S04.E07: Saturday Night Massacre

[maraleia]

 

Lexi emerges more powerful and ruthless than ever. Tom and the 2nd Mass must work together with the Volm to hold off the invading Espheni forces in what becomes the bloodiest battle of the series.

 

[shapeshifter]

Lexi emerges more powerful and ruthless than ever.

So is she going to be "ruthless" against the Eshpeni, or the humans or??? *Sigh* If they have her emerge with giant wings and her face peering out from a cheesey bug helmet, we could happily MST3K the whole thing a là the Under the Dome discussions.

[tanyak]

Oh, hell. I liked Tektor. And of course, Maggie isn't dead. I'm so over her.

Edited August 4, 2014 by tanyak

[Bill C.]

Damn.  This, in a sense, was a massively fucked-up episode.  Lexi is now psychic and more than a bit...detached; Sarah is indeed a gender-swapped proto-Pope; and damn if the title of the episode wasn't 100% truth in advertising (if my count is right, 73 characters died--Lourdes, Dr. K, Tector, and 2/3 of the rest of the 2nd Mass).

Edited August 4, 2014 by Bill C.

[xaxat]

So, I guess all of humanity must die so that the Masons may live. 

 

I see they broke up Denny and Ben. That's too bad, I liked what little we saw of them together.

 

Why is anyone still following Tom?

[FormerMod-a1]

They kill off Lourdes, Kadar and Tector, yet Maggie still lives.  Why?  Sigh.  And they just wiped out all but 20-30 of the 2nd Mass?  Too bad Tector missed the Espheni.  I thought they'd have him make the shot, but have it not make a difference.  Or have that be what sent Lexi even further off the deep end.  But nope, he misses and then blows himself up to kill a skitter.  Ok then.  

 

In other news, I still find Ben's story the most interesting of the Mason brothers.  And Ann is just really beginning to grate on my nerves.  I know Lexi is her daughter, but open your eyes woman.  

[thuganomics85]

Hey, it took them a while, but they finally made me like Lexi for a second.  And, all she had to do was kill Lourdes!  Thank you, Lexi!  I will not miss Lourdes in the slightest.  She has never not been an annoying nuance, and I'm glad that finally caught up to her.  If Heaven does exist, I hope God is there to greet her and be like "My child, I'm glad you were a fan, but you clearly did not learn to use that brain I gave you!"

 

Of course, to counter it, Dr. Kadar and Tector also had to bite it.  I will miss Robert Sean Leonard, but hopefully he'll find something better.  As for Tector, of course he pretty much dies to protect the Almighty Tom Mason.  I knew that, as soon as Tom said he was going to do what was basically a suicide mission, that Tector was going to take him out, and take his place.  But, they couldn't even let him kill the Overlord.  He dies killing one mere Skitter.  I guess if the Overlord thinks the burn corpse was Tom, it will be a bit more worthy, but it still sucks for him.

 

But, yeah, Lexi comes out of the cocoon, and is basically "Humans blow, so Team Espheni!" about things, and make the Masons look like fools.  At least Hal was proven right and Tom did acknowledge he could have handled it better, but of course, Anne had to be a big moron all "She's not evil!  Leave her alone!!!!"  Oh, Moon Bloodgood.  This is just hard to watch now.  So, she bails and the Espheni's crash the party, and take out a whole bunch of the 2nd Mass.  Yeah, this backfired big time, guys.  

 

I will say this was probably my favorite episode so far, since Lexi disappeared for a lot of it, and the "heroes" finally got their asses handed to them.  I just hope this leads somewhere good.  And, again, did I mention that they got rid of Lourdes?  Thanks, Falling Skies!

Edited August 4, 2014 by thuganomics85

[sjohnson]

Sometimes I think this show is not just underrated but positively maligned. 

 

Lourdes was always nuts and there was no way anything would ever end well for her. By far the most gruesome thing about Lexi putting her down is that it might have been the kindest thing to do. 

 

It is practically compulsory for random explosions to conveniently mow down masses of foes, allowing the outnumbered heroes to bravely conquer. To do the opposite, where simple luck do in the heroes...well, I can't recall any. The destruction of the real life Negro Fort in Florida in 1816 is close. 

 

Tom never would have done as well as Tector. The instant sharpshooter lesson was symptomatic of temporary insanity. 

[LexiconDevilOne]

Hey, it took them a while, but they finally made me like Lexi for a second.  And, all she had to do was kill Lourdes!  Thank you, Lexi!  I will not miss Lourdes in the slightest.  She has never not been an annoying nuance, and I'm glad that finally caught up to her.  If Heaven does exist, I hope God is there to greet her and be like "My child, I'm glad you were a fan, but you clearly did not learn to use that brain I gave you!"

 

Of course, to counter it, Dr. Kadar and Tector also had to bite it.  I will miss Robert Sean Leonard, but hopefully he'll find something better.  As for Tector, of course he pretty much dies to protect the Almighty Tom Mason.  I knew that, as soon as Tom said he was going to do what was basically a suicide mission, that Tector was going to take him out, and take his place.  But, they couldn't even let him kill the Overlord.  He dies killing one mere Skitter.  I guess if the Overlord thinks the burn corpse was Tom, it will be a bit more worthy, but it still sucks for him.

