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Post by Raffy on Jul 3, 2011 15:27:26 GMT -5
Episode Synopsis: FALLING SKIES “Grace” Episode 4 – Tom and his team head out to track down more motorcycles for the 2nd Mass., relying on Pope to guide them to a good location. They hit the jackpot until they meet some skitters and harnessed teenagers at the bike shop. Back at the base, Dr. Harris (guest star Steven Weber) and Anne disagree over the best method to gather more intelligence on the aliens.
PromoSneak Peek
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Post by darksparrow on Jul 4, 2011 7:40:42 GMT -5
Well, it was much less action-packed than the ones so far, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. We can't get anywhere in storytelling if every episode is basically about fighting a skitter. A bit of quiet and trying to settle into a new regime is good. I liked that the episode was more about the 'other' cast, and not so centered on Tom. Giving Anne and Dai and even Weaver a chance to have some lines, and even Lourdes (Sorry, I STILL find her annoying. And for someone who's got a crush on Hal, you'd think she'd be first in line to comfort him) Anyway, it seems some points were addressed that have really been bugging me. 1. Why Margaret hadn't tried to escape before Tom and his people came... 2. How come the kid seemed perfectly healthy last episode (I couldn't believe they'd mention he had C.F and then just ignore the implications) 3. Weaver calling Tom on his optimism being annoying wasn't a second too soon.  Claire noticed it last episode but for me it was very clear in this one- Tom's whole 'be a hero, save my children, we can win this thing' facade is an attempt at self control, and it should be clear to him too by this point. He's no different from Mike by his own admission (doing whatever he could to save his kid). He's just trying to quiet his guilt by pretending to himself that he's got more noble reasons. Any indication that things may not end well (like Hal's wondering about Ben) is just too much for him to handle. It's interesting to watch him starting to doubt his outlook on the situation. I didn't mind Pope taking off, that dude will be back, no doubt. I thought going against the nest of skitters (which looked creepy, I have to admit) was a stupid idea. Surely he must know that a fire would draw attention from the 'control tower', he said so himself a few episodes ago. And for the life of me I can't figure out how he got that tank of gas to explode when it hit them. Things that BOTHERED me: 1. The skitter in a cage thing---- I was half hoping they wouldn't be able to communicate with it at all, because honestly, if these things had wanted to communicate so far they would have done so already. Why do they assume that if they speak to the thing slowly it'll understand them? Why is English apparently the universal language in the galaxy? That scene just felt familiar from a dozen other scenes from other shows. Including Anne's "I wonder if we look hideous to him" speech which was really too much. The skitter 'talking' to them through the kid also made me cringe. I don't suppose there was any other way they could get the message to us that they skitter wanted help, but it'd just be so much more interesting if the skitters were creatures that relied on NON-verbal communication. 2. The uncle Scott & Matt storyline was cute. Give the kid something to do. But they're really not going for subtle in the way they're bringing up themes, are they? Sort of "okay, this episode: should children be carrying guns or not? DISCUSS." instead of hinting it and just letting us figure out the questions for ourselves. 3. I was hoping we'd get to see Click's funeral. 4. So Mike just ripped the harness off his son, and then we didn't hear from him again until the end of the episode. Everyone's having dinner and saying prayers and it's all very nice and cozy and why is nobody addressing that the man had just lost/killed his son? That needed some closure. I have to admit though I actually gasped when he tore that harness off. Instinctively, I'm sure, which makes it even worse. Poor man. Also, Noah on a motorcycle.  Couldn't help but think about how much he hated that thing during the entire scene. |
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Post by janet on Jul 5, 2011 4:34:12 GMT -5
Yes, Lourdes is really too sugary and gets on my nerves, but I think that is more because that kind of pious, religious sentimentality is more common and acceptable in the US than elsewhere. I'm willing to accept that this is a cultural difference between many in the US and the more hard bitten realism of the rest of us. It's a minor irritation, but I wish they hadn't finished the epi on that note. It was very very sentimental.
I too thought it was very unsatisfactory that they just left Mike ripping the harness off his son and his son collapsing, bloody in his arms, without showing us what happened next and no one commenting on it afterwards when they had their meal. It was just left hanging. I thought that was bad plotting and sequencing.
