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All the folks in the Second Mass watch what is apparently the most hilarious old-school cartoon in the gym as Anne tells Tom about the Skitter harness situation and how Ben is probably screwed. Tom is not so psyched to hear it. Meanwhile, Weaver is being weird as ever and doesn't want to talk about the Allston incident. He's got a new associate -- Lieutenant Danner -- who is career military and loves following orders, and it's clear that Weaver wants Danner to be his number two. Dai comes back from a scouting mission with a big wound and lots of blood missing. He talks to Weaver about what he found, and then Weaver announces that they're going with Porter's original plan. Tom is dubious, and so Weaver assigns him to sentry duty with Hal. But once Tom learns from Lourdes and Anne that Weaver has in fact been availing himself of the classic Judy Garland uppers and downers meal plan (the pills explained! Finally!), which can cause erratic behavior, Maggie replaces Tom on the sentry mission so he can TCB at home.
Tom confronts Weaver about the pills, and Weaver doesn't take it so well. He has Danner strip Tom of his weapons and hold him in the boiler room, which is a classic speed freak move. Jimmy is witness to all of this and his highly disturbed that his surrogate dad has lost his mind. Meanwhile, Ben offers to help Scott, who is working on finding a radio frequency that will interfere with Skitter communication. Scott goes through the frequencies and a few hit Ben with some serious in-head feedback. Y'know, because he's part Skitter. Meanwhile, Weaver tells Pope that he needs four bombs instead of one. Pope says that he can do it, though there will be a very short fuse for each. He seems to know that Weaver is a little off in this request, but as a fellow speed freak he seems to appreciate it.
Per usual, Rick wants the Skitters to find him and Ben and take them back under their scaly legs. Ben wants to be a human, but Rick says that he knows they both can feel a change coming. Meanwhile, Hal and Maggie return and have seen fresh signs of Skitters and Mechs. This doesn't deter Weaver, who says that they're punching through anyway. Jimmy gets disturbed enough to tell Hal that Tom is under guard in the boiler room, and they in turn tell Anne. Everyone works out a plan to get Tom out, which also entails tying up Danner. Once Tom is free, Dai wakes up and tells him what he earlier told Weaver: Porter was attacked by aliens and is probably dead, and the other regiments never reported in. Porter's last order was that, if there was no confirmation from the Fourth and Fifth Mass, the attack should be aborted. Tom of course freaks out about this, and goes to confer with Pope. Pope tells him how Weaver wanted the bomb split four ways, and Tom points a gun at Pope's head and orders him to dismantle them.
But! In the meantime, Weaver has found Danner. He goes to ask Anne where Tom is, and then Tom, Maggie and Hal jump out at him with guns. They disarm Weaver, but then Pope appears behind them with a giant machine gun and the news that he didn't diffuse the bombs after all. But then it turns out that Tom predicted that Pope would do just this, and so he took the blasting fuses in whatever time that Pope would have taken to go warn Weaver. And then Weaver looks like he's going to shoot Tom, and trust me when I say that if he did this episode would have been a whole lot more interesting. Tom screams that there is another way, and after seeing Jimmy in the room looking troubled Weaver drops his weapon. Tom convinces him that everyone should know the facts about the mission and then have the opportunity to volunteer. Weaver finally agrees, and announces that he stopped taking his upper/downer cocktail when they got back from Allston. Oh, so he's just fucking nuts, then. Good to know.
Weaver tells everyone the deal -- basically, that this is probably a suicide mission -- and asks for 50 fighters. He gets them, and even Hal signs up. Tom is under orders to stay at the school and keep the civilians safe. Weaver leaves him with two suitcases of Mech bullets, and Ben and Scott also drop the knowledge that Ben can hear Skitter radio frequencies. And then part two happens!
