‘Hal devises a risky new plan to save the captured teenagers, but pulling it off could put someone in danger. Following a sudden tragedy, Anne makes a discovery that could mean the difference between the success or failure of Hal’s rescue plan.‘

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Now that I’ve caught up with the show, Falling Skies won’t be dominating the blog so much. The reviews will come out once a week as the episodes air. – Al

Once again Falling Skies delivers an episode focused on the rescue of Ben Mason (Connor Jessup) from the aliens without dealing with the overall conflict. While there was a great deal of emotion on display here and some good performances, none of the issues I have with the overall series have been addressed.

I understand that the Masons are going to be the focus of this show, but every other member of the 2nd Mass seems to just be sitting around while they wait for Tom and Hal to sort out their family issues. Wasn’t this supposed to be a resistance cell with over one hundred people? What do they do all day? I’ve mentioned it before and I’ll keep on saying this: why aren’t we seeing the resistance trying to figure out how to fight back against the aliens? Since they only seem to be focused on rescuing Tom’s son they should have plenty of time on their hands. Even seeing a small part of this each episode would help lend some much-needed stakes to the series. At the moment it feels like they’re all pretty safe where they’ve settled down. But the aliens have control of the planet, we should never feel like these people are safe.

Sarah Carter plays a larger part in this episode as the newest addition to the 2nd Mass, troubled young woman Margaret. We get a chance here to learn more about her history and why she is so reluctant to establish any connections with the people around her. Carter’s performance in this episode is probably one of the most nuanced on the show, showing both great vulnerability and strength at the same time without being over the top. Unfortunately the writers seem to be setting her up as a possible love interest for Hal (Drew Roy). While I don’t have a problem with love triangles, there was absolutely no mention in this episode of Hal’s lost girlfriend Karen (Jessy Schram) who was kidnapped and probably ‘harnessed’ by the aliens. It’s as if everyone has forgotten completely about her. I don’t know why they decided to do this, maybe it was cut for time, but it was a really glaring omission.

Overall, while the emotional depth in Silent Kill was a step up from previous episodes, the show still feels like it’s treading water, waiting for something to happen. Now that the storyline that has been dominating the previous episodes has been dealt with, we will hopefully start to see things pick up on a larger scale.

What I Liked – Greater emotional depth in this episode. Sarah Carter’s performance.

What I Didn’t Like – Still feels like it’s not going anywhere. Everyone seems to have forgotten about Karen.

Rating – 3 out of 5 (Average)

Still feels like it’s not going anywhere. Everyone seems to have forgotten about Karen.