Falling Skies - S5E1 - Find Your Warrior
Starring: Noah Wyle, Will Patton, Moon Bloodgood, Colin Cunningham, Drew Roy, Sarah Carter, Connor Jessup, Maxim Knight, Doug Jones, Mpho Koalo | Director: Olatunde Osunsanmi
Two days have passed since the penultimate season four finale of Falling Skies and already the winds of change have blown through the series like a F5 hurricane. Without their power source, the Espheni war machine sputtered to a dismal halt. Motherships and beamers have fallen and impacted across the world; mechs now stand impotent, ready to be salvaged by the Resistance and used against their Espheni overlords. The Volm have made contact with other resistance movements and attempting to strategize a concentrated attack on the Espheni.
The war is nearly over, yet it may not be entirely in the favor of humanity. No one is certain whether the Espheni are retreating for good, or planning to rally their forces and advance on a scale that would eliminate the Global Resistance completely.
Over the seasons, Tom Mason (Noah Wyle) and his sons have endured a number of tragedies from humans and Espheni alike. Season five doesn’t appear to be any different; the current influence that looms over Tom’s uncharacteristically brutal actions merely adds one final drop to the already overflowing bucket of sheer nuttiness only that Mason family can carry. When John Pope (Colin Cunningham) - the resident crazy – thinks you’re crazy, it’s probably time to you sit down and reassess things.
As shown in the final seconds of the season four finale, Tom awoke in his old bedroom in Boston and sees a shadowy non-human being outside the doorway. Despite assuming the appearance of a beloved family member, it’s apparent to Tom it’s a guise, but one he’s willing to accept. Whoever this person is implants the suggestion to “find your warrior” before returning Mason just outside the 2nd Mass’ neighborhood. This charge that now beats soundly in Tom’s head was put to immediate use as he violently dispatched a Black Hornet.
It’s difficult to give a cast of this size an equal amount of screen time, however there’s no question the lynchpin of the Resistance as we know it, and soul of the show resides with Tom Mason. It’s obvious how much his presence means to what remains of the 2nd Mass as no one appears to have any idea where to take the fight next. Their numbers are tragically depleted and supplies dangerously low, but an opportunity given to them by Tom and Lexi’s sacrifice isn’t one that cannot be squandered. Lo and behold, in walks God Mode from literally out of nowhere, with a bloody surprise to raise morale and essentially turn the hunted into the hunters.
No doubt answers will be revealed throughout the season about Tom’s psychic motivator, how he returned to earth and why he was imbued with a killer instinct. What’s oddly satisfying is despite the repeated abuses to Tom, Hal, Ben and Matt, none of it ever feels as though the storyline is languishing in the mires of a recycled arc.
Granted, Falling Skies isn’t for every sci fi fan as its pace has been sporadic to lumbering at times. For all the action and graphic violence (for this show) laid out in the first episode, the final season of Falling Skies appears ready to put all its chips in the pot and risk it all for that payday its most loyal fans have stuck around to witness.