Want more? The full recap starts right below!We open with a little cartoon and some syrupy music. Two cartoon flowers kiss, right in front of their baby flowers no less, and then we see the citizens of the Second Mass seated in the gym and cracking up in slow motion like they've never seen anything more hilarious. One kid has his mouth open so far that a Skitter could orally harness him. A cartoon kangaroo starts punching a curtain with boxing gloves, and the slow motion people can't even control themselves, they're laughing so hard. Did the aliens actually blast America back to the 1940s? Is this cartoon going to be followed by a newsreel about how women can work in factories now and a performance of "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy?"
Elsewhere, in non-poignant regular motion, Anne has just told Tom about how harnessed kids become Skitters eventually. They stand over Hermie's slimy carcass together. What a perfect scene for some romantic action! Tom assumed that Ben would be okay when they got him back, because why would having an alien tentacle attached to your back with metal spikes cause any long-term side effects? Anne says that he is healthy, and seems to be adjusting emotionally. And plus, Ben and Rick were harnessed for months longer than the others, so their bodies might just take longer to reject the spikes and such. But that, of course, doesn't explain the patch of rough skin on Ben's back that looks a whole lot like the beginning of a Skitter scale. Tom says that it isn't enough that the Skitters took Ben from him once -- they're still trying. And there is poor innocent Ben, just cracking up at a dumb cartoon from the Pleistocene era. Tom and Anne enter the gym just in time for Ben to turn around and hold Tom's gaze. And lo, the look is pregnant with meaning. What would be awesome is if Ben turned into a Skitter who fought for the resistance! He'd have so many excellent powers! Think outside the box a little, professor.
Weaver calls Tom in for some planning, but before he can go over his attack route ideas, he acts really grouchy about the fact that everyone is having a good time 1940s movie night. He wants the civilians to be extra sharp tomorrow. Dai hasn't yet returned from his trip to see Colonel Porter, but Weaver says he has plenty of time left. Tom wants to run any last-minute changes by the squad leaders tonight, but Weaver says that Lieutenant Danner is already on it. And then we see Lieutenant Danner, who actually is remarkably Nazi-esque. I don't think we've seen him at all before, so I can't say where he came from, but it's clear that he's Weaver's new right-hand man. As Danner leaves, Tom says that if they don't hear from Porter, they have a problem. Weaver is basically like, "Grrrr." Then Tom asks Weaver how he's holding up after their day in Allston. Weaver does NOT want to talk about it. You can't blame him for that, actually. Weaver stomps off to talk some more to his new BFF Herr Doktor Danner.
And then! Dai comes weaving down the sidewalk on his motorcycle and then just basically falls off of his ride and onto the ground. It turns out that he's been hit, and is in a rather nasty state. Anthony runs to get Weaver as exceedingly dramatic music plays. Can you handle the suspense of a man running down a candle-filled high school hallway? What if he forgets his locker combination?!?! What if he's late to his Key Club meeting?!?! Weaver keeps Danner with him and orders Tom to get Anne and meet them in the clinic. And, credits.
When we return, we're in the clinic and Anne tells Weaver and Tom that Dai has a deep abdominal laceration but no internal damage. However, he's unconscious and has lost a lot of blood, so is not out of the woods just yet. Tom asks if Dai gave Weaver his report, and Weaver barks back, "Just take care of him." Evading the question, your honor! After Weaver and Danner leave, Anne notes that Danner is moving up the food chain, and that she's heard he's career military. Tom says that he guesses Weaver wanted someone with hard combat experience to help with the planning, rather than an overeducated self-righteous weenie who's prone to lectures and always asking you about your stupid feelings. The real mystery is why Danner hasn't been more evolved from the outset.
Anne asks what's going on with Weaver, and Tom says, "It's complicated." Is this going to affect their Facebook relationship status, I wonder? Tom finally tells her about how Weaver temporarily lost his mind in Allston. Tom hasn't told anyone else, since Weaver seemed to snap out of it when he got back to the Second Mass and they didn't want to affect morale. Now, however, Tom's not sure that was the right decision. Anne points out that the attack is in two days, and Tom says that the last thing people need is for him to raise doubts. Tom wishes he knew what to do. Meanwhile, Lourdes lurks and eavesdrops. And probably prays silently.