Apart from that I liked the rest of the epi. We got more about some of the other characters.Pope will be back, I'm sure and Dai is shaping up to be intriguing. Harris seems to be morphing into Weaver and Weaver is softening, so they are setting up things nicely for future episodes.
Also what the Mechs are doing and exactly how they are controlling the children and why is getting more complex. This is beginning to throw up some good puzzles to work out, to keep our interest up.
I now see the point you have been making, Claire and Anna, Tom is being optimistic all the time to try and keep his own and others' spirits up, but he is beginning to irritate them. This may get worse, but he is still mostly the hero, good guy, who does the right things. Noah did some beautiful repressed emotion stuff, specially when talking about his wife and the dynamic between him and Hal is getting interesting.
I liked less fighting and SFX and more drama, but I think there was still enough to keep Sci-fi fans interested. A mixed episode
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Post by claired80 on Jul 5, 2011 5:08:36 GMT -5
I 100% agree with your review Janet. I couldn't write it any better  and very american indeed. I'm quite surprised they go in that direction while selling the show so widely internationally. That can be a really irritating point in many countries imo...  But at the same time, I can accept that religion under such circumstances is important and it's a topic that cannot be avoided I think. And they are trying to make it 'subtle', or at least showing it's not an accepted trend by all the members of the group. Lourdes is being more or less gently mocked in all episodes so far. It's a very risky topic to tackle, so I'm sort of happy that they are daring to show it. All in all that last scene wasn't so badly written, but made me laugh quite a bit because I couldn't help thinking that Noah would make a great Jesus When he 'shared' the bread with Weaver, and later was at the end of the table holding hands with others, all I could think of was "Did they do that on purpose to make him look like Jesus here? or is it just me? They wouldn't do that, would they? It's just me...  " |
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Post by darksparrow on Jul 5, 2011 5:24:33 GMT -5
 I hadn't even thought about the 'sharing the bread' thing!!! And the hand holding... LOL Noah as Jesus is something that requires some thinking. I mean, I adore the guy, but are they trying to claim he's the son of God? Or maybe it's something like 'Tom's trying to represent the best in humanity, much like Jesus did' I know what you mean about it being very 'american'. The theme is universal but the way they're dealing with the themes, yes, it's got hollywood written all over it. It's not just the religion aspect- thought it's irritating for me, as someone who believes religion should be something much less institutionalized than it is in the US. But I'd say the entire show is more relatable to Americans than to the rest of the world. I mean, they do rely pretty heavily on the analogy to the American revolution, the geographic and historical bits about Boston... And even the family dynamic between Matt and Hal, and between Tom and his kids-- it's something that's pretty specific to the US. Maybe it's my own culture that's emotionally dead, but seriously, there was more fatherly hugging in four episodes than there was in the last two years of my life. Granted, aliens invading may bring out the protective side in people and strengthen family bonds, but still, maybe a bit too sweet? The whole dynamic of the show is really very much American. I don't know how to explain it but I know what you mean. I think it's something that is easier to see from outside, though. So while it may be perfectly clear to us, the writers may not even have considered these things, or maybe they thought they WERE avoiding cultural influences. .
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Post by blackpearl1980 on Jul 5, 2011 7:08:34 GMT -5
The whole Jesus-Noah thing...i was wondering the same....lets see, if Tom can keep up his whole Best-of-Mankind-thing if things get probably worse with Ben....or will we se an fallen hero?? I hope not...
But I really like this episode though it is not my favourite...and I keep myself asking, if the kid is dead or not?? I mean Rick...it`s bugging me...*groan*
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Post by darksparrow on Jul 5, 2011 11:39:07 GMT -5
Alright, I just had to make this banner after what Claire said. I sense a whole lot of Noah=Jesus icons coming.  ;D |
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Post by claired80 on Jul 5, 2011 12:06:03 GMT -5
I love it ;D Even the shirt gives this impression... Just switch it with a tartan shirt and the impression wouldn't be so strong. |
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Post by blackpearl1980 on Jul 5, 2011 14:31:06 GMT -5
Wow i like it...good work dear...
