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Just as Weaver is being more of a weirdo than usual and Ben is jumping rope for nearly three hours straight, Porter visits with the news that Skitters in Boston and all over the country have been converging on their big, looming structures. In four days, there's going to be a coordinated attack to try to bring those structures down. They're taking the war to the Skitters! Good luck with that, humans.
Meanwhile, Pope apparently has some expertise in blowing shit up and so is assigned to work in the explosives lab with a reluctant Uncle Scott, who hasn't been doing such a bang-up job with the bomb building. Scott has been dissecting a Mech to try to figure out what makes it so effective, and accidentally shoots a Mech laser hole in the wall. At this point, Pope quite sensibly offers to take over. Meanwhile, Rick gives Weaver a drawing of row houses and Weaver freaks out. Later he takes his mysterious pills on a couch, and his hat is off. It's like seeing Bret Michaels without a bandana -- so weird! Weaver actually might be slightly ginger on top.
Tom starts talking to the others about how weird Weaver has been acting, and Weaver catches him. Tom notes that Weaver hasn't been consistently making the best decisions and, to wit, Weaver says that he's going to replace Dai on their scouting mission to the big Skitter structure. He apparently had a construction business, and says that knowing where to hit the structure is as important as how. Meanwhile, Ben goes to see Anne for a checkup and asks if his nubs are going away yet. Anne pokes at the hardening skin around the nubs, and Ben doesn't feel a thing. She looks concerned about this, but she doesn't yet say why or even tell Ben about it. Instead, she goads Ben into talking with Rick, who is still acting quite strange.
At the Boston scouting mission, Weaver notes that the big structure is made of earth materials -- the copper wires and such that the harnessed kids have been collecting -- using basic construction techniques. He's certain that if they get close enough, they can topple it. But then! They see Skitters working and talking to yet another kind of Giacometti-looking stretched out humanoid alien! No one has seen these bastards before, and Tom thinks they might be commanders of some sort. On their way out of the city, Weaver, Tom and Hal run into a cranky lady with a gun named Sonja, who says she never left the city and is living in an apartment to the Skitter structure. Hal and Tom take her up on her offer to pay a visit while Weaver volunteers to stand guard.
Little Matt defies his orders from Tom to stay away from Pope, and visits the bomb lab. There he learns that Pope learned so much about making explosives in jail. Matt is curious about the Mech parts, but also afraid, and Pope tells him that they're just piles of junk. He puts out that Mech bullets, in fact, use casings from human bullets that they've stolen/recycled, but the slug is made out of some sort of nasty and super-potent Mech metal that can be shot through people, walls, cars, whatever. Matt says he wishes that we could use their fancy bullets against them, and Pope has an Oprah-certified aha moment.
Ben talks to Rick as the other people in the Second Mass look at them suspiciously. And, it turns out, with good reason. Rick says that the doctors may have removed their harnesses, but that doesn't mean that "they've" abandoned them. He thinks they're lucky, but Ben hates the Skitters and wants to kill them. Rick counters by saying that the Skitters love them and will come back. That doesn't sound promising, does it?
Meanwhile, crazy lady Sonja serves Hal and Ben tea from a lovely china set, and they wonder how she has so much nice stuff and food. She says that the aliens took her away to a camp for a while, and then let her go because they don't care about someone like her. At this camp, she had an opportunity to talk to the aliens through the harnessed kids. She says with certainty that they don't want any human people on the planet. Just as things are getting juicy, Hal and Tom hear a motorcycle -- it turns out that Weaver has taken off and also pulled the spark plugs on their bikes. They take a minute to get them started again, and Sonja seems sad that they're leaving.
Back at the Second Mass, Anne and Lourdes vivisect the remains of Hermie. They find muscles, bones, a circulatory system and, deep down, a HARNESS! Yes, people, these Skitters were possibly something else -- like, say a human kid -- at some point. It's madness! Anne doesn't want to tell everyone about this, because they're freaked out enough about Ben and Rick as it is, but agrees with Lourdes that they at least need to tell Tom.