Back at the fighter brief, Weaver tells his people that nothing has changed -- they're going with Porter's original plan. The Fourth and Fifth will bring explosives from their various locales, and the Second Mass will arrive from the west. Tom asks if this means that they've got confirmation from Porter that the Fourth and Fifth are...well, alive. Danner gets all agro with Tom for questioning Herr Weaver, and then Weaver asks for a moment alone with Tom. He gives Tom the business for not respecting his authoritah, but Tom says he's just asking questions that have easy answers. The last he heard, they had lost contact with the Fourth and Fifth. And of course, Tom wasn't there for Dai's report. Weaver says he's satisfied that they can complete the mission, and notes that a combat briefing isn't a debate club. Tom jaws about how he's second in command and needs to be kept in the loop, and Weaver is all squinty and mad.
And then they get to the real cause of their arguing / sexual tension. Weaver wants to know if Tom is going to blab about his meltdown in Allston. Tom is all, "No, but to be fair, you did have a mental crack." He says that there's no room for error on this mission, and Weaver counters that it will only be successful if the fighters have total confidence in their commanding officer. If Tom wants to be in the loop, Weaver has to be able to trust that he has his back. Tom is all, "Ooo...kay," and Weaver responds with, like, a gruff grunt. He then calls his new bromance buddy Danner in, ordering him to get Pope's Mech-based ammo to the fighters, and telling Tom that he'll be on sentry duty. Oh, burn. Pope says that he needs eyeballs out there in case the Skitters decide to make a move, and all of his other fighters are already deployed. If it's a problem, however, Danner can pick up the slack. Has Weaver never heard the old adage, "Make new friends, but keep the old / One is silver and the other's gold"? They can all be friends or have a three-way or whatever they need to do to work it out!
Tom is then gazing upon a sleeping Ben and replacing his covers, as dads do. Anne comes in to get him because, per usual, she needs to talk to him about something. I think one-third of her lines are a whispered, "I need to talk to you." They head to the lab, and Anne tells Lourdes to tell Tom a big thing that she confessed. It turns out Weaver came to her a few weeks ago and asked her to help him get some meds, originally prescribed by Dr. Wings. He came to Lourdes because he didn't want to "bother" Anne, but really because she would ask questions. The meds he had refilled were phenobarbital to help him sleep, and amphetamines to wake him up. That's exactly what did in Judy Garland! That shit fucks you up and leaves you barely able to sing "The Trolley Song." Weaver is off sitting in a corner somewhere just going, "DING DING DING DING DING DING" and crying. Tom asks what kind of damage the drugs might be doing, and Anne says that if it's one or two pills a day, it's probably nothing major. If it's more than that, however, he could have paranoia, mood swings, and even hallucinations. Who could even tell the difference? But Anne tells Tom that if Weaver is abusing these drugs, they're in serious doo-doo.
After a break, we see that Tom has told Hal that Weaver is a pillhead. For the moment, however, Tom wants Hal to continue to follow orders and go on his sentry mission. Hal doesn't want to leave Tom alone to deal with Weaver, and points out that if Weaver isn't 100% for the mother of all battles, he's going to get them all killed. Tom gets really quiet and says that if he accuses Weaver of being totally deranged without all the facts, it's going to tear the Second Mass apart. He needs to acquire more evidence. And plus, soldiers like Weaver are a big part of the reason why so many civilians are able to even think about fighting back. Without him and his ilk, they'd all be alone and foraging for berries or whatever. If they don't stick together and fight the aliens as a group, they're as good as dead. I think a finale in which all of the people were just killed one by one by a coordinated team of Skitters would be much more compelling and interesting than what happens in the hour and a half of this two-parter. The good news is that Maggie is going to replace Tom on the sentry mission! Yeah! I missed her last week. I would be okay if only she didn't get killed by the Skitters. Maybe Pope, too.
