‘Falling Skies’ Review: “Molon Labe”

‘Falling Skies’ season 2 crawls out for its seventh episode of the year “Molon Labe” as the group captures an Overlord in the process of saving Ben, bringing the whole of Skitter wrath down upon the hospital, while down in the basement a creepy, crawly new threat attacks Lourdes, Matt and Anne.

The last ‘Falling Skies’ episode “Homecoming” saw Hal and Maggie stumbling upon a seemingly liberated Karen, while Weaver fought off a deadly infection and Ben made a choice over whether or not he can stay with the 2nd Mass.  So, how does “Molon Labe” keep things moving?

Read on for your in-depth recap of everything you need to know about ‘Falling Skies’ season 2 episode 7, “Molon Labe!”

After last week, Ben takes Karen toward his band of rebel Skitters, but before they can, they’re confronted by Karen’s true master overlord, who reveals it was all a ruse to root out the Red-Eye!  Before Karen gets a chance ot re-harness Ben, however, the 2^nd Mass opens fire, culminating in an all out battle that sees Karen escape, but the Overlord captured by Tom!  Their leader at gunpoint, all the Mechs stand down.

Back at the hospital, Matt patiently waits for his family’s return, angrily cutting off Jamil when he quietly suggests to Lourdes that something might have happened.  Before the 2^nd Mass departs the hospital however, Anne convinces Weaver to let her and Lourdes raid the basement for supplies, with Matt as security.  When the convoy rolls back in, Tom shows Weaver the alien, assuring that if nothing else they should at least take it to Charleston.  Just then, the aliens open fire at the hospital, though clearly not trying to hit anything and rather providing a distraction to sneak in the back.

At the back entrance Tom finds himself face to face with a Mech, but quick thinking enables him to set it on fire and blow up some nearby cannisters, destroying the machine, but collapsing the room beneath them and trapping Lourdes, Matt and Anne.  Having made it back to the front line, Tom is reminded by Weaver that they may have to let Ben go for all the trouble he’s brought, in spite of Tom’s objections.  Karen then appears in the distance, waving a white flag, and offering to let the 2^nd Mass go if they’ll release her master.  Tom and Hal certainly don’t trust her, but she does let slip that her master is the same overlord Tom encountered during his time on a ship.

Weaver tells Tector and Boone to scout for weakness in the Skitters’ lines so that they might escape, also sending Hal and Maggie downstairs to check an access tunnel to flee through.  Ben apologizes to Hal, insisting that he should have left weeks ago, and screaming at Tom for his inability to let his son go when it’s caused nothing but trouble.  Ben believes he has to leave and organize the rebels, as he learned that the Overlord is terrified by the prospect of a Skitter rebellion.

Having awoken from the destruction, Matt, Lourdes and Anne find Jamil downstairs, bloodied and violently convulsing.  Matt hears a mysterious noise through a door, but Jamil finally lurches to when Matt tries to open it.  Meanwhile, Maggie and Hal investigate the access tunnel, but after asking a bit about whether or not he still has feelings for Karen, Maggie reveals the only thing on her mind: making out!  Hal seems taken aback by her sudden reversal, but she replies that she simply changed her mind.  When they finally open the access door, all manner of little spider-like bugs rush at them, barely enough time to close it and stamp out the one that got through!

Matt hears little scratching noises coming from every direction, as Jamil croaks out an “I love you” to Lourdes, before the spider-like creatures star pouring out of his mouth, killing him!  The trio runs, managing to lock themselves in the blood lab, their only hope a small vent that Matt might fit through.  Upstairs, Weaver observes the new creatures threatening them, as Pope arrives on the scene to lend his help to the group.  Jamil still not having returned, Tom, Hal and Pope head downstairs to look for the others.

Back on the line, Tector hears gunfire in the distance, surmising that Boone got himself pinned down, as downstairs Lourdes and Anne send Matt through the vent to get help.  Anne then yells at a depressed Lourdes to get it together and help as they cobble together an attack plan.  After Matt makes it through to find his father and Pope, upstairs Karen shows the group that she means business by forcing a bound Boone to walk back to his camp, before Mech fire coldly cuts him down.

As the creatures begin cutting through the door, Lourdes and Anne fend them off with a makeshift flamethrower, before Tom and Pope arrive guns-a-blazing!  Everyone regroups upstairs, as Weaver comforts Lourdes on her loss.  Angrily, Tom rushes off to confront the Overlord, who easily breaks through his chains and uses Ben as a conduit to speak through.  The Overlord explains that they’re more interested in “correcting” the human race , and that while they have a specific purpose on the planet, they won’t say what it is.  Tom insists that the creature is threatened by the rebellion, but when the Overlord tries to prove his point about Tom’s weakness by sending Ben into shock, Tom shoots it through the throat!

Weaver chides Tom for letting emotions get in the way, but they come to agree that the rebellion is indeed real, and they should bring Karen in to see her master.  As pompous as Karen is, boasting about her new-found Skitter enlightenment, she failed to anticipate what they’d done to her master, almost killing him with the throat shot!  Lashing out at Tom, Karen reluctantly agrees to let the 2^nd Mass evacuate, lest they remotely blow up the entire floor, killing her Overlord.

Out on the road to Charleston the next day, the group share dreams of the amenities Charleston might possess, as Anne tries to comfort a very-much affected and downtrodden Lourdes who believes it to be a matter of time before something terrible happens to all of them.

Ben tries to leave the group without being seen.  Before he can, Tom heads him off, and reluctantly agrees to let the boy go, remembering how their positions had been reversed the first day Tom dropped Ben off at pre-school.  Ben reveals that they have to defeat the Overlords, given what he saw in the creature’s mind, and the two reluctantly part ways.  Onward to Charleston!

Okay, so they're going to get to Charleston soon, right?  Don't get us wrong, episodes with high action quotients like "Molon Labe" are still pretty spectacular, and there's even a character death to boot, but it does seem strange how much time has elapsed in actually putting together this storyline.  Wouldn't want people to start making 'Walking Dead' comparisons, now would we?

Did you get your fill of Skitter-y ‘Falling Skies’ action? What did you think about the episode? Join the discussion in the comments, and be sure to check back next week for the all-new episode recap of ‘Falling Skies’ season 2 episode 8 “Death March” on TNT!