Falling Skies – What are the harnesses REALLY for?

Things aren’t necessarily getting better for the fighters and civilians of the 2^nd Mass, but at least they seem to be coming together a little more. Between Weaver and Lourdes, Matt and Uncle Scott’s radio discovery, and Pope going on a mission, it is like a nice little family. Well, two out of three ain’t bad.

I don’t understand how Mason didn’t see Pope’s escape attempt coming a mile away. Weaver was mistaken in sending him in the first place, but Mason and Dai should have been paying much better attention than they were. That Pope went back to kill the sleeping Skitters speaks volumes about his character, though. He can talk tough about carving out his kingdom, but, in the end, he is a pissed-off human who wants to kill as many Skitters as he can. If that anger is directed properly, he could be very useful to the 2^nd Mass.

It is nice to see Weaver finally getting along with someone. Maybe it was seeing Lourdes’ displays of faith; maybe it’s just that he’s warming to Mason (or, it is just time in the evolution of the season for us to start liking him). He is not an uncomplicated man. Between the invasion of his planet, the loss of life reportedly somewhere around 90%, and, most importantly, his family, he’s gone through hell. But everyone is going through the same hell, and no one yet has become nearly as crusty as he has been.

I guess everyone handles grief and loss differently, but I was surprised by Mike (again). First, he was the calmest dude around when it came to his missing kid. Then, when he sees his son at the hospital, he goes crazy (an unexpected reaction that I completely understand). In this episode, though, Mike talks about how he thought about him every minute of every day. I also believe that, but that means he is one heck of a stoic dude.

I continue to be a freaked out by the skitters and their harnesses … and now the kids attached to them. When Rick pulled the harness back on, I couldn’t help but be just a little scared for what Mason will face when he eventually finds Ben.

While we know now that the Skitters control the harnessed kids via some kind of radio transmissions, we still don’t know the reason they’ve captured them in the first place. Sure, using them like they did in this episode — as human shields or brainwashed fighters — is a nice byproduct for the aliens, but you have got to imagine that there is a greater purpose for their capture.

Notes & Quotes

• I loved that the skitter recognized Mason … I mean, it makes sense that the invaders of Earth would have a longer memory than my dog, but it was still a nice touch.
• “Matt deserves a childhood. One day, when you have kids, you’ll understand.” – Mason
  “Me? Kids? Dream on. …” – Hal
  “[to himself] I will.” – Mason
• “Oh I worried about them before the invasion too. Trust me, Hal with a set of car keys is just as frightening as a Mech.” – Mason
• Alien Factoid #1: Skitters sleep like bats.
• Only thing I could think of when Anne opened the food door to the cage was “Oh, that’s a stupid idea.”
• Alien Factoid #2: Skitters can transmit via biological radios.
• “Well, we know a hell of a lot more about them than we did yesterday.” – Mason
  “You know, your optimism is starting to get a little annoying.” – Weaver
• The CliqueClack Official Episodes Without Karen Count: 1

Clacked by Ivey West
on Jul 04, 2011 @ 12:20 EST5EDT