And speaking of Pope, he's overseeing the new Mech-based bullet making factory located in the chem lab like a post-apocalyptic Willie Wonka. He inspires his workers by telling them to imagine Mechs a-coming, and how satisfying it will be to blast them with their own toys. He then sees Anthony fiddling with a bomb and says, "Two arms, two legs, no brains. Welcome to the Second Massachusetts." That's actually a perfect tag line for this show. Anthony gets really offended and calls Pope a convict, but it turns out that he actually made the bomb wrong. Pope then moves along to the Veruca Salt of the Second Mass -- little Matt. Matt is polishing bullets way too thoroughly, and Pope reminds him that it's all about quantity. Pope confirms that Tom told Matt to stay away from him, and then laments the fact that he's the object of a preadolescent rebellious streak. Matt whines that his dad treats him like a little kid, but he wants to help, too. And plus, he IS staying away from Pope -- just not that far. Pope figures that Professor Mason isn't going to bring down too many consequences on the Prince of the Second Mass, and then Matt freaks out and yells that he's not a prince. More like Little Lord Fauntleroy. Would that he only had a pair of knickers. Pope asks what it's like to be the youngest member of the princely Mason brand, and Matt asks, "What's it like having hair like a girl?" I feel like I could have read a convict better than that when I was ten. Pope gives a menacing look before cracking and telling Matt that they're going to have to work on his insult skills.
Tom enters the planning room to find Weaver holding his head and looking vaguely distressed. He wants to talk to him, because in a new scene, someone always has to announce that they want to talk to somebody else. Just start talking, already! Weaver is pissed that Tom is even still there and not on his sentry mission. When he gives an order, even a nonsensical revenge-based one, he expects for it to be followed. Tom wants to speak to Weaver privately, and so Weaver motions Danner and Jimmy, who is apparently his number three, out of the room. Tom says that he knows about the pills, and wants to know how many Weaver is taking. Weaver gets dilated speed freak pupils and tells Tom that with one day left until they kick the aliens in the teeth, he does not have time for these shenanigans. Still, Tom is not happy to be shut out, and says that Weaver is holding something back. Weaver is all, "What are you going to do? Relieve me of my command?" Tom hopes that Weaver would recuse himself for the sake of the Second Mass before it came to that. Weaver gets extra speedy and says that Tom has wanted to take over ever since Porter gave him a commission. He's questioning Weaver's strategy and ignoring a direct order, which is rank insubordination. Tom is all, "I never actually signed up for the military, and plus, you're crazy," and asks Weaver to think of the lives of his fighters.
Weaver calls Jimmy and Danner in, and tells Danner to secure Tom's weapons. This involves pointing a gun in Tom's face, and then making it click at the first sign of resistance. Tom eventually relieves himself of his weapons, and Weaver tells Danner to hold him in the boiler room for the time being. Tom tells Weaver that he's making a mistake, but Weaver feels that his only mistake was not relieving Tom of his duty sooner. Now there's something we all can agree upon. Weaver squints at Tom all the way out of the room. When Jimmy approaches him, Weaver says that he doesn't like it either, but they can't let Professor D-Bag poison the ranks when they're hours away from a major offensive. Weaver wants to know that he can count on Jimmy. Jimmy, meanwhile, just looks sad, and like he wishes he had chosen a more suitable father figure.
Meanwhile, Ben heads to the school office, which is now Uncle Scott's new work space. He's there because he heard a rumor that some library books had been moved, but is goaded into helping Scott since he lost his former assistant to the dubious charms of Mr. Pope. The two of them carry boxes of vacuum tubes, which are needed by the transistor in order to operate. There's some sort of car metaphor involved here, the upshot of which is that Ben has never heard of a Model T. Ben is curious about the transistor radio, and asks if Scott is going to use it to try to contact other people, and if that means the Skitters will also be able to hear them. Scott, of course, has another idea. The Skitters communicate with each other using radio frequencies, and so he thinks that if they find the right frequency, they can jam up the Skitter communications and throw a wrench into their plan to wipe out the human race. Scott starts turning nobs, and asks Ben to crank a radio handle. As he goes through the frequencies, Ben gets a big painful noise in his head. Because he is part Skitter, yo. Scott sees Ben in distress and asks if he's okay, and Ben says that everything is fine. That's good enough for Scott. He asks if Ben heard any sort of squeak, and Ben lies that he did not. Dunh dunh!
