S05.E09: Reunion

[MostlyC]

Tom gains a powerful new weapon against the Espheni; Ben attempts to extract enemy plans.

 

 

 

A new weapon?  So Tom's Entourage-inspired "Hug it out" weapon hasn't worked on the bad guys yet?  Do you think it would work on GoT Pope?

[TVSpectator]

Maybe they are talking about that Esh communication device that they found three episodes back?

 

Also, here is a promo for this episode:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzY0_D4EMSs

Edited August 18, 2015 by TVSpectator

[TVSpectator]

So many questions:

-Why isn't anyone even bothering to make sure that Pope is dead? He could still be alive (and knowing this show I wouldn't be surprised if he isn't dead). I was waiting to see if he did just popped out and said, "damn you, Mason!" Also, the whole Pope scene was just, IMO, so random and the way it ended was also just random (but Tom did got to blow up their fuel supply).

-Ben got really hot in this episode; so, hot that steam was coming off of his back. 
-So, Tom is able to just walk into the 2nd Mass (after going on a suicide mission) and he surely was treated much better than Lexi. Although, to be fair it was obvious that she was an Espheni clone, since Anne mentioned that she couldn't find Eshpeni DNA in her.
-Could Tom be another Eshpeni clone and the Dornians are just using him to their own ends?
-Anthony was 'cured' of his PTSD when he rescued Ann.
- At this point why is an occupation worse than an invasion/extermination?
-So, why didn't Tom just ask the Dornian on how exactly to work the new weapon and if it won't kill humans?
-How would Ann and that other guy know exactly how to redesign an alien bioweapon within a day or two?

[ottoDbusdriver]

Matt and Maggie just happen to stumble upon Lexi lying in the woods outside of camp.  Lexi. Seriously, fucking Lexi is back.  She blew up on the moon. How did she survive without air -- AND -- return to Earth ?  Oh, the friendly alien saved her too.  And why isn't her hair platinum blonde anymore ?  I'm glad Weaver is super suspicious of her being a duplicate like Capt. Jan from The Office, which turned out to be the case.

 

Tom receives the animate carbon rod (it does have moving parts, so it's not inanimate) from the friendly alien who turns out is the last of her species.

 

Redshirt Marty finally comes in handy -- he's a biochemist, and might be able to help with the animate carbon rod.

 

Are they going to spend the entire episode having all the feature characters interact with Lexi in her prison cell ?  Just to kill time before the series finale next week.  Seems like filler.

 

Fucking Pope pretends to be injured militia members to gain access to the base.  Of course they wouldn't vet them outside the camp gate, that would just make too much sense.  No way that explosion takes Pope out.  And if it does, it is so anti-climactic.  I'm glad they are at least redeeming Anthony.

 

Of course Lexi was playing possum the whole time and rips through that fencing like it was buttah, and tries to kill Tom.

 

At the foot of the giant -- come on, of course it's the Lincoln memorial.

 

So, why didn't Tom just ask the Dornian on how exactly to work the new weapon and if it won't kill humans?

 

I guess the Dornians don't believe in manuals or FAQs.

 

How would Ann and that other guy know exactly how to redesign an alien bioweapon within a day or two?

 

Because ..... science !!!!

Edited August 24, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[MostlyC]

No body, no death.

I hope to god the LexiClone isn't forshadowing some blade-runner style plot.

This episode did seem random, like they were trying two jam two episodes into one.

[Isazouzi]

No body, no death.

I don't see how he could get out from under those boulders, but you never know. Personally I think he's dead. So long, Pope.

With that being said, the whole Pope storyline was a HUGE waste of time. It went absolutely nowhere. It's like the writers suddenly remembered they needed to conclude this storyline before the big finale and included the most random and unnecessary scene to do it. Oh, Pope's here. Oh, Pope's dead. OK, job done, moving on.

 

- At this point why is an occupation worse than an invasion/extermination?

-How would Ann and that other guy know exactly how to redesign an alien bioweapon within a day or two?

- At this point, I don't see the difference between invasion and occupation, seriously.

- Because it says so in the script! I remember back in season 1, we thought the humans were all too stupid to live, and now Ann the pediatrician can modify an alien bioweapon in a day. With only one episode left, I don't have the energy for this. As a matter of fact, when the she said she couldn't take this shit anymore (when the alien weapon spat its weird mucus when she first touched it), I couldn't help laughing and thinking "Yep, me neither".

I just hope we'll get to see the queen.

[Julie23]

Pretty disappointed in this episode as the lead up to the big finale. Seems like the team should be on the move to Washington by now. But based on the previews, it looks like they never get there? Are we seriously going to end the series with occupation, not a victory? Cause I would want my five years back if that was the case.  

[shrewd.buddha]

It is interesting to see how some shows approach their final episodes. 

Based on the current situation(s), I would never expect this to be the next-to-last episode of FS ... ever. 

But I suppose with the way they jerk from one story to the next, they could wrap up the Alien War in the last fifteen minutes with some major WtF turn of events.

 

Just some odd stuff:

1) The Pope cameo appearance.. Why? (You know he is coming back for the finale.) 