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Post by breizh22 on Jul 5, 2011 16:08:52 GMT -5
i love your picture Darksparrow, nice!!!!
I really felt that way, at the end, Noah / Jesus, I don't know if it was intentional
At the end of the table, with his beard, giving half of his bread ...
I think there's a reason why in this episode we talk a lot of faith, maybe because we learn that the skitters can control the minds of children. so spirit/faith maybe it's linked. It's an idea, i'm not expert
Otherwise I found very predictable Hope's reaction, it was naive on their part
The scene with the father of Rick and the alien, he says his son is everything to him and I think it is too short between the moment he sees that Rick have his harness back on and the moment he pulls it off
I mean he decided to kill him quickly. well no time to think under those circumstances
When the skitter spoke through Rick and makes him say "kill me" I 'm not sure I got it all right : did the alien want to die or did he want Rick to die?
i found strange that after his father kills Rick, no one in the community worries about him
I also think it's nice for the intrigue that the humans still don't know that aliens can control the children even without the harness
those skitters are vicious to send the children with guns to shoot their parents, who won't dare retaliate
I did not like the end in the motorcycle shop, too simple. they explode a car, children's attention is diverted, and they can escape
Conclusion: Despite some flaws (but nothing is perfect), my interest for this series increases
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Post by janet on Jul 6, 2011 3:10:43 GMT -5
Wow Anna. I love your "last supper " banner. Noah as Jesus, great idea Claire. It's obvious now you point it out that the "breaking bread" scene is so full of religious symbolism. I think it would be quite interesting to develop the theme of faith versus scepticism in such situations, providing they showed some subtelty in the behaviour of believers and sceptics alike . I fear, however, they may be a bit heavy handed about it, even for American audiences.
Maybe we should start a "hug" count. How many hugs per episode?
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Post by darksparrow on Jul 6, 2011 3:42:12 GMT -5
I agree, unfortunately. Great idea!  But are we including only Tom/Family hugs, or any kind of sweet sentimental hug? |
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Post by claired80 on Jul 6, 2011 5:11:10 GMT -5
Drinking game for upcoming episodes anyone? ;D  Maybe because they will come back on this story in future episodes? We know from the promo of 1x05 that Rick is not dead. I reacted with a big sigh of relief when I saw him in the promo, not because I do care about Rick , but because it reassured me about the writing of the show... From the promo, with Rick still alive and seemingly being quite himself, not talking like a zombie, and Anne with a bloody hand, while Moon said she kills a skitter with bare hands in one episode, my theory is that you need to kill the skitter that was controlling the kid in order to free him  |
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Post by breizh22 on Jul 6, 2011 6:00:02 GMT -5
i send a personal message
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Post by darksparrow on Jul 6, 2011 7:45:06 GMT -5
 yay.
Oh, I didn't see the promo so I missed that little piece of information! They did make it sound in the first three episodes that ripping the harness out results in death. But I suppose that since they had weaned off the morphine, and he only had the harness on for a short while the second time, there was really nothing to cause him to go into shock when the harness came out, but in that case, there's no reason for him to collapse like that, either.
Anyway, I guess they wanted to keep the viewers hanging regarding the situation with Rick, but still, at least a mention of him would be nice. Sort of, one of the gang being missing from the dinner scene because they're staying with Rick. Something like that. *shrugs*
And that is an interesting point you bring up, about next episode. I'm not sure about the blood on Anne's gloves, though- it looks like human blood. Skitter blood looked kind of different (like when Tom was dragging the skitter in the third ep). So... if it's not the skitter's blood, why does she look so shaken?
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Claire noticed it last episode but for me it was very clear in this one- Tom's whole 'be a hero, save my children, we can win this thing' facade is an attempt at self control, and it should be clear to him too by this point. He's no different from Mike by his own admission (doing whatever he could to save his kid). He's just trying to quiet his guilt by pretending to himself that he's got more noble reasons. Any indication that things may not end well (like Hal's wondering about Ben) is just too much for him to handle. 
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