After a break, we catch up with Tom, who is pacing in his boiler room prison. Danner looks on as Tom tells him that Weaver has totally lost it and is a threat to everyone. Danner is a man of simple beliefs, and says that when a commanding officer gives you an order, you obey. No wonder Weaver wanted him on board. Tom asks if Danner has seen combat, and Danner says he has in Afghanistan and Iraq. Then Tom points out that everyone else on earth has seen combat, and alien combat at that. Danner says that he's had Tom pegged as the big thinker who always knows best. And he hasn't even heard any of Tom's famous historical parallels! He reminds Danner of a lieutenant that he once had, who got four men killed while he was deciding whether to have powdered sugar or maple syrup on his French toast. Tom gets angry and asks if Danner really thinks that Weaver is fit to lead the mission. Danner replies that he trusts the captain a hell of a lot more than he trusts Tom. So do I, even when Weaver is being a total speed freak!
Speaking of Weaver, he goes to see Pope and barks some military-ese at him. Pope responds with an eye roll and a sarcastic, "Sir, yes, sir." Weaver wants him to cut the crap, and also to make four IEDs instead of one. Now Pope is intrigued. He says that he has enough ingredients, but if they split the blasting fuse into four parts, they'll have a very short interval between lighting the bombs and limbs being blown off. He notes that he thought they were only blowing up one leg of the Skitter Bay Luxury Condos. Weaver tells Pope that if he's on board, he shouldn't think, but rather just do what Weaver tells him. You can tell that Pope kind of likes it when someone goes off the deep end, and generally thinks that four bombs are better than one.
Ben gets a moment alone with the transistor radio, and soon Rick appears. He heard the radio frequency as well, and says that at first he thought it was the Skitters coming back. Rick asks what Scott plans to do with the radio, and Ben is stupid enough to actually tell him. Rick, of course, is upset at the idea that if Scott succeeds, the Skitters might not find them. Here's an idea, kid -- just walk out into the street and wave your arms a bunch until a spaceship sees you and beams you up. Okay? God, what a ninny. Ben asks Rick if creeping him out is his new thing. Creeping everyone out is Rick's all-time thing! It's his vocation! He's doing a school-to-work program right now! Rick asks why Ben hasn't told the other humans about him. Great question! Ben says he was just hoping that Rick would get normal again, and realize that they're human too and that the Skitters really jacked them over. Rick doesn't want to be human, and also knows that Ben is scared to tell the others because he can feel a change a-coming. Ben gets a really sad and confused look on his face and asks, "What's happening to us, Rick?" Rick just stares out the window and says he hopes the Skitters come soon. Rick is like the worst person to go through an identity crisis with.
As Hal and Maggie come zooming back on their motorcycles, Pope yells, "Hey, Maggie! How was the prom?" I really don't like when he's a dick to her. It makes me feel guilty for enjoying his amusing moments. Maggie yells back that they got bad news, though it should make a Skitter-killing degenerate like himself happy. Hal reports to Weaver that they've seen fresh signs of Skitters and Mechs all down Routes 119 and 2. Weaver says that they'll just have to punch through. Maggie points out that a convoy is an easy target, especially on the open road, and Weaver says that in that case, they'll take the back roads or crawl through the bush. Um, wouldn't the aliens still be able to see them from their spaceships? I mean, I don't even know anymore. Hal stomps off to find Tom, and is stopped by Jimmy en route. Jimmy is going to tattle on his crazy Uncle Weaver! That actually happens off camera, like so many things in this episode.
thing we know, Jimmy, accompanied by Hal and Maggie, is telling Anne about Weaver holding Tom hostage. She's not surprised, because it's such a classic speed freak move. Jimmy says that Weaver doesn't really want to hurt Tom. He's a good man, and it's hard to figure out why he's doing this. Welcome to drugs, my friend. Jimmy says he thinks he can help to get Tom out of captivity. Dai starts to wake up at this point, and Anne says that when Tom is free, he should come to their makeshift ER.
