next episode will be all make or break, so if you haven't seen this season, catch up fast.
posted by arzakh at 5:47 AM on August 25, 2015
Arzakh, this was announced as being the last season for Falling Skies before the season even started.
I've been watching since the beginning - it's not a great show (and that's mostly on the writers, tbh) but it's enjoyable enough despite its flaws that I keep watching. There's a lot of potential, some interesting ideas buried underneath a lot of cliches, handwavey plotholes (I will not even get into discussing these, even for one episode, there are just too many), and generally weird choices by the writers, and I kind of enjoy sifting through the mess for the stuff I like about it. It doesn't really aspire to be anything much more complex than just a fun Good Guys vs. Evil Aliens where the Good Guys Win, though, and that's fine.
As far as this episode goes: Pulling Lexi back for one episode was one of those weird choices by the writers. As a plotline it either needed more time for there to be some actual emotional stakes built up for it, or else just dropped entirely...but they just went ahead and squeezed it in anyways, without enough time to make anyone really believe or care, among the characters or audience. Anthony's perfunctory trip over to the dark side and back also didn't really get much of an 'arc' due to the writers not really spending any time on the character. Killing Pope the way they did would be yet another weird choice, if there was any chance Pope had actually died in that explosion, but odds are that Pope will show up (possibly horribly disfigured by fire) for a final showdown with Tom, and/or a redemptive self-sacrifice at the end. (Other possible heroically self-sacrificing deaths next week: Weaver, Maggie.)
Still, they're set up for a big old bring-the-popcorn grand battle showdown next week. Should be enjoyable.
posted by mstokes650 at 8:19 AM on August 25, 2015
I've been watching since the beginning - it's not a great show (and that's mostly on the writers, tbh) but it's enjoyable enough despite its flaws that I keep watching. There's a lot of potential, some interesting ideas buried underneath a lot of cliches, handwavey plotholes (I will not even get into discussing these, even for one episode, there are just too many), and generally weird choices by the writers, and I kind of enjoy sifting through the mess for the stuff I like about it. It doesn't really aspire to be anything much more complex than just a fun Good Guys vs. Evil Aliens where the Good Guys Win, though, and that's fine.
As far as this episode goes: Pulling Lexi back for one episode was one of those weird choices by the writers. As a plotline it either needed more time for there to be some actual emotional stakes built up for it, or else just dropped entirely...but they just went ahead and squeezed it in anyways, without enough time to make anyone really believe or care, among the characters or audience. Anthony's perfunctory trip over to the dark side and back also didn't really get much of an 'arc' due to the writers not really spending any time on the character. Killing Pope the way they did would be yet another weird choice, if there was any chance Pope had actually died in that explosion, but odds are that Pope will show up (possibly horribly disfigured by fire) for a final showdown with Tom, and/or a redemptive self-sacrifice at the end. (Other possible heroically self-sacrificing deaths next week: Weaver, Maggie.)
Still, they're set up for a big old bring-the-popcorn grand battle showdown next week. Should be enjoyable.
posted by mstokes650 at 8:19 AM on August 25, 2015
I'm watching, thankful that the show is coming to a conclusion. Haven't seen this episode yet tho.
posted by zarq at 11:13 AM on August 25, 2015
posted by zarq at 11:13 AM on August 25, 2015
Phew, I thought for moment I was the only one left watching this show, which I thought weird, since Metafilter seems to like its genre TV.
I've been enjoying this season more than the past couple, mostly because it seems that with the end in sight, the storylines have been a lot tighter.* That's almost to a fault, though; I wish the season had 13 episodes just so some of the plots could have some time to breathe. Pope's story this season went a little off the rails just because it all occurred so quickly out of nowhere, Anthony's was unnecessary, and Lexi coming back for one episode felt a little hackneyed.
* Although I did kind of like the episode a few back that was a complete detour. I hated that it landed there in the story and in this already crowded season, and would have been great in 3 or 4 when they were clearly just spinning their tires. But, it was definitely the most TNG episode in a genre show since TNG, imo, where the main hero lands in a different place away from everybody and learns about these aliens (in this care, actual humans who aren't in the war), while facing the conundrum of how much to intercede in their civilization. It was a nice look at the world outside the series.
I hate just how many story lines are going into the finale, and I can't imagine them all being given satisfactory closings, which will probably be disappointing. Plus, we don't have a clue what the next chapter looks like, because we still really don't have a idea of what the rest of this war looks like. I wish they'd have done what most 10/13-episode series finales do and put more in the penultimate episode so the finale could have room for more resolution.
handwavey plotholes (I will not even get into discussing these, even for one episode, there are just too many)
Ha, remember when they needed the Volm weapons/bullets to kill the skitters but now can just kill them at will?
posted by General Malaise at 12:09 PM on August 25, 2015
I've been enjoying this season more than the past couple, mostly because it seems that with the end in sight, the storylines have been a lot tighter.* That's almost to a fault, though; I wish the season had 13 episodes just so some of the plots could have some time to breathe. Pope's story this season went a little off the rails just because it all occurred so quickly out of nowhere, Anthony's was unnecessary, and Lexi coming back for one episode felt a little hackneyed.
* Although I did kind of like the episode a few back that was a complete detour. I hated that it landed there in the story and in this already crowded season, and would have been great in 3 or 4 when they were clearly just spinning their tires. But, it was definitely the most TNG episode in a genre show since TNG, imo, where the main hero lands in a different place away from everybody and learns about these aliens (in this care, actual humans who aren't in the war), while facing the conundrum of how much to intercede in their civilization. It was a nice look at the world outside the series.
I hate just how many story lines are going into the finale, and I can't imagine them all being given satisfactory closings, which will probably be disappointing. Plus, we don't have a clue what the next chapter looks like, because we still really don't have a idea of what the rest of this war looks like. I wish they'd have done what most 10/13-episode series finales do and put more in the penultimate episode so the finale could have room for more resolution.
handwavey plotholes (I will not even get into discussing these, even for one episode, there are just too many)
Ha, remember when they needed the Volm weapons/bullets to kill the skitters but now can just kill them at will?
posted by General Malaise at 12:09 PM on August 25, 2015
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I plan to watch now that I know it's back, but I won't be able to get to it until the second week in September.
Dang! How did that happen?!?
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 6:54 PM on August 24, 2015