Falling Skies Season 2 Review

You know, there was more then one occasion over the course of the season when Tom was trying to convince people of something, and I wanted him to say "Trust me, I'm a doctor." Of course if he was in this reality we probably wouldn't need Anne and we can't have that.

With the season finale over and done, it's time to look at the second season of TNT's post-apocalyptic drama as a whole. Note: Spoilers for the whole season.

So, the season starts off with a bang; I mean that literally to, one of the first scenes is an explosion in this huge fight. The 2nd Mass is keeping up the good fight without Tom for three months due to his abduction by the enemy. And then Tom shows up and Ben shoots him by mistake. They bring him back and they heal him up, but they find and alien parasite in his eye, leading some people- cough Pope- not to trust him. The whole "should we trust Tom," thing was cool, they just didn't use it enough. It was over after three episodes. It would've been an awesome ongoing dynamic, you know, divide the 2nd Mass, but the writers went for the cop out. Tom also lead to the show breaking it's no flashback rule, which I loved. Flashbacks go really well with this show.

While Tom was gone, Ben officially joined the 2nd Mass, and he... well, he hasn't just stepped up, he's basically turned into a post-apocalyptic Captain America. I'm serious. He's super strong, fast, he can swim ridiculously well, he's got super hearing, he can jump off of buildings, all because of his spikes, and he's using all this to fight the Skitters. Ironic, he's using his powers, which are the whole reason he wants to fight, to kill the reason he has his powers. Anyway, his story line this year was awesome; he questions what he is, where he belongs, and what he should do, and it goes to some really cool places, like the Skitter rebellion.

Ah, the Skitter rebellion. Headed by the Red-Eyed Skitter who we initially no nothing about other then that he put the parasite in Tom, the rebellion is exactly what you'd think it is. It leads to some cool stuff, most notably the fight in which Tom becomes Tom the Overlord Slayer, but more on that later. So yeah, rebellion was cool, but again, they could've done more with it.

As we can expect, the season gave us some character drama like last season. And like last season, that's where it started to feel bogged down. Episode four, Young Bloods, was almost entirely character drama, specifically between Weaver and his long lost daughter, and it was cringe-inducing quite a bit. I'm not some shallow jerk who only wants explosions, but seriously, the dialogue between Weaver and little Weaver was SO CHEESY. I mean, to the point where I can't even type it without vomiting. There was also some relationship drama to be found in Tom and Anne, plus Hal and Maggie. The Hal-Maggie one I've got no issues with; the actors have good chemistry and they work well together. Granted, it's been obvious that they would eventually get together, and they probably spent too much time on it, which is weird because it's set up like it'll end with one of them dying (probably Maggie). Tom and Anne though, it just doesn't work. The actors have no chemistry at all, so there relationship doesn't seem even remotely natural. To top it off, another show has given into the apparent fetish long running dramas have with pregnancy story lines. And I'll give you a hint: Maggie's not the one having the kid.

As far as Charleston went when they finally arrived, it was cool, but, yet again, not enough screen time was spent on it, especially seeing how Terry O'Quinn was there. And then we've got the so-so season finale, which ends with a couple of kickass cliffhangers by way of Evil Hal and the arrival a new alien who looks suspiciously like Thanos...

The best episodes of the season were Worlds Apart, Compass, Homecoming, Molon Labe, and the Price of Greatness. The worst ones were Young Bloods and Love and Other Acts of Courage. I have mixed feelings about the rest of the episodes. As a whole season 2 was better then season 1, but the show just never feels as awesome as it should. The ideas and concepts are there, but the show doesn't always do it in terms of characters and stories. The best way to describe FS is probably "It has it's moments". But damn if those aren't good moments.

Final Rating: 82%

So, Falling Skies season 2: Have you seen it, what'd you think of it? Comment below, let me know!