Hal and Tom find Weaver at his old house, where he's drinking whiskey and looking at his old grill. He tells Tom that he and his wife split a year before the Skitter attack, and then gets all freaked out afresh at the fact that Rick drew a row house that looks much like his own. He wonders if Skitters are planting things inside of his head to get to him. Tom tries to deflect this weirdness by asking Weaver what's up with the blood that's inside the house, and learns that Weaver captured his harnessed daughter and tried to conduct de-harnessing surgery in his kitchen. That didn't work out so well. Weaver has been living on revenge, but says that it's not good enough. He's ready to quit the mission and sleep in his own bed for a change. And then a Mech attacks. At first Weaver wants Hal and Tom to leave him, but then he sees his ex-wife's glasses on the floor and changes his tune. He pops into action, they kill the Mech, and then realize that crazy Sonja probably gave them up.
We're then back in Sonja's apartment with the three men and learn this is true. A visitor comes to her door to get information. It turns out it's harnessed Karen! She leaves food after confirming that Sonja has no new info to give them, and then the big lanky humanoid alien tries to look through the peephole. Tom, Hal and Weaver take their leave, giving Sonja the wrong information about their future whereabouts as a precaution.
Tom does Weaver a solid by not telling Porter about Weaver's momentary lapse of commitment in their report-out. Weaver tells Tom that he changed his mind when he saw his ex-wife's glasses because they weren't there when he last left this house -- there's a chance that she's still alive. Meanwhile, Pope has a bullet demo to show to the entire Second Mass. It turns out he's figured out how to make a Mech bullet, and there is a giant cheer as he shoots it clean through a decapitated Mech head. The only one not cheering is Rick, who conspicuously leaves. Weaver smiles as he says that they're taking the fight to the aliens. Let's hope that Rick doesn't ruin everything!
Want more? The full recap starts right below!We open by focusing on that drawing of, like, kittens on a trampoline that has "Sophia" prominently written on it. Weaver gazes at the drawing kind of dopily, and then as he moves, we realize the drawing is on the wall... of a house! A house where the kitchen is painted black. To match the wood paneling. That's SO Weaver. In his camo suit and hat, Weaver heads out to the backyard and surveys a pretty nice built-in grill. There are several windowpanes leaning against the fence, probably because Weaver is secretly a hoarder. He hears a noise, turns and says, "Linda?" and then is confronted with a big Skitter coming at him!
But, much like that infamous season of Dallas, it was all a dream. Weaver's head snaps up from the school desk where he has been sleeping. Tom is there to ask if he's okay, and to alert him that Porter is paying a visit. Meanwhile, Hal heads outside to tell Ben it's lunchtime. Ben is jumping rope beside an old school bus, and doesn't stop when he hears Hal's call. When Hal approaches him, however, he puts down the rope a little self-consciously, probably because Hal mocks him for being a wimpy and bookish kid pre-harness. Both boys go for Ben's stopwatch at the same time, and Hal gets it. At first he's laughing, but then they both get weird looks when Hal notes that the timer has been going for two hours and forty minutes. Jillian Michaels would be proud. Hal asks if Ben is padding his stats, and Ben unconvincingly says that he hit the button before he came outside. We can see Ben's spikes poking out above his collar, and he answers in the affirmative when Hal asks him if everything is okay. Ben walks off toward the lunchroom as Hal looks troubled, likely because Ben can totally kick the shit out of him now.
Meanwhile, Porter meets with Weaver and Tom. He's just done a perimeter review of their preparations, and commends them for keeping their troops motivated despite the fact that they almost sold all of their kids into zombie slavery. Tom points out that the Skitters know where they are, and that the Second Mass has to stay one step ahead. Porter asks Weaver where they stand, but Weaver is just staring off into space, like me during so many staff meetings at work. Tom answers instead, saying that they scouted the roads west to Gardner and they're all clear. Porter calls Weaver by his first name, which is Dan, and asks when he last slept. This snaps Weaver to a kind of hazy attention, and he says that he's fine. Porter replies that that wasn't a question, which makes no sense because it totally was a question. If he had said, "You need to get some sleep," that would not be a question. Basic grammar rules have gone to hell in the alien apocalypse!
Weaver points out that nobody's getting a whole lot of shuteye, and then perks up as he says Tom is right -- the school is compromised and they need to pull up stakes. Normally Weaver would agree, but he says that the situation on the ground has changed. Spotters tell him that the Skitters are all pulling back and regrouping, converging on the structure that's looming over Boston. Tom points out that clearing the field of battle could be the first step in launching a new offensive. In other words, the human race is more screwed than ever. Porter has talked to resistance folks in L.A. and Chicago, where the story is the same. And they're not waiting for the aliens to make the move. Porter says that the timetable for a coordinated attack on the structure has been moved up. They're taking this war to the aliens...in four days! But I have nothing to wear! As Weaver nods, Tom looks awfully worried.
