Episode 'Falling Skies' Season 1, Episode 4 - 'Grace' Recap

Last week's episode left us with the captured skitter, Tom's prisoner of war, waking up at the same time as Ricky. Is there a connection there? You bet. And this week's episode revealed a little more about it.

But before that, Tom and his crew (minus Mike, who probably lost some brownie points for breaking rank last time) head off to find some motorcycles for recon purposes. There's a problem, though: they have to take Pope with them. Margaret, who is a little unstable, warns of Pope's likely treachery, and sure enough Pope starts to show his discontent under Tom's orders.

The gang comes across a group of sleeping skitters (turns out they sleep upside-down like bats. Creepy) and Pope wants to take them out, but Tom doesn't want to attract attention. That leads Pope to knock Dai unconscious and head back to where the skitters are with a can of gasoline and a couple of grenades. Say what you want about the guy and his racism, but he sure knows how to kill a skitter. And despite the racism, you gotta love his questioning of Anthony's past life: "So, what were you? Crip? Blood? Slytherin?"

The only problem is, the explosion attracts a skitter and, even worse, a group of harnessed kids with guns. It looks like the skitters are starting to use them as human shields now. Not good. The gang makes their escape, and Tom leaves with some new knowledge about how the skitters are using the kids.

That same discovery happens back at the base as well, as Anne and Harris dispute over how to communicate with the captive skitter. Anne wants to try to talk to it, while Harris just wants to cut it open. But Matt's new job manning a radio as Uncle Scott's assistant (or Communications Officer, if you want to use his "official" title) reveals another surprise: when the skitter is excited, the radio begins to pick up static.

When Ricky finally wakes up, he doesn't recognize his father, Mike. That prompts Mike to confront the skitter in his own way: tell it to talk and threaten it with a gun in its mouth. He finds a pressure point in there, a nerve cluster at the back of the soft palette...could this be an important weak point?

Everybody for some reason makes the mistake of leaving Ricky alone with the skitter, who telepathically commands Ricky to put the harness back on. It looks like the skitters can communicate with the kids even after the harness has been removed. That's not good.

When everybody rushes back in, they get a few moments of communication with the skitter, through Ricky. It begs them to let it go, and when that fails, asks them to kill it or it will be "punished." Is there some kind of queen in charge who tortures failed soldiers?

We won't find out just yet, because Mike makes his second bone-headed move in as many episodes when he tears the harness off of Ricky, most likely killing him. The skitter seems to have a problem with it, too...did that knock the skitter out?

We'll have to find out next week, as our denouement has Hal and Tom having a father-son talk, and making the second "Harry Potter" reference of the episode. Are these guys being paid by Warner Bros. or something?

As the episode ends, we learn that Pope left everyone some fresh-baked bread, and everyone finally stops bothering Lourdes about her faith. Seriously, can't a girl pray in peace without someone asking her a bunch of asinine questions? Yeesh.