 

But, yeah, Lexi comes out of the cocoon, and is basically "Humans blow, so Team Espheni!" about things, and make the Masons look like fools.  At least Hal was proven right and Tom did acknowledge he could have handled it better, but of course, Ann had to be a big moron all "She's not evil!  Leave her alone!!!!"  Oh, Moon Bloodgood.  This is just hard to watch now.  So, she bails and the Espheni's crash the party, and take out a whole bunch of the 2nd Mass.  Yeah, this backfired big time, guys.  

 

I will say this was probably my favorite episode so far, since Lexi disappeared for a lot of it, and the "heroes" finally got their asses handed to them.  I just hope this leads somewhere good.  And, again, did I mention that they got rid of Lourdes?  Thanks, Falling Skies!

 

 

I'm not sure I can improve upon anything said in this post...except, why oh why couldn't they off 'Lexi' too? That would, pretty much, improve this horrible show for me. The only redeeming attribute she has was she got rid of a character I hated since she first appeared on my screen, Lourdes.

 

Why am I still watching this show (it's because it's one of the few my 17 year old son will still watch with me), and it doesn't get canceled, while other good shows are thrown off the air without any chance?...Falling Skies, and Sunday nights are like torture anymore.

[mythoughtis]

I also liked Tector and Kadar.  I liked Lourdes the first season, after that she went from faith into insanity.

 

Anne is also insane,. her daughter left the human part of herself in that cocoon.   However, the writers did a disservice in leaving Lexi to look human on the way out of it.   It's scary to see a young woman with that much power, that can't see reality.   She's more dangerous than the fake Nazi schools.  So, Ben falls back into the Eshpeni hands? Or, maybe not, since the pre-views showed him alive and with the 2nd mass? 

This felt like a season finale to me, and that is why those pre-views really surprised me. 

 

Just how do you kill an overlord since flame and bullets are useless?

[Bill C.]

Scorch--I guess that's that particular Espheni's unofficial name?--simply dodged Tector's shot before calling in air support.  Tom apparently has killed an E in hand-to-hand combat, though (when was that again?), so I'm now wondering if this will lead to some sort of showdown at or near the end of the season since this is presumably the start of his annual trip through the wringer.

 

But still--for what at its heart is a basically positive show, last night was borderline sadistic.  And perhaps more importantly the BSG-esque thumbprint of EP David Eick: "Our heroes need to be shaken up a bit.  So let's just kill most of 'em."

[tv echo]

I stopped watching every episode of this show, so when did Weaver stop leading the 2nd Mass and turn leadership over to Tom?

 

I still can't stand Lexi - her fake blonde hair and the bad actress who plays her.  Why couldn't they have at least physically transformed her when she came out of the cocoon?  Again, alien DNA somehow gives her superpowers but not good hair?

 

From the preview, it looks like

Maggie is paralyzed and they'll use alien technology to try to fix her.  This will probably lead to more bonding between her and Ben.

 

If this show were edgier, they'd have Lexi kill Ben when he goes to try to reason with her, which would cause a split between Tom and Anne.  But of course, they won't.  Everyone will die but the Masons and their significant others, Lexi will be redeemed somehow, and - like Noah and the Ark - the Masons will seed the future generation of humans on earth.

Edited August 4, 2014 by tv echo

[miracole]

One of the reasons I was looking forward to this season was that I wanted to see them expand Ben and Denni's friendship. Have they even had one scene together?!

Lexi is beyond lame and her reasoning for being all team Esphni makes no sense." I tried to bring us all together by being all weird and cryptic and constantly lying to you as the Esphni continue to hunt you down and kill you, but you wouldn't listen. You humans chose violence." Uh, yeah of course they did. Anne just looks stupid still supporting her.

Lourdes is finally gone and I wish Maggie would follow. I've never liked her but she was usually off with Hal or Pope so I could easily ff her but now she's mucking up my Ben enjoyment so she needs to go away.

[Latverian Diplomat]

Damn.  This, in a sense, was a massively fucked-up episode.  Lexi is now psychic and more than a bit...detached; Sarah is indeed a gender-swapped proto-Pope; and damn if the title of the episode wasn't 100% truth in advertising (if my count is right, 73 characters died--Lourdes, Dr. K, Tector, and 2/3 of the rest of the 2nd Mass).

I was fine with Lourdes being put out of our misery, but the rest was ridiculous. How is that gas main still pressurized after all of this time (gas has to come from somewhere). And how did they not know that if they've been living in that area for months? And Tector may be a great shot, but he's a transparent liar. Too bad he only had to fool Tom in order to die.

 

One thing they did better in the first season was have the humans not be stupid and still take heavy losses because of the other side's superior fire power. I suspect stupidity and  bad luck are easier on the budget than an actual fight.

 

Also, I'm tired of people who are in their place and doing their job getting killed while people like Pope and the Masons who are constantly taking timeouts to make speeches and have heartfelt moments somehow don't get overrun. 

Edited August 4, 2014 by Latverian Diplomat

[xaxat]

So, are those kids at the reeducation camp are SOL?

 

And Tector may be a great shot, but he's a transparent liar. Too bad he only had to fool Tom in order to die.

 

That whole plot line was so telegraphed that it became a comedy. 

 

"Hey, I got a rife that can shoot a buffalo at a thousand yards."

"Hey, we need a rifle that can shoot an Eshpeni at a thousand yards!"

"Tom, I know you are determined to take the shoot at the Espheni that is hell bent on killing all of us because you burned him, but while we are waiting for that dramatic moment, could you take some time to get me a sandwich?"