Jimmy brings a plate of food to the boiler room, and quite craftily says that Weaver ordered him to bring it. Danner is okay with this, because even prisoners deserve their share of oatmeal mush. As Danner unlocks Tom's prison door, Jimmy gives Tom a long look and subtle nod. Tom gets this wordless battle plan, and then once the door is unlocked, Jimmy drops the tray. The clatter distracts Danner from guarding Tom, and then Tom smashes open the door and goes for Danner. There are fisticuffs, and for a while it looks like Danner is going to choke Tom to death. Now that is a plot twist I could get behind! Tom manages to shake Danner off, and then Hal enters with a gun. While they tie up Danner, he tells Tom how Weaver said they were punching through despite the fresh signs of Skitters. Why is two-thirds of this episode people telling people about what we already saw them tell someone else? Overall, I have very much enjoyed Falling Skies throughout the season, even though it has had its dumb parts, but I feel that they really shit the bed with these last two episodes. I think Lourdes facilitating a two hour prayer circle would have been more compelling.
Tom heads to see Dai, and asks what happened with Porter. Dai says that an hour after he reached Porter's post, the Skitters and Mechs hit. Porter was pinned down, and is probably dead by now. Dai got hit when a Mech blew up. Tom asks Dai for Porter's orders, and emphasizes that this is very important. Dai says that the other regiments never reported in. Runners went out, and never came back. Porter said that without confirmation that the Fourth and Fifth were alive, the attack should be aborted. Dai told all this to Weaver, or course. He ends his soliloquy with an emphatic and pained, "This mission...it's no good." Maggie is like, "So basically, we're screwed?" And everyone is kind of like, "Yeah." Anne says that it's not like Weaver to disobey an order from Porter. She wonders what he's thinking. Tom says that pillheads don't care about facts. Hal wonders how they'll stop Weaver when he has all the fighters and all the weapons, and Tom ominously whispers that he doesn't have them all.
Weaver finds Danner tied up and is super PO'ed, and also shocked that Jimmy was involved. He tells Danner to keep this quiet from the civilians, and also to find four men that they can trust. Then they'll find Mason. Meanwhile, two fighters run by Uncle Scott in the hallway, just to give him the chance to say, "I guess somebody's got their panties in a twist." Best line of dialogue of the episode! So fresh! Scott finds Ben in his office, and says he's glad to have the company. But Ben has something specific on his mind. He asks if Scott can keep a secret, since they're friends and all. Then, Ben asks Scott to start going through the frequencies on the radio. He crouches in pain when they hit the Skitter frequencies, and Scott asks him what's going on. A tearful Ben says, "I don't know what I am." He's coming out to Uncle Scott! What a tender moment.
Tom runs into Pope's bullet-making lab and is none too happy to find Matt there. Matt squeaks as he is escorted out, and Mason says that he'd be doing a lot better if Pope stayed the hell away from his kids. Pope assumes, based on the fact that Tom is carrying a giant weapon and running around like a crazy person closing all the doors, that he's here about more than a domestic issue. Tom repeats the info that Porter's dead, the other regiments are gone, and Weaver still intends to carry out the attack on the Skitter Bay Luxury Condos. Pope conveys the info that Weaver asked him to split the bomb into four. Tom says that Pope put the bombs together, and he can take them apart. Pope asks why the hell he'd do that. While pointing a gun at Pope's head, Tom says that he'd say for the sake of the Second Mass, but he doubts that that would mean anything to Pope. That is not a good example of catching more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. Under the threat of a bullet through his shiny mane, Pope agrees, and says that all Tom has to do now is survive long enough to convince the rest of the yahoos out there that he's right. However, Tom says that all he has to do is convince Weaver. I think the real problem here is that nobody has a good plan.
