Seriable’s KatesFate provides her perspective on the Falling Skies premiere. Could the Mechs could prove a disadvantage for the aliens? What’s the relevance of “A Tale Of Two Cities”?
I have been anticipating the premiere of Falling Skies for quite some time and I was a bit worried that it wouldn’t live up to my expectations. I am happy to report that it did.
Normally I would split the review for a two-part premiere, but I think just this once I will review both episodes as one.
The opening episode dropped us into the action some six months after the aliens have already invaded. I was a bit disappointed that we didn’t get to see some of the action involved in the initial takeover, but I liked the way the opening scenes sort of set the mood. I have always been a fan of Noah Wyle since his ER days, so I was pleased with his performance as Tom Mason.
A lot of people believe he didn’t show enough emotion as a grieving widow and father of a child who has been abducted by the aliens, but the way I see it, six months has passed since both of these incidents have happened. I think that by now he has entered the acceptance stage of his wife’s death and is dealing with trying to find his son while keeping his other two children alive.
The main mystery of the show at this point concerns why the aliens are kidnapping the adolescents and harnessing them. My thought is that adolescents are more impressionable, which allows the aliens to exert greater control over them. SPOILER: Judging by the previews for the next episode, we will learn about the harnesses and how they work. /SPOILER.
The other little mystery that intrigued me? The aliens seeming inability to spot campfires and flashlights while being able to spot flares. The survivors had fires going everywhere at night and the aliens weren’t able to find them. But light a couple of flares and you will get nuked! Perhaps they are a bit too technologically advanced? The aliens themselves are referred to as Skitters while their robots are called Mechs. The Skitters have six legs while the Mechs themselves are built to resemble humans and they have only two legs.
Our heroes theorize that the Mechs have been built to look more human in order to give them a psychological advantage over the humans, but for me that explanation doesn’t work. I would be much more intimidated by the Skitters than the Mechs. What I find intimidating about the Mechs is their size. And since they are quite loud, it allows the humans a bit of an advantage when it comes to hiding from them because they are more easily heard when approaching. I think the Mechs might end up being a disadvantage to the Skitters.
Having been one of those LOST fans who rushed out to buy and read every book referenced on the show, I was thrilled to see a book mention in Falling Skies. Tom picks up Charles Dickens “A Tale of Two Cities” and chooses it over “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea“. It made perfect sense that he would pick “A Tale of Two Cities” since he is a history professor whose specialty is military history and the book is about the French Revolution. The storyline of the book also parallels the show’s story quite nicely.
Of all the characters, the one that intrigued me the most was Maggie – who managed to turn the tables on the gang of outlaws in the Armory. Maggie, not wanting what happened to her to happen to Karen, shoots two of the men holding Tom and his people hostage and joins the 2nd Mass. Upon joining the 2nd Mass, she helps take out John Pope‘s gang, which eventually leads to Pope being captured and taken prisoner. I can’t wait to get into Maggie’s backstory because I am sure there is more to her than meets the eye. John Pope is another character who intrigues me. He could be very beneficial to the 2nd Mass as a soldier if he decides to join them.
I try not to get too excited about a new show anymore since so many of the ones I like end up being cancelled (V), but I have high hopes for Falling Skies and I am looking forward to the continuation of the story on Sunday.
I would rate both “Live And Learn” and “The Armory” with 8/10 Skitters.
PERSON OF INTEREST Renewed For Season 2
TERRA NOVA: Season 2 Decision Delayed Until 2012
ONCE UPON A TIME: The Comprehensive Character Guide
BREAKING BAD: Bryan Cranston Confirms Season 5 Will Premiere In July
FRINGE OBSERVATIONS: 4.22 Brave New World: Part 2
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ONCE UPON A TIME OBSERVATIONS: 1.22 A Land Without Magic
ONCE UPON A TIME OBSERVATIONS: 1.21 An Apple Red As Blood
FRINGE OBSERVATIONS: 4.21 Brave New World: Part 1
ONCE UPON A TIME OBSERVATIONS: 1.20 The Stranger
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
“he didn’t show enough emotion as a grieving widow”
As somebody who’s lost loved ones recently I can tell you that the cliched portrayal is wrong.
A common response, after the initial horror of loss, is a period of numbness from such a massive psychic wound. It’s a psychological coping mechanism.
“why the aliens are kidnapping the adolescents”
Well in neuroscience the adolescent brain is still in a ‘plastic’ state. It is more flexible and accessible to change than adult brains whose neural pathways become fixed.
Which is why teenagers can be ‘impressionable’ because at the biological level their brains and neural makeup are in a state of flux.
Which leads me to speculate that the mechs are bipedal because they’re actually cyborgs that contain the enslaved brains of kids, because adult brains couldn’t adapt to the new ‘body’.
In terms of a thing called kinesthesia, which is awareness and coordination of your limbs, trying to hook up a brain used to using four limbs – to a mech body containing the same number as the Skitters – wouldn’t work.
All this reminds me of the plot of the movie Skyline.
I agree though about the Skitters being unable to see campfires. It’s silly to ask us to believe that such an advanced technology doesn’t have a) vast superior detection tech b) orbital satellites controlled by AI that could spot and track a cockroach moving on the earth’s surface, and zap it from space.
Not to mention they show large groups of people moving around in a less than stealthy fashion! But I’m a sci-fi addict so I’ll still watch.
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Thanks for reading Underseer. I like your theory that the Mechs might be bipedal because they are using the enslaved brains of the adolescents.
“A common response, after the initial horror of loss, is a period of numbness from such a massive psychic wound. It’s a psychological coping mechanism.”
This is true, but people have this amazing this called a survival instinct and stressful circumstances can interfere with the grieving process. The fight or flee instinct tends to take over, especially for a parent. When you have Skitters and Mechs chasing you, there is no time to grieve, which makes me think that maybe Tom hasn’t had time to grieve at all yet.
Again, thanks for reading. I look forward to more comments from you.
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