[terrymct]

Damn.  This, in a sense, was a massively fucked-up episode.  Lexi is now psychic and more than a bit...detached; 

 

 

I don't understand why Lexi had to go into a cocoon to emerge as more psychic and detached.   Cocoons are for physical changes, not mental and emotional ones.  

[terrymct]

Hey, it took them a while, but they finally made me like Lexi for a second.  And, all she had to do was kill Lourdes!  Thank you, Lexi!  I will not miss Lourdes in the slightest.  She has never not been an annoying nuance, and I'm glad that finally caught up to her.  If Heaven does exist, I hope God is there to greet her and be like "My child, I'm glad you were a fan, but you clearly did not learn to use that brain I gave you!"

 

 

I'm still halfway expecting Lourdes to rise up as some kind of more powerful minion of Lexi.

[BooksRule]

I think everyone else has covered most of what I would have commented on, but I do have questions about their strategy for this battle.  Weaver said that there were three battalions headed their way.  However, it looked like they used up all of their booby-traps on the first group (the Chinese lantern fire bombs, the explosive charges, etc.).  How were they planning taking out the other two?  Was this addressed at all? 

[BungalowSummer]

 

How were they planning taking out the other two?  Was this addressed at all?

 

I didn't see anything about planning at all, beyond some vague orders and scurrying around. Perhaps it's budget issues, but much of the show, and almost all of this episode, has devolved into nighttime scenes set in piles of rubble. All that dirt and dimness hide the edges of CGI artifice. They also add to the overall sense that the story itself is murky and incomplete. Plot problems? Toss a few buckets of rubble at the characters.

 

There are only two characters left I can tolerate: Pope and Weaver. Maybe Hal, mainly because he wanted to kill Lexi.

 

There's a problem for showrunners when your audience hates nearly every main character despite how much you keep telling us how noble, loving, brave (and did I mention noble?) they are. It's another problem when you kill off the secondary characters that people actually like.

 

Tom has been an insufferable know-it-all from the start. Fine. But Anne...Anne. The writers should hang for character assassination for her alone. Anne actually was admirable in the beginning. The miserable alien pregnancy storyline and the remolding of Anne into the Brainless Mother Bear has made her unwatchable.

 

To me, it's a close contest for who I'd most like to see killed off: Lexi or Anne.

Edited August 4, 2014 by BungalowSummer

[mattie0808]

I was sooooo hopeful that once Lexi left we'd at least get through the rest of one episode without her, but no luck. Ah well. Nice that humans are totally evil and violent and all, but the Espheni are...what now? Whatever.

 

Poor Tektor. I'm still surprised that he missed, and that he had no other plan than to take out one Skitter. Odd. (LOL at Tom -- totally teach me to shoot a civil-era weapon at a mark 700 yards away! We've got, like, an hour!) I assume Espheni Overlord is totally tricked by this incredibly clever ruse, as he's the same one who couldn't conceive of more than one person wearing clothing similar to the "Ghost" earlier this season.

 

Still don't care about Sara, or about Pope finding someone to make goo-goo eyes at.

 

It was nice to see Denny again. I'm hoping for the best for Ben. Sorry we lost Kadar. Sucks to be you, Lourdes (and Lourdes' dopey followers).

 

if my count is right, 73 characters died--Lourdes, Dr. K, Tector, and 2/3 of the rest of the 2nd Mass

So, there were only about 100 people with the 2nd Mass in Chinatown? How many were supposed to be in the Charleston ghetto? How many were with Anne? The kids at the Nazi school, aside from Matt -- they're parents/families were never 2nd Mass at all right? Does that mean there are decent-sized groups of people nearby wherever they are now? Wasn't the 2nd Mass bigger than 100? And is that 100 people, or 100 fighters? Didn't the 2nd Mass always travel with a non-fighting civilian contingent? Weren't there lots of civilians in Charleston (ghetto and pre-ghetto as well?

 

Weaver said that there were three battalions headed their way...How were they planning taking out the other two?

I'm assuming that the gas line explosion took out the rest of what they planned to use for the second and third waves?

Edited August 4, 2014 by mattie0808

[sjohnson]

KIlling off cast lowers pay roll and rarely has anything to do with shaking up the drama. 

Setting everything in dim and grunge is cheaper. 

Anne has been manipulated by Lexi from the beginning and Lourdes was always nuts but Kadar is the objective observer. Listen to what he said about Lexi.

[bluebonnet]

I can't believe how stupid this episode is.  It wasn't even fun to watch.  Do the writers even understand what Lexi said to the group?  Did the writers forget what the Espheni came to Earth to do?  That was just mindblowingly dumb.  Then there was Pope telling Sarah "stick with Tom Mason if you want to live".  Ha. Ha.  I guess the writers forgot that Pope found Sarah having survived on her own just fine for that past several years?  

 

I'm not sure if I can bear anymore episodes.  I came late to this show after my friends kept telling me how much fun it was.  After binge watching the first three seasons, I agreed it was a lot of fun.  But this season.  How could it have ever been approved and greenlit?  It's truly one of those most terrible seasons of TV I have ever seen before.  

[gaPeach]

It's truly one of those most terrible seasons of TV I have ever seen before.

 

You apparently do not watch Under The Dome.

 

Dear Writers,

 

Please kill Ann and her devil spawn Lexi.  Or go back to season 1 Ann and still kill Lexi.

