My Review of Falling Skies 4.10- Drawing Straws

Tom's plan to go to the Moon hits a small snag, tension continues between Hal and Ben, Matt continues to assert himself, and Lexi makes a surprising move....

So, we finally find out how Lexi does the things she does.  Somehow she has been engineered so that she can control the basic forces of the universe as she demonstrated vividly on several occasions tonight.  First, she used gravity to turn a tree into a pile of matchsticks.  Basically, instead of having gravity keep the tree together, she reversed gravity and hid it cause the tree to fly apart.  Then, after overhearing a conversation between her Espheni "father" and the Espheni Tom attacked where her death was ordered, she glew the Espheni apart.  Finally, she took out 5 or 6 Beamers which were attacking the 2nd Mass.  Considering how much easier it is getting for her each time she uses her abilities, I shudder to think what she can be capable of when she reaches her full potential.  Honestly, I suspect that she is going to die next week, probably sacrificing herself to save Tom and/or Ben.  If she does survive, she has to be stripped of her powers or else she will become too powerful to keep around (storywise).

Hal and Ben had some more trouble tonight.  Fortunately, they worked it all out.  Hal has recognized that there is attraction between Ben and Maggie and that Hal himself is partly responsible for what is going on because he is the one who insisted on putting the spikes in Maggie to save her life.  I must admit that when I saw Hal on the ship at the end, I half expected him to either take off with Ben to keep Tom on the ground or somehow knock Ben out and take his place.  He didn't do either, for which I am grateful.

I was very surprised that after Cochise said that the ship may recognize him as a Volm, no one immediately thought of using Ben or Maggie.  Since they both have Espheni spikes in them, the ship would be more likely to recognize and follow one of them.  Since Lexi is now with the 2nd Mass, she should definitely go along, both as protection and because the ship will definitely recognize her as Espheni.  She is honestly their best chance of getting to the Moon and back in one piece.

Was I surprised that Tom rigged the name draw?  No.  Was it planned from the beginning?  Maybe.  I would like to think that Tom only used his name from his sleeve because Ben's name was drawn, but it is entirely possible that he planned on rigging the thing the entire time.  And regardless of what Pope says, Tom is not doing this because he is a gloryhound.  Tom has an immense sense of responsibility for everyone and will never ask anyone else to do what he cannot/will not do himself.  Pope's problem (as always!) is that he sees his own personal motives reflected in everyone else's actions.  Since Pope would only do this for selfish reasons, Tom must be doing it for the same selfish reasons.  Pope cannot seem to comprehend that Tom does things for reasons that Pope does not think of.  While Tom ain't perfect, he is a good leader.

I was surprised that Pope admitted to Weaver that he felt like he needed to go to the Moon because he wouldn't be missed by people here and that he took Weaver's name out of the hat because Weaver was needed.  I do think Pope is right (to a degree), but he misses the fact that; despite his many flaws; he is a good fighter and could be a decent leader if he let himself grow just a little bit.

And Matt continues his march into adulthood by learning all the wrong lessons from last week.  He figures that he needs to keep all of his emotions completely bottled up and he overcompensates for his behavior last week by rebelling.  While his experimentation was vital to figuring out how to fly the Beamer (was anyone else having flashbacks to Starbuck learning how to fly the Cylon Raider?), he does need to learn to use his passion more constructively.  Tom was wrong when he denied Matt he opportunity to take part in the mission.  I totally get where Tom is coming from, but Matt has done a lot of growing up very quickly and Tom does need to recognize that.

Next week, the 2 hour finale.  Until then!

My Review of Teen Wolf 4.10- Monstrous

A slight twist is thrown into the case of the Benefactor courtesy of Lydia and Peter; Scott, Derek, Kira, and Chris take steps to protect Satomi's pack; and Stiles and Malia work together to find out how to stop the assassins.

