Abhiroop Das
Created by Robert Rodat, ‘Falling Skies’ is set in a post-apocalyptic world where alien invasion has changed the face of Earth and the very meaning of humanity. As factions of people come together to resist the alien forces, the story of Tom Mason, a former military professor, takes center stage as he fights tooth and nail to protect his family. The previous season ends with Tom and the 2nd Mass forming an unlikely alliance with Red Eye and Skitters in the battle against the Espheni Overlords. However, their small victory is offset by Tom’s eldest son, Hal, being possessed by an alien parasite. Moreover, a new armored alien species enters the frame, and whether they are friend or foe can alter the future of humanity. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Falling Skies Season 3 Plot Recap
The third season of ‘Falling Skies’ opens a full seven months after the arrival of a new alien lifeform on Earth, called the Volm. The species has been battling the Espheni on a cosmic level for years and proposes an alliance with humanity, building the perfect tools for victory. In the present, Tom has been elected President of the United States, but that hardly stops him from participating in alien camp raids alongside the rest of the 2nd Mass. Meanwhile, the Volm, with the help of a scientist named Dr. Roger Kadar, seek to build a building-sized weapon that can bring all of the Espheni’s plans to dust. However, the Charleston settlement is not without its problems, and the biggest one is the threat of a mole within the 2nd Mass’s ranks.
Tom tasks Arthur Manchester with figuring out the mole’s real identity, not knowing that Hal himself might be the person they are looking for. The teen was infected by alien worms in the previous season finale, and here, they continue to carve into his mind, creating a split personality that is hell bent on destroying humanity. Elsewhere, Anne gives birth to her and Tom’s daughter, who is named Alexis. While the event sparks celebrations, Arthur Manchester is killed by the mole the same night, though their face isn’t shown. As the two-year anniversary of the invasion approaches, Anne begins noticing unusual and near-supernatural behaviors in her daughter. Upon closer look, Dr. Kadar confirms that Alexis is not exactly human, and that causes Anne to bolt with her daughter, fearing mistreatment from the public.
The 2nd Mass and Volm Weaken the Espheni’s Stronghold
Elsewhere, Hathaway, who held the position of President before the alien invasion, is confirmed to be alive. When he requests a meeting with the Volm and their leader, Cochise, we learn that the entities have a genuine motivation to help humanity. However, the group’s plane ride goes horribly wrong when aliens attack, leaving Cochise and Hathaway lost and injured. Tom, who was accompanied by John on the mission, manages to return to Charleston, only to learn that Anne and Alexis are missing. Around the same time, Hal’s alien programming begins to take over, and he decides to reveal the truth before it is too late. Through an excruciating procedure, the worms inside his eye are retrieved just in time, but with everyone still paranoid, Tom decides to leave Charleston with his family, in search of his partner and daughter.
While on their own, the Mason family is separated, and Tom is abducted by the Espheni. Here, Karen employs numerous strategies to learn the truth about the Volm, including dreams within dreams, but the exercise proves fruitless. Tom manages to escape once again and returns to the 2nd Mass, determined to defeat the invaders. The Volm’s secret machine is revealed to be a giant gun capable of destroying an Espheni mothership. The goal is to disrupt their space grid and allow more Volm ships to land on Earth. In the midst of the planning, the mole is finally revealed to be Lourdes. This further increases the motivation of the resistance, and despite the risks involved, Tom and company take the plunge and successfully trick the Espheni before firing at their Boston mothership. With the ship now destroyed, the aerial grid crumbles down, forcing the Espheni to reconsider their strategy and return to a more emotional angle to steer negotiations.
Falling Skies Season 3 Ending: Are Anne and Alexis Alive?
At the end of ‘Falling Skies’ season 3, both Anne and Alexis are found to be alive, and reunite with Tom and the rest of the 2nd Mass. With that, the bodies shown by Karen to Tom two are confirmed to be fakes that were used to simply torment him. The fact that the corpses were covered in that scene and are never visually confirmed to be those of Anne and Alexis is the first hint that the whole scene may be a hoax, in keeping with the hallucinatory tone of the rest of the episode. In the present, Anne and Alexis are released from alien custody as a gesture, meant to authenticate the aliens’ desire for a truce. However, as the aliens are defeated before any truce is finalized, their exact intentions are never revealed. While Karen claims that Anne and Alexis are being returned as a gift, it is entirely possible that they were meant to serve as bargaining chips.