2) Is Anne obligated to wear a leather jacket now? And run out, guns blazing at a moments notice? Ugh.

3) How much time does Maggie spend getting her hair to drape perfectly over her shoulders in each scene? 

 

Please let this show end with a Mason family group hug! 

(Probably consisting of only the four Mason men, consoling one another atop the pile of dead bodies of the 2nd Mass who went along with yet another hair-brained scheme.) 

Edited August 24, 2015 by shrewd.buddha

[Sake614]

I can't believe how far off the rails this show went in the last two years, but especially this year. Did they just run out of ideas but we're committed to this last season, so figured they'd simply write whatever they wanted even if it made no sense?

I'm almost afraid to watch the finale next week.

[I-Kare]

Please let this show end with a Mason family group hug! 

(Probably consisting of only the four Mason men, consoling one another atop the pile of dead bodies of the 2nd Mass who went along with yet another hair-brained scheme.) 

 

My predication is the four Mason men will be the last living humans and then slowly die out unless they can figure out a way to procreate (with each other or cross-species, whichever).  

[sjohnson]

Marty jiggered the human immunity to the bioweapon, which explains why we've been blessed with him. 

 

Sadly, haven't seen Pope's body. Too bad we had to have a last gasp of Popery with Anthony pretending that going psychopath is just a mistaken alternative lifestyle. 

 

A fake using Lexi was a nasty ploy indeed, some very good interpersonal melodrama in the family. And as Weaver and Mason note, a weapon like that will destroy morale. They might as well all be Popes with the level of distrust the copies can create. The fatal question for the series, is why didn't the Espheni do this earlier?

 

The difference between invasion and occupation is the difference between a raid and settlement. The implications are either the Volm fleet is out of the picture or the Espheni are about to breed mass quantities. Or wiping out a beach head versus wiping out a colony.

 

Masons will die in the finale. The foreshadowing is that only Matt survives, meaning the young make the new world, as is always the case. Anne, Maggie and Isabella may survive to make the angst personal. Weaver probably survives to make the eulogy and finish rearing Matt. All the spiked like Ben are also killed and skitters are no longer people of any sort, so they all die too, which still strikes me as the most blatant cheat on the premises they've pulled.

 

The Dorniya (sp?) as Espheni Queen, though? Luring all the surviving militias into a direct assault means destroying the last effective resistance. 

[iMonrey]

The Queen? They have a Queen? Seriously? Anyone else having Borg flashbacks?

 

This new weapon Tom got handed in the 11th hour feels very much like a deus ex machina. If the Dornians invented the thing why didn't they use it themselves? I did not get that whole scene near the ocean with the ship coming out of the water. Whose ship was that supposed to be? Was it all some fever dream? I really don't get how the Dornians are communicating with Tom either.

 

And yeah, the scene with the Pope attack was just so random and pointless! WTF? I don't trust that he's dead. If he is, why didn't they just kill him off a few episodes back when Tom shot him? He hasn't served any purpose since then. If he's not dead, why the hell aren't they making sure? So dumb.

 

Does anyone know if next week's finale is two hours?

[xaxat]

This episode felt like the writers had just sobered up from a season long bender and realized "Oh, crap! We've only got two episodes left for the entire series?"

"Shit, we need to figure out a way for them to win the war."

"What the hell were we thinking with that Pope/Tom plot?" 

"What's Scarlett Byrne doing here?"

[Mars477]

Pope's (apparent) end is almost sublimely awful.  Like, you really need a certain level of untalent to create a personal ending for a character who has been on the show for almost the entirety of the show's run and have it be that pointless and stupid.

[Gudzilla]

Pope's (apparent) end is almost sublimely awful.  Like, you really need a certain level of untalent to create a personal ending for a character who has been on the show for almost the entirety of the show's run and have it be that pointless and stupid.

I think pointless and stupid sums up Pope perfectly, however like everyone else I don't believe we've seen the last of him.

 

Has Tom tasted the Dornishmans wife ?

[sigmaforce86]

So many questions:

-Why isn't anyone even bothering to make sure that Pope is dead? He could still be alive (and knowing this show I wouldn't be surprised if he isn't dead). I was waiting to see if he did just popped out and said, "damn you, Mason!" Also, the whole Pope scene was just, IMO, so random and the way it ended was also just random (but Tom did got to blow up their fuel supply).

-Ben got really hot in this episode; so, hot that steam was coming off of his back. 

 

Pope - That was my first thought too, big "reveal" that he's alive last week, his group cons their way into the camp this week only so he can take out a couple red shirts then have the Mason's blow him up?  If he's really dead what was the point - waste of screen time.  I'm hoping it's another fake out and the end comes down to Tom deploying a weapon of some sort but he's too injured to do it and out pops Pope to press the final detonator or whatever.  Hate to say I'm routing for Tom to die in the end but I think he has too (or at least he should if the writers were being honest).

Ben - Finally realized last night that not only is Connor Jessup getting more and more good looking as time goes on but he's really become or shown himself to be a very good actor.