 

Thank You

FS Viewers

[AV8n]

I really expected when they showed Lourdes lying peacefully on the slab at the end of the episode for her toe to start twitching or something.  She would naturally credit Lexi with raising her from the dead, and probably write a book called "Espheni Heaven is For Real".

 

For intergalactic warlords, the Espheni really haven't invested in the right technology.  They can travel among the stars, enslave and/or wipe out entire civilizations, and communicate by telepathy - but nobody thought to come up with thermal imaging that could locate survivors in the fallout shelter?  And they have flying machines, but march into town without any air support?

 

How long has it been since the Espheni invaded? Three years?  And yet gasoline is still potent enough to run vehicles and cause explosions?  Not to mention the natural gas line.  Maybe Lexi started her own utility in Chinatown.

[iMonrey]

 

Then there was Pope telling Sarah "stick with Tom Mason if you want to live".  Ha. Ha.  I guess the writers forgot that Pope found Sarah having survived on her own just fine for that past several years?

 

You know, this episode almost gave me whiplash. First, we have Popel playing the leader of the torch-wielding villagers who want to kill Lexi. Now, I realize it's a tough situation, but if I were someone who organized a kill squad for your kid, you'd probably not want to hang around with me, right? Yet, in the very next scene, there's Pope, scouting out locations and helping Tom, Weaver et. al. with their next Espheni attack mission. WTF? It's like they just forgot about that whole trying-to-kill-Lexi thing.

 

And worst of all is actually using Pope to prop Tom Mason. The writers want to have their cake and eat it too. They want Pope around as their main antagonist and they want him loyal to Tom Mason at the same time. That just doesn't work. By this point Pope should be jumping at the chance to run off somewhere and get out of this mess. Especially now with the whole Lexi thing. He pretty much drew a line in the sand that the writers just forgot about, one scene later.

 

The only good thing about this episode was Lourdes dying. 

[ramble]

Wow this episode sort of showcased the suckage. To be invested in the Lexi storyline I'd have to actually care about Lexi or her mom or most of the humanity left that we're shown. I don't even care enough to actively root against Lexi as much as I just want her gone. Die, disappear, become a Espheni butterfly, I don't care, just go away. Take your mom with you because she has become an annoying bag of whine & stupid.

After binge watching this series over the past few months I'm frustrated & disappointed at where the show is now. I'm used to the Masons being super special humans that always survive & I can deal with that. I can't deal with everyone become mind numbingly stupid. Weaver? I was in charge but Tom rules all. Pope? I did doubt but Tom saves us. Hal? I know Lexi's evil but Tom's always right. Good grief suddenly they would follow this man into a live volcano.

Lexi had a disappointing metamorphosis. Her eyes changed a little. That's it? I was hoping her hair would no longer look like a garage sale wig & she'd be able to act. No such luck. She emerged & said oh look it's Tom Mason & no one reacted. No one mentioned that she obviously doesn't count him as family. Out of everyone standing there did nobody notice?

It seems the stupid is contagious & has infected everyone. The line of kneeling true believers hoping to stop the fight with their positive wishes made me laugh in a way that was probably unintended. It wasn't dramatic or sad, it was just a shining example of dumb.

[sjohnson]

I don't think Pope was ever a good character or that anything about him was ever consistent, plausible in story terms or of much use. I think every minute with Pope is time not spent on something like exploring Ben, whose spike are a metaphor for losing, for a defeat that has buried the old ways forever. Although I suppose it's more congenial to dwell on the bad ass than to deliver on a premise?

 

PS I've been seeing a lot of resentment against Tom as the hero because of the perception the script is forcing an implausible image of him as infallible. It's like Lexi's euthanasia of Lourdes or Tom's apology or Tom's guilt trip attempt at a suicide mission or Hal's pompous BS didn't occur. True, Hal was immediately corrected by Maggie but the script had Hal is suddenly totally over Karen but is regretting: not killing Ben, Denny and Rick earlier; not being killed himself; not killing Lourdes himself; not killing Ben and Lexi now. Aside from the doubtful idea his bloodthirst would have improved anything, it will surely finish humanity if they take to killing each other because. This kind of pointless and implausible hostility I think is fake drama. If Hal sticks with this drivel, he's suddenly a vicious fool. But if it goes away, it was just scripting a shock. 

 

Having an accidental blast wreck the heroes' plans sort of makes heroism pointless and vapid, not at all bad ass. Antiheroic. 

Edited August 4, 2014 by sjohnson

[Gudzilla]

The humans have lost the most effective fighter they had. Long live Tector the only human in the 2nd Mass who wasn't prone to making stupid rash choices... except maybe that last one.

[bluebonnet]

I still can't believe they had Tector go out with blowing up just one skitter.  Really?  Not enough budget to at least have him get a couple of skitters?  Such disrespect for the character.  

[Joimiaroxeu]

Did Lexi's brothers really just stand there and watch their sister emerge from the cocoon naked and wet? And where were her dragons?

 

I guess this show is so desperate to have a Khaleesi-lite clone that they've bleached that poor actress' hair to within an inch of its life. (I'm assuming it's not just a really bad wig.) Her hair looks like straw with a vat of mayonnaise poured over it.

[sjohnson]

Perhaps I should point out that if you don't watch the show with Khaleesi, then there's nothing wrong with Lexi's appearance.

[Kris117]

So, are those kids at the reeducation camp are SOL?

 

I was wondering about that myself. The poor kids. 