After credits, the three men walk through the halls and Tom points out that four days doesn't give them a whole lot of notice. Porter says that they can't afford a delay, because any time the alien bastards change tactics, humans get their asses kicked. He wants Tom and some of his crew to go on a scouting mission near the structure, to check things out and figure out secure roads for traveling. I'm sure what they'll find is that the aliens are just building condos, and attacking the planet was the best way to get prime waterfront property. Weaver notes that downtown Boston, home of the new Skitter Bay Luxury Condos, is pretty far from Acton, and that there have to be closer units. Porter says that there were closer units, such as the legendary Seventh Mass, but they got hit hard by Skitters. He notes that Terry Clayton may have been a kid-snatching son of a bitch, but he wasn't lying about the Seventh. So they're gone, and Porter has lost contact with the fourth and the fifth. So they've lost at least a third of their troops. What better time to attack? Porter reiterates the attack plan: four units, each assigned to one leg of the structure. They blow some bombs simultaneously, and the structure collapses. And then the Skitters kill all of them. I mean, seriously, that's the plan? But I am just a lowly recapping civvy, what do I know about alien wars and shit.
Porter asks how they're doing on the explosives front. It turns out that they have plenty of raw materials but their explosives builders -- e.g. Scott and Matt -- don't have the most expertise in the making of bombs. Scott was never a member of SDS or anything? Of course normally it's good when your crazy old uncle isn't making bombs in his basement, but in this case it's a bit of a liability. Weaver cryptically says that they might have caught a break, and the three men turn into the chem lab ER. Rick is hovering there at a desk, drawing. They bypass him for the moment, as Anne tells them that patient Pope is recovering just fine, though annoying her more than a gaggle of pediatric patients. Just when you think nothing could be worse than trying to give a kid a shot.
Porter and Pope trade salty introductions, and Porter asks if this is the ex-con who fired on the unit. Pope, reminding us why we're glad to have him back, says, "That was so three weeks ago." Weaver then orders Pope to share his news. It turns out that Pope knows a thing or two about explosives, which he learned "around the water cooler." And we all know how much he wants to take down the Skitters. As they continue to talk, Weaver tunes out and heads over to look at Rick's drawings. One, of course, is of kids being happily tickled by Mama Skitter. Everyone is smiling and having a grand old time, because being a zombie is fun. But Weaver focuses on anther, which consists of regular old row houses with a plane flying overhead. Tom notices that Weaver is acting like a freak again, but is forced to turn his attention to Porter, who is asking why they should trust Pope. Tom says that they shouldn't, but at the same time he came back for Hal and Matt and also makes bread. And also, they don't have a whole lot of other options. Pope assures Porter that everything he knows he learned from an ex-marine from Dorchester. Meanwhile, Weaver asks Rick why he drew the row houses. Dr. Anne comes by and explains that it's art therapy, as if that's going to help this mofo. Weaver asks Rick why he drew the houses again, and Rick ignores him, so Weaver gets mad. Just then, Porter approaches him and says that Pope does know a thing or two about demolition, but he only wants Pope to design the explosives. He should be nowhere near the raw materials, and under guard at all times. Weaver and Tom agree, and then as they're leaving Rick gives Weaver his drawing. Weaver takes it, but looks totally freaked out.
We then cut to Weaver laying on a couch in the dark. His eyes are squintier than ever, and he has his hat off! Aaaaaghhhhh! People, it's like seeing Bret Michaels without the bandana. So weird! Though in this case I don't think it's a wig. As is sort of fitting, Weaver has the hair of a younger Willie Nelson. It's a little ginger, I think. Actually, maybe it is a wig after all. If they wanted to make us feel freaky about Weaver, job well done. Weaver takes some of his mysterious pills -- which, will someone please tell us what those ARE? -- and then looks at Rick's drawing as dramatic music plays. Is Weaver stealing meds? Does he have a heart condition? Will this ever be explained?