Edited August 24, 2015 by sigmaforce86

[thuganomics85]

So, this is the penultimate episode of the final freaking season, and we revisit fucking Lexi.  Ok, fine, she was actually one of those nifty Espheni spies, but I don't want to be wasting time on all that angsty bullshit again.  I guess it was somewhat interesting that, this time, Anne was the one who was more hostile towards, compared to her giving Original Lexi chance after chance last season.  Besides that, lame.  Of course, Tom would fall for it (despite his claims), and have to get his ass saved.  Of course, two of the brothers (in this case, Hal and Max), will be put at odds, and bicker like idiots.  But, hey, Ben kills her before it gets too bad, so it's all good!  Also, I still maintain that Scarlett Byrne looks way better as a brunette, so I don't know what the Espheni were thinking Daenerys-ing her up last season.

 

Meanwhile, fucking Pope and crew show up, and attempt the world's lamest takeover.  Granted, the fact that the 2nd Mass couldn't even seem to hit them right out in the open (despite having plenty of guns), was pretty bad on their accord, but even then, I don't see how he thought that was going to work.  Anyway, Tom and Weaver manage to shoot some explosive barrels (the best kind of barrels!), and crush the assholes, but since we don't see Pope's bloody body, I really wouldn't be surprised if he magically survives.  He shouldn't, but with this, anything is fair game.  And I can't forget about Anthony!  After playing Jesse Pinkman to Pope's Walter White, he suddenly realizes that he's been an asshole this entire time, and goes back to being good.  What was really strange was that what finally made him snap out of it was Anne almost getting shot, yet he was the one who brought her to new, bald Pope way back, and for all he knew, Pope was going to kill Anne then.  Now he suddenly cares about her health?  Sigh...

 

So, thanks to Ben, it seems like the endgame is that there is an Espheni Queen either here or heading over there, and she'll be at the Lincoln Memorial.  Tom's alien buddy (?), just gave him a weapon that is suppose to wipe them all out, so that's the plan now.  On paper, that seems like it would be entertaining, but it's hard to care when all of this has been put in the background to spend time on random crap.

 

Finale will finally arrive next week.  That's good.  I wonder what the body-count will end up being?  I honestly think someone important will die, because the whole weapon thing feels like a setup for someone to have to sacrifice himself or herself.

Edited August 25, 2015 by thuganomics85

[xaxat]

I kind of hope the writers bring Pope back. It would be one of the best "Oh Hell no!" moments in TV history.

[TVSpectator]

What I don't get is why, after having Pope be a somewhat good guy/adversary (plus, he did saved Tom's life when he could've just killed him and go his own way) they decided to go with this storyline? I mean- I will admit that this character wasn't the greatest, but Pope was at least the most nuanced/dynamic character on the show and also is part of the most nuanced character relationship on this show; which is the Tom/Pope relationship that has it's ups and downs. All of the other characters are still roughly the same character from season 1 (including, but not limited to Tom), but all of their "qualities" are now cranked to 10 (like Tom Mason's ego so big that it can fill all of Boston). The only other character that I can even say has evolved on this show is Ben and his abilities. 

 

The only answer I can think of is that the writers' decision-making might have been  like this one day:

 

Writer#1-," hey we don't have enough material for 10 episodes and we better come up with something?
Writer#2, hey I know we can make Pope evil! It would make perfect sense since he was always Tom's foil and in this season Tom is the beacon of all things good and worthy to fight, so Pope can be the opposite of Tom!
Writer#3- but won't our viewers want to see more of the final battle than two humans going after each other? Plus, Pope does seem to be kind of popular with our fans, who use the internet.
Writer#1&2- Nah and who cares about the internet.
Writer#3- okay, then we will write a storyline that will take up a good portion of the last season. It will start when Pope's new love dies and he blames Mason for the death. Then Pope can kidnap Hal, then Tom will go looking for him and instead gets captured by one of those giant Esh flies, and then ends up on a farm where he can recuperate without fear. This farm can be untouched by the war and will have a family living there in secret. 

Writer#2:- maybe we can have the kids not know that there is an alien war going around the farm. Like what if their mom/dad is keeping that fact secret on this farm because they are afraid that the truth will hurt the kids?

Writer#1- yeah good idea. Another good idea is that we can replace the dad for a grandfather and make the mother a widow! Then Tom can hit on the mom and/or the mom will hit on Tom and we don't have to worry about all of the awkwardness about having our hero hitting on someone else's wife.

 

 

I kind of hope the writers bring Pope back. It would be one of the best "Oh Hell no!" moments in TV history.

 

Yeah, I would bet money that Pope will make it into the finale episode.

 

 

The Queen? They have a Queen? Seriously? Anyone else having Borg flashbacks?

 

....

 

Does anyone know if next week's finale is two hours?

 

Yes, the Esh have a queen and resistance is futile.You will be assimilated.

 

As with the finale episode, I think that it's only one hour long. So, we will probably be getting 30+ minutes of filler crap and the rest will actually be about winning the war. 

Edited August 25, 2015 by TVSpectator

[Ottis]

What a waste of an episode (again). Of all things, Lexi? So the one concrete thing Tom Mason lost appears to be back ... and in the end, it amounts to nothing. At least the show is consistent.