 

I guess this show is so desperate to have a Khaleesi-lite clone that they've bleached that poor actress' hair to within an inch of its life. (I'm assuming it's not just a really bad wig.) Her hair looks like straw with a vat of mayonnaise poured over it.

 

Good description! It's just a dreadful color for her. And if they had to choose that color, why not make the color change part of the changes in the cocoon instead of for out first glimpse of the grown-up Lexi?

 

I'll miss Tector and the doctor. I still like the non-Lourdes characters, although some of them are severely trying my patience. 

[ganesh]

Perhaps I should point out that if you don't watch the show with Khaleesi, then there's nothing wrong with Lexi's appearance.

 

Yeah, but unfortunately, 10+ million people do, and the comparison is inevitable. That's why she was first referred to as budget Khaleesi. Because people who watch GOT are probably watch genre tv in general, so for TPTBs to be kind of tone deaf in this regard isn't excusable. I mean, they even had some fire here too.

 

But, yeah, Lexi comes out of the cocoon, and is basically "Humans blow, so Team Espheni!"

Lexi is beyond lame and her reasoning for being all team Esphni makes no sense." I tried to bring us all together by being all weird and cryptic and constantly lying to you as the Esphni continue to hunt you down and kill you, but you wouldn't listen. You humans chose violence." Uh, yeah of course they did. Anne just looks stupid still supporting her.

 

 

This was a complete disconnect with the rest of the show prior. "You humans always choose violence?" Aliens literally invaded the planet and laid a hell of a lot of waste to it, at least from what we've seen. The show has been pretty heavy with the revolutionary war, etc., motifs from the start. It's disingenuous to call that out now. This was just disrespectful to the audience. You're changing the premise of the show not even mid stream, but like 5 feet from the other river bank. That's just not fair. You can't put this on the humans. 

 

WTF Chinatown has fallout shelter btw?

 

I really expected when they showed Lourdes lying peacefully on the slab at the end of the episode for her toe to start twitching or something.

 

I did too. I had to laugh because the show was just so clumsy and sloppy with the killing off of everyone. This is our show now and we're going to do what we want. On the one hand, not everyone gets a big, meaningful death, so Lourdes dying ignominiously is funny. On the other, they were trying to make it like This Big Character Death, but she was written so awful that it was like: We don't know what else to do with you, so we're killing you now. lol ok.

 

Killing Kadar seemed short sighted since he's the only person who could explain anything. Plus I wanted him to come up with some type of Esph plague as the endgame for the show. 

 

I don't actually have a problem with an Overlord hunting for Tom. They really could have made this the entire plot for the season and it could have been cool. Farscape spent two season on the same thing. So, it can be done and be good. 

 

I hate to say it, but they should have killed Lexi as a baby. It's an awful, dark thing to do, and it would never be done on USA tv, but they could have used that to set up the vendetta between Tom and the Overlord this season. 

[BungalowSummer]

 

I hate to say it, but they should have killed Lexi as a baby. It's an awful, dark thing to do, and it would never be done on USA tv, but they could have used that to set up the vendetta between Tom and the Overlord this season.

 

Ah, missed opportunities.

 

The one thing I don't want to see is Lexi somehow being redeemed and becoming a vehicle for reconciliation between humans and Espheni. Can the crap about "something" inside of her that is still good and "if only" we show understanding and support she'll stop being a killer.

 

My preferred end-game is that Anne finally wakes up and understands that her child is a monster allied by blood and disposition to aliens intent on human genocide. Anne then kills Lexi and sacrifices herself in a last-ditch stand against the Espheni that drives them from the planet. The original Mason family members are left standing -- older if not wiser. Tom makes another pompous speech. Fin.

[sjohnson]

I saw two episodes of Game of Thrones. At the end of the first, I didn't find throwing a boy out of a tower window to be entertaining. At the end of the second, I didn't enjoy the brother telling his sister he'd have her gang raped by an army for his throne somehow taken by surprise by being expected to have sex on her wedding night, then when she decided to make hay she conveniently had a prostitute on hand for instructions. Way too rapey for me. 

 

The point is not that GoT isn't to my taste. The point is that it's hard to see why anyone who likes GoT would ever have liked Falling Skies?

 

Again, re Lexi, listen to Kadar. She hasn't really seen the Espheni side yet. Maybe Lexi isn't budget-Khaleesi but a different character entirely? Maybe thinking of Khaleesi is blocking some aspects of the character from clear view?

[ganesh]

The one thing I don't want to see is Lexi somehow being redeemed and becoming a vehicle for reconciliation between humans and Espheni. Can the crap about "something" inside of her that is still good and "if only" we show understanding and support she'll stop being a killer.

 

 

The point is that it's hard to see why anyone who likes GoT would ever have liked Falling Skies?

 

Maybe some of us grew up reading science fiction and fantasy books and watch it on tv because there's never been this much genre content. It's not an either/or situation.

 

Maybe Lexi isn't budget-Khaleesi but a different character entirely? Maybe thinking of Khaleesi is blocking some aspects of the character from clear view?

 

Obviously she's a different character. "Budget Khaleesi" is a joke name that one of the posters, who presumably has watched a lot of genre television, made because Long Haired Blonde White Teenage Savior is a massive trope. The budget part is because the actor just isn't that good, and it's mostly not her fault because she's got drivel to work with.

