Episode Reviewed: Falling Skies: Compass

You see the title... is a metaphor.

In A Nutshell:

Pope and the Beserkers make trouble for Tom out of paranoid fear, leading to a confrontation, an unconventional move, another confrontation, and another unconventional move. I'll let you guys fill in the blanks (or you can watch the episode). Meanwhile, a stranger arrives in the 2nd Mass, forcing Weaver to make a choice that will likely determine the direction of the rest of the season, and Ben and Jimmy get into some trouble while out hunting Skitters. That's right, hunting Skitters (remember what I said about Ben being a rage-driven sociopath).

The Good:

Pope and his anti-hero/villain-ness help make this a good time. We get another bit of the Red-eyed Skitter, who makes something very interesting indeed happen with Ben. The mystery of Red-Eyes is really interesting for me personally, and I'm hoping it'll be an important part of the show going forward. The episode in general does a lot of set-up for future episodes, but they make it entertaining. And now for the elephant in the room: there is a major character death in this episode, and dealing with the aftermath comprises the bulk of the story. RIP (Spoiler!) And yeah, it was emotional. Granted, it wasn't the most tragic death scene ever for me personally (I've seen so many characters I like get killed off I'm a little numb to it at this point. Damn you Joss Whedon!) but I did feel something. Fortunately, FS is the type of show where they can do a lot of emotion and it doesn't feel either corny or like it's being shoved down our throats. The bottom line about the death was that it was compelling and engaging, and made the episode what it was (in a good way).

The Bad:

Some of the emotionalism felt like a bit much when coupled with the near-complete lack of action. Beyond that no real gripes. 

Final Rating: 88%