Wow, I was not exactly expecting Meredith to have been influenced by comaPeter to start the killings.  She was in the hospital at the same time as him (right after the fire) and he was apparently broadcasting his rage at what was going on and decided to wipe out all of the supernatural creatures in Beacon Hills in order to remake everything in his own image.  So Meredith used a list of creatures put together by Lydia's grandmother and used Peter's money to hire the assassins because she believed that all of the "monsters" in Beacon Hills (herself included) needed to be wiped out.  Given Peter's reaction, I have no doubt that what happened was the ranting and raving of a mind that was hovering on the edge of madness out of revenge, anger, and sorrow at what happened to his family.  Meredith didn't put her plan into action until she heard Lydia scream around the time that Allison was killed last season.

In a way, this makes a lot of sense.  Meredith is not cold and calculating.  Crazy?  Absolutely, but not as cold and calculating as needed to pull off what happened this season.  But if she was carrying out what she thought was Peter's plan, that would explain how she could be so calculating.    Given the fact that Stiles and Malia managed to shut the machines that were distributing the dead pool and money down, I don't think Meredith is a danger anymore.

I am finding it hard to be mad at Liam.  Should he have been there with Scott, Kira, Derek, and Chris?  Absolutely.  But he just came into this supernatural world and he is still adjusting.  The reason that the whole gang continues to do what they do is because of Scott.  He is so focused on doing the right thing and protecting people.  Stiles sticks by his side out of loyalty and friendship; Lydia has come to trust that Scott will do what needs to be done; and Derek, Chris, and Deaton have come to respect Scott's power of belief and value him.  It's what Derek said last season to Aiden and Ethan.  If you want to be in Scott's pack, put others before yourself and protect the innocent.  As I've been saying for years, this is Scott's pack and his purpose animates them all.  To make an analogy to Buffy, Scott is the heart; Stiles and Lydia are the brain; Kira, Derek, and Chris are the claws of the pack.  Without Scott, the whole pack would fall apart, and not just because he is a True Alpha.  They follow him because of who he is.  Malia is along for the ride because of Stiles and Peter is trying to take his power back.  Liam just needs to find his place and find his reason for staying.  Scott has lost Allison, Aiden, Erica, and Boyd to death and lost Ethan, Cora, Isaac, and Jackson to leaving. All of this has made him even more determined to save as many people as he possibly can.  He has taken the Hale's place as the Protector of Beacon Hills and takes this very seriously.

Peter's plan is to kill Scott?  Out of everyone currently alive, I think he is the one best equipped to pull a plan like that off.  He is close to Scott and is burning with an almost unholy desire to get his power back from the Beta he himself turned.  To take a True Alpha's power would probably be a serious power trip and for someone like Peter, that is a dangerous thing.  Throw Kate into the mix and I worry for Scott over the next few episodes.

Calling everyone in to protect Satomi's pack was smart.  Even though Derek no longer has claws, he has been learning how to shoot and that is helpful.  Throw in Chris and Braeden who are incredible with guns and Kira who can use a katana very nicely, and you have a formidable group of protectors.  Scott was scaring me.  He really let the wolf out when he was fighting.  I don't think I have ever seen him quite that vicious.  I swear he was on the verge of ripping that guy's throat out before the guy took his mask off and the fact that he was a human penetrated Scott's brain.  This is what really worries me if Peter attacks Scott.  If Scott were to completely let go and let the wolf out, that could be more dangerous than anything.  If Peter gets that power....<shudder>

I love that Stiles and Malia managed to talk out their issues.  Melissa (presumably) locking them into Stiles' room at the hospital was a good idea.  Stiles made a mistake and knew it.  Fortunately, Malia chose not to hold a grudge and decided to work with Stiles in the end.  Without her, Stiles would never have found the machines behind the wall and the fight at Chris' hideout would have been much bloodier.

A little later tonight, I'll review Falling Skies and then next Monday, Teen Wolf at its normal time.  Until then!

My Review of Teen Wolf 4.09- Perishable

We have a recurring character burned alive, someone clued into the supernaturalness of Beacon Hills, some more assassins, and the revelation of the Benefactor.  And boy, was I shocked when the Benefactor was revealed!