 

After managing to not throw up in the first five minutes (barely), what with Tom Mason being positioned as the savior of humankind, so much so that militias are calling in and asking for his advice by name (and the cheering after he gives yet another speech, so they held their mics down?), I managed to get to the first break without my eyes rocketing from my head at eyerolling escape velocity. Then we were treated to ...

 

... Tom Mason, the aforementioned savior, wandering off alone, to an open space open to attack, because he is seeing things. Excellent leadership once again, TM.

 

... TM saying they are winning to the other race, and then just a few minutes later, Hal saying "it's bad out there" as they listen to a woman in DC call for help. "Winning" must mean something different in the TM dictionary.

 

... TM being suckered by the Lexi clone, and having to be rescued by others. This after TM once again gets special treatment when he tells the guards to leave, and they do.Genius.

 

... Tom Mason telling Ben that his bringing back Lexi provided valuable intel. Uh, Tom, given she was a planted assassin, why do you think anything she said was true? It is Ben who has given you valuable intel.

 

... Maybe it is because we were in DC last month sightseeing, but anyone who didn't know immediately that "the foot of the giant" was the Lincoln Memorial, please head to the TM Leadership Academy for the Obvious.

 

... Should we check for Pope's body? Nah. TM said "goodbye, Pope," what more proof do we need?

 

BTW, Pope clearly hung around TM too long, what with that stupid ploy to get into the base. What did that gain you, Pope - 2-3 seconds of surprise?

 

This show is going to end with a ridiculous contrivance, which Tom Mason will trigger, bless or somehow prompt. Ugh. I wish this were funny and not just awful..

[wmdekooning]

Matt and Maggie just happen to stumble upon Lexi lying in the woods outside of camp.  Lexi. Seriously, fucking Lexi is back.

 

That is much more eloquent than what I said when I saw that Lexi was back. I just groaned.

I think everything that could possibly be said has been. Can't wait for this to be over, but I can't wait to see how it ends. No doubt any given PreviouslyTV poster could have come up with a better season ender. 

[sjohnson]

Actually, the Espheni are going to be at the foot of the giant...column. The Washington Monument, not the Lincoln Memorial!

[Scott]

I just watched it last night, so I was able to fast-forward through commercials.  Each break, as it displayed how far through the show I was, I kept thinking "There's only <N> minutes left in this entire series, and they're wasting time on <whatever it was they just did>??"  Lexi--waste of time, although I suppose it did show that the magic Good N Plenty does work on the Espheni.  Pope--*complete* waste of time, even if they bring him back for some resurrection cameo next week.  Another mention of the Nazca lines, but there's no way they're actually going to explain what that connection is.  

 

Thank the Masons there's only one episode of this mess left.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Another mention of the Nazca lines, but there's no way they're actually going to explain what that connection is.  

 

Unless Tom Mason manages to find a working Beamer and flies to Peru, I'm kind curious why they keep bringing the Nazca lines up.

[WearyTraveler]

LexiClone also said the Espheni had been to Earth before a long time ago.

 

Off course, that could have been done on purpose to confuse Tom or it could be sincere (remember that SoldierClone said, as she was dying, that the experiment retained some of her earlier memories and feelings, so, LexiClone could have said something that she wasn't supposed to say).

 

I think they are setting it up so that the big reveal is either that the human race is a direct descendent of the Espheni or that the Espheni have been breeding with humans for a long, long time.  That would explain why their bioweapons (harness, eye bugs, etc.) worked so well, how Lexi came to be and maybe why Tom is so special.

 

And also, one of my biggest issues with the show, which was why would an alien super-race want to come to Earth.  I never thought they gave us a reasonable enough explanation for that.

Edited August 26, 2015 by WearyTraveler

[Latverian Diplomat]

The Queen? They have a Queen? Seriously? Anyone else having Borg flashbacks?

 

I'm having flashbacks to every sci fi movie where the bad guys have a convenient point of failure/vulnerability that decides the whole thing, regardless of how hopeless every other aspect of the situation is.

[TVSpectator]

I just watched it last night, so I was able to fast-forward through commercials. Each break, as it displayed how far through the show I was, I kept thinking "There's only <N> minutes left in this entire series, and they're wasting time on <whatever it was they just did>??" Lexi--waste of time, although I suppose it did show that the magic Good N Plenty does work on the Espheni. Pope--*complete* waste of time, even if they bring him back for some resurrection cameo next week. Another mention of the Nazca lines, but there's no way they're actually going to explain what that connection is.

Thank the Masons there's only one episode of this mess left.

Lucky you for being able to fast-forwarding through commercials. But jokes aside, I am actually glad that this show is in their final season and also glad that there is only 1 one-hour episode left in the whole series. Also, IMO, no way they could explain the Nazca Lines in any satisfying and/or significant way, other than just have the characters talk to each other. I doubt that Tom will fly another beamer (remember he flew to the moon!) and I doubt that we will see anything that could explain why they would bring up the Nazca Lines, without listening to drivel about how the Esh were here before, blah, blah, blah....

