SkimIt
After last week's rapid-fire two hour premiere, it's not surprising that in the third episode of the season, things would slow down a little bit, even if we still got tantalizing clues about where things are going and even a somewhat major character death. The episode still felt a bit uneven, which may have been the design of it, but all of the plot strands that were moved forward are heading into what appear to be very interesting directions.
We spent nearly an eternity in the relative safety of the school last year, to wind up only being in the air hangar for one episode before there arrives a visitor in a biplane promising a Continental Congress and humanity's attempt to fight back in Charleston. Weaver's reversal at the end, deciding to head there, isn't surprising (and is needed), but hinging it on Jimmy's death feels a little false even if they did share many good moments last year and this year.
Something else that feels false is Pope saying throughout the episode that nobody trusted Tom. We only got hints of that last week, and it felt like that feeling of mistrust amongst Tom was something we needed to witness first-hand, for us to turn against fan-favorite Pope who has now left the camp with Anthony in toe (who barely registers as a character right now, but will likely be fleshed out as it's assumed we'll still be seeing what him and Pope get up to on their own).
Ben's storyline, however, is the one that has the most resonance. The guilt he feels over Jimmy's death and the horrific look on his face both times Red Eye controls him feels real, as well as intriguing. For a character we didn't even get to know until midway through the first season, he's the one with the most potential right now.
Other Thoughts:
It would be too easy for Avery Churchill to be telling the whole truth -- so what will our characters find when they get to Charleston?
Tom was able to easily overpower Pope -- just lucky or did the aliens make him stronger?
Was it weird that the camera was on Anne when Jimmy is dying? We don't actually see him stop breathing while Ben was in the room -- was that meant to imply that possibly Ben might have done something to him (even if he wasn't aware of it himself)?
And speaking of Anne -- her and Tom finally kiss. Kind of a random moment for him to finally make his move, though. But at least they're not dragging it out anymore.
What was Red Eye doing the second time he saw Ben? Will we find out later that he "said" something to him telepathically?
Quotes:
"It is now." -- Ben, gleefully, after killing a Skitter
"You of all people should know there's a big difference between retreat and surrender." -- Weaver to Tom
"Your boys will be looked after as if they were my own. That's a promise. Even the spikey one. Unless of course he goes full Skitter and then all bets are off." -- Pope to Tom
"Are you insane?" -- Weaver.
"I dunno. If I am, I guess we'll have that in common." -- Tom
"Like we don't see enough combat ... you have to go looking for it?" -- Weaver to Ben
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