And the Benefactor is....Meredith!  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Meredith, the resident of Eichen House and banshee, is the Benefactor.  I would never have called that one, mainly because we were told that she had killed herself.  But, given that she is the Benefactor, I can only assume that she faked her death in order to be able to operate freely.  Not only is she the Benefactor, but she appears to be completely sane.  Consider my mind completely blown.  I could have sworn that her name was on the deadpool, but if it was, that was obviously a plant to throw people off of her scent.  This is going to require some serious answers.  Why has she put a price on the heads of every supernatural being in Beacon Hills?  How was she controlling that orderly?  My mind is still reeling fro, this revelation.

Next major point, is what the hell is Parrish?  He is set on fire and emerges sooty but fine.  I'm trying to think of different creatures who might be able to survive fire, and I can only think of three: a salamander, an ifrit, or a phoenix.  He's not a werewolf because werewolves are very susceptible to fire (witness Peter in season 1!) and every other creature I can think of (other than spirit based creatures like ghosts) can't just walk away from a fire the way he did.  I so cannot wait to figure out what exactly he is.

Loved Parrish's reaction ("What's a kanima again?") to finding out about the different supernatural beings of Beacon Hills.  When he asked Derek and Scott if they were psychics like Lydia, the looks that the three of them (Lydia, Scott, and Derek) were absolutely hilarious.  Then Scott showed Parrish his true eyes.  Oh, how I would have loved to actually seen Parrish's reaction, because that would have had to have been a shock.  So now there is someone else at the Sheriff's station who can help out as needed and know about what is actually going on.

Poor Liam was completely freaked out by what was happening to his printer.  I can only assume that Meredith was sending the file to random printers in order to publicize the list even more.  And his price got bumped from $3 million to $18 million.  Not a bad price to have on your head.  Liam really needs to fill his friend (Mason?) in on what is going on, because Mason is not stupid and I have a feeling he'll keep on pressing.  Having another human around will be helpful because it provides a new perspective.

Can anyone blame Malia for trying to get drunk?  She finds out that Stiles and Scott have been lying to her, her dad is a sociopath, and she is just trying to get by.  No wonder she wanted to let loose and have some fun!  Unfortunately, as Scott discovered early on, werewolves cannot get drunk.  Well, not without outside help which can push them over the edge.  In this case, the music from the DJ.  My first thought was that someone was somehow burning wolfsbane, so when they narrowed in on the DJ, I was surprised.  It does make sense though.  By using ultrasonic frequencies, the DJ could throw off the werewolves sense of balance and give them vertigo.  Not a bad plan.

Stiles and Lydia had a decent plan as well.  After discovering that the list from Lydia's grandmother was a list of 10 people who had died in Eichen House, they went to investigate.  All in all, it was a good idea.  THe major flaw is that they din't know about the orderly killing patients to "free" them.  Now they (and Parrish) are in Meredith's hands, which cannot be a good thing.

Did Stiles take the money out of Scott's room?  Not sure who else could have, but I am curious....

Next episode is Sunday night right before the VMAs.  Until then!

My Review of Falling Skies 4.09- Till Death Do Us Part

A relationship heavy episodes with fights all over the place, Ben teaching Maggie how to use her new abilities, and Cochise taking a group to find something to help unbury the Beamer....

Hafta feel for poor Matt.  He finds his friend from the camp and she turns on him.  That had to suck.  I find it very hard to fault him for untying her, particularly since he recognized it as a major mistake himself.  But given how well she and Matt had worked together, I can't blame him for believing her.  I do want to note that I did call this.  In my review of the 4th episode, I said "[u]nfortunately for Matt, I suspect that the next time we see her, she will be firmly under the Espheni's grip.  Don't get me wrong, I'd love to be wrong, but I don't see her successfully resisting without Matt there to provide support."  Not a hard call to make, granted, but I was still right.  Was Tom right when he labeled it puppy love?  Probably, but I also get why Matt rejected the label, which was likely because she is the first girl he's had feeling for.  Hell of a hard way to learn a lesson, but it was learned.  The problem is that the Espheni are playing with human emotions and sentiments, which can be a major weakness.  The only way to avoid that weakness is to become like them, which is think is worse that having the weakness in the first place.