 

There's a legit comparison to make because on the GOT there's issues with the real Khaleesi being the savior for the dark-skinned people. But it ends there because that show is actually good and it's not exactly working out for her like that. So, actually it's a good example of taking a trope and presenting it in a fairly original way, and by stepping back and looking at genre content from a meta pov, the comparison is apt. 

 

Focusing on Lexi and the 'aspects of her character' separate from GOT: She's an alien hybrid. This is a trope that's been over used and poorly executed in the history of television except once, including "vague powers" and "platitudey dialogue." It's a cheap writing hack and insulting to the viewers who actually were enjoying a B action adventure show about an alien invasion.

[iMonrey]

 

Perhaps I should point out that if you don't watch the show with Khaleesi, then there's nothing wrong with Lexi's appearance.

 

I beg to differ. Child Lexi was dark complected with dark hair, just like Tom and Anne. I get she's got Espheni DNA in her, and that she's aging rapidly, but how in holy hell do either of those two things equal blonde hair and blue eyes?!? It's not as if the Espheni are a Nordic, Aryan race. If anything, Lexi should be more reptilian looking. Her look makes no sense whatsoever, and the only conceivable explanation for it is that the character is modeled after some dumb trope regardless of whether it's consistent with the narrative.

[ganesh]

It's a joke that loses it's humor when you have to explain it out. Budget Khaleesi, Low Rent Khaleesi, Super 8 Khaleesi. 

 

I mean, Lexi even went into the cocoon, there was fire! 

[sjohnson]

Apparently I haven't watched enough TV and movies in my life, because I don't remember Long Haired Blond White Teenage Savior being that much of a trope. Actually, White Savior isn't that common a trope either, although Tarzan's prominence in pop culture may make it seem like it. 

 

Hybrid Baby with Powers I remember more. The thing there is, none of them were saviors. So if Lexi turns out to be a savior, that would subvert that trope. 

 

How does anyone know Lexi has picked the Espheni when she hasn't met but one? 

 

As far as defying tropes goes, a negotiated peace would defy them all. This is odd considering how illogical human conquest of the mighty Espheni really would be. That's why the show's not going there, but turning the Espheni into arrogant, squabbling nitwits. And why Lexi's chatter is not to be taken at face value, but as signs of the old Hybrid Baby with Powers (who are never good news) trope. I'm sorry but it still sounds like preconceptions from GoT are getting in the way of seeing what's on screen. 

 

I must disagree that Falling Skies was ever B action adventure show about alien invasion. It was an A action adventure show with a lower budget than movies or HBO. But I guess that answers how someone who likes GoT could like Falling Skies? By thinking of themselves as eating potato chips instead of steak. Well, to each their own. That's why they have more than one channel.

 

PS Aside from the fact that Tom has lots of genes for blond hair (or else Ben and Matt are his wife's boyfriend's children,) if there's a trope at work, it's Bleached Blonde Vamp! But even more to the point, white hair=aged. As in prematurely aging. I'm sorry I'm still seeing responses to images of Khaleesi instead of what's on screen.

Edited August 5, 2014 by sjohnson

[bluebonnet]

Apparently I haven't watched enough TV and movies in my life, because I don't remember Long Haired Blond White Teenage Savior being that much of a trope. Actually, White Savior isn't that common a trope either, although Tarzan's prominence in pop culture may make it seem like it. 

 

Hybrid Baby with Powers I remember more. The thing there is, none of them were saviors. So if Lexi turns out to be a savior, that would subvert that trope. 

 

How does anyone know Lexi has picked the Espheni when she hasn't met but one? 

 

Oh no, Mighty Whitey is a long-standing trope.  The hybrid baby as the savior is also a longstanding trope.  I guess we are assuming Lexi picked the Espheni because she said she did. Which is a good way to subvert this, since it would be the mighty whitey super aging hybrid baby picking the side of the antagonist rather than the protagonist and dooming humanity.  

 

 

I must disagree that Falling Skies was ever B action adventure show about alien invasion. It was an A action adventure show with a lower budget than movies or HBO. But I guess that answers how someone who likes GoT could like Falling Skies? By thinking of themselves as eating potato chips instead of steak. Well, to each their own. That's why they have more than one channel.

Determining the grade level for a tv show is always subjective.  However, there really isn't anything strange about those who watch a genre show to be interested in other shows within that genre.  If one likes murder mystery, it's not strange that they would seek out other murder mysteries.  If one likes sci-fi and fantasy, not strange they would seek out sci-fi and fantasy.  For myself, when I'm looking for new shows to watch or books to read, I usually begin my search by genre first.  

Edited August 5, 2014 by bluebonnet

[mattie0808]

Perhaps I should point out that if you don't watch the show with Khaleesi, then there's nothing wrong with Lexi's appearance.

I think that's a mileage-may-vary situation (of course, like all opinions). I've never seen one second of GoT, and had no idea for the first several episodes of the season what "Budget Khaleesi" even meant until I Googled it. And I still can't stand what they've done with Lexi as a character this season since they aged her into this white-blonde, inexplicable-powers-having, Espheni-manipulated, platitude-spewing, most-important-plot-device-ever. I don't like that we may be heading toward Lexi being the key to it all (humanity's survival and/or triumph, or some kind of wonderful New World peaceful, hippie co-existence with the Eshpeni).

 

She hasn't really seen the Espheni side yet.

