Falling Skies - "The Price of Greatness"

Season 2, Episode 9

I’ve stopped being surprised when Falling Skies reaches for the easy cliché instead of trying to build on the potential-rich archetypes that make up the core of it’s show. It’s disheartening to see the show cycle through every post-apocalyptic plot that you’ve already seen three times before, but that’s just where the level of this particular writer’s room seems to be. So when I saw the promo for this week’s episode promised an episode where “not everything is as it seems” I groaned a little, knowing just what we were in store for. So colored me surprised to find out that “The Price of Greatness” is an hour that worked in a lot of predictable stuff, yes, but used it to solid effect to raise some interesting ideas.

The central plot at the heart of “Greatness” is fairly simple: the 2^nd Mass. arrives at their supposed haven of Charleston, their goal all season, and they find out that things aren’t as cracked up as they thought they would be. Everybody has shelter and a steady stream of food, sure, but the quarters are cramped and the food supply is still fairly limited. Not that the 2^nd Mass. would know that; they receive a hero’s welcome upon arrival, and are fitted with the best rooms. Additionally, Tom used to be a student of Majority Leader (“President” was too presumptuous of a title) Arthur Manchester, a political inroad that would seem to have great benefit.

Alas, the gold-plated reception is not to last, as instance by instance the 2^nd Mass. begin to feel unwelcome in their new home. All of their guns are taken away and thrown into the community stockpile. Everyone buckles under the much stricter military procedures. Tom gets pushback from Manchester when he attempts to let him know about the rebellious Skitters. Nobody seems to believe that the 2^nd Mass. are they heroes they claim to be.  

In truth, all of these elements feel tossed off, as if the writers were attempting to make a big stew of elements highlighting Charleston’s underlying problems without thinking about how well the elements worked together. Though it’s messy plot-wise, all of the elements do hold the common thread of showing the difficulties of rebuilding a civilization after a major catastrophe. It’s a storytelling element the show has been primed to do from day one, but mostly shied away from much to my chagrin, but it was embraced beautifully here. By showing the chaos that comes from multiple parties competing out of self-interest, the episode perfectly nails the difficulties of trying to rebuild society, even if you have a template. That Manchester is trying to create a noticeably different society from the one that was destroyed only complicates things further.

Despite the mushy start, it all starts to firm together in the episode’s second half, where all of the desperate elements start to cohere into recognizable plots. When Pope and the other Berserkers decided to stir shit up by trying to make off with half the armory in order to go Skitter-huntin’, Maggie tries to stop them, only to be caught herself along with them by the Charleston leg of the army, who have Tector as a new recruit into their ranks. Tector shoots Lyle in the shoulder, and everybody ends up in jail, and it’s up to Hal to break Maggie out.

It’s here that I would like to pause and praise the episode for addressing two of my issues from the previous episode, where it seemed as if character development for Maggie and Tector were tossed around just to pad out time. It’s turns out that wasn’t the case, and this hour used those two developments to positive effect. Tector resurrecting his army loyalty made for some tense scenes as he was asked to face off against those that he had just been fighting against. And while Maggie’s backstory originally seemed to have been created in order to manufacture drama between her and Hal, I like how Hall just sort of simply gets over it, and they become closer because of it.

Anyways, while all of that is going on, Tom manages to stir even more shit up when he begins pushing Manchester about working with the Rebellious Skitters. Manchester is too scared of losing his positing of power by taking such drastic action, so he instead goes about trying to undermine Tom by finding dirt on him. Tom pushes too far when he speaks out against Manchester at the open forum (and adds insult to injury by using Manchester’s own printed words against him), and things go awry with a de-harnessed kids come to Tom with a message from Two-Face, making him look even more suspect. This leads to a lot of back-stabbing, as Tom and Co. break out from prison in order to go meet up with Two-Face, and in the process end up getting General Bressler to turn against Manchester and instill martial law. It’s an exciting place to leave the episode, and one that promises great action next week.

Though these moments mostly work, they are hounded by the same thing that affects most of the episode, and that’s the issue of pacing. In the space of the hour, the 2^nd Mass. arrive at Charleston, think everything’s great, quickly figure out that everything isn’t, and manage to upset the entire power structure. That’s a lot for the show to cover, and at times it strains believability to ask us to buy that this all happens within the space of a few days. It feels as if the show would have been served better had it spent more time in Charleston, instead of relegating it to just the last two episode of the season. But as it stand now it did a good job of playing off all of the build-up to it that’s been going on all season, and set up the action for what looks to be a solid finale.  

Quotes and Other Thoughts:

“I see you passed on the brussell sprouts.” “And the spinach. Like it said, it’s been a while.” Did Falling Skies just make a fiber-related poop joke?

“One kid starting talking trash about the 2^nd Mass.” “I’m guessing it was nothing good.” Tom, Master of the Obvious.

Was it just me, or did the “final five minutes” tease in the promo for next week’s episode, combined with the accompanying image, make it look like we’re in for a Invasion-style cliffhanger?