After a break, Weaver goes to see Anne in the ER and asks where Tom is. Anne approaches him and says that she knows what he's been going through, and that she'd be a lot more comfortable if he put his weapon down. Just then, an armed Hal and Maggie pop up in the back of the room. Weaver starts to point his weapon at them, but then Tom appears at Weaver's side. He was, I shit you not, hiding behind a curtain. Well, now it would seem that Weaver's trapped. Tom says that he's an optimist, and is hoping that Weaver will still listen to reason. He asks for the real plan, and Weaver starts talking about the Fourth and Fifth, and Tom is like, "Duh, I know that's a lie, everyone is dead." Weaver says that that's not the way he heard it. What an interesting comeback. Potato / po-tah-to, I guess. He says the mission is still confirmed unless they know FOR SURE that the Fourth and Fifth are gone. He adds that the aliens have to know that they're not going to lie down. Tom says that he wants to fight too, but this has to be done the right way, with all cards on the table and with a commanding officer that isn't a psychotic pillhead. Weaver asks how far he's going to go with this, and Tom says that he had Pope dismantle the bombs. And if Weaver doesn't listen to reason, Tom is going to relieve him of his command.
And then Pope shows up behind everyone, wielding a giant gun. It's the same giant gun that everyone else has, but for some reason everyone else gives up their weapons to Weaver. In other mysterious news, everyone is shocked -- shocked! -- that Pope hasn't actually dismantled the bombs. He wants to kill himself some Cooties. He consoles everyone by saying that the bombs are awesome, and will cause a lot of damage. But then Tom says that they won't, because when Pope went to warn Weaver, he took the blasting fuses. The bombs are now out of commission. So, Tom double-crossed his double crosser. That's what happens when you have high-level reasoning skills. It would be awesome if Pope had an additional double cross, and so did Tom, and so did Pope, and they just went back and forth until someone's brain exploded at the end of the episode.
Weaver really wants his blasting fuses back and is apparently ready to shoot Tom over the issue. Anne says, "The aliens aren't killing us fast enough? We have to do it for them?" This is the moment when the basic problem with this episode struck me -- no aliens! Not a one! Well, unless you include Rick and Ben. But what is most enjoyable about this show is certainly the mysterious creatures from outer space, and not this bunch of assholes who have somehow bumbled their way into being the last surviving humans in Massachusetts. Tom tells Weaver that the only way this is going to work is if people have faith in their commanding officer, and if he has faith in the people. Weaver says he's doing this for all of the humans. In that case, Tom wants him to tell everybody the truth -- that Porter's gone and this is basically a suicide mission. That way, people can choose for themselves.
Jimmy walks into the room at this moment and sees Weaver holding a gun to Tom's chest. This makes Weaver feel like shit, and Anne takes this moment to say very gently that they all want to follow him, which is a total lie given the fact that they think he's a giant speed freak who's having a psychotic break. Mostly because of Jimmy, Weaver drops his weapon. His eyes are open the widest I've ever seen them. Weaver orders Pope to lower his weapon, and he does. Weaver isn't saying that Tom is right, but admits that the fighters deserve to know the facts of the mission. Tom suggests calling for volunteers, after everyone hears both sides. Weaver says that they will hear both sides, because Tom will be right beside him. Friends again! As they walk down the hall together to address the masses, Weaver tells Tom that he stopped taking his pills as soon as they got back. Oh, so he's just naturally a fucking lunatic, then. Even better.