I'm not looking forward to that, personally. Super-fast-aged, hippie-dippie (when she's not going Darth Vader/Carrie at the prom) Lexi, figuring out that invading a planet, killing the vast majority of its inhabitants, enslaving its children, and other various things might be considered, you know, kinda bad, especially from the invaded's POV, even if it's your "father" that's involved with it. But hey, actual human, raised-in-the-Earth-before-the-invasion pre-teens and teens are supposedly able to be brainwashed about how awesome the Espheni are after a couple of months in a camp. So why wouldn't Lexi -- who is half-Espheni, very young chronologically, without memories of Earth before, and splitting her time between humans in Chinatown and Espheni daddies on the outskirts -- be completely snowed about what's going on? And then once she really does learn The Truth about the Espheni side, and we go through the beats of her feeling betrayed by her Espheni family, of not knowing what to do or who to trust or whether any of it is worthwhile, then we either get her defeating the Espheni on behalf of Team Human, or bringing both of her families together for a previously thought impossible Pax Lexi. I just don't find it a particularly compelling narrative, nor do I find her to be an at all compelling character. She's a writing short-cut (superbaby -- "the best of both worlds" -- saves the day!), and a poorly done one at that.

 

Still, who knows... Maybe she wipes out humanity completely and the last scene of the series will be Tom"s dumbfounded face right before he's turned to stardust. Maybe Lexi is killed or something this year without anything about the broader human/Espheni war being decided, and our ragtag team (and Volm rag-tag team) is on their own going into the final season. I just don't like what I've seen so far, or where it at least seems to be heading.

 

WTF Chinatown has fallout shelter btw?

Lol, don't they all? ;)

Edited August 5, 2014 by mattie0808

[ganesh]

Oh no, Mighty Whitey is a long-standing trope. 

 

Child Lexi was dark complected with dark hair, just like Tom and Anne. I get she's got Espheni DNA in her, and that she's aging rapidly, but how in holy hell do either of those two things equal blonde hair and blue eyes?!?

 

And I still can't stand what they've done with Lexi as a character this season since they aged her into this white-blonde, inexplicable-powers-having, Espheni-manipulated, platitude-spewing, most-important-plot-device-ever. I don't like that we may be heading toward Lexi being the key to it all (humanity's survival and/or triumph, or some kind of wonderful New World peaceful, hippie co-existence with the Eshpeni).

 

This is pretty much the essence of what I was getting at. Why couldn't she be a dark skinned Asian girl? How do TPTBs not see the forest for the trees on this. Did they think this was original? And we know how this is basically going to end, so it's kind of boring now. 

 

Determining the grade level for a tv show is always subjective.

 

I mean the genre not an actual grade. Like, B movies. Or shows like Xena, Highlander, Roger Corman movies. I'd give Farscape and A for quality, but it was basically a B movie action adventure show. A show can be just good. We're seemingly stuck in this 'a show is either great or it sucks' era. This show could have been good. Then they hacked it to pieces with some of the worst creative choices and turned Tom into a sanctimonious gas bag, among other faults. It's off the rails. 

 

You know, know the show you have, and make that show. You don't need love triangles, you don't need alien hybrids. You can just have a show about the Masons and the 2nd Mass and how the Esph can't figure out how the hell to kill these people once and for all.

 

If this season was strictly about Tom busting out of the ghetto and torching the Overlord and the Overlord going insane with revenge against the Masons, it could have been something pretty cool. But it's not. 

 

However, there really isn't anything strange about those who watch a genre show to be interested in other shows within that genre.

 

I started reading sci fi and fantasy since I was six. I'm still doing it now. 

[sjohnson]

The Hybrid Baby with Powers never saves the day. Did I miss the memo?

If Lexi is Mighty Whitey, who are the natives she's saving?

Apparently it's different for other people, but although I like crime fiction very much, I would think it's crazy to watch all the crime shows on TV. They're not all the same, not even the so-called procedurals. 

I'm sorry but what I'm getting is either people want humanity to conquer the Espheni all on their own or they want Tom Mason to die for talking noble and/or Lexi to die for talking hippy-dippy. I don't think any plot for the first could be help but be nonsense, lowering the quality of the show. (I think insofar as Falling Skies is genuinely slumping in quality, that's the reason why. And insofar as the latter are true, I'm not so ticked off by noble, or even by hippy-dippy. If anything, Pope's dreary twaddle has always been more of a minus.

 

PS Skimming the TV Tropes link to Mighty Whitey, I was shocked at seeing how many supposed examples were averted, deconstructed, true stories (!) or or doubtful accuracy in the few recent examples I was familiar with.

Edited August 5, 2014 by sjohnson

[bluebonnet]

The Hybrid Baby with Powers never saves the day. Did I miss the memo?

Really?  Harry Potter, Hellboy, Peter Quill, Sam Winchester, the Twilight baby, Hera Agathon, Jesus, half the heroes in mythology, etc etc.  There's nothing new about hybrids being straight up heroic saviors or the answers to a secure future in some way.  Even outside sci-fi and fantasy, unions of two opposing sides via marriage and offspring to put an end to war and troubles is often used.  Savior hybrids is nothing new.  That is not to say that there is not also the trope of evil hybrids, because there is.  A good subversion of either of these tropes would be a hybrid that would be completely useless to both sides, but I think that's also been done repeatedly.  

 

 

 

If Lexi is Mighty Whitey, who are the natives she's saving?

