Silent Kill

Season 1, Episode 5, Aired
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6.9
out of 10
EPISODE RATING: Fair
204 votes
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Hal devises a risky new plan to save the captured teenagers, but pulling it off could put someone in danger. Following a sudden tragedy, Anne makes a discovery that could mean the difference between the success or failure of Hal's rescue plan.
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Fan Episode Reviews (5)

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  • Episode 5: Silent Kill

    6.0
    "Fair"
    By kepa55, Aug 31, 2011
    So Ben the plot device is rescued (finally). Turns out they wont be trying to save him for the whole season, which is nice - they can do something proper for the rest of the season now.

    This episode suffers from two problems: firstly, everyone seems to have a tragic past, and secondly, the good ol' pacing problem is back.

    The two leading ladies got some screentime and apparently something that's called character development in this series. Margaret puzzled me: I liked her scenes, but I don't really understand where they're going with the character. Are they trying to develop some kind of lame love triangle between her, Hal and the missing (but surely soon-to-reappear) Karen? Margaret's cancer might explain some of her current attitude, but that was pretty pointless otherwise. Why couldn't she be a bad-a$$ just for the sake of it?

    A few episodes ago I said that Moon Bloodgood was maybe the only good actor/actress in the bunch. Well, I take that back. I don't know if it's the idiotic script or her performance, but I just laughed at her scenes. First the totally out-of-place "sweetheart talk" and then her breakdown after killing the skitter.

    Captain Weaver is yet another one with a haunting past - what a shocker. Turns out he can't listen to some particular record any more, because... well, who cares?

    And then to the pacing. The first half is basically just lame build-up to the rescue operation, but that's over faster than you can blink your eye. And again the episode ends some 7 minutes before the actual ending; in the final act all we get is people talking and the lamest "Dad?" ever. Don't get me wrong, I like good drama, but when the acting and script is at the level it is, I'd much prefer some nice action sequences.

    Oh, and Doc Harris died. My reaction: meh. And Pope didn't appear, that was a shame.

    With half the season gone, there's still half to go. I'm going to watch the rest, as it's just five episodes, but unless there's a dramatic improvement in quality, I see no reason to watch the recently announced next season.moreless

  • When are you gonna actually bring in action-packed sci-fi action "Falling Skies"?

    6.5
    "Fair"
    By tigerdude22, Aug 31, 2011
    This episode was just okay but I have been really disappointed in this show lately and it's not being very promising from what I've seen. The promos for this show showed a lot of action-packed sci-fi action but this show rarely shows any action and even when they did, the action scenes don't even last that long. I also watch this show because Steven Speilberg is the executive producer of this show. I am sick of watching boring plots when I want some action. The other thing that gets me mad about this show was how it always looks like there's gonna be action because they bring their guns and all that and they never bring on the action. Come on, when we actually going to see some real sci-fi action such as the humans vs. the aliens long war scene... I would love to see that and it would make up for all of the boring episodes that this show brought us. Also, there wasn't any action at all, there only one brief shoot scene and that was and that was when Noah Wyle's character shoots the alien to save Drew Roy's character. Overall, this episode is just okay but "Falling Skies" is not being a promising show like I was hoping it would be. 6.5/10moreless

  • Silent Kill

    8.5
    "Great"
    By TrueTvWatcher, Jul 18, 2011
    Silent Kill was a great episode of Falling Skies and I enjoyed watching this episode because there was a lot of action, drama, character and plot development. It was cool to see Hal step up with a plan of his own which was actually pretty good. I also think its cool how Hal is developing a relationship with the mysterious blonde who was with Pope. There were skitters and mechs in this episode though not extensively. It was weird how the skitter had the kids form a circle like a nest and it sort of hovered over them at night time. The series is still holding my attention and I look forward to finding out more about the aliens. I can't wait to watch the next episode of Falling Skies!!!!moreless

  • Silent Kill...

    7.0
    "Good"
    By AjMc91, Jul 13, 2011
    After four consecutive episodes of fairly dense story, Falling Skies took a step back on Sunday and gave us an episode with essentially one continuous story. After a failed attempt that resulted in the second Mass. finally figuring out how to remove harnesses from their captured children, Tom and his team go on a mission to get Ben back from the hospital. The crux of "Silent Kill", as one might gather from its name, was the issue that Tom and his team have with being able to kill Skitters without making any sound. Knowing that if they can successfully strike at night, only a single Mech would stand would stand in their way, killing the sleeping Skitters in silence was mission critical. With both Tom and Hal having fairly average aim with a crossbow, the ultimate method of execution required a degree of proximity. After the captive Skitter laid waste to Dr. Harris, Dr. Glass - out of both frustration and ingenuity - went the practical route in figuring out that stabbing the aliens in the brain stem ought to do the trick. The mission itself took up the bulk of screen time, with Hal going into the hospital alone disguised as a harnessed captive. After finding his brother, Hal took his chance, but not before Tom and Maggie came in after him when he was well over schedule for exfiltration. After saving Ben and five others, the group then got quickly to work de-harnessing the children - weaning them off the toxin with a cocktail of drugs from one of Maggie's former dealers' stashes.

    Although there was little else in the way of story, in amongst the stealthy action there were a few attempts at adding depth to some of our core characters. Dr. Glass finally began to show emotion other than anger, Maggie revealed that she used to have cancer and Weaver also began to show signs of grieving for what he has lost to the war. There is little else to say about "Silent Kill". In retrospect, any synopsis of what you were in store for prior to the episode would have told you absolutely everything that happened, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't good. There is something oddly endearing about Falling Skies as a show thus far. Although only five episodes into their run, the characters already feel very natural to watch. The scripts are by no means great, but I never find myself wanting to change the channel. The show feels like one that will translate very well to DVD - allowing back-to-back viewing. As a complete standalone "Silent Kill" wasn't at all enthralling, but with what has come before it being out there in the world, it is just a continuation of a much larger and much better story.moreless

  • Just when I thought it couldn't get any better!

    10
    "Perfect"
    By VConn, Jul 12, 2011
    They go and give us this piece of brilliance.

    The search for and rescue of Ben was really stepped up in this episode and Hal took center stage in the plan to rescue his brother which allowed Drew Roy to show just how good of an actor he really is.

    In a show that could easily have died under the expectation of Special Effects this episode highlighted the human factor of the series with practically NO special effects needed anywhere in the episode and the humanity of the characters was explored and displayed in this episode better than almost any show I can think of.

    The script was excellent as was the acting and perhaps the only thing more surprising than Rick not being dead was that the children are apparently cared for by Skitter versions of nurses\mothers though to be fair once it realized Hal wasn't one of them it turned out to be just as hostile as the rest of the Skitters.

    We also got some more insight into Anne and Weaver as both characters had moments where they showed their humanity and reasons for being how they are now and I get the feeling we've only just scratched the surface with all of them.

    The best scene of the episode perhaps of the whole series was at the end when Ben sort of woke up from his surgery and found himself surrounded by his brothers and father - That scene was emotional and could easily have been mishandled but Drew Roy, Connor Jessup, Maxim Knight and Noah Wyle handled it superbly and should all be commended for their work in this episode and that scene in particular.

    This was easily the best episode so far and I can't wait to see what in store for the last 5 episodes.moreless
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