Falling Skies Season Five: Reborn

The final battle between the 2nd Mass and the Espheni begins in DC as the fate of the whole Human Race is on the line.

Wow I can't believe that this is not just a finale but the last Falling Skies on TV, this has been on for five years and I have enjoyed it and it is going to be difficult knowing there is no new season. As for this finale it was satisfying way to end the story and I will first go into the good points. Firstly all the of action; the attack of the Flying Skitters, the assault on Washington and the creepy moments we had with the eggs where really well done, the best parts of the episode. I also really enjoyed the seeing the Queen and I just loved her design so much it is a shame it was saved just for the finale, plus I liked that she could talk because Espenhi talking was one of the best parts of Season Four. What was weird though is that they talk about the Queen's daughter being killed on Earth before but they didn't go into as much detail as I thought, how did primitives beat the Eshpeni? But still Tom vs. the Queen overall was an exciting moment and the moment when Tom used the magic bullet while being sucked of blood was really awesome. Another great moment was the epilogue at the end with the time skip; I love these at the end of a story in any form (TV, film, books, games) because I like seeing a glimpse at what the characters are doing after everything they have been through.

As for everything else I knew that Pope was going to survive last episode but it didn't seem to matter because he dies in this one anyway! I am not going to hate on this as much as I would have (his death was done well and he settled some of his differences with Tom) but I wished the whole scene didn't feel squeezed into the episode and wish we had more time with Pope. I still wish Pope survived as a hero to fight in the final battle and not die a villain, R.I.P John Pope, you where one of my favourite fictional characters. However the stupidest thing in this episode, which I just shook my head at when I saw, was Anne's revival at the very end, talk about all of the Masons surviving this war unscratched! It was one of the silliest things I every saw I must admit; her death was supposed to have this huge emotional impact but it was almost like the writers thought "screw it we'll bring her back in the end". I mean Anne is a good character but I think that could have been a good way for her to go and her being pregnant felt like was added as an afterthought. Finally another stupid thing was Hal asking Maggie to marry him which just felt so forced and out of place, I thought the last few episodes indicated that they had gotten over each other (I mean Hal looked like he was with Isabella?) and they kind of mention it several times.

Overall despite some small issues the finale was really good and I am glad the story ended on a really happy and positive note. I am going to miss this show and I kind of wish they would do spin off or at least make some comics or novels based on this but the ending was so final so I guess that won't be happening.

SCORE: 7/10

Highlights: The action scenes/the moments in the tunnel
                   Tom vs. the Queen
                   The epilogue

Let - Downs: Pope's death and his short appearance felt squeezed into the episode
                      Anne's revival was so bloody stupid!
                      Hal proposing to Maggie

Falling Skies Season Five: Reunion

Tom acquires a powerful new weapon for the final fight however an unexpected visitor turns up and Pope launches his attack on the 2nd Mass.

Can't believe that next week will be the finale of the entire Falling Skies series but no time for that now since I have to review this episode. First off the main plot point was the return of Lexi and I was both glad and disappointed; glad because I have always liked the character I just found the storyline in Season Four in Chinatown they gave her to be boring, disappointed because it is a bit of a repeat of the Marhsall Clone episode and it was obvious from the start she was a clone. However I did like the conflict she created by toying with the emotions of the Mason family like Anne and Tom but Matt was really good in it. Him dealing with the decision of bringing her back and justifying it to Hal made for some great scenes; I don't know about anyone else but I just get annoyed with Hal lately and want to punch him right in his smug damn face. All in all her return was handled really well, giving doubts to the 2nd Mass so close to the endgame and wanting you to wish it really was the real Lexi. The next big plot point was with the Dorina and while I am glad to know more about them and see them properly I find their magic bullet to be dues ex machina. I would have preferred the humans to think of their own plan to win rather than rely on an alien weapon that suddenly appeared but I did at least like the testing scenes with Marty and Anne.

As for everything else I did kind of like Pope's attack (good gunfight) on the 2nd Mass but it just felt so lacklustre in the end; it was over so quickly that I'm sure the 2nd Mass just treated it as a five minute inconvenience. Now this could either be because Pope actually survived the explosion and the writers have plans for him next week or they just didn't know what to do with him in the end. I hope it is the first one because this is POPE he just can't go out like this but I hope if he does come back it is for redemption. I will say again I would much prefer him surviving until the end fighting with the 2nd Mass than dying as a villain. Finally there is Ben's determination to get more intel on the Espheni which gives his character something better to do than cry over Maggie, it was like he was back to his old self where he was so important to the plot. The episode ended with an awesome shot of the flying Skitters attacking which should mean the finale will open up with a cool battle.

Overall a really good episode just before the finale, I am not going to put Pope's death in the Let - Downs because I'll save it for the finale if it is confirmed. Still finding out where the Queen is and Tom talking to the other Militia does get me excited for the final battle.

SCORE: 7/10

Highlights: The conflict Lexi Clone created with the Masons
                   Matt and Ben where real standouts
                   The action scene between Pope's gang and the 2nd Mass

Let - Downs: The magic bullet just arriving now to solve everything
                      Another clone so soon after the last one.
                      That was it for Pope's big attack?

