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Falling Skies – “The Eye” Recap. Don’t Drink the Kool-Aid.

Season 4, Episode 2

Air Date: Sunday, June 29, 2014 at 10/9c on TNT

Rating: ★★★★★

 

“The earth is a gift. The new coalition must protect it with our Espheni brothers. Joined together, we will build a beautiful world.” — The Pledge

 

“The Eye” definitely overshadows the season opener, “Ghost in the Machine,” but it needed its predecessor to set up the events that unfold. “The Eye” jolts us with that old fighting spirit the 2nd Mass crew is known for. I’m ready to shout, “Vive la révolution!”

The Espheni give everyone in the camp a warning – turn in the Ghost or they will stop all food drops.

Tom (Noah Wyle) has been going on secret recon missions around the encampment as a renegade on a motorcycle, known to all as the “Ghost.” The Espheni want the Ghost to turn himself in or the rest of the prisoners will suffer the consequences.

All this time that Tom has been risking his own life to gather intel about how the camp is guarded, where the Skitter guards come crawling out from, and devising a plan to break through the laser barriers finally comes to a head, but as his eldest son Hal (Drew Roy) says, “The plan’s changed.” It’s nice to see Hal thinking outside the box and stepping up as a leader. The only gripe I have with him is his underlying cockiness. Something about Hal this season worries me. I can’t put my finger on it yet, but something irks me.

Tom’s plan to turn himself in is smart – get inside the ship and gather crucial intel about how to take down the laser grids.

The new plan isn’t a bad one. It’s actually pretty ingenious. In order to know your enemy, you sometimes have to get close. In this case, Tom gets very close by turning himself in as the Ghost. As he is transported aboard the Espheni ship, he gathers valuable information and figures out how they can take down the laser grid barriers. The interesting part about Tom being on board the ship isn’t figuring out how to escape; it’s what the Espheni leader tells him about why they are here. They’ve been gathering supplies and resources from many planets because a bigger threat is heading their way. The question is – do we believe this?

Anne (Moon Bloodgood), Anthony (Mpho Koaho), and Deni (Megan Danso) continue on their journey to find Anne’s daughter Lexi (Scarlett Byrne). The thing is, Anne doesn’t know how much Lexi has changed. But, Anne has also changed. Her one track mind to find Lexi causes her to lose sight of what’s right and wrong. When they encounter a Skitter on patrol, Anne goes a bit off the rails. She tries to get information from the Skitter by using Deni to help communicate. The Skitter tells them, “the hybrid” is the future. But when the Skitter is unable to tell Anne anything else about who or what the hybrid is, Anne becomes violent. Deni feels everything because she’s still connected to the Skitter.

Matt (Maxim Knight) and many other kids are in a sort of reform school. The Espheni run school is about “re-education.” Children are being taught by reinforcement and propaganda to believe the Espheni are good and want to help the humans. Leading the re-education charge, Team Leader Kent (Dakota Daulby) runs a tight ship. All I can think about when I see him is something out of an old movie about Nazi soldiers. Daulby looks and plays his part well, complete with the odd hair style – buzzed on the sides with a severe side part and long bangs – and the air of creepiness about him. When he tells Matt he’s going to be keeping an eye on him, it gives me the heebie-jeebies. That’ll teach Matt and his classmates to pass notes in class.

Lourdes doesn’t allow “non-believers” near Lexi. L-R: Dr. Kadar (not really visible), Lourdes, Lexi, and Ben

Finally, we go back to China Town where we see a familiar face, Dr. Roger Kadar (Robert Sean Leonard). Dr. Kadar tells Ben (Connor Jessup) that when they first arrived at the tranquil China Town, he looked after Lexi by monitoring her vitals and rapid growth. When the lightning struck down the Mech, everyone believed Lexi to be a god of some kind, a savior. And then Lourdes (Gabrielle Seychelle) became her protector. Can you say coo-coo? Lourdes has gone way off the deep end. I agree with Ben, “Lourdes is trying gain power by controlling you.”

Lexi tells Ben, “I answer to a higher power.” But when Ben says he’s concerned and tells her to stop talking “like a damn fortune cookie,” Lexi goes all Carrie and Firestarter combined on him. As she raises her voice, the air around her becomes charged. “How would you like me to talk? Do you have a manual for how I should communicate? You think you’re a better teacher than Dickens, or Shakespeare, or your own God? Do you? Do you?!” If that doesn’t raise your eyebrows, what happens when Lourdes finds out Dr. Kadar is allowed to take a sample of Lexi’s blood sure will. Seriously, something is not right with Lourdes.

 

Observations:

Maggie (Sarah Carter) isn’t drunk with the Lexi Kool-Aid like the rest of China Town, but I think she’s become a bit complacent after a few months of living in a peaceful atmosphere. I will say I detect a slight tension between her and Ben. I don’t think it’s a sexual tension, but I can’t rule it out. I know she and Hal weren’t on great terms before they were split up in “Ghost in the Machine,” but perhaps her lack of companionship these last few months is clouding her emotions.

Please, writers, do not make it any more weird between Ben and his half-sister Lexi. The way he says, “I’m your brother; I’d die before I let anyone hurt you,” as they both look at each other in a way I would never look at my own brother, really worries me. I’ve seen enough brother-sister love in Game of Thrones so please don’t bring that to Falling Skies.

Dan Weaver (Will Patton) and John Pope (Colin Cunningham) fight like an old married couple. Just like old times.

Overall

Toward the end of “The Eye,” we learn something about Lexi and her powers. It isn’t a huge surprise to me but it is to Ben. How long has Lexi been communicating with the Espheni? Dr. Kadar says even though she’s technically only a year old, she’s aging quickly. Could she really be dying or is she just in the final stages of her hybrid mutation? Will Cochise (Doug Jones) and his Volm troops be able to help Tom and the others?

 

What did you think of “The Eye?” I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment here or tweet me @judybopp.

 

Tune in to Falling Skies, Sundays at 10/9c 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, Lourdes/Gabrielle Seychelle @seychellegab, John Pope/Colin Cunningham @CunninghamColin, and Anthony/Mpho Koaho @MphoAK.

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Photos ©2014 TNT/Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.

 

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.

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.