Ha; and Ben also fought.  Here, again, I have trouble blaming either of them.  Ben has had feelings for Maggie for a long time, but he has resisted them so far because he doesn't want to hurt Hal.  Ben's explanation of the spikes and their effects was very illuminating.  If they do have a personality of their own and really do try and control the person they are placed in, Ben has to be fighting them constantly, which is really amazing.  And since Maggie's spikes were in Ben, it makes sense that she is attracted to him now.  Since the spikes enhance feelings as as well as physical, mental, and sensory attributes, she is feeling his feelings towards her which is influencing her.  This is so not going to be pretty, particularly with the look that Ben shot Hal after Hal told him to stay away from Maggie.

Speaking of Maggie, it was so much fun watching her learn her abilities.  After some initial trepidation, she embraced the new abilities wholeheartedly and had lots of fun with them.  Now she just needs to learn to separate her own feeling from the feeling that come through the connection she and Ben now share.  Speaking of that connection, is it possible that the two of them may be able to fight as one majorly coordinated unit since there is the link between them?

Watching Pope and Sara fight was interesting.  I cannot blame Pope for not trusting Sara.  She is an addict and we only have her word that the case she gave Pope was aspirin.  Even if it was checked, how do we know that she didn't switch it at some point?  While I do think that she was right when she said that he is afraid, I can't say I entirely believe or trust her.

Tom and Anne had an interesting week.  Anne is very upset that Tom doesn't want to go after Lexi, but; as he pointed out; he has to operate as more than just a parent.  Like last week when he said that he needs to always be hopeful, he made sure Anne understood that he has to do things differently. I would add this is doubly so since Lexi willingly went with the Espheni and forced Ben to accompany her after she caught him following her.  There is no way to force her to come back and the only way I can see her coming back willingly is if her bond with the Espheni is somehow broken.  Then again, she did let Ben go, so it is possible that a strong enough appeal could persuade her to eschew the Espheni.  And I have tot say that I honeslty thought that Tom and Anne were already married.  Was I wrong?  Or was this a recommitment ceremony?

Next week is the penultimate episode with the week after being a two-parter.  Until then!

My Review of Teen Wolf 4.08- Time of Death

Scott and the gang carry out a completely insane plan in order to smoke out the Benefactor, Malia confronts Peter, Derek learns defense from Braeden, and Lydia discovers the possible identity if the Benefactor...

Out of all the plans the group has come up with over the years, this has to be one of the craziest.  Kira shocked Scott enough to put him into a coma that only an Alpha could survive in order to use his "death" to cause the Benefactor to come out of the shadows.  The biggest downside is that if Kira did not revive Scott within 45 minutes, Scott would die.  Yeah, this makes complete sense.  Weird thing is that despite the fact that the Benefactor did not come knocking, Scott may have figured out something about the Benefactor.  After all, who would be able to tell whether or not someone is dead without visual confirmation?  A banshee!  Whether or not Scott is correct remains to be seen, but it is an intriguing hypothesis which fits in nicely with something Lydia discovered.

When in the boathouse at her family's cabin, Lydia discovered that the urn which supposedly held her grandmother's ashes actually held mountain ash and that the entire boathouse was made out of mountain ash.  I find that interesting because both Scott and Liam have freely entered into the boathouse before.  We know that Scott can; with a great deal of effort; force his way through a mountain ash barrier, but so far he has been the only creature who has managed to do that, so there must be something about the cabin that is different.  Interestingly, Lydia's mom knew Meredith and Lydia's grandmother spent time in Eichen House because she heard voices.  So it would seem that Lydia's grandmother is/was a banshee.  Could she be the Benefactor?  If she is, why is Lydia on the kill list?  Alternatively, could the Benefactor be forcing Lydia's grandmother or another banshee to be working for him/her in order to tell when someone died?  And what does that code Lydia discovered say?

