'Falling Skies' Season 2, Episode 10 Recap - 'A More Perfect Union'

The beginning of this series finale episode was a prime example of why this show is so frustrating: everyone is combative just for the purpose of being difficult. They would tell you they're being "principled," but really, this is a show full of stubborn characters who like to preach their ideals so much that they're completely unable to see the other side of the argument.

In short, either "Falling Skies" has a bunch of obnoxiously written characters, or it's a brilliant show that acts as a metaphor for our ineffective Congress and the political in-fighting over trivial matters that continues despite more pressing issues. For us, it's a failing economy. For them, it's aliens.

Case in point: General Bressler locks Manchester up and offers Tom and Weaver the chance to take the 2nd Mass out to meet with the skitters. Tom, instead of taking the opportunity to go do the thing he was so desperate to do that might save everyone and end the war, instead says something to the effect of "no, General, I won't do anything when Charleston is under martial law, because AMERICA."

Shut up, Tom.

Even worse, Bressler pulls a full 180 in a matter of minutes here. At the start of the episode, he says "go ahead, meet the skitters." Then the skitters burst in and relay the plan to him, and after that, Bressler says "no, you're not allowed to go." Why does he care now? Simple answer: because it artificially creates conflict in the episode and impedes the action to fill an hour. That's this show's M.O.

Anyway.

After a horribly cliché human wall in front of the skitter rebels, Bressler, Tom and Weaver hear Ol' One-Eye's intel, as relayed through Ben. It turns out that the Overlord (Ben calls them by their real name, which sounds something like "Asheni") that the 2nd Mass captured a couple of episodes back was pretty much the commander of the alien military on the eastern side of the U.S., which means that if they had killed him, the remaining forces in the area would have been in complete disarray. So, way to go, guys.

Ben/One-Eye reveal that this particular Overlord will be inspecting a new weapon that the aliens are building nearby, and that a cave underneath it serves as a way to sneak in. The skitter rebels can't pull this off because they'll be sensed, so they were hoping that the humans could kindly help.

Predictably, Bressler's response is nothing short of "f*ck you," as he sends everyone off and then tells his lieutenant to go attack the skitters at night. Ben reports the attack and Bressler shrugs.

A goodly amount of time is spent watching the 2nd Mass appeal to Bressler and try to get permission to go on the bombing missions, which they finally get, because Bressler must have realized that he has absolutely nothing to lose by letting them go. Seriously, why detain them, other than to be a dick? Oh, right: false impediment of the plot.

Speaking of cheap devices, here's another nice cliché plot point for you: Anne is pregnant with Tom's baby, but she doesn't want to tell him until after the mission. That will go very well, I'm sure.

Sure enough, when the gang gets to the weapon, they're caught in an ambush and tortured by Karen and her Overlord. In the process, Karen kisses Hal and knocks him unconscious with it somehow, while Karen reveals the pregnancy to Tom. Luckily, the humans are all saved at the last moment by the skitters, who are infinitely more effective at this sort of thing.

Oh, and Dai dies. Once again, we barely care, because he was barely a character and his death gets almost no fanfare.

With that, the 2nd Mass blows up the weapon, which Tom notes was facing skyward. They return to Charleston as heroes, with Bressler now suddenly all chummy with them after their big victory (cliché/weak character motivation #3). Hal is unconscious for a good while before he finally wakes up and finds an alien bug in his eye, when then crawls into his ear and lodges in his brain, turning him into EVIL HAL.

That would have been a great ending image, but instead we get a conversation with Tom and Manchester before a rumbling shakes the colony. The humans run outside to see new alien craft coming down to Earth. One of them opens, and out steps a rather badass-looking new alien in some kind of armor. His visor opens to reveal a more kind-looking face: is this an ally or enemy?

Is this it? Are they just going to keep introducing new aliens at the end of every season? That can't last long. Or maybe it can, and by the end of five seasons we'll have a rainbow of alien species and they can all come together and sing "We Are the World."

That's it until next summer. Just remember, folks: everything can be explained through an allegory about the founding fathers. Literally everything.