Falling Skies Season Five: Episodes Six and Seven (Quick Reviews)

I recently came back from holiday, which is why I haven't posted lately, but I am back now with my reviews. I just thought I'd really quickly review the two Falling Skies episodes that I missed but managed to watch on catch up, I'm just listing their Highlights and Let Downs.

Episode Six "Respite"

Highlights

• I admit it was actually nice to see Tom interact with this family who have not involved themselves with the war and we had some good moments such as when Tom broke down crying at the dinner table or returning to his old self for a while.
• Glad that Marty wasn't just forgotten and managed to advance the plot by finding the communications device and it was funny that Weaver is a bit uncomfortable with him.
• Always good to see Cochise involved when he can and I liked how he offered to remove Maggie's spikes when Anne refused (because she was just wrong to).

Let - Downs

• No Pope!!
• While the scenes with Tom and the family where nice to watch there is no denying that it was just filler because in the end it didn't really contribute to the story overall; Tom was just there and he left with nothing changed. Plus I find it so unlikely that land wasn't touched for three years by aliens or bandits and that the children where kept in the dark for so long.
• I can't believe that Isabella is now being thrown in to the stupid love triangle; I have said it before but I am just sick of it now.
• And continuing on with the love triangle Ben's "I love you" confession to Maggie was just so pathetic when I heard it. He was the most interesting of the Mason children in the previous seasons but now he is ruined slightly by the damn live triangle.

Overall it was a nice watch but it was mostly just filler, a small distraction for the group on their way to DC.

SCORE: 5/10


Episode Seven "Everybody Has Their Reasons"

Highlights

• By far my favourite parts of the episode was Dingaan and Cochise working together on the communications device. This was such a great team up for two characters that defiantly deserve more screen time.
• Weaver actually had some great personal conflict to overcome when the person accusing Tom and the 2nd Mass was someone from his past.
• Tom was great in this episode when he defied the whole court marshal and brought up some good points on how it is a waste of time for humans to fight each other,
• It was a nice surprise to see the human collaborators brought up again when I thought they where just going to be a one off thing for Season Four.

Let - Downs

• No Pope!! (Not going to mark it down for this thought because they are obviously now saving him for the right moment)
• If I'm honest I am a little disappointed that Marshall is being controlled by the Overlord (saw that coming a mile away) and that all the military people are jerks (like the prick who tortured Ben). I wouldn't have minded if the military where actually some honest soldiers who just join the 2nd Mass straight away and continue the march. I am saying this because we have already had something similar in Charleston in Season Two where it turned out the military there wasn't fighting and then turned on 2nd Mass.
• I am not looking forward to this Maggie and Isabella team up because there are probably going to get on each other's cases about Hal.

Overall a lot better than the previous one because we had some great moments and more focus on characters like Weaver, Dingaan and Cochise.

SCORE: 8/10

Thought I'd mention that I am going to be really busy now so I probably won't review Agent Carter now and just review the season as a whole when I finish watching it.

Falling Skies Season Five: Find Your Warrior

Tom returns to Earth after his brief encounter with a new race of aliens however he soOn starts to display more rage and aggressive tactics against the Espheni.

Falling Skies is back for it's final season, which is a shame because I think it could go longer even if they use a spin off, and this episode started strong. I picks up immediately after the finale of Season Four and even though the encounter with the new aliens was shorter than I thought it would be I liked the lasting effect it had on Tom. It was almost like they made him into a sleeper agent; the way he repeated certain phrases and how he knew he had to go to the highschool. It was also thanks to the new Warrior Tom (lol) that we got some really cool action scenes like when Tom's group was surrounded in the woods or the assault on the highschool. The highschool part in particular was awesome because I liked the dark atmosphere and the best moment of the episode came from when Tom shot the Overlord in the head. These actions make me think that the new aliens aren't friendly and they want Tom to do their dirty work for them so I hope the finale season has room to give us enough information about them. Now as for the other alien races it is always great to see the Volm and I liked how they helped a lot during the fights and their info about more Militia makes me hopeful we will get some massive battle near the end. As for the Espheni it is good that even in Season Five we still learn more abut them like the Feral Skitters.

Since the episode was mainly focused on Tom there isn't too much else to say; I always like seeing Pope however briefly since he is my favourite fictional character and I'm sure he will get more focus soon. Sara had her own moment with shooting the explosives and it looks like Anthony will tap into his inner rage more with the death of Denny. What I didn't like about this episode was the love triangle that still exists between Ben, Hal and Maggie because I just freaking hated it last season and thought it was a waste of time. Hal just acts like a damn brat and Maggie is not helping; sure she says she can't control her emotions but like she said to Hal she isn't doing anything against them. Also I am still not liking Anne, really wish she was still a doctor, I mean what was all that whispering nonsense when she was stabbing the Skitter? Finally I just want to point out that I am glad Lexi is not coming back because while she was alright I think they just messed up her story last season, I found it to be a boring arc and I never liked any of the stuff she did.     

Overall great start to the final season, not much really letting it down and it ended on a cliffhanger with that weird fly attacking Tom.

SCORE: 8/10

Highlights: Warrior Tom is a freshening change for the character
                   Great action sequences
                   Enjoyed all scenes with the Volm, Espheni and the new aliens

Let - Downs: The stupid love triangle returns
                       Anne still bothers me