Since the beginning of its second season, Falling Skies has been much better than last year’s introductory season. That is, until “Death March.” The episode was a collection of storylines that mostly failed to hit their marks, and although a couple of them showed some promise, the story was dragged down by clichés.
“The Quick and the Dead” was very deceptive in its title and its case of the week. Yes, it featured a quick alpha that died, but the story wasn’t really about him. Rather, the episode used the fast man to center on what seems to be the overarching storyline around Stanton Parish, the foe from the last season that barely ages. It was done rather well, with the right amount of team drama and insight into Parish’s life to sustain the thin alpha investigation of the week.
Besides being appropriately titled, “Molon Labe,” which stands roughly for “Come and take it/them” in Ancient Greek, was an episode with a couple of preeminent moments that both involved one of those who are supposed to do the taking, meaning an alien overlord. Beyond those excellent moments, the adrenaline-fueled episode was a collection of half-hearted attempts which felt either premature or rushed.
“Young Bloods” reunited Captain Weaver with his teenage daughter, and featured storylines centered on teenagers and children. In addition to the return of the lost daughter, a lot happened involving the age group. We had a kid soldier, a brewing and clumsy first (or maybe second) love, brotherly relationships, a teenage confrontation with the sense of loss, and even teenage reckless decision-making and search for independence. Some of the stories featured the show’s trademark ability to touch us emotionally, some were lacking in their execution, but they all only used adults by virtue of their relationships with the younger characters (and, well, to save the day).
“Compass” was all about danger and hope—danger from within the resistance and hope from the new seat of human power in Charleston, South Carolina. The episode’s emotional peak was, however, undoubtedly dominated by the tragic loss of Jimmy which really owned the end of the hour.
The Legend of Korra’s extended finale mirrored the series’ first season. It was filled with awe-inspiring moments, but was also riddled with so many low-points it’s a wonder that the whole story was produced by the same team. However, the episode was at times very entertaining and managed to bring out the new Avatar in a largely acceptable way.
The season premiere of Falling Skies wasn’t at all like what we have been used to from the series, and that was a good thing. “Worlds Apart” gave us a multi-layered story with a structure that showed some creativity. The episode kept us interested for most of the hour, and there was no shortage of aliens (the real ones).
“Turning the Tides” was a complete reversal of circumstances for the equalists and their leader, Amon, who took control of Republic City with insulting ease. The adrenaline-fueled episode also saw Lin Beifong losing her bending abilities after heart-crushing moments with Tenzin’s family.
You’d think characters would know better than to ask what could go wrong before embarking on a dangerous mission. Artemis sure doesn’t.
“Out of the Past” was, as suggested by its title, very much about the past as Korra finally succeeded in connecting spiritually with Aang, the previous Avatar. The episode brought an end to the Tarrlok arc, establishing Amon (who is disappointingly not Tarrlok) as the ultimate nemesis of the season.
