Episode Title: “Be Silent and Come Out”
Writers: Bradley Thompson & David Weddle & John Wirth
Director: Adam Kane
Previously on “Falling Skies”:
Episode 3.05 “Search and Recovery”
Over the last three seasons, “Falling Skies” has been a pretty entertaining show that sometimes has brilliant moments. It also has more than its share of mediocre moments along with occasionally horrible writing and dialogue.
But the thing that’s really holding back “Falling Skies” is the creative team’s aversion from going for the throat, in terms of dramatic impact. “Be Silent and Come Out” had at least two scenes that could have made for powerful and unforgettable moments. Instead, the writers took the easiest ways out with only minor consequences for the characters involved.
There are full spoilers ahead for “Be Silent and Come Out,” so skip this review if you aren’t current on “Falling Skies” or else Pope’s gonna start another dead pool.
Getting back to the point, it’s difficult to take “Falling Skies” seriously when the main characters come out of life-or-death situations with barely a few injuries. Obviously the bulk of the cast is going to stay on this show, but it feels like there are never lasting consequences for the Mason family. Hilariously, this episode even points this out during a running subplot in which John Pope (Colin Cunningham) takes bets about whether Tom Mason (Noah Wyle) and his son, Hal (Drew Roy) will survive a standoff. The problem with that illusion of invincibility is that I’m no longer invested about the survival of Tom or his children. They always survive.
This episode got off to a weak start when Tom is barely talked out of an ill-conceived search for his missing lover, Dr. Anne Glass (Moon Bloodgood) and their alien hybrid baby. Apparently, the entirety of the aliens’ plan was to get Tom out of Charleston and into their custody by using Anne and the baby as bait. When that doesn’t work, Evil Hal simply takes his father hostage and he clobbers Vice President Marina Perlata (Gloria Reuben) while doing so.
Maggie (Sarah Sanguin Carter) cuts off Hal’s escape, leading to a face-off between Evil Hal and Tom’s comrades in the 2nd Mass. I appreciate that Pope is the voice of dissent on this show and a lot of what he said about the Masons was true. The rules don’t seem to apply to them. It feels like a waste to walk back some character growth that Pope showed in last week’s episode. Pope doesn’t have to be Tom’s buddy or even friendly with him. But if Pope hates Tom so much, why was he waiting by his bedside for two days? Why save Tom’s life? At the very least, Pope has to have some respect for his rival.
The first part of the standoff was well done, as Tom wrestled with his possessed son before trying to reason with Hal. Despite Evil Hal’s cartoonish antics, Drew Roy had some good scenes as Hal’s normal persona briefly showed itself through his actions. The climax of the standoff with Maggie, Matt (Maxim Knight) and Ben (Connor Jessup) was also compelling as they surrounded Hal and tried to keep him from shooting himself.
If Hal had died, it would have been a legitimately shocking end to his character. But his death would also have had an emotional weight that his survival simply doesn’t match. Once Hal lived through that scene, there was no suspense about whether he’d pull through the “dangerous” procedure to free him from the alien bug that controlled him. And of course the Rebel Skitters had a way to cure Hal… or possibly kill him. Because Deus Ex Alien is a thing on this show.
Where are the stakes? We had to sit through six episodes of alien-influenced Hal and Evil Hal… and this is the payoff?! That is ridiculously lazy storytelling. Hal comes out of his ordeal (which includes near death from the Rebel Skitter cure and nearly shooting his head off) with just some pointed taunting from Pope and stares of suspicion from the people of Charleston. Not exactly an ending to remember.
For his part, Pope had a few good moments in his bar, especially when Captain Weaver (Will Patton) silenced the room with his very presence. Weaver’s understated anger about the dead pool and his threat to Pope were great. But like the main plot, it didn’t ultimately go anywhere. None of Pope’s patrons attempted to influence the outcome of the wager by taking a shot at Tom or Hal. Thus, it was a pointless.
Back in the main story, Tom hands over the office of the Presidency to Perlata; whom most of the show’s viewers have already pegged as the alien mole. The first rule of a whodunit story is that there have to be suspects and the suspects need motives. The reason that everyone thinks that Perlata is the mole is that she’s basically the only suspect. Hal was always the red herring. And it’s pretty late in the mystery to introduce other suspects. No one else on the show even seems like a potential traitor. Even Perlata doesn’t appear to have a good motive beyond possible mind control.
Another aspect that’s glossed over is that Perlata is an unelected President. Tom appointed her as VP and he basically handed her the job when he resigned. No one voted for her, so she’s the Gerald Ford of the New United States. That’s certainly enough reason to question her authority even if she’s not the mole. Tom has also put his faith in someone who is actively trying to undermine the Volm. Time will tell if the Volm are revealed to be working against humanity’s best interests. But on the off-chance that the Volm aren’t lying, then Tom either handed a traitor the means to undo their plans or he appointed someone who is already looking to oppose the Volm.
That’s not exactly the smartest move that Tom Mason has ever made. But the overall intelligence of everyone involved with this show seemed to take a big hit this week.
