The premiere has just aired but the battle for earth has only begun. 7 months have passed since the end of season 2 and many have questions about why Hal is in a wheelchair, how did Tom become president and why are we friends with Volm. We are going to help answer all your questions. First we need to checkout this season 3 look ahead and talk a bit about what we see.
Season 3 brings a lot of action and a lot of story arcs. There is a scene in which we see Tom clean shaven and Dai reappears, but not in his normal clothing. Our friend and co-edtior Tom has some theories on his return, which he will lament on in another post. Tom appears to also get into a bad position with Karen telling her to go to hell, to which her response is “this is hell”. As Charleston tries to hold off the Espheni attack and continue working with the Volm, they must deal with a mole from within. Just who is leaking information?
Unanswered Questions Answered – The 7 month Gap
The Volm
At the end of season 2, a new race of aliens arrived after the destruction of the Espheni (overlord) weapon. Tom noticed that the weapon was pointed at the sky, indicating it wasnt meant for humans. Over the 7 month period between seasons, Tom and Charleston were told of a story that the Volm were traveling from planet to planet saving races torn apart by the Espheni. The Volm claim that they are here to end this war once and for all. As a show of trust they began giving the humans access to weapons and tech that changed the tide of the war against the overlords. Modified guns and bombs have allowed them to make huge efforts against the overlords. However, there will be a price to pay for that victory. The official spokesperson for the Volm is Cochise (Played by Doug Jones) who has formed a close alliance with Tom Mason, the new president of the new United States. In this alliance Tom has agreed to allow the Volm to create a weapon, in secret, that would destroy a network that is preventing their ships from landing on earth. Until now, Tom has kept that a secret to everyone, but finally told Weaver. Weaver doesn’t trust them and one has to wonder, if the weapon is meant to do what Cochise is leading Tom to think it does.
Tom as President
To say Tom has a lot on his plate is an understatement. At the end of season 2, both Tom and Weaver both agreed they needed to leave and he turned down an offer from Manchester to run Charleston. After the Volm arrived though, everything changed. Tom saw a chance to win this war once and for all. Tom’s singular goal has been to protect his family and he knows Ben isn’t going to be okay forever. The spikes continue to change him and he hopes the Volm will have technology that could save him. Tom’s decision to become president was one he didn’t accept at first. It came with conditions which included allowing him to go on the front lines and fight with the 2nd mass as he has always done. During that time Bressler has remained the military leader with Marina being the civilian aid to Tom during these months. Tom’s lack of attention to his kids has left Matt a bit rebellious and Hal dealing with the inability to walk.
Creepy Baby
Tom also has a new baby that Anne delivered called Alexis but the baby is far from normal. Anne is the only one that notices but the baby is action strange. She is talking and moving in ways a newborn just shouldn’t. When Tom walked on the alien ship in season 1, nobody fully knows what happen to him while he was on there. Anne isn’t the only one noticing something isn’t right. Lourdes notices that something isn’t right with Anne. Just what is baby Lexi?
Hal “Hotwheels” Mason
At the end of season 2, Karen kissed Hal when the entire team who came to destroy the weapon was captured. After that Hal was in a coma like state to which Anne and Loudres could find nothing physically wrong with him. The season ended with a creepy look at Hal in the mirror and an ‘eye worm’ coming out of his eye and into his ear. Season 3 opens and Hal is unable to walk. We learn in the first 2 episodes that Hal thinks he is dreaming about going into the woods and meeting Karen. It turns out that he is actually able to walk but doesn’t realize it. The eye worm is a probe, amongst other things, and embedded itself into Hals brain steam. As Hals sub-conscience tries to fight its control over him, it results in his paralysis. Right now, only Hal knows of the parasite, thanks to Karen. The real question is, how much information and control does Karen have over him?
Ben and the elite fighting force of rebel skitters and deharnessed kids
Ben is still not able to be as human as he would like. It doesn’t help that he has glowing spikes and skitters speak through him. The biggest challenge is the ‘anti skitter’ talk among those in Charleston. Ben and his fighting force are involved in the top level military offenses, much to Popes dislike. Ben has a friend named Denny, who like him, was harnessed and had her harness removed manually resulting in super human abilities. Due to the distrust of anything alien, Ben remains on the outskirts of the city with Denny, the other deharnessed kids and the rebel skitters. In honor of Red Eye and to separate themselves from skitters still in Espheni control, the rebels have adorned themselves with war paint.
Be sure to tune in next Sunday at 10pm EST for “Badlands”, which Connor Jessup (who plays Ben Mason) says is one of his favorite episodes.