Pope is led by guards into the bomb lab, and asks Uncle Scott, "What's with the victrola?" Uncle Scott explains that it's a radio transmitter from, like, the pre-war area. Pope says, "Great, maybe you can get NPR on that thing and we can bore the aliens to death." Terry Gross would surely play a key role in that plan. Matt pipes in to say that the radio is not supposed to kill them, and Pope says that in that case, he wants nothing to do with it. However, he notes that somebody has a death wish, because the bomb-making formulas are whack. Pope rifles through Scott's papers, and tells him that it's crap and the ratios are all wrong. Uncle Scott defensively grabs his stuff, and tells Pope that he may have sold Porter, but he's not buying the "go team" act. He doesn't think that guys like Pope stick their necks out for anyone or anything. Pope says that this is, in fact, a selfish mission. There's nothing on this earth he likes more than wasting Skitters -- except not blowing his own head off while doing it. I mean, I know Pope isn't always the most tactful, but I would totally buy that Uncle Scott will accidentally kill them all.
Scott says that he never claimed to be a demolition expert, and Pope points out that he's not the greatest at housekeeping either, given the Mech parts strewn all over the place. Scott notes that the Mechs are cut from a hell of a swath -- human bullets bounce right off of them, but their bullets cut through just about anything. He starts trying to dissect a Mech shooter, and accidentally blows a hole right through the wall. The armed guards swarm around Pope, and he's like, "Talk to the senile dude." Little Matt gets scared, as he should be, and heads out. As they survey the rather extensive hole, Pope tells Scott to roll Radio Free Europe out in the hallway and leave the hard stuff to him. I think that's a most excellent plan.
After a break, Tom finds Matt in the hall and asks what he's doing lurking around and making everyone depressed. Matt admits that he was in the lab with Scott when Pope showed up, but neglects to mention how Scott almost killed them all. Even if he did, Tom's message to stay away from Pope would likely be the same. Matt doth protest that Pope knows how to kill the Skitters, and he whines that he wants to fight, too. Maybe he could charm the Skitters to death with his adorable mop top! Tom is all, "Uh, no," and Matt pouts. And then Tom leaves, because he is an absentee post-apocalyptic military dad. Matt slumps down, crosses his arms and sticks out his lower lip, as if anyone cares. People have a planet to save, squirt! Chill out for a minute.
Tom goes to prepare for the scouting mission with Hal and Dai, and asks them if they've noticed anything off about Weaver in the past few days. I mean, who could tell, really? If something were wrong with him, would he be more or less squinty? Is it even possible to be squintier? Tom says that Weaver laid into Rick for no real reason, as if someone needs a reason besides the fact that Rick is freaking everyone the fuck out. Tom continues to say that Weaver hasn't slept in a few days, which is when Weaver sneaks up behind him and is all like, "WHAT?" Tom looks him straight in the face and says that when he's tired, he doesn't always make the best decisions. Tom says he isn't the only one who's noticed, and Weaver notes that he IS the only one questioning his ability to lead. I would add: aloud. Tom says that he never said that, although he totally thought it, and then Weaver announces that he's taking Dai's place on the scouting mission. This is exactly the kind of bad decision that Tom was talking about!
Tom points out that the coordinated attack is in three days. If he bites it, the Second Mass can go on, but if Weaver bites it, they're going to have problems. Weaver squints at him for a while without talking, and then asks if he knows anything about load-bearing dynamics and gauging structural integrity. In fact, tenure is not contingent on such knowledge. It turns out that Weaver had a construction business after he was in the service. He says that knowing where to hit the structure is just as important as how, and Tom really doesn't have anything to say in reply. He practices his worried look with great aplomb, though, and then notes that remodeling your kitchen with contractor Weaver would be like entering the sixth circle of hell.
Ben goes to see Anne for a checkup. He hasn't had any pain or noticed any changes, but is interested to learn if his back spikes are going away, like those of the other kids who were in his group. They aren't. Ben wonders why he's so different, and Anne points out that he and Rick were harnessed months longer than the others. She notices some rough skin around one of the lower spikes, and pokes at it with a scalpel. Ben can't feel anything. She then gives it a real dig, and Ben still can't feel it. This time it's Anne's turn to wear a worried look. She tells Ben that everything's fine, though, and then the two turn to discussing Rick. Anne says that he's physically improving, but with his father gone, there "isn't really a place in the gym" for him anymore. Ben knows that that's because he's harnessed, and because the others are freaked out by them. But what Anne is most worried about is Rick's attitude, and the fact that he never talks about his father. Does no one notice that this kid has serious Skitter lust? He's not exactly subtle about it. Ben offers to talk to Rick, and Anne likes the idea. She says that what Rick needs more than anything right now is a friend. A six-legged friend who will sit atop him and five other zombie kids in a nesty pile!