When he was hovering on the edge of death, Scott had some weird dreams.  They always started with him in the morgue and then pulling his way out into the hallway at school where Liam tosses his something (first a ball, then a tomahawk).  Liam was always attacked and killed by the Mute except for the last time, when Scott himself killed Liam with the tomahawk.  Is Scott truly that worried that he'll become a killer and monster (witness the fang portion of the one dream)?  He did break a promise to never turn someone, even if turning Liam was not intentional.  So maybe he's worried that as he matures, the wolf will increasingly take over and he'll become more and more wild.  I doubt that'll happen short of some major;y traumatic event, but that could also be holding him back from realizing his full potential.

Watching Malia confront Peter was interesting.  He has a thin file on her and claims to be looking for her mother, whom he calls the "Desert Fox".  Fortunately, she seems wary of Peter, even if she is talking with him.  I am also glad that she is talking with Stiles again.  I wouldn't blame her for being pissed at him still.  And how cute was Stiles' dream at the beginning of the episode?  Watching him try and find a comfortable position with Malia in bed was really funny, especially as she got progressively more annoyed with him.  And he got to be the big spoon for once!  :-)

Why were Peter and Kate so concerned about Scott possibly being dead?  Obviously they want him alive for their own reasons (which so cannot be a good thing!), but what are those reasons exactly?  I suspect that Peter wants to kill Scott in order to take his Alpha abilities, but I am not sure what Kate wants.  I do have to wonder if Chris could have actually pulled the trigger of the gun.  Somehow, I doubt it.

Watching Braden systematically take Derek apart until he realized that she could teach him was just fun.  He is so used to being very powerful that he now needs to learn how to defend himself while human.  And I think the two of them could be good for each other, assuming that they both survive this season.

I wonder if Melissa knew about Scott's plan.  Her hysterics would suggest that she didn't, but the fact that she pulled everything together so quickly leads me to suspect that she did.  I loved her conversation with Kira's mom about whether or not they were doing the right thing by letting the kids handle the situation.  And is Scott really going to bring his father in on what is going on?  An FBI agent could be an invaluable ally.

Speaking of Kira's mom, I really hope she is ok.  And I don't really get why Kira and Liam confronted the Berserker instead of running away.  Kira has fought them before, and while she did a decent job, they could still wipe the floor with either of them.

Until next week when (supposedly) the identity of the Benefactor will be revealed!

My Review of Falling Skies 4.08- A Thing With Feathers

Before I get to the review of this week's episode, I want to thank everyone who comes to visit this blog.  Over the weekend, this blog passed 30,000 views!  I am very grateful that so many people come to look at and read my thoughts.

This week on Falling Skies, Lexie reveals the Espheni's plans for humans to Ben, Hal makes a choice, Tom and Dingaan work together, and Matt doesn't lose faith.

Even though we've known for weeks that the Espheni have been turning humans into monsters, seeing the process was, quite frankly, horrifying.  The fact that Lexie was waxing rhapsodic about it just made it even worse.  Calling it the peaceful solution to the problem was an attempt to spin an event that simply could not be spun in any sort of good way unless you'd been drinking the Espheni Kool-Aid, which Lexie clearly has been doing.  The fact that Ben has now declared that she is gone is a major step because, other than Anne, he has been her biggest defender in the Mason clan.  Tom seems to be more about helping Anne than he is defending Lexie and Matt is reflexively defending her because she is family.

I was surprised that Lexie let Ben leave.  I suspect that she truly thought he would be happy to join her once she revealed the "wonderful" nature of the Espheni plan.  But his little speech about how she'd have to make him a slave seems to have struck a serious chord with her.  I think that she genuinely wants Ben and the Masons to join her, but she wants them to join of their own free will and not because she forces them to do so.

