‘Falling Skies’ 3.10 Episode Recap And Review: Brazil

Well, it’s finally here. The Falling Skies season finale. I feel like we should have a moment of silence before we begin the review, just to mourn the end of another great season…

Okay! Moving on! First things first, I think this episode is poorly named. “Brazil”?? Come on, we can do better! How about “Smile, you son of a Bitch!”? I think that would have been an awesome title! Of course, I get this quote from Pope, who in our opening scene is on a fast moving train headed for Chicago with Weaver, Anthony, Lyle, and Lourdes. Lourdes seems to have undergone a radical change from the defiant mole to the unwilling and tortured victim. I don’t like it. I was looking forward to seeing some more of defiant Lourdes, bent on destruction. I liked her, she was interesting! Anyway, back to the train. Our boys and Lourdes are on a mission to distract Karen and the Espheni from the real attack which is taking place on board a cargo ship loaded down with the Volm super gun. The plan is that Lourdes and her eye worms will bait Karen into attacking the train while the ship takes out the real target, the Espheni tower and the grid.

Ultimately the plan works and the tower comes down, followed by a huge Volm ship landing in the middle of Boston(?) and Tom looking a little overwhelmed. I love the “what did I just do?” look on his face when the incredibly large ship plops down in the middle of town. And what did he do? It appears that he has won the war; taking down the grid and allowing the Volm mothership do land, thus bringing a strong new ally into the fight. But the Volm don’t want an ally, they want pliant sheep, willing to be shuffled off to the warm climate of Brazil, where one presumes there are no Espheni (what, is Brazil somehow immune for alien attack??). Of course, this does not sit well with Tom and Weaver. In the meeting with the Volm leader (who just happens to be Cochise’s daddy) Tom reaches out to grab the dismissive alien as he turns away and guess what? He gets knocked around and………you guessed it! Taken captive by the aliens! Does that ever get old? (YES! Yes it does.)

Weaver attempts to pack up the crew and bug out before the Volm arrive to herd them on to ships, but of course he runs out of time. Cochise shows up with an armed escort and the 2nd Mass has no choice but to lay down their arms. During this time we also learn that Weaver has been having heart problems and taking Nitroglycerin tablets. Anne apparently knew of this and prescribed the pills but no one else knows. Well, Jean knows now because she walked in on her dad in the middle of an attack, but she is sworn to secrecy. Dear writers, please do not use this as a means of offing Weaver, he is central to the shows success and we need him!

Anywho! After some impassioned pleading on Tom’s part the Volm decide to let our people go their own way. There is a telling scene between Cochise and his father that speaks to the altruistic nature of the Volm in this war. They seem to be truly in this to free other races and confused to find a race that is so unwilling to cooperate with their plans to protect them. They have never encountered a species like us humans, we are so stubborn and seem to have a death wish. I think they are intrigued.

So, the 2nd Mass has their weapons and camping gear and they are on the march. And because they have Lourdes and her eye worms, they are on the lookout for Karen. They are not disappointed in this as an Espheni ship lands nearby. Karen appears waving a white flag and talking of a future when the humans and the Espheni may need each other against the Volm. She even speaks of a peace offering she has brought to Tom, but before she can tell him more he shoots her in the gut. The fight is on, but our little band of Mason’s, Weaver and Maggie are up to the fight and quickly wipe the floor with mechs and skitters. Tom then hears a familiar voice calling to him from the woods, can it be Anne? (Yes, unfortunately it can be) Tom is reunited with his love and introduced to his 2 month old daughter, who is now a 6 year old (may I say, I told you so!!). Meanwhile, as Karen lies bleeding out on the ground she reaches for Hal, saying “all I wanted was to be with you” (yeah right. Because that makes total sense. You willingly became an Espheni warlord because you wanted to be with Hal. Sure.) Thankfully, Maggie puts 2 more bullets in Karen and saves us all from enduring her sob story of love and regret. I just wonder if those two bullets also mark the beginning of the end for Hal and Maggie. One can hope….

In closing we see the 2nd Mass regrouping and finding transportation (2 years after the invasion and they can still manage to find cars and gas!!) and gearing up to head back to Charleston (for a short visit) before going off in search of more human allies in the fight. Lourdes is locked in a cage (that’s a handy thing to find laying around in the woods) in the bed of a truck when not-so-little Alexis walks up and sweetly lays her hands on Lourdes and removes the eyeworms from her. And while it looked uncomfortable I must say it was less painful than Hal’s procedure. And we close with the stunned look on Tom’s face.

And that’s it folks. Another season of Falling Skies gone. What did you think? Did you enjoy this season? I did, despite the annoying story twists that kept rearing their ugly heads (like Lourdes mood shifts from one episode to the next and the alarming frequency in which our dear Tom is taking captive by aliens) and the inconsistencies and gaps in the plot (how did they get the Volm weapon out of the destroyed Volm base camp in one piece and onto a ship?) Even the Alexis is an alien 1/2 breed storyline is growing on me. I just hope they can explain how THAT happened next season. I would also love to see more of the rebel skitters next season and find out what happened to Diego (remember him?) and Denny. I enjoyed our time in Charleston, but I am glad to see the 2nd Mass on the road again, I think they were getting a little too settled, though I will miss Popetown and The Nest. Until next season……