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Falling Skies Season 2 Episode 8

Death March

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AIRED: Aug 05, 2012

7.9

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Episode Summary

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En route to Charleston, the 2nd Mass continues to grieve for the group's recent losses. Matt bonds with a new harnessed girl and Weaver learns more about Tector's history.

TV.com Episode Review

Falling Skies: Riding In Cars With Boys

The 2nd Mass drove and drove and drove and drove and drove toward Charleston in this week's very chatty episode.

By Tim Surette, Aug 06, 2012

Fan Episode Reviews (6)

Better than a sleeping pill...

2.0

By tvcricket, Jan 07, 2013

Boring episode, literally put me to sleep and had to force myself to watch it a second time. Zero action with actors don't seem to be able to develop their characters properly. Even the "war stories" shared by the personages are laughable; I keept thinking about the scene in Airplane II - "I don't think I'l ever get over Macho Grande"...
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quite dull

6.5

By BlueFlame, Aug 17, 2012

I even fast forwarded parts of this very chatty episode.
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Weak military aspects II, awkward character development, weak storytelling and immersion breakers but enigmatic harness and staggering cliffhanger (Spoilers)

4.0

By jmw, Aug 16, 2012

I'm quite fond of pace changes but only when they're properly executed. Overall this episode was weak compared to the others and specially the latest. Focusing on character development was a wise decision considering the 2nd Mass had to travel a long journey before reaching their Babylon. However beside one minor arc I wasn't moved nor shaken by anything we learned.

The first complain I would like to file concerns Matt. The harnessed girl they knocked out made things a little more exciting but sadly she was badly exploited. Again they made the mistake of under estimating our expectations by letting her unwatched. Lazy solutions lead to bad results. Tom's youngest son was allowed to freely communicate with her and basically revealed their plans. The Captain and his men should know better than trusting kids because the ability to carry a gun doesn't make you a soldier ! In fact my prediction was that Anne would examine her harness, to diagnose why it shut down, and elaborate some sort of cure to disconnect the hosts from the invaders neural network. Still covering the relationship between Skitters and infected humans was interesting. The little girl didn't see the creature who took care of her as an evil alien but as a parent. So apparently the harness doesn't turn you into an emotionless zombie. Still her brother creeped me out. Is he some sort of glass cleaner ? I suppose he was kept in the dark to avoid hiring a new actor. But his few B movie-like appearances were more laughable than pathetic so let's just forget them.

As for the other characters my heart oscillates between high and low places. As usual everything Tom & Anne is welcomed but I wouldn't mind if the writers decided to take their feelings to the next level. I mean wouldn't it be epic to turn them into a couple as mythic as Lois & Clark (Superman, Smallville) or Jack Sheppard & Kate Austen (Lost) ? Give us some real, passionate and timeless love ! On the Captain and Maggie sides I'm disappointed by what we saw. The soldier's story was educative as there's a lot to learn from military experiences and leaders. Otherwise until now his role had been anecdotic so I was unable to relate to him. Am I heartless ? Probably because I felt the same way for Maggie. What's next on her list ? Giving birth to a half human half Skitter baby ? The poor girl is only thirty something but she has already endured the worst traumas. Moreover Sarah Carter's acting wasn't convincing enough. The team behind the show, who I sincerely respect, should be wiser and avoid throwing random ideas performers can't handle because forcing the audience emotions isn't the way. And the best example of my theory is Lourdes because we only saw her for a few split seconds but the subtle reference to Jimel, by only showing his toolbox, was heartbreaking !

In general their road trip wasn't dynamic enough and the numerous arcs were unable to fuel it. They should have made them collide like in the film Crash for instance. It would have been so much more captivating ! Moreover the absence of Ben revealed how much his role had contributed to the success of the series so far. Let's hope he'll be back soon and that his arc won't be butchered like some scenes from this installment. One switch from Hal at night and the Captain in bright daylight was brutal ! Add the annoying TNT watermarks and you have way too many immersion breakers. I understand the necessity of advertising other programs but what's the point for a network to slap its viewers when more appropriate methods exist ?

Last but not least I'm always curious about what you guys think of the inevitable cliffhanger, even if I don't mention it. When it was revealed that the destroyed city was actually a fake I instantly pictured a new one built right beneath it. The first references I had in mind were Neon Genesis Evangelion and Robotech : The Macross Saga. I'm sure there're plenty of similar examples but these two have imprinted my mind forever. As for the dreamy berries they reminded of apocalyptic works like Hokuto no Ken as growing vegetables is vital when it comes to survivalism.

Note : This review was first posted on Kritikenstein, my weblog.moreless
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Boring!

3.5

By MatthewRaiche, Aug 10, 2012

This episode is almost all talking. Very little of significance happens. If you missed it, don't worry. You'll get everything you need to know during the "previously on" at the beginning of next week's episode in a concise way, rather than dragged out over 42 minutes.
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Good character development

8.5

By thantos, Aug 07, 2012

Sometimes I wonder how juvenile audiences have become to consider character development and social interactions as "boring" or "chatty". If that's what you want, then go back to cartoons and movies as shows should be about gradual progression. These are the reasons why good shows like Caprica and SGU got cancelled.

Nonetheless, the insight into each of the characters provided by this episode was wonderful. It was enjoyable seeing that Matt hasn't lost his naivety or innocence despite having to grow up in such conditions and that despite the dog eat dog world they live in, Hal still keeps his morals in check.

However, I am disappointed they did not leave the devastation of Charleston lingering into the next episode.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

EDIT

Noah Wyle	Tom Mason
Moon Bloodgood	Anne Glass
Connor Jessup	Ben Mason
Sarah Carter	Margaret
Mpho Koaho	Anthony
Colin Cunningham	John Pope

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Olivia Steele-Falconer	Jenny	Guest Star
Ryan Robbins	Tector	Recurring Role
Dale Dye	Jim Porter	Recurring Role

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Episode Photos

Drew Roy in Falling Skies from "Death Ma...

© 2012 Turner Entertainment Networks, Inc.
Sarah Carter and Colin Cunningham in Fal...

© 2012 Turner Entertainment Networks, Inc.
Mpho Koaho and Peter Shinkoda in Falling...

© 2012 Turner Entertainment Networks, Inc.
© 2012 Turner Entertainment Networks, Inc.

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (0)
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QUOTES (2)
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- Hal: (after being alone with Pope, Maggie is upset) I will stop this truck right now and kick his teeth in if he said something to upset you.
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- Weaver: I don't know what to say to them.
  Tector: I respectfully suggest that you make something up. (salutes) Sir.
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NOTES (1)
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- Original International Air Dates:
  Canada: Thursday, August 9, 2012 on Super Channel 2
  United Kingdom: Tuesday, August 21, 2012 on FX/FX HD
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