We then cut to Hal, Weaver and Tom, who are gazing at the big alien structure from a rooftop. It reminds Tom a little bit of an aircraft carrier. Weaver says that whatever it is, it's not impenetrable. The aliens are using basic construction techniques and earth materials. A binocular view of the structure does indeed make it look like really crunk recycled metal art. In fact, it seems to be constructed of the scrap metal that the harnessed kids were collecting. There are no advanced architecture programs on whatever their home planet is, which is good news for the resistance. Weaver says that if they can get close enough, they can get 'em.
And THEN! Oh my God, you guys. Hal points out that there are Skitters working at the south base of the structure. And there's somebody with them. From the right, a new being walks into the frame -- it's a big stretched-out Giacometti looking fucker of an alien. He's got a friend, too. Just as Tom notes that they look almost human, an alien craft flies overhead, startling everyone. After this close call, the men head back to the bikes.
It turns out that they're in a neighborhood close to where Weaver used to live, and he says he'd drive through it every day. Hal wonders if the humanoid aliens are anything like actual humans, and Tom quickly says that they're not. How does he know? Some humans are very terrible. Most of the terrible humans are generally too busy trying to destroy this planet to have time to colonize another, but it's not an impossible notion. Tom says that in any armyyou have troops in the field, but also a commander level. Up until this point, they assumed the Skitters were commanders, but they could have been wrong. Weaver says that even if they have been, it doesn't change anything. While that may be true on a tactical level, it worries Tom that this is the first time they've seen the Giacommalians. They could have been hanging back or making sure it was safe before showing themselves. Tom says, "They think that they've already won." What about the fact that they could have some weird powers like the ability to disintegrate your whole body with a wave of a lanky finger? I mean, who knows?
Just then, through a small tunnel, the men see a figure running by. They rush toward it and get their guns in position, but they're the ones who are shot at. A lady voice tells them to get out of there before she blows their damn heads off. Tom says they're not going to hurt her, but she isn't buying it. She asks, "How do I know you're not with them?" Weaver asks if they look like Skitters, and the voice says that it isn't spacemen who bother her -- it's the human trash who are tearing up the city and stealing everything not nailed down. Oh, lovely. Despite the fact that she's clearly a crazy person, Tom eases up on his weapon and says that they can help her. She appears at a building doorway with a giant gun to say that she doesn't need help, and we see that it's actress Blair Brown. This whole scenario actually provides a very plausible answer to the question, "Whatever happened to Molly Dodd?"
Tom introduces himself and the others, and Molly Dodd introduces herself as Sonya Rankin. Weaver asks her to drop her weapon and she obliges, saying that they don't seem like "the others." I'm certain this is because they're all white. Sonya says she never left the city, and then invites the men in. Weaver mumbles that they don't have time for shenanigans with a wacky old bat, but Sonya says that if they want information on the spacemen, she's been keeping her eye on them too. She gives them the address of her place right around the corner and walks off. Weaver is not for it -- he says that their mission has to take priority, and this could be a trap. Tom -- he of the famous instincts that he's now going to follow! -- says that it could be an opportunity to get info on the structure. Hal points out that she could just be a lonely crazy woman, but Tom says that she survived the invasion and got the drop on three fighters. So I guess she could be not only crazy, but also wily. Weaver acquiesces, and says that Tom and Hal can go to the apartment while he stands watch outside. He then takes Rick's row house picture out of his pocket and starts staring at it some more. Uh oh.
