‘Falling Skies’ season 5, episode 8 reaction: Are we approaching the end the right way?

While we have written many a preview article for “Falling Skies” throughout the fifth season so far, we really don’t think, at least before writing this article, that we’ve really taken enough of a deep dive into the story itself.

So with only two episodes left, are we really in the right place for the show? We’re not entirely sure that we are, given that we still have way more information than should really be crammed into the remaining hours. Pacing has always been somewhat of a problem for the series; we have multiple episodes that are about supply runs or rescuing someone who has been kidnapped, and then ones where everything is going to hell in a handbasket. That’s more of where we are right now, given that we’ve got Pope and his group reveling in the chaos while Tom and Weaver try to play the hero yet again. The Anne – Trevor story was somewhat surprising, at least compared to others this season.

The one thing that the story really has done right this season is making it seem like humanity is really humanity’s greatest threat more so than the aliens. There’s a parabolic quality to that in some ways, and an instruction that if mankind becomes unified, maybe there is no way any civilization can stop us. Of course, with this being said it is so much more easier said than done to bring people together.

Then, we turn to the Espheni, and we’re really not sure the show is getting this right. It seems ultimately like we are about to meet the biggest of the big bads next, and we wonder why we’re just getting to this now. Also, don’t the Espheni look a little not-impressive these days? We’re starting to feel like that is the case.

Ultimately, we admire “Falling Skies” for being as ambitious as it still is, but we really wish that some of its seasons had 12 episodes rather than ten, and that in these episodes we spent more time focusing on things that truly mattered.