Weaver and Tom talk to the fighters and citizens of the Second Mass, acknowledging that Porter lost contact with the other regiments, and now is probably dead himself. Again, in case you didn't get it the first three times it's been explained in this episode, Porter's orders were to abort the mission unless they could confirm the existence of the other units. Weaver, however, says that if there's a breath left in any of those men, they'll do their damnedest to carry out the attack. And if that happens, despite Porter's order, the Second Mass has to be there to back them up. I mean, there's a one in 7,000,000 chance that those guys are alive, but whatever. Weaver says that the attack can't be their only objective -- they also have a responsibility to the civilians. Well, look at how someone has evolved! Tom looks touched as Weaver says that the civilians are their future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside. Give them a sense of pride, to make it easier. Let the civilians' laughter at 1940s cartoons remind us how we used to be. Is that the second "Greatest Love of All" reference I've made this season? That itself is an indicator. Anyway, Weaver is asking for volunteers. He needs 50 fighters for the mission, and asks them to meet him in front if they're in. Plenty of people start heading out, including Anthony. At this point, Weaver acknowledges that Tom was right all along. Tom wishes he could go on the mission, too, but Weaver says that Porter knew what he was doing when he made Tom second in command. He needs to stay and keep their people safe. Tom tells the remaining scraggly crew of civilians to get their gear together so they can move out when the strike team comes home.
After a break, the fighters are getting ready to go. Matt stands in the middle of all the action and gives Pope a lingering dirty look. He says, "I know what you did to my dad. He thought he could trust you." Actually he didn't, and thus the triple cross. Matt says that nobody can trust Pope, and Pope is like, "Duh." He adds that trust is an overrated commodity, and then calls Matt a punk. Finally, someone calls it like it is. He says that Matt is the kind of kid who should listen to his old man -- that way there's no chance that he'll end up like Pope. But really, as a chef cum bomb maker cum staff comedian, Pope is truly a renaissance man. And a little moral ambiguity is compelling. Anyway, Matt doesn't want to be friends anymore. I'm sure Pope's heart is bleeding.
Maggie approaches Pope and says it must be pretty sweet to get put in your place by an eight year old. She points out his double-crossing ways, and asks what his plan is. He calls her "Little Miss Midwife with the heart of gold," and then says that she knows him -- he's just another upstanding member of the grand and glorious Second Massachusetts. It's his duty to both God and country to carry out the attack. He notes that Maggie didn't volunteer for the blitzkrieg, and she says that she doesn't ride with sociopaths. Pope points out that if it weren't for him, she'd be another Mech speck on a wall. But Maggie says that she doesn't forget anything he did -- not a second of it. And she knows what he'll do to "these people" if he gets the chance. Rape them? I wish she would just say what he did, already. Pope is discouraged that Maggie has drunk the Kool Aid, and asks if she really thinks that humankind has a hope in hell of not becoming extinct. Maggie says that she's just along for the ride, but if she finds him crossing the good people of the Second Mass, she's going to show him exactly what he left behind. And she doesn't think he's going to like it. What does that even mean? Pope yells back that it would sure be something to see. I am incredibly confused by this last bit of dialogue. I think ultimately it just means that Maggie = good and Pope = kind of bad.
Tom sees Hal on a motorcycle, and yells to him. Hal says that Tom was right about Weaver, but when you think about it, Weaver was right, too. Hal wants to be a fighter. He knows that Tom has to stay and take care of the civilians, but he has to fight...for mom, Ben, and Karen. He wants to show the aliens that the humans won't back down, so that they might rethink this war. Also, he wants to blow the Skitter Bay Luxury Condos straight to hell. Tom wishes Hal luck, and then they hug, and Hal rides off into the sunset. Weaver appears to leave Tom two cases of Mech bullets, and then Tom salutes Weaver, and Weaver salutes Tom back. And then Ben and Scott show up to tell Tom about the plan with the jamming signals from the radio, and how Ben could hear it. Cue look pregnant with meaning! And then the fighters leave, like a post-apocalyptic Veterans Day parade of classic cars, scooters, and men in camo. Spoiler: If you suspect that this isn't going to go well, you're right.
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