Falling Skies has had a lot of ups and downs this season, and it’s obvious that the show is struggling to find its footing under the guidance of the new showrunner who recently took over. That’s not to say that the show has been bad, just confused. There have been some really great moments so far, and some really irritating ones as well. While Door Number Three certainly didn’t change the game that much, it did finally bring all our main characters back together again, which means that even though the episode covered some familiar story territory, it still worked simply because, for the first time this season, the plot was actually cohesive.
The episode started on a high note as well, and I really loved seeing the Mason family get to reunite after being separated for so long, and it was a breath of fresh air to see them actually enjoy themselves for once, even if it was for just a moment. And while I wish the Masons’ had had more time to reconnect, I did really like seeing the show address the effects of the 2nd Mass reunite with the now peaceful inhabitants of Lexi’s Espheni safe haven. This created for some interesting conflict, as Pope quickly began to rally the 2nd Mass to confront and possibly even execute Lexi in order to ensure their own safety, which, as you can imagine, Tom was very much against.
However, what made this particular conflict stand out was that Lexi was actually completely vulnerable, as she spent the entire episode encased in a suitably creepy cocoon of an alien nature to apparently ‘transform’ into her final form. Whatever that means we’ll have to wait and see, but it was an unsettling and intriguing twist of events that made me wonder just how human Lexi really is, as she certainly seems to be more alien than not. At the same time, this entire event made things especially difficult for Tom, as his reunion with his daughter, who was only a little girl the last time they had been together, wasn’t exactly what he had imagined it to be. Still, I liked how easily he was able to accept the strange circumstances and immediately jump to Lexi’s protection even though she could still very much be a threat to not only him, but the entire 2nd Mass.
Was Tom being foolish? We’ll have to see, but for the sake of the episode’s plot, it worked, as the conflict between the Mason family and the rest of the 2nd Mass, who were all willing to just kill Lexi in her cocoon and get over with it, succeeded in once again upping the stakes. The one thing I didn’t like about it all was the way Hal fit into it, and I just didn’t buy him as the kind of person who be even remotely okay with the prospect of killing Lexi, who’s even his family. It added an interesting dynamic to the conflict for sure, but it just didn’t work for me. Thankfully, he came around and joined with his family again in the protection of Lexi, but still, that particular bit of conflict just seemed off to me.
While the entire main cast was indeed back together with this episode, there was still a B-storyline that happened behind-the-scenes that helped to fill in some of the gaps of Lexi’s alien origins. In an attempt to find a way to free Lexi from her cocoon without killing her, Anne subjected herself to a specific kind of drug that conveniently allowed her to enter her own subconscious and relive specific memories. It was all a bit strange and a little out of place, not too mention convenient, but it was still kind of cool seeing more of Anne and Lexi aboard the Espheni spacecraft. While we still don’t really know what exactly makes Lexi so different, we’re getting closer to answers, and that’s certainly a good thing. Hopefully they come sooner rather than later though.
The plot didn’t really have any conclusion this week, and it ended with a predictable, yet successful, cliffhanger that effectively left us all hanging until the next episode. Still, Door Number Three finally progressed the plot in a meaningful way simply because it brought all our many characters back together again. Falling Skies still hasn’t quite figured out what it wants to do with this season, but with these last two episodes effectively moving things forward, I can only hope it comes together in the coming episodes.