Recap
Falling Skies returns 7 months after a new alien race, known as the Volm, arrive on earth. Over this 7 month time, the Volm have worked with the humans to upgrade their weapons and help them win their battles against the Espheni. Tom is now president of Charleston and Weaver got promoted. Season 3 opens with one of many missions in which the 2nd mass goes and rescues harnessed kids from enslavement. On this mission Matt now has a front line role along with his brother Hal. Ben heads up an elite group of harnessed kids and rebel skitters. However this mission did not go as planned, they were ambushed by new Mega Mechs and a lot of skitters. It can no longer be denied, there is a mole in Charleston feeding the enemy their plans.
Back in Charleston, Tom has a new assistant helping him run the city played by Gloria Reuben. In meeting with his top miltary advisers and other key personelle including Ben (representing the rebel skitters) and Cochise (representing the Volm), Tom discusses the fact that there is a mole among them. Bressler is not happy having so many aliens within their walls and does not trust them. The humans are winning against the Espheni and the fact that they pulled out the Mega Mechs is impressive according to Cochise. The Espheni typically only pull those out for more advanced races and fights. The lack of trust from Bressler that we saw in season 2 has continued in season 3 with Ben and the other de-harnessed kids having to stay outside the city for their own safety.
Hal has not been the same since his encounter with Karen. In fact, he has been unable to walk and is in a wheelchair. He is however having strange dreams, including one where he meets Karen in the woods and they make out. One has to wonder what the eye worm has done to Hal and whether he is giving out information to Karen through his dreams without his knowledge. The dreams are causing Maggie to question Hal to which he gets angry with her about it. Not fun having that role reversed is it Hal? Holding a secret and not able to tell the person you love.
Tom meets with Ben and the rebel skitters, against Marinas recommendations and the rebels are not too keen on the Volms involvement. While you cannot argue with the results, the Espheni’s ultamite goal are the Volm not the humans. The Volms troop ships are on their way and Tom is under the impression they are coming to help destroy the Espheni. The rebel skitters don’t seem too convinced of that. One more important piece of intel is that a new overlord has taken the place of the one they killed. One even more dangerous and ruthless than the previous one. The strange thing is, this one is human.
Manchester may not run Charleston anymore but he has been tasked with the job of finding who the mole is and the first person he enlists for help is Anthony. As a former under cover Boston PD officer, he has the skills to help Manchester narrow down the list of suspects and find the true mole. Manchester doesn’t get very much time to narrow it down when a faceless gunmen comes into his office and kills him. Manchester knows who it was and they had access to Volm modified weapons that only the military were supposed to have access to. So just who is the mole?
Hal meets with Karen in the woods again but its clear this time, that it is no dream. But does Hal know that? Karen reveals the eye worm is a probe, embedded at his ceribrial cortex and it keeps him connected to her. Why did he wake up unable to walk but can walk right now? It’s Hal fighting the probe which is cuasing his inabliity to walk. We also learn that Karens transformation is completed, becoming one of them. The harness is now part of her, inside her. Maggie finds mud on Hal’s boots, raising more questions about how that got there if he cannot walk. Hal continues to brush it off but Maggie isn’t convinced.
Anne has a baby girl but not everything is as it seems, at least from Annes point of view. Tom and Cochise let Weaver in on a new weapon being developed by the Volm. After having destroyed a similiar weapon from the Espheni, will showing this to Weaver inspire more trust or more doubt.
Review – Thoughts
On Thin Ice is a perfect start to a new season of Falling Skies. With a largly expanded story and scope, and a new range of alien mythology the story can only grow larger from here. The writers did an excellent job of filling in the blanks from the 7 month gap while keeping the story moving forward. The title of the episode is fitting as the leaders in Charleston learn that their success is on very shacky ground. With a spy in Charleston and trust among the humans and alien/rebels running thin, everything is on a razors edge. As Anne put it in season 2, they are a heartbeat away from death.
Gloria Reuben is excellent in her role and leaves a very distrusting vibe behind her. Ben having a new companion is also a nice addition to his story. Denny is also a deharnessed kid like Ben. They are good friends and fighting companinions. The idea of Ben and Denny heading up a group of elite fighting rebel skitters and de-harnessed kids is the right place to have taken Ben’s story so far. Matt also has grown not only phsyically but in his role as a fighter. It is nice to see Matt up and front in the fight.
All of the new alien tech is exciting too. It was a big complaint going into the second season about how quickly the 2nd mass had given up on mech bullets and why they had not gotten their hands on any tech. In season 2, Ben was helping gather intel on the alien tech but they never got to hang on to any for use against the Espheni. In the first episode alone, they have no less than 4 new pieces of alien tech. Checkout our discussion of this tech and all the new aliens.
Best Quotes
“Don’t worry hotwheels, we will make sure we don’t drop you on your head” – Lars
“Human logic is to be discarded when at war with extra-teressterial beings” – Cochise
“White House? Im the president of 20 square blocks” – Tom
“No No No, you can’t compare comic books to Manga” – Ben “Says Who” – Denny
“Shut up, keep that kind of stuff your talkin way down inside that thick skull of yours alright. Save it for your memoirs.” – Pope
Awkward Moment of the Week
There are always those moments when we just sit back and think “wow that was awkward”. This week, that moment is Ben/Denny. The first time we meet Denny is in action with Ben while they try to fight off a few skitters and rescue some kids. At the end of the fight, Denny calls Ben by a nickname “Benji”, something Ben is not too keen on. They have a little back and forth about whether he likes it or not. The young teen awkward teasing moment feels a little out of place in the midst of a battle, so it won for this weeks most awkward moment.
Viewer Poll – Who is the mole? Week 1
We do not know much yet about the mole but we want to know who do you think the mole is? Vote in the poll below and pick which “group” you think the mole is from. Then comment on this post and discuss your theories as to who you think the mole is. Each week we will have a new poll and more discussions. As a contest for picking the mole, the person who guessed correctly the earliest will win a cool Falling Skies prize pack from us at the end of the season when the mole is revealed. So keep the comments coming.
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Photo Gallery
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Checkout Part 2 of our review covering the episode Collateral Damage.
