This week on Falling Skies, we learned that the Skitters are regrouping at the huge metal structures parked in cities all over the country. The resistance sees this as a chance to go on the offensive and launch an attack to destroy the alien ships by taking out their legs with explosives. But this was only one plot strand from "What Lies Beneath," an episode so packed with revelations that I’m having a hard time figuring out how to recount them in a way that hits the main points and cuts the crap.
So I think I’ll go with a list:
Weaver is Paranoid
Not having slept in some time, Weaver (Will Patton) seems off when Porter (Dale Dye) tells him and Tom (Noah Wyle) about the plan. Weaver displays a lot of disconcerting behavior throughout the episode, from having nightmares to popping pills and getting drunk — certainly not behavior anyone would want in a commanding officer. He seems especially unsettled when he sees Rick’s drawing of a row of houses — Weaver believes the drawing to be of his home and becomes paranoid that the aliens can read his mind. It's this notion that prompts him to join Tom and Hal during a recon mission to scout the alien structure over Boston. Weaver takes a morose trip down memory lane, and we learn the story of how he lost his family, which is undeniably tragic and makes you pity the guy. But don’t worry, he (almost inexplicably) regains hope that his family might still be alive and gets back in the game by the end of the hour. Although I find most of the storylines involving Weaver to be a little boring and contrived, he’s obviously an important character and it was nice to hear something about his past that wasn’t so vague.
This article appears in Jul 28 – Aug 3, 2011.