Back in the bomb lab, Pope is looking at Scott's formulas and lamenting his lack of style or stagecraft. Matt walks in to "get his backpack," but really wants to check out Pope a little more. He asks how he knows so much about bombs, and if he went to bomb college. Pope says he did the four-year program at Cochran Correctional, and then warns Matt that his dad probably wouldn't be too happy about the two of them hanging out. Matt knows this, but this is the type of thing that happens when you have an absentee dad -- you're susceptible to bad influences! Pope sees Matt looking at the big Mech part covered by a sheet, and tells him not to worry -- it's dead. Matt's still scared, and says that he has nightmares about the Mechs taking away Ben and hurting their mom. He wants to be brave like all the grown men, but he's scared all the time, which in turn makes him whine and pout, which in turn makes him insufferable. Pope's got a little bit of heart, though, and tells Matt that the Mech is just a pile of junk. They've got gears and bearings, and look like they could be made in Japan.
The Mech bullets, however, are quite interesting. Pope tosses one to Matt and points out that they're made with human .44 caliber bullet casings. He bets that the scaly alien maggots raid military ammo dumps worldwide for the shells, which they then convert for Mechs. The aliens are apparently big on recycling, which we also know from their scrap metal condo. The bullet's slug is very interesting. It's made out of Mech metal, which is kind of like the depleted uranium the army uses for when it wants to really fuck people up, but way nastier. Matt says that he wishes they could use Mech bullets against the aliens, and Pope has a genuine, Oprah-certified "a-ha moment."
After a break, Ben tries to bond with Rick over some Fruit Loops. Clearly, not even a blowjob from Toucan Sam himself could perk Rick up. Rick asks Ben if he's bothered by the way the other people look at them, and Ben says that he tries not to think about it. Rick says, "They don't understand yet. But they will." Ben ignores this obviously ominous and weird statement to offer Rick a sympathetic ear if he ever wants to talk about his dad. But Rick could care less about Mike, and says, "It doesn't matter now. He was a part of the way I was before." Ben says that their tenure with the Skitters is over, but Rick counters with the point that the doctors may have removed the harness, but that doesn't mean that the Skitters have abandoned them. Rick says, "We're the lucky ones." Ben does not agree. He gets in Rick's face a little and says that he hates the Skitters and would kill them all if given the chance. Rick promises that Ben will get clearer, saying that the Skitters love them and will come back for them. Ben does not take this as comforting news.
Meanwhile, in other freaky scenes, Sonya pours Hal and Tom hot tea from a pristine china set in her lavish apartment. Tom asks if she found all of her supplies herself and she says yes, over time. She's a little defensive about it, and Tom points out that the food stores they saw in the area looked pretty picked over. Sonya says, "Some, not all." Then she starts reminiscing about her apartment, and the good times she had with her kids and neighbors. The aliens took Sonya away, just for a bit, to a camp very far from her apartment. There were a lot of people there at first, but then just a few. Tom asks how she got away, and Sonya says that she didn't -- the aliens let her go, because they don't care about someone like her. The aliens love crazy old bats! They're just like us. Sonya talked to the aliens a little bit, through the children "with the monsters on their necks." They wouldn't tell Sonya and the others why they're on Earth or what they want, but after what they did to the people in the camps, Sonya is certain that they don't want any humans there. Does this really count as intel? It's not like the aliens were so sympathetic before that hearing about their Nazi-ish behavior is going to make us like them less.
This scintillating conversation is interrupted by the sound of a motorcycle revving up. Tom and Hal run out to find Weaver taking off. He's pulled the spark plugs on their motorcycles, too, to slow them down. Tom notes Weaver's comment that he had family in Allston, and then as Sonya lurks they talk about Weaver's address. She asks if they'll be coming back, and Tom gives a hollow "as soon as we can" as they take off. Maybe time she'll have some crumpets.
Back at the school, Anne takes Lourdes on a mysterious mission, and asks her to keep quiet about what they're going to do. Lourdes says she's always been good at keeping secrets. Is that what the Lord would want? We then cut to the two of them dissecting a Mech. Anne saws through its flesh and pokes around as Lourdes gets a little grossed out and admits that she hadn't gotten to the cadaver research part of the pre-med curriculum before the attack. Inside the Skitter they find muscles, bones and a circulatory system -- it's not all that different from humans. It's different enough, though, given their six legs and vast quantities of slime. Anne uses her scalpel to cut through some muscle and pulls off a lot of gunk until she finds what she was looking for -- a deeply embedded harness. The Skitters themselves were once harnessed, which means that they might not have always been Skitters. Though it's hard to imagine, this thing might have been something else -- like a human kid! This episode is not full of good news for Ben.