Actually, the Espheni are going to be at the foot of the giant...column. The Washington Monument, not the Lincoln Memorial!

You know the moment when they mentioned "at the foot of the giant" I actually pictured the Esh at this statue (it's now located at the Nation Harbor and not at Hains Point):

Edited August 26, 2015 by TVSpectator

[ganesh]

At the foot of the giant -- come on, of course it's the Lincoln memorial.

 

You know you want The Speech. You need The Speech. 

 

What a mess. On the off chance that Pope is dead, which no one whose watched any tv in the last decade or so believes, what a waste. I just don't care.

 

Between the last two and this one, this is really what the season could have been about. I can't even tell you much of what happened in the beginning of the season, or why for that matter.

 

So many missed opportunities on this show. 

[sjohnson]

Technically, it's not certain that any opportunities were missed. The show never had any idea there was any problem with why aliens with such incredible powers would come to Earth, or how primitive humans could possibly win. If your villains don't have comprehensible motives and there's no reasonable alternatives for the heroes to choose between, you've got long term problems in your story line. Now is just when they're paying the price for not actually creating a world for their SF show.

[Bishop]

Technically, it's not certain that any opportunities were missed. The show never had any idea there was any problem with why aliens with such incredible powers would come to Earth, or how primitive humans could possibly win. If your villains don't have comprehensible motives and there's no reasonable alternatives for the heroes to choose between, you've got long term problems in your story line. Now is just when they're paying the price for not actually creating a world for their SF show.

The problem is the new show runners they had EVERY year.  I have no idea why that was allowed, but that's why you never had a more consistent narrative.  Every new showrunner wanted to re-invent the show, ti seems.  That being said, I still enjoy Falling Skies, but I also know it could have been a fantastic SF show if they had had ONE showrunner (possibly two) for the five year run and not FIVE showrunners over five seasons.  THAT has always been the problem.

 

That being said, I am looking forward to the finale, and I want to see how this wraps up.  I fear for Ben and Tom.  I hope neither of them are killed, but I have a feeling that one may die by the end of the episode.  I have really enjoyed that more has been written for Ben to do in these last few episodes, and it has been a crime in the writing that Ben did not feature more into storylines.  There was SO much potential for him as a part alien hybrid in the 2nd Mass, but it was roundly squandered.  So I'm happy to see him using his skills and abilities in this final push against the Espheni.

 

I rolled my eyes at first when Lexi appeared.  I thought "Oh God, no," but happily, the show didn't bring Lexi back from the dead.  Instead, the characters acted intelligently.  Weaver knew immediately that she was an Eshpeni plant, and the rest of the 2nd Mass and the Masons agreed.  Yeah they secretly hoped, but they knew deep down, she wasn't their daughter/sister.  It was interesting how differently each approached Lexi.  Hal wouldn't even engage her, and Tom, Anne, and Ben wanted to see her, but also knew deep down that this wasn't their family member.  Only Matt seemed to have hope, but he's a kid, and I wouldn't expect less from him.  He's not jaded and cynical like the rest of his family after what they've seen and experienced.  

 

I also can believe that the Eshpheni view Tom as the head of the snake.  He has killed more than one Overlord, became part of a Skitter rebellion (and convinced the military that it was legitimate) which then resulted in allowing the Volm to land and help tremendously in the fight against the Espheni.  Tom's friendship with Cochise has also contributed to successes against the Eshpheni.  Just like the 2nd Mass wants to go after their queen, it would make sense for the Espheni to want to remove the leader of the resistance, but I also think the writers should have actually shown the other militias and groups around the world to show the spread of the message and their reactions to the Volm.  The 2nd Mass is the main unit in the resistance.  Everything that has happened has happened as a result of their actions, and it should have been touched on more in the stories throughout the series.

 

I thought it was a nice twist that the Dornia Queen was only interested in the death of the Espheni and not how it might impact the human race.  That made complete sense to me after I thought about it.  She just wants revenge for the loss of her entire species.  She doesn't care how that revenge is enacted as long as the Espheni are eradicated, and if it kills the human race, oh well.  I like that idea because her being a "benevolent" alien is too cliche.  She just wants revenge, and understandably so.  I was also happy that Tom didn't keep the weapon a secret.  You never know with these writers.  Instead, he introduced it to the 2nd Mass, and they came up with a game plan together.  

 

Lastly, they did show that there are a lot of militias coming together to march towards Washington.  I had forgotten that the aliens have no technical weapons to use against the humans with the power core being destroyed.  I initially thought that the humans had no chance against the Espheni, but they do.  Apart from the mutated species they are using as weapons and soldiers, they don't have their mechs and ships to shoot at the humans.  So it's going to be a ground attack.  I do wish this "queen" had been explained episodes ago or even the beginning of this season to make her a formidable enemy.  I think one of the biggest mistakes for the writers has been their lack of writing a main enemy for the humans to fight.  Their should have been a final showdown of some sort between Tom and a specific enemy and/or the 2nd Mass and a specific enemy.  We've had some Overlord enemies in the past, but their deaths ended in an anti-climatic fashion.  There should have been a main big bad.  Oh well.

