After the previous episode’s intriguing setup regarding Lexi’s alien transformation, but frustrating character drama, Falling Skies came back with an episode that finally began to take advantage of the new season’s potential. Saturday Night Massacre started off with a satisfying bang, and kicked things into high-gear by immediately delving into the aftermath of whatever Lexi’s transformation did to her. Not only have her powers been upgraded, but she seems to have lost touch with even more of her humanity than ever before, although I’m sure things won’t be as black and white as they seem at first glance.
Still, Lexi killing Lourdes like she did seems to leave little hope for Lexi still being on the side of her human family, and while Falling Skies will probably find some way to rationalize it, I almost hope they don’t, as seeing Tom, Anne, and Hal struggle with Lourdes’ death was some of the season’s best moments so far. Even though Lourdes herself has never been a very consistent character, I appreciated seeing Anne and Hal genuinely mourn her loss, as they have both had their own unique friendships with her over the past couple seasons. It was a somber and touching moment to see unfold, and no matter what becomes of Lexi and her relationship with the Mason family in the future, I hope that this event isn’t just glossed over and forgotten about.
From there, however, the plot quickly moved on, as the 2nd Mass spent a considerable portion of the episode preparing for an assault from Espheni forces. The invasion event seemed a bit random at first, but it lead to some fun and intense, albeit brief, action sequences later on. Falling Skies has sometimes stumbled in creating tangible suspense, but this time saw a definite improvement, as the tension leading up to the Espheni attack felt a lot more real, and paid off in a really satisfying way in the end. I’m still waiting for the show to make me emotionally connect with the main characters more, but in terms of its action and set pieces, Saturday Night Massacre was very entertaining.
While it did come to an abrupt end, with a gas leak leading to a giant explosion that killed both Espheni and members of the 2nd Mass, I appreciated just how much of an effect the invasion had on everybody. It’s starting to become clear that the 2nd Mass is cracking at its core, with Maggie’s disappearance and the loss of Lourds, Dr. Kadar, and Tector all bringing the survivors even closer to their breaking point. And speaking of Tector, I was genuinely disappointed to see him leave the show, as he’s been a really great character this season, and his sacrifice at the end actually caught me off-guard. He was a clever and thankfully levelheaded character, and I’ll probably miss seeing him the most out of all the characters we’ve lost so far this season.
There were still a few issues I had with the episode though, with the obvious one being the side-plot regarding Ben’s attempt to chase after Lexi and bring her back home. This was a heavily underused addition to the episode that felt oddly out of place amidst everything else, and it really didn’t go anywhere meaningful. While Ben being taken to the alien mothership with Lexi could prove interesting, it was so rushed that I almost wish it had been saved for a future episode where the repercussions could’ve been better understood.
Other than that though, Saturday Night Massacre was the most effective and enjoyable episode Falling Skies has released this season, and the action and suspense really lived up to the episode’s bold title. Even though the character’s who died weren’t influential to the plot, the effect their loss had on the rest of the cast imbued the story with a much needed level of reality and drama that I hope to see continue with the remaining episodes of the season.