After a break, Tom and Hal locate Weaver's bike outside of a row house in Allston. Hal stands guard as Tom heads inside. A front step with "Sophia Weaver" written in the concrete confirms that this is indeed the right place. We recognize the kitchen from Weaver's dream, and Tom spots a sticky pile of dried blood and clothes on the floor. Weaver is in the backyard, drinking whiskey from the bottle and looking at the grill that he built himself. He reminisces about all the nights they spent outside under the stars, even though the yard is the size of a postage stamp. Tom asks if Weaver is looking for his family, and he says that he lost them a long time before the aliens came. Tom and his wife Linda had grown apart, and split a year before the attack. Tom is all, "Okay, then, let's get moving." But Weaver pulls Rick's drawing from his pocket and says that it's his house. The drawing has been eating at him, and he doesn't think it's a coincidence. He wonders if the aliens are implanting things inside of Rick's head to get at him. Tom in turn wonders if Weaver has lost it, and points out that all row houses kind of look alike. He doesn't think that Skitters can read their minds, but Weaver counters that he doesn't know that for sure.
Tom tries to redirect the conversation by asking about the blood on the kitchen floor. Weaver says he came after the bomb struck and found Linda's fiancé, badly wounded, outside. Wait, they were only separated for a year and she had a fiancé? That's kind of whack. Weaver's youngest, Sophia, had been captured by the Skitters, and Linda and their other daughter Jean took cover in a house down the street, but the Mechs opened up on them. Weaver says that he combed the rubble for a long time, but they were gone. So he went after Sophia. And found her. And tried to take the harness off. And then Weaver says, "But the spikes, they were in too deep. And I couldn't. So." Wait, does that mean that she died when he tried to remove the harness or that he killed her when it wouldn't come off? I mean, probably the former. But I find that statement kind of ambiguously disturbing.
Tom wishes that Weaver had told him about all this, and then Weaver gets gruff again and says he's never been one for self pity and a lot of people had worse things happen. I don't know, that seems pretty bad. Weaver says that he was happy for Tom and Mike when they brought the harnessed kids back, and that maybe if he'd waited, things would have turned out differently for Sophia. Tom says that they need to get back. Weaver emotionally says that Tom has his boys to fight for, but all he's been living on is revenge. It's not good enough. And tonight he's going to get some sleep, in his own bed, where he should have been all along. Tom is aghast that Weaver is quitting three days before the attack. Who will squint orders at the resistance? Tom is sorry about what happened to Weaver's family, but says there are a lot of other lives at stake.
Just then, all three men hear a Mech noise! Tom starts to race outside to get Hal, while Weaver says that he's staying where he belongs, which is I guess dead in his yard. Tom says he isn't leaving without Weaver, and so leaves Hal outside to fend for himself for a minute. Tom wants to draw the Mech near and then blast it with their grenades. Weaver seems perfectly content to sacrifice himself while Tom and Hal make their getaway, but then his attention is drawn to a pair of glasses on the floor. His attitude totally changes, and he's ready to blast the Mech. They get it to come closer, and Tom implants a grenade right on the Mech's person. It's blown up just before it has a chance to shoot Weaver in the head. Tom grabs Hal outside, and Hal reports that this was no passive patrol -- the Mech came straight for Weaver's house. Molly Dodd gave them up! The good news is that Weaver is now fully back on board, and ready to pay Sonya another visit.
We cut to Sonya's apartment, where she's looking out of her peephole and talking to a mysterious female voice on the other side. The voice says that they've brought more food, and ask if she has anything to tell them. Tom is there coaching Sonya to say that she's alone and that she hasn't seen anyone since Tom, Hal and Weaver left earlier. Hal then pushes everyone aside to look out the peephole, and sees that the mysterious voice is in fact a harnessed Karen. She's looking good for having been a Skitter captive for some time. Karen digs for more info about the whereabouts of Tom & co., and Tom has to basically tackle Hal to prevent him from trying to nab Karen. Weaver takes his turn on the peephole and sees Karen put a tray of food on the floor and turn to go. And then Tom goes back on peephole duty and is faced with a big lanky humanoid alien who's trying to peep in reverse! Either the alien can't see anything or he's playing coy, because he leaves with Karen.