 

Sidenote:  Is it wrong that I don't have much to say about Pope.  I liked him as a character, but he was never one of my favorites.  Do I think he's dead?  Maybe, but if he really is dead, I'm fine with that too.  I don't need to waste time with him yelling at Mason anymore.  We only have about 40 minutes to tell the last of this story.

Edited August 26, 2015 by Bishop

[ganesh]

Missed opportunities in that they wrote in fairly easy ways to world build but didn't do much with that or just applied the usual tropes without bringing anything new to them. I mean, a force grown alien hybrid.

This could have been a good b movie family adventure with an alien invasion. I'm not saying everything has to be Game of Thrones but come on.

All they had to do was have an Overlord say "you have a lot of natural resources we need for our galactic war."

that seems the case, but I don't think we got anything concrete from the show. By the end of an S2 for an alien invasion show, that really should be made clear. I'm sure others can think of similar examples.

[sigmaforce86]

I think they are setting it up so that the big reveal is either that the human race is a direct descendent of the Espheni or that the Espheni have been breeding with humans for a long, long time.  That would explain why their bioweapons (harness, eye bugs, etc.) worked so well, how Lexi came to be and maybe why Tom is so special.

 

 

Oh Good God!  There's a thought I never wanted to have............If this ends with Tom bursting out of his skin into his "true alien form" I am truly going to throw the remote at the TV and the TV out the window.  And then go watch The Librarian again to re-set my Noah Wylie TV appearance memories back to a more pleasant time.

[Dowel Jones]

At the foot of the giant -- come on, of course it's the Lincoln memorial.

 

Or it could be that four toed statue from Lost.

[Ottis]

The problem is the new show runners they had EVERY year.  I have no idea why that was allowed, but that's why you never had a more consistent narrative.  Every new showrunner wanted to re-invent the show, ti seems.

 

 

I could live with the show waiting until the end to reveal The Answer to the overall arc. What was the real problem for me was how special snowflake Tom Mason and the Masons were, and how anyone who had a different viewpoint than Tom was shown to be crazy, stupid, power hungry, etc. The show has been pretty damn consistent about that, regardless of showrunner.

 

2nd Mass is the main unit in the resistance.  Everything that has happened has happened as a result of their actions, and it should have been touched on more in the stories throughout the series.

 

 

Actually, we don't know that. The 2nd Mass is just the unit we have seen. The show has been virtually mum on any victories anywhere else, and surely there have been some, given that other militias do exist. But to include victories without Tom Mason leading them would oppose FS's main point.

 

I thought it was a nice twist that the Dornia Queen was only interested in the death of the Espheni and not how it might impact the human race.  That made complete sense to me after I thought about it.  She just wants revenge for the loss of her entire species.  She doesn't care how that revenge is enacted as long as the Espheni are eradicated, and if it kills the human race, oh well.

 

 

All assumptions for now. The beer engineer managed to determine that we don't really know how the magic Good n Plenty would react with humans if employed to attach Espheni. The assumption that the new alien wouldn't care was made by members of the 2nd Mass. I'm not believing anything yet.

 

We only have about 40 minutes to tell the last of this story.

 

 

Four wasted episodes ago we had 200 minutes.

 

All they had to do was have an Overlord say "you have a lot of natural resources we need for our galactic war."

 

 

I'm pretty sure that at some point around season 2 or 3, we learned that the Espheni needed humans to make more soldiers for their wider war against ... something. Is that enough of a reason to invade Earth? Maybe, maybe not. But I'm sure I heard that view expressed on the show. It would explain human experimentation, using harnesses with children first, etc.

 

Sidenote:  Is it wrong that I don't have much to say about Pope.  I liked him as a character, but he was never one of my favorites.

 

 

That's because they bulloxed him up. He had the seeds of a character to provide a realistic counterpart to Tom Mason. But they went full on cartoon with him instead of creating a more complex dynamic where sometimes Pope was right, other times Mason, who do we want to be as a society in the end?

Edited August 26, 2015 by Ottis

[sjohnson]

But...the plot demands a special snowflake for the humans to win. There's no cause for victory other than a magic hero, because they didn't think out anything that makes sense. Given they have to have a special snowflake, it damn well better be the viewpoint character, especially since Noah Wyle's only competition for best actor on the show is Will Patton. 

 

What I couldn't see is thinking that Popery makes for a more realistic hero. Being mean doesn't make you a good soldier. Taking orders makes you a good soldier. Being an asshole doesn't make you a good commander. The supposedly realistic opposition to Mason was posed by Weaver, but he was assigned the purely military approach, which never wins wars. There's always political leadership, always. So writing him as becoming the military chief under []'s political leadership was inevitable and right.

Edited August 26, 2015 by sjohnson

[WearyTraveler]

Oh Good God!  There's a thought I never wanted to have............If this ends with Tom bursting out of his skin into his "true alien form" I am truly going to throw the remote at the TV and the TV out the window.  And then go watch The Librarian again to re-set my Noah Wylie TV appearance memories back to a more pleasant time.

