'Falling Skies' Season 2, Episode 5 Recap - 'Love and Other Acts of Courage'

Finally, an episode of "Falling Skies" that moves forward instead of idling at a standstill. It seems that, ever since the pilot, every episode has been manufactured obstacles and interpersonal drama, most of which has been supremely uninteresting. Not to sully the memory of Jimmy or anything, but c'mon... who actually cared?

We start with a small mystery, as the group encounters a bunch of dead mechs and skitters but no sign of human bullet casings or weapons. Are the aliens fighting against each other now? There isn't much time to consider that question as they uncover Rick, still alive but in shock.

Remember Rick? The kid from season one who was harnessed longer than Ben and was about ten times creepier? Then he almost screwed over the entire camp after he went all Spider-Man up a wall and attacked people? Yeah, that Rick. I'm surprised they don't just kill him now.

Rick proves useful, though, as he leads Tom and Weaver to a warehouse where Ben is waiting, and protecting... a skitter? Yep, it's Ol' One-Eye, the skitter who has been following Tom around since his stint on the alien ship, and apparently he's on the humans' side.

You see, there's a rebellion on the alien side, too: Ol' One-Eye was once a child on his home planet, before the tall aliens in charge (he calls them the Overlords) came in and laid waste to everything. Seeing the way the humans fight, though, has inspired some of the skitters strong enough to disobey their orders to organize a rebellion and team with the humans.

Tom and Weaver are understandably distrustful of Ol' One-Eye, and the fact that the Overlords sent an attack squad to hunt him down (thus leading them straight to the camp) doesn't make things any better. Weaver and the squad attack Ol' One-Eye, who makes his escape thanks to the sacrifice of Rick, who takes a bullet for him. "Falling Skies" is getting good at weeding out the annoying/useless characters this season, aren't they? If Lourdes gets killed too, I'll be a happy man.

During all of this, Hal and Maggie are out scouting nearby hospitals for medical supplies, which serves as a perfect excuse to further their blossoming romance. Yes, our resident Ross and Rachel are still doing the will they/won't they dance, this time forced to cuddle awkwardly close in the back of a car while hiding from a squad of mechs. Hal decides to relate the story of his ex-girlfriend Rita, for some reason.

Yes, they kiss later, but there's a bit of forced baggage that will continue to get in the way. Namely, Maggie has some sort of inferiority thing going on, and for some reason Karen is still part of this conversation. Yeah, I'm pretty sure we can give up on that one.

So there was a bit of schmaltz, but we learned some exciting new stuff. A skitter rebellion, and a potential alliance with the humans? That could be really interesting. If what Ol' One-Eye said was true, though, why was he continuing to harness kids just last week? What a jerk.

Oh, and Tom and Anne totally got frisky in a hospital room toward the end, there. Enjoy that off-screen lovin', Tom/Anne 'shippers.