Reviews: Falling Skies - Season Five Episode One - Find Your Warrior

After a dire fourth season, can Falling Skies redeem itself with the final episodes?


"I think Taco Bell is
right around the corner."
All fans of Falling Skies can admit a couple things. Those of us that watched the entire series have a love/hate relationship with the show. Week by week we still follow, but most of us are highly aware of the deep rooted flaws with this cable series. Between massive story holes to confused character arcs, Falling Skies is far from perfect. 

First, the show has never been highly original. Secondly, since its inception, Falling Skies has been rife with corny family sentimentality that quite often supercedes the much needed action elements. Between Tom Mason's constant motivational speeches, the ham-fisted starchild story, and a never ending barrage of stolen story ideas, this show went from fairly good to dreadful in the course of four short seasons. At times, it's been an unbearable watch. 

With the horrendous writing of season four, a lot of fans weren't sure if they'd be back for the final episodes. Season four was a hot mess with an incongruent narrative and too many story lines borrowed from far greater science fiction shows. It was like the writing staff had an internal struggle that left them with unsatisfied fans and a series that had already peaked in the second year. Well, Falling Skies is back and we're about to find out if they can write themselves out of the debacle they've created. 

"You kids shouldn't eat that crap.
It'll kill you.......if these aliens don't.
Episode one was a great beginning for the last season. It was nearly all action for the full forty two minute run time of the episode. Instead of harping on last year's mistakes, the writing team moves this first entry along at a frenetic pace. The characters are thrown right back in to the fight with a returning Tom Mason ready to end the war once and for all. Taking into account last year's finale and the regular ups and downs of the show, this episode is one of the highlights of the series so far. With tons of gun play, a more aggressive filming style, and a noticeable shift in the use of thematic music, the show seems to be headed in the right direction. 

For the first time since season three, it finally looks like Falling Skies just might develop its own personality. Find Your Warrior pushes the action-centric nature of the series to areas the fans have been craving since the beginning of the show. From minute one, this episode started out strong and followed through straight to the cliffhanger ending. If the writing staff can finally find a sweet spot, somewhere between action and science fiction, they may finally get something right. Find Your Warrior doesn't feel like they're going to play it so safe anymore. 

This season kick off gives me hope that Falling Skies just might get it right, leaving behind a somewhat worthy legacy. 


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SCORE:


-CG




"See. Gwyneth's head was in the
box at the end of Se7en. Respect."