After a break, Weaver confronts Sonya about giving their whereabouts up to the Skitters. She says Karen promised that the aliens wouldn't hurt them, and that they'd bring the three men back so she'd have company again. She adds, "They always promise to bring them back," and Weaver looks like he can't even believe this crackpot, conveniently forgetting that he himself was a crackpot a mere half hour ago. Tom notes that leaving a bribed enemy free to gather intel is an old strategy, and the aliens got Sonya for the price of a box of tea. She's likely given up countless humans, which is why the aliens allow her to live in her lovely, rent-controlled apartment. Tom wants to take Sonya with them and make sure she doesn't give up anyone else, but Weaver says that in three days, the game is changing. Sonya's apartment is all she's got, and if they take it away from her they might as well shoot her on the spot. Why don't they shoot her on the spot, actually? If Anthony were there he'd certainly advocate for it. Tom asks Sonya if she wants to come back with them, but she refuses, saying she should be there for when her kids come back home. He then tells her that they're heading north to Gloucester, which is of course a lie to prevent her from availing herself of another chance to give them up. The men leave as Sonya continues to look crazy.
Back at the Second Mass, Lourdes approaches Anne in a storm cloud of righteous indignation. She says she doesn't see how they can hold the news about the deeply embedded Skitter harnesses to themselves, given that Ben and Rick still have spikes in their backs. Anne says that the harness removal should have stopped the process, but Lourdes counters that they don't know that for sure. And if Rick gets Skitter powers, he surely will eat them all. Anne points out that people are terrified enough of Ben and Rick, and if this gets out they'll basically be bludgeoned to death. She does, however, agree that she has to tell Tom.
Tom, Hal and Weaver are back, and Hal tells his dad that he's going after Karen the first chance he gets. Tom then has a tete-a-tete with Weaver to try to coordinate on what they're going to tell Porter. Weaver says he doesn't want any favors, which is good since Tom isn't offering any. But Tom doesn't want the Second Mass to lose faith in their captain, and so proposes telling Porter everything except how Weaver freaked out for a hot minute. Weaver is down with that. Tom wants to know what changed Weaver's mind about coming back, and Weaver gives a squinty side-eye like you have never seen. He pulls the pair of glasses out of his pocket, and says that they were Linda's only pair. Weaver was in his house the week after the attack, and the glasses weren't there at that time. That means that Linda, and possibly Weaver's oldest daughter, could still be alive. I'm sure she is, just feeling her way around the city since she can't see anything.
This touching moment is interrupted by some shouting outside. Turns out it's Pope, who is gathering everyone from the Second Mass together for a little demo. He announces that the current post-apocalyptic score is aliens: one, humans: zero. Or, like, negative six million. Anne tells Tom that she wants to talk to him about something, which always seems to happen right at the end of an episode. She's going to have to wait, because Tom is intrigued by the news that Pope is about to drop. Weaver tells Pope that he's supposed to be making bombs, and Pope points out that he's multi-tasking. Say what you will, but Pope really does have a host of 21st century skills. Matt runs up to Tom and announces that he's been working with Pope. Tom isn't pleased about that, but gets intrigued when Matt says that he's figured out a way to kill the Mechs.
Pope continues his address, saying that the aliens have the humans out-gunned. Humans, after all, can barely even put a dent in the Mechs. Under heavy guard, he takes a machine gun and shoots it at a disembodied Mech head. The bullets just bounce off, doing no damage. Pope then announces that there's a new sheriff in town and holds up his magic bullet. No, not the blender, but rather the standard bullet with a Mech metal slug. We catch a glimpse of Rick looking on and seeming worried. Pope loads a gun with his special bullet, and then proceeds to blast a hole right through the Mech head. Rick runs off, I'm sure to telepathically contact the alien overlords, while the rest of the crowd erupts into a hearty cheer. Pope tells Weaver that with the right bullet-making tools, they can melt the Mechs down and spit 'em out like gumballs. Weaver gets a little smile, and announces, "We're taking this fight to them!" And then Weaver gets a bigger smile for a second, and holds the bullet up to Tom, who also smiles. Given that there's going to be a second season of this show, I wouldn't predict a particularly hearty victory.
week: Finale! Already!
Potes would totally sell you out for a box of tea. She can be tweeted @traciepotes and emailed at potesypotesy@gmail.com.