Speaking of Ben, I have to wonder if giving Maggie some of his spikes will have any affect on him, her, or their relationship.  I have never been entirely clear on how Ben gets his enhanced abilities, but I think that it is a combination of the spikes and implants in his back as well as the fluid that Anne removed from Deni and injected into Maggie.  Given the way the two of them went into convulsions simultaneously, I suspect that Maggie can be controlled by Lexi now and may be somewhat enhanced, but we'll have to wait and see.  I doubt if she'll reach the level that Ben and Deni are at, but it is possible.  It is also possible that Ben's abilities will be diminished somewhat as a result of the spikes being removed.  I do also have to say that I wish they would make more use of Ben's abilities.  I don't want him to be a Mary Sue or deus ex machina, but the fact that they never use his abilities anymore is annoying.

Raise your hand if you were surprised that Hal lied and told Anne that Maggie wanted the injection to take place.  If you raised your hand, consider yourself slapped upside the head.  I totally get why he did it, and honestly I probably would have done it myself if I were him, but it was still not the best thing, if only because the results are extremely unpredictable.  Adding the fluid and spikes into Maggie could change things in a serious way.  And Hal seems to have just realized how Ben feels about Maggie although it has been obvious for some time.

Seeing Tom and Dingaan work together was interesting, mainly because of the revelatory conversations.  Tom explained how he has to constantly remind himself that there is hope because if he gives up, other people will do so as well.  And Dingaan revealed that his family died before the invasion.  His son died when he was accidentally buried alive after Dingaan took his eyes off of him and his wife drank herself to death.  Talk about having life suck!  It was interesting seeing that ship and what was that thing that went into Tom's arm?

Like Hal's lie, Matt's not giving up on Tom was totally expected.  I did not expect him to tackle and attack Pope, which was totally amusing.  I am also not surprised that Anne still holds out hope for Lexi.  I was hoping that Ben's report would dissuade her, but her desire to not lose a second child is stronger than anything Ben has to say.

Until next week!

My Review of Teen Wolf 4.07- Weaponized

A sickness spreads through the school which hits anyone who is supernatural the hardest, Malia discovers something Scott and Stiles have been hiding from her, and Deaton returns....

All in all, this was a quiet episode.  There wasn't a lot of action, instead we got a whole lot of character moments and Mama McCall proved (again) just how useful she can be.  Unfortunately for some of our characters, not everything that happened was good.

One of our assassins this week was a chemist who used a variant on canine distemper to make everyone sick.  What this variant would do to werewolves, however was worse.  They lost control over their ability to shift as well as their sight and then they died.  The other assassin was a woman with two pistols.  She didn't last too long though.

Stiles once again proved just how useful he can be.  Because he is human, he could go out with everyone else when Scott, Malia, and Kira had to hide and investigate what was going on.  It was a good thing he did, because he was able to figure out that the assassin was the man giving the PSAT who infected everyone using the fingerprint ink pad.  And when captured, Stiles held himself together admirably well.  Getting splattered with the assassin's brain matter could not have been fun, but Stiles also managed to get information from Mr. McCall and get it to Scott in time to save him, Malia, and Kira.

Mrs. McCall also (again) proved her mettle.  When Deaton needed help with the illness, he went right to her because he knows she can be trusted.  She also remained cool enough under pressure to get all the necessary information in order to save the gang.  While Scott may not have had a choice about telling her what is going on, her knowing about it has saved the gang on more than one occasion.  She's smart, focused, and determined to do whatever she can to help out.

Sheriff Stilinski is still gamely hanging in there.  By his own admission, he doesn't quite get everything that is going on, but he knows enough to trust the gang when they bring him information.  Seeking help from Lydia was a good idea.  While she may not be in full control of her abilities, she can use them well enough to be a good conduit of useful information.

I am honestly not sure how to feel about the whole Malia situation.  She has more insight than I would have given her credit for.  She knew that Scott and Stiles were hiding something from her, she just never guessed that it would be that she is a Hale.  I don't know if she figured out that Peter is her father or not, but she is currently pretty well brassed off.  Was it a good idea to withhold the information?  Probably not.  Scott agreed because Stiles was insistent, but Scott definitely wanted to tell her.  I get that Stiles didn't want to freak her out or anything and, in a way, I agree with his reasons.  However, you know she was going to find out somehow and she is not taking it well.