 

Now, now, I never said Tom would shed his skin and be revealed as an alien.  Only that since it's possible the Espheni had been to Earth before, it's possible that the Mason family has some alien DNA and this would be the reason why Lexie was half and half, and why the Espheni, despite having several opportunities to kill Tom (like when they had him captive on their own ship), never did.

 

I'm pretty sure that at some point around season 2 or 3, we learned that the Espheni needed humans to make more soldiers for their wider war against ... something. Is that enough of a reason to invade Earth? Maybe, maybe not. But I'm sure I heard that view expressed on the show. It would explain human experimentation, using harnesses with children first, etc.

 

But, didn't the show say in season 1 that something like 90% of the human race was gone? If so, that's a pretty stupid way to get soldiers.  They killed over 7 billion potential soldiers before they even started harnessing humans!

Edited August 27, 2015 by WearyTraveler

[ganesh]

^That's the thing. There's no method to the plan. The esh weren't taking kids and killing old people and forming human camps and systematically stripping the planet. It's just been a lot of bouncing around. One should be able to infer their intent by S2 at least just from their pattern of action. Isn't that what a military commander does?

 

What we know about this "invasion" are really things we've been kicking around here. Raw materials, etc. There's nothing really canonical on the show. The Volm just said they were fighting a war and it's taken a long time.

 

I have no problem not being spoon fed and inferring things. But that is predicated on a logical infrastructure on the show. Particularly in an *alien invasion* there should be someone like, "wtf are they here anyway?" "They're scavaging for stuff." "Do they need our resources for something?" "Oh, this war with the Volm?" Cochise: the native populations never fought back. "What's the big picture here?"

 

Now, it's not an invasion, it's an occupation. Was it an invasion? Or were they just looking for military bases or places to strip mine?

 

The fact that no one is really talking about it has been ridiculous. 

 

For one, it's a stupid way to fight a war. If you're not figuring out what they want, you can't do much. Taking out their grid is great, except if there's reinforcements coming. Ben's suddenly useful with intel with one episode left. He's had the spikes forever. 

 

So, they don't have to spell it out, but on a show like this, there should be some characters talking peppered throughout the series. You find things, piece intel together. 

 

There's a lack of cohesion, so it's like, now what? You can't watch the show and logically connect events. 

 

Even if it just was like: we conquer because we can. "Well, you're time's up then, Esh, because you landed on the *wrong* planet today." I mean, it's not even as simple as that. 

Edited August 27, 2015 by ganesh

[Ottis]

All great points. I can't really argue with most of the last three posts, especially the ones about how ridiculous this "war" has been fought. Which I believe was another casualty to deciding to focus on how special Tom mason is.

 

But...the plot demands a special snowflake for the humans to win. There's no cause for victory other than a magic hero, because they didn't think out anything that makes sense.

 

 

True dat.

 

What I couldn't see is thinking that Popery makes for a more realistic hero. Being mean doesn't make you a good soldier. Taking orders makes you a good soldier. Being an asshole doesn't make you a good commander.

 

 

Two words: redemption arc. Sure, Pope started out as a criminal asshole. But when faced with a shared enemy (Espheni), there is plenty of room for one-time criminals to become heroes. Unless you have a special snowflake who is so special that there is no room for anyone else to be even a little special.

 

The supposedly realistic opposition to Mason was posed by Weaver, but he was assigned the purely military approach, which never wins wars. There's always political leadership, always. So writing him as becoming the military chief under []'s political leadership was inevitable and right.

 

 

Partially agree. The show tried to position Weaver, at times, as being a small counterpoint to Mason. But it never amounted to much and was never really explored. Weaver remains my favorite character even in his halfbaked form. he tried to do the right thing, for everyone, even after losing his daughter to Espheni experiments..  

 

As I have posted, the way the show should have gone was Mason = intellect, Weaver = leadership/fighting strength, and Pope=id/the ugly things we sometimes have to be in war. And then let those three roles play off each other in different situations. The team would succeed because they are different, even when it was uncomfortable at times for one or two members and the audience.

 

Instead, the sainted glory that is Tom Mason overrode all viewpoints, even when he was actually being an idiot. Ugh.

[Ltg.jon]

I just can't believe they haven't gotten to the fireworks factory!

[iMonrey]

At one point I could have sworn they at least suggested the reason the Espheni invaded earth was to use it as a staging area for their bigger war against - whoever. They were building that big landing strip or whatever in Season 2 that the 2nd Mass managed to blow up. And using harnessed kids to gather raw materials for the construction of these landing platforms. That's about the only thing that makes sense.

 

The trope of aliens invading earth to plunder its "natural resources," a la Independence Day, was brilliantly dismantled in an online article I read somewhere. Basically there's nothing inherently unique about Earth's resources that couldn't be found elsewhere without having to travel billions of light years to get them.

[spritz]

As a matter of fact, when the she said she couldn't take this shit anymore (when the alien weapon spat its weird mucus when she first touched it), I couldn't help laughing and thinking "Yep, me neither".

 

Who knew Anne could be so funny.

 

My predication is the four Mason men will be the last living humans and then slowly die out unless they can figure out a way to procreate (with each other or cross-species, whichever).  

