“Love and Other Acts of Courage” is easily one of most eventful episodes of the entirety of Falling Skies. The revelation of who Red Eye is – and what he represents – could potentially mean significant changes for how the rest of the story is told. Can an alliance ever be formed between them? A connection between those two sides seems almost as unlikely as Hal convincing Maggie to let him in, at least until their final moment in the hospital.
I’m trying to avoid overstating things regarding Red Eye, but if he is to be believed, this could change the balance of the entire war. The 2nd Mass is barreling towards Charleston at an uncanny pace (more on that later); but will the newly formed government be as receptive to the idea of teaming with a group of rogue skitters? Tom was only marginally more open to talking to Red Eye than Weaver was – despite their mutual admiration session later. Red Eye might get a couple humans to trust him, but I doubt society as a whole – whatever that means at this point – will ever be on board.
It’s hard to blame Maggie for whatever hesitation she has regarding Hal; this woman has been through all levels of hell to get where she is now. From battling cancer to time with Pope’s misfits prior to joining the 2nd Mass – not to mention the genocide of the human race – it can almost be a bit too much. It took me a long time to come around to wanting their relationship to work, but I’m committed now. But I’m also smart enough to know that there’s at least one more obstacle for them to overcome before they can even get started, unlike Tom and Anne, who are apparently getting started in an empty hospital room.
I spent much of the first half of the episode wondering if the mention of Richmond meant Virginia. Maggie’s moment looking out over the James River was particularly melancholy – the mural of Robert E. Lee confirmed it was Virginia; I doubt there’s a lot of Lee murals gracing walls in the Northeast. This means that the 2nd Mass is moving south at a much greater pace than I expected; they’re likely more than half way through their trip. I’m curious of how much of Charleston we’ll see this season?
Notes & Quotes
Not only was Maggie looking over the James, she was doing so from a very real vantage point. My office would have been just offscreen to the left. :) Nice attention to detail. I’d be interested to know if any of the other footage was legitimately shot in Richmond.
*POST AUTHOR*
Jeb,
I travel across one of those bridges several times a year, so I know what you mean. No, I doubt very seriously that the did any local shooting in Virginia; I live in Virginia Beach myself, and if they’d done any location shooting, I would have definitely wrangled a set visit.
Actually they did film in Richmond, a good bit of the show according to Richmond.com. And it is quite realistic; I have spent many summer days all over (and in) the James River and the view in the picture from the south bank of the James River shows what actual buildings would look like if destroyed.
Hey, if your real name is Jeb I’d like to compare notes. In my 60 years I have met only one other.
LOL Yep, really real and not short for anything. There are a few others out there but we are pretty rare.
I’d want to see production notes on where & when they filmed in Richmond because if they did, they were damned quiet about it.
LOL Yep, really real and not short for anything. There are a few others out there but we are pretty rare.
I’d want to see production notes on where & when they filmed in Richmond because if they did, they were quiet about it.