 

Well, the mighty whitey actually came up as part of a side conversation.  When you said the white savior thing isn't a trope, I merely pointed out that it is.  The mighty whitey was being discussed as this baby of color somehow became this girl with faintly asian features but with white hair and blue eyes.  The show probably doesn't have the budget or creativity to come up with other ways to show that this kid is different, so they went the white route.  It's laughable.

 

Apparently it's different for other people, but although I like crime fiction very much, I would think it's crazy to watch all the crime shows on TV. They're not all the same, not even the so-called procedurals.

 

I don't think anyone said that if someone were interested in a genre, they must watch all the shows in that genre.  Merely that there's nothing unusual about those interested in a genre watching other shows within that genre.  Speaking for myself, I love sci-fi and fantasy and I actively seek them out as my first step in finding new shows.  Falling Skies was on the back burner for the first few years it was on air simply because I wasn't interested in getting into another B-rated sci-fi show.  But still, my enjoyment of A-rated fantasy shows like GoT doesn't mean I'm less likely to want to invest in B-rated fantasy or sci-fi shows.  But still, it seems odd to think the writers of this show are completely unaware of other white-haired, specially powered characters.  I suppose she could have been called budget Gandalf, but I think people were just sticking with another character of the same gender.

[ganesh]

It's laughable.

 

It's also pitiful too.

 

Well, the mighty whitey actually came up as part of a side conversation. When you said the white savior thing isn't a trope, I merely pointed out that it is.

 

Didn't the Esph say she would be their savior, flat out? Or Karen said it. And Lexi said that she's supposed to unite them all in peace, so the "natives" would be the native earth population. 

[sjohnson]

I have to give you Peter Quill as a hybrid but in self defense I only heard of him when I saw the movie Saturday. However, I'm pretty sure that if Lexi is the trope and Peter Quill fits the trope, then Peter Quill is copying Falling Skies, not the other way round. By the way, Harry Potter is not a hybrid. Jesus...oh I don't want to go there, some people take their theology very seriously. Mythology is not a living genre, so only Percy Jackson counts as a hybrid. But most of all, the only one of these that I know that was actually a baby was Hera Agathon, but she didn't save anything. I'm sorry but most of the stuff about tropes seem to me to be misplaced. My criticism of Lexi so far has nothing to do with her character, or her looks, or the others' reactions to her, but her powers. But Falling Skies skipped making fictional sense of how the Espheni and Volm got here, so it's consistent for them to forget to make fictional sense this late in the game.

 

I look forward to seeing Ben and Lexi confront the Espheni.

[bluebonnet]

I have to give you Peter Quill as a hybrid but in self defense I only heard of him when I saw the movie Saturday. However, I'm pretty sure that if Lexi is the trope and Peter Quill fits the trope, then Peter Quill is copying Falling Skies, not the other way round. By the way, Harry Potter is not a hybrid. Jesus...oh I don't want to go there, some people take their theology very seriously. Mythology is not a living genre, so only Percy Jackson counts as a hybrid. But most of all, the only one of these that I know that was actually a baby was Hera Agathon, but she didn't save anything. I'm sorry but most of the stuff about tropes seem to me to be misplaced. My criticism of Lexi so far has nothing to do with her character, or her looks, or the others' reactions to her, but her powers. But Falling Skies skipped making fictional sense of how the Espheni and Volm got here, so it's consistent for them to forget to make fictional sense this late in the game.

 

I look forward to seeing Ben and Lexi confront the Espheni.

Peter Quill has been around since the 70's.  Harry Potter has a muggle-born parent and a wizard parent (ETA: speaking only of my own personal opinion, I found Harry Potter mindnumblingly boring/terrible and did not do much beyond skimming pages after the first book just to keep up with what my students were interested in.  However my bff is trying to give me an explanation of HP's parentage and I have yawned out of it but I think the jist of it is that I'm wrong, she's right).  Hera Agathon became the midochondrial Eve.  I'm not here to evangelize anything (I'm an atheist), but pointing out that hybrid babies have been around for millenia, and are included in the the great myths of all cultures and very often portrayed as saviors.  Hybrid babies as saviors is not new at all and the idea behind it is deeply impeded within the cultural psyche.  These stories including a hybrid baby savior exist throughout the written record, from cave painting to myth to Abrahamic religious texts to medieval literature to modern sci-fi and fantasy.  To say that the hyrbrid baby is never a savior is to ignore ignore a wealth of history and text.  

Edited August 5, 2014 by bluebonnet

[Rainbow]

I cannot believe that the idiots in charge are keeping Lexi and Maggie alive :rolleyes; Maggie has no chemistry with either Hal or Ben and is annoying while both a Karen and Lourdes at least had presence and could act circles around Maggie and Lexi but they kill them off to keep the two most boring and uncharismatic women characters alive ? That in itself is a WTH moment !

Edited August 5, 2014 by Rainbow

[ganesh]

The bottom line is that TPTBs are using a pretty old trope in the same exact way it's been used a lot of times and it's boring and tired because they didn't even try to do something new with it. 

 

Not to mention that two different species can produce a viable off spring. Or that you can just insert your alien dna into a fetus and presto! 

 

The whole "force grown" hybrid is kind of eye rolling too. 

[Meredith Quill]

Mod Note: Please keep discussion in each episode thread about the episode. If you want to discuss similarities or differences between Falling Skies and other shows, take it to a more appropriate thread, or if one doesn't exist, create it. Any further off topic posts will either be moved or deleted.

 

Thank you