 

Where are all the women? The ratio of men to women in the 2nd Mass as well as the military camp they are in, and seemingly everywhere else, is so out of whack. The population of women seem to be the same as the population of Mason men. All future human off springs will have Mason dna.

[ganesh]

Basically there's nothing inherently unique about Earth's resources that couldn't be found elsewhere without having to travel billions of light years to get them.

 

No. But for a similarly carbon based species that also lives in a similar atmosphere, earth provides a fairly easy place to go. There's still lots of open space, and you have tons of ocean to mine, and land in. 

 

The whole problem is none of the big picture was really thought out. 

 

What would have been funny was if some low level Esh was sent to backwater Earth to set up a some factories to make ships or something, but totally screwed it all up.

[TVSpectator]

 

Two words: redemption arc. Sure, Pope started out as a criminal asshole. But when faced with a shared enemy (Espheni), there is plenty of room for one-time criminals to become heroes. Unless you have a special snowflake who is so special that there is no room for anyone else to be even a little special.

 

You know, way back in Season 1 I was thinking that they would have Pope go down this road, where he starts off as a criminal/outsider and then gradually he becomes good/part of the 2nd Mass or he was supposed to be a poorer verison of Han Solo/Mal Reynolds-ish type of character- a charming rogue but who turns out to be a really nice guy/ a changed man deep down inside. Instead we get this storyline about him wanting to kill Tom. Altough the desire to kill Tom is, IMO, a bit understandable since it was revealed that the 2nd Mass had a crap ton of working cars, in the next episode; hence: Tom flat out lied to Pope and didn't really gave a damn about Sara but we are supposed to side with Tom in this fight.

[ganesh]

Pope's nothing special. He's been one note since the start. 

 

That's the problem with the show. Even if he was the Han Solo trope, they could have done something interesting with that. CC is a good actor, but there's no there there for him to work with.

[sjohnson]

A Han Solo who shot first would have been too smart to fly into battle depending upon a pussy like Luke Skywalker to save his ass by blowing up the giant battle station that would have kept on shooting at it. 

 

Mal Reynolds, last Confederate standing, too pretty to die and too badass to lose, the incarnation of Dixie riz agin, slayer of the P(O)C Union...never a good character in my opinion. 

 

The ignominious death of a complete fool was just desserts for Pope. Also my opinion.

[ganesh]

You know he's not dead though. This show.

[Ottis]

Woulda, coulda, shoulda. I get misty eyed just hearing the old sound effect of the mechs that the show plays in promos. The good old days.

[TVSpectator]

Pope's nothing special. He's been one note since the start. 

 

That's the problem with the show. Even if he was the Han Solo trope, they could have done something interesting with that. CC is a good actor, but there's no there there for him to work with.

 

IMO, there are really no special characters on this show, but before this season and the last season, you could see that the writers were trying to show that Pope isn't really a bad person, per say.  Overall, they could've done something with all of the characters, but instead we got the same old crap (especially about how amazing Tom and his 2nd Mass are). Besides Pope, you could say that Ben was special (and still is) and maybe Weaver (but IMO his character and Ben's were, IMO, both underutilized on this show, until the storyline about the 14 VA). 

 

 

A Han Solo who shot first would have been too smart to fly into battle depending upon a pussy like Luke Skywalker to save his ass by blowing up the giant battle station that would have kept on shooting at it. 

 

Mal Reynolds, last Confederate standing, too pretty to die and too badass to lose, the incarnation of Dixie riz agin, slayer of the P(O)C Union...never a good character in my opinion. 

 

The ignominious death of a complete fool was just desserts for Pope. Also my opinion.

 

Yeah, but they would've all killed the 2nd Mass because they were better shots. That being said, I am really not saying Pope is just like Han Solo or Mal Reynolds, but that I thought that the writers were going to use that trope as his character development. 

 

 

You know he's not dead though. This show.

 Of course he is not. You know, I know, and everyone else knows he is not dead (and btw, CC is also listed as a cast member for the finale).

 

 

Woulda, coulda, shoulda. I get misty eyed just hearing the old sound effect of the mechs that the show plays in promos. The good old days.

 I missed that humming sound too. Also, I have heard that the sound effects are this:

 

Skitter Screams= are really reused raptors scream from Jurassic Park

Mech's Humming Sound= are really reused hums from Tom Cruise War of the Worlds

Edited August 29, 2015 by TVSpectator

[SherriAnt]

I think they should be bold and kill all the humans, and let the aliens win. For me, that would actually rescue this season, because then all the stupidity would be punished.  My fear is that this is going to turn out to be some kind of coma, or dream or something that somebody, probably Tom, is having.

[ganesh]

They dropped the ball with Pope in S1. He came up with the idea and made the armor piercing weapons. He should have been the guy who could just kind of rigs things up. Then you can justify him staying around. Basically, he could have just been the south african guy. 

 

Again with the show, how you not have an engineering division in this war is incomprehensible. I guess all the hackers got killed. I know you're not going to have a episode dedicated to people scrounging for parts, but still.