Falling Skies – Season Finale “Space Oddity” and “Shoot the Moon” Recap. The Good Fight.

Season 4, Episode 11 – 12

Air Date: Sunday, August 31, 2014 at 9/8c on TNT

Rating: ★★★★★

Falling Skies takes us on an epic journey throughout its two-hour season four finale. From dreams to reality, we aren’t quite sure what’s real or just a façade, but one thing is clear, the humans are willing to fight to the death to rid themselves of the Espheni.

Lexi uses her Espheni DNA to help steer the beamer ship to the moon

Last week during “Drawing Straws,” Lexi (Scarlett Byrne) returned to the 2^nd Mass but her arrival wasn’t as well received as she may have hoped. Tom (Noah Wylie), her human father, is jaded by her recent betrayal and cannot move past Lexi’s misgivings. Even Anne (Moon Bloodgood) finds Lexi’s return suspicious and is unable to welcome her daughter back with open arms. In order for this family to move on, Lexi must make the grand gesture to prove she is on their side, but is she really? Several incidents throughout “Space Oddity,” the first hour of the two-hour season finale, lead me to question Lexi’s true motives. It isn’t until she and Tom are on board the beamer ship headed toward the moon that I realize she may truly be trying to help destroy the Espheni.

Throughout the entire fourth season, we’ve seen Lexi change from a little girl to a young woman. Lexi may look like an adult but she is still barely a year old. All she wants is her family’s love, acceptance, and ultimately their forgiveness for what she’s done. Her immaturity and lack of proper parental guidance led her astray, and everyone, including her family, was so quick to judge her for being a traitor against the human race. If anything, Lexi actually thought she was helping the humans survive. She believed the lies the Espheni were feeding her. Haven’t we all believed a lie and made poor choices?

In “Space Oddity,” Lexi uses her unique abilities and creates a life-sustaining cocoon for both her and her father, Tom. But their individual dreams begin to collide, making Tom question what’s happening.

“Space Oddity” shows Tom and Lexi bonding in an intense environment. Lexi must also help save Tom aboard the ship when the life support system is compromised. It’s a very interesting episode in which Lexi demonstrates some of her unique abilities, even creating a cocoon for Tom so he won’t freeze to death. Tom wakes up to find that all is well; their mission to destroy the Espheni power grid is a complete success. Lexi has another transformation due to the residual radiation from the power grid explosion. But everything is not what it seems.

As the finale moves into the second episode, “Shoot the Moon,” Tom and Lexi are faced with more challenges in their efforts to get to the moon. Meanwhile, back on earth, Anne, Hal (Drew Roy), Ben (Connor Jessup), and Matt (Maxim Knight), along with the remaining survivors of the 2^nd Mass are battle ready, waiting impatiently for any sign of success from Tom and Lexi.

Weaver comforts Matt after they receive news about Tom being adrift in space.

Facing a giant mechanized robot and six-legged Skitters is one thing, but when a mysterious ball made of what looks like giant vines is dropped into the middle of the 2^nd Mass’ encampment, all hell breaks loose. A fog with super sticky attributes glues people in place while slimy worm-like creatures begin their assault, sucking their victims dry and changing them into something unnatural. I have to say, these scenes were very intense. You didn’t know who would get stuck, and who would get sucked. I appreciate all the actors adding a realistic modicum of fear in their performances, making it feel like they were actually trapped with no way out.

“Shoot the Moon” gives us some closure regarding the Espheni power grid and its destruction, but since we know there is a fifth and final season, the story lines aren’t completely wrapped up. The Volm come to help Tom and Lexi when they are caught by the scorched Espheni overlord, but Lexi decides she will take matters into her own hands and goes on a kamikaze mission to destroy the power grid. In the aftermath of the blast, Tom’s beamer ship is thrown off course and is set adrift in space. Even with the Volm ships out looking for him, it’s outer space – it’s like finding a “needle in the ocean,” as Cochise (Doug Jones) so eloquently puts it.

Season four of Falling Skies has been met with mixed emotions from the fans. Those who are true die-hard fans of the show had qualms about the way this season veered off course, and some fans (old and new) seemed to like the ambivalence. With any new season, there will be moments within episodes where you question and wonder about their significance. Now that the season finale has come and gone, I understand more about Lexi’s character, and the way the writers chose to portray her. She didn’t know what it meant to be human because she was an oddity from the start. From Anne discovering her daughter could talk at two weeks old, to everyone being a bit wary of her growth rate, Lexi was an outcast by humans in general. The Espheni welcomed her with acceptance and knowledge. She didn’t know what it was to be human until she finally saw the Espheni for what they were and had her bonding experience with Tom.

I’m looking forward to the final season. I am not sure where Tom woke up and whom he was talking to but I’m beyond intrigued.

What are your favorite moments from the season finale or the entire season? I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment here or tweet me @judybopp.

Falling Skies returns for its fifth and final season, Summer 2015 only on TNT.

For more on Falling Skies, go to http://www.fallingskies.com/.

Follow Falling Skies on Twitter @FallingSkiesTNT.

Follow some of the cast on Twitter: Matt Mason/Maxim Knight @RVRocket, Ben Mason/Connor Jessup @connorjessup , Maggie/Sarah Sanguin Carter @sanguin_carter, Hal/Drew Roy @drew_roy, John Pope/Colin Cunningham @CunninghamColin, and Anthony/Mpho Koaho @MphoAK.

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Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.