So what should Scott and Stiles do with the money?  Granted, it does belong to Peter and Derek, but they also really need it.  I bet that Derek would let them borrow some in order to help them out, but I doubt that Peter would be as willing to.  And now that Malia knows she's a Hale, she may insist on getting the money back too.

Satomi is a badass.  Fortunately, she is still in control, but I liked it when she unleashed her rage on the assassin.  Those were some sweet moves and that stab to the neck was absolutely vicious.  She was also the key to saving everyone because it was through her and Derek talking that Deaton figured out how to save everyone.

Until next week!

My Review of Falling Skies 4.07- Saturday Night Massacre

Lexi emerges from the cocoon with a brand new attitude, Cochise brings the 2nd Mass some very bad news, Ben does something very expected, and Tector says "Tick, tick, boom!" for the last time.

This has to be one of the biggest body counts on this show.  Tector, Dr. Kadar, and Lourdes are all dead; Maggie is fighting for her life; and 70 members of the 2nd Mass were killed when a gas main exploded.  All in all, not a good thing.

Let's start with Lexi.  She emerged from her cocoon and is convinced that the humans will never be able to live in peace.  Apparently, the Espheni DNA is now ascendant because she is even more powerful than she was before.  She killed Lourdes by touching her face, froze everyone, controlled Pope's actions, and apparently activated Ben's spike and is controlling him.  So, was Tom right to spare her?  I would still argue that he was.  As I said last week, he would do the same for anyone else, so it is ridiculous to expect him to do any less for his own daughter.  I will admit that the Volm predicted that something like this could happen, but they only have experience with an full Espheni, so it was not a sure thing.

The biggest problem is that there is no satisfactory answer to the problem of Lexi.  She is something completely new and there is no real way to know exactly what she will do.  Could her human side reassert itself?  Sure, but then again it might not.  The other problem is that it is never morally right to kill someone because they may prove to be dangerous.  At the current point, I do think killing her is a viable alternative, but if she can be saved without endangering too many people, it should be tried.

Ben going after Lexi was too predictable.  I am surprised that no one seemed to realize that he might do it.  For the longest time, he has been trying to save and protect her in large part (I suspect) because he sees in her what he could have become.  I do wonder if Lexi has been playing with his mind at all.  Given that we don't know the extent of her powers and the fact that she can now outright control him, I would not be terribly surprised to discover that she has been influencing him to be more sympathetic to her.  Not that he really needed it, but a little nudge here or there could have had something to do with how adamant he has been about protecting her.

Hal is apparently still feeling guilt over what he did while under control of the Espheni last season.  Thank goodness Maggie was there to verbally bitchslap him, because he needed it.  He and Lourdes were never that close, although she did have a massive crush on him, so his reaction to her death was a bit extreme.  I am glad that he and Tom got the whole thing sorted out.

Anne's idea about using thermite on the Mechs and Skitters was a great idea.  The thermite decimated the first group to attack the city.  Unfortunately, their destruction seems to be what caused the gas rupture that killed so many people.  I do have to give the SFX team kudos for the gas explosion, that was really quite cool.  Totally grisly, but cool nonetheless.

I'm so gonna miss Tector.  But, if he had to go, I'm glad he went in a way he would have wanted, destroying Skitters and saving Tom.  Well sort of saving Tom.  Trapping Tom in the rubble of the building was probably not what Tector had in mind, but if Tom had been up there when the Overlord came in, things could have been a lot worse.  Not gonna miss Lourdes nearly as much.  And as for the idiots who insisted that if they were peaceful, the Mechs wouldn't kill them?  I am almost glad they're gone from the gene pool, because that was seriously up there on the stupidity scale.

So next week, we apparently have Tom captured by the Espheni and Maggie fighting for her life.  Fun times.

BTW, I have decided to quit watching Under the Dome, so don't look for any more reviews.