TV Review: TNT’s Falling Skies 4×2, “The Eye”

In last week’s write up for the season four premiere episode of Falling Skies, “Ghosts in the Machine,” I described this new season as a semi-reboot, as we had lots of changes to focus on, with all of our characters now being separated into distinct and differently located storylines.  This week’s episode, “The Eye,” felt like the natural follow-up to any season of television that establishes itself in the first week, meaning that we spend a lot of time recapping what some may have missed the previous week.  There are certainly some developments, with a possible major reveal that could lead to some interesting changes later on in this season/series, but “The Eye” more or less is here to better establish the status quo for this season.

Two of the four major storylines are the most interesting this week, so let’s start with one and end on the other.  Tom’s “Ghost” vigilante persona is challenged by the Espheni, as they are tired of dealing with a nuisance giving the people of the ghetto hope.  As a result, they send down a harnessed messenger to announce that no more food will be given, until “Ghost” turns himself in.  Luckily, this also led to Tom and Weaver being released in solitary, allowing Tom to figure out a way to complete his understanding of the ghetto’s structure and affording Weaver the chance to share scenes with Pope, which is always enjoyable.

Given that Pope is a charismatic jerk character, it was nice to see him reluctantly work with Weaver, despite the two being at constant odds, because having Pope attached to some sort of plot works far more than just having him waver between being in it for himself or with others, based on what the writing of his character calls for each week.  The two of them manage to appropriately bicker, fight off some starving thugs/terrible fighters, and eventually discover a possible way out, were the laser fences to come down.

Meanwhile, Tom learns of what Hal and the others have been working on, in an effort to escape, which will require a faraday suit, which is kind of awesome.  Still, Tom needs additional intel, which he manages to gain by turning himself in and hearing out a proposition made by one of the Espheni leaders.  This is where things get interesting, as the Espheni open up to Tom about why they have come to earth.  As it turns out, an even greater force was coming after them, so the Espheni have some crazy plans to create super soldiers and a bunch of other nonsense that will probably matter later.  I do not know what this all may lead to, despite having some hunches, but Falling Skies is certainly trying hard to mix things up, if this series wants to really keep going, as we now have the possibility of a future season that has Espheni, humans, and Volm armies all fighting together – what?!

Regardless, while Tom is basically threatened to join the Espheni and help lead the humans in an effort to synch them “for the better” or else his family will be targeted, he instead continues on with his plan of simply having a bird’s eye view of his prison, so he can plan for a future escape.  The tricky part is understanding what is being implied at the end of this episode, given that Tom is returned to the ghetto unharmed.  Noah Wyle continues to be a strong central character for this series and I certainly admire the poker face he is able to put on, when this show requires it.  This is the same episode where he reunites with one of his sons and is lead to believe by Cochise that another may be safely rescued soon, only to then have him face the possible destruction of his family, if he does not comply.  We’ll see where this goes, as Tom continues to have a troubled relationship with the Espheni leaders who clearly respect him.

Moving on, a simpler plotline features Anne, who continues to lead the remainder of the 2^nd Mass towards the location of the missing children.  She encounters a skitter, wounds it, and attempts to interrogate it via a past harness victim using the mind meld or whatever.  This goes about as well as one would expect, as Anne learns some info, but the lack of knowledge as far as Lexi’s location leads to Anne going a bit over-the-top and taking the skitter down with her knife.  I like Moon Bloodgood and am glad to see her pushed to certain limits, but less Anne rage may be more helpful in the future.  Still, her group is now pointed in the right direction, as far as where to travel.

That location is likely not toward Matt, however, who is doing his best to hold up his façade as a future leader at the Espheni re-education facility.  Here we simply get a re-education on what Matt is going through, as he has developed a mini-romance with one of his fellow compatriots, but also experiences the loss of one, as one of the boys was discovered and will be replaced, with the head Aryan/Espheni camp counselor explaining that he will be keeping his eye on Matt.  Given how creepy the vibe of this place is, I can really only hope that Cochise manages to make his way in and get some of these kids out, before it is too late.

The last storyline revolves around Ben and Lexi, featuring crazy Lourdes.  Again, as this episode exists to reaffirm what was established last week, as we continue to see how Lexi is being looked upon as some sort of profit, which Lourdes is trying to keep control over.  Thankfully, we get to see Robert Sean Leonard’s Dr. Kadar character again, as he both explains some of what is going on and adds a much needed adult presence to this plotline.  As nice as it is to see Sarah Carter’s Maggie around, her sharing awkward sexual chemistry with Ben means a lot less to me, compared to the man that can put a little perspective on things.

As we soon learn, Lexi clearly has a problem, given that her rapid aging will likely kill her, unless Dr. Kadar can figure out anything about what is going on with her.  This leads to an eventual blood sample being taken, only to have crazy Lourdes angrily come in after it.  At this point, while it briefly happened earlier in the episode, Lexi puts on a big display of her telekinetic powers, as she begins to go all Carrie on a doctor’s office, ruining the obtained blood sample in the process.  All of this is a bit off-putting, but Ben makes his vow to look after his sister.

This plan immediately backfires, once Ben discovers that Lexi has left her bed, only to then find her conversing with what I described in my notes as “Grim Reaper Espheni”.  Whatever this may be, it leads to Lexi explaining to the cloaked alien that she wants to give up her powers.  Despite this being the storyline where it feels like I have to tolerate the actors the most, it does have plenty of intrigue to go with it, given the mysterious nature behind Lexi and the current Chinatown location that she and her followers (and the three non-Kool-Aid drinkers) are positioned in.

With each storyline now doubled up on context from within the series as a whole, hopefully next week will lead to some more promising developments, ideally getting around to having our heroes on the path to reuniting with one another.  With that said, I will miss Tom Mason’s “Ghost” vigilante, as it was just ridiculous enough to work.  Still, with all the alien developments that have occurred, it still seems like there is plenty of other exciting (possibly ridiculous) concepts to come.  Here is to keeping Falling Skies eyes on the prize.

Other Thoughts From The Desk Of Tom Mason:

• “Did they just lock us out of solitary?” – Will Patton has a good amount of fun with his normalized Weaver character this week.
• Honestly, I am always hoping Lourdes gets killed off, so we’ll see, once again this season…
• “Will you please stop talking like a damn fortune cookie!” – I want this Ben more often.
• People were really surprised that Tom was “Ghost.” Apparently their not checking their Twitters.
• “It’s nice to have another sane person in this place” – The line that leads to eventual making out.
• I hope we get some cool Cochise stuff soon!
• Next week, it’s time for “Exodus” #TNT BOOM!