With the aliens defeated once, Anne and Alexis return to their camp without any strings attached, bringing the series-wide arc to a close. The Mason family is now back in one piece once again, this time stronger than ever. However, within the period of Anne and Alexis’ absence, an avalanche of changes seems to have reshaped the familial dynamics. The most unexpected development turns out to be Alexis’s growth, as she is no longer an infant, but a child who is approximately six years old. This extraordinary feat draws the Espheni’s attention, leading to an even bigger problem. Much like Tom in season 2 and later Hal in this season, Anne and Alexis pose a serious risk of their senses being tampered with by alien bugs. Thus, the team is now as paranoid about the mother-daughter duo’s return as they are happy.
Is Alexis Human or an Alien?
Alexis’ rapid physical growth is not the only near-supernatural aspect about her. Earlier in the season, Dr. Kadar suggests that her DNA is part alien. To be specific, there is a clear alien influence over her human gene structure, and that explains an entire series of her inexplicable feats. From quickly learning human speech and behavior to showcasing exceptional intelligence, Alexis has all the makings of a superhuman, even surpassing her brother, Ben, in that regard. The comparison doesn’t come out of the blue, as his physical prowess is a direct result of the harnessing procedure. In Alexis’ case, the bigger question is not the nature of her heightened abilities and accelerated growth, but the origin of these phenomena.
The only real contact Anne makes with the Espheni is in the season two finale, when Karen points to her unborn child and prepares to unleash alien abilities. While Anne and company are saved at the last minute, it is possible that her baby was augmented within that split-second interaction, and thus has alien-like abilities at her disposal. Notably, Alexis is not precisely an Espheni, nor a human, but a completely new species. This raises questions about her lifespan, as while she may be aging rapidly, her lifespan is not guaranteed to expand proportionately. To that end, we might see Alexis leave the rest of the Mason family sooner than expected, especially as she is now a sought-after target for both humans and aliens alike, united in their curiosity and fear regarding this new type of lifeform.
Is Lourdes Healed?
One of the many inexplicable things that Alexis pulls off in the finale is getting rid of all of Lourdes’ alien worms. After being revealed as the mole and defeated, Lourdes is held prisoner and later used as bait for aliens in Charleston. While the plan is to keep casualties to a minimum on every level, she ultimately gets grievously injured and has to be treated while simultaneously being imprisoned. However, in a surprise turn of events, Alexis walks up to Lourdes’ cage and touches her face. In an instant, a swarm of alien worms pours out of her body and pools up in Alexis’ hand, seemingly attracted to her very presence. While the scene reiterates her part-alien nature, her intentions indicate otherwise. Alexis crushes the worms into powder, seemingly bringing Lourdes back to her senses.
Lourdes’ consciousness coming back is in keeping with the show’s long tradition of rescuing humans from alien control. While the harnessed children are the most evident examples of this, Hal and Tom’s brief struggle with alien augmentations bears the most resemblance to Lourdes’ arc. As such, it is likely that she will rejoin the 2nd Mass as a key player upon full recovery. While her actions under Espheni influence have led to the deaths of many, none of it was actually her fault. However, dealing with the feelings of guilt and psychological turmoil likely won’t be an easy task. Still, the 2nd Mass’s resilience in the face of alien manipulation tactics is bound to give her the strength she needs to return to the team.
Is Karen Dead or Alive? What Happens to the Espheni?
Season 3 of ‘Falling Skies’ notably ends with the death of Karen Adler, who briefly returns to her real consciousness in her dying moments. Initially, she meets the 2nd Mass as the mediator for the truce meeting, but her role is cut short when Tom shoots her, seemingly to avenge Anne and Alexis’ murder. While the latter two are confirmed to be alive, Karen’s fate is sealed with this move. The fatal injury also undoes her harness, breaking the psychological spell that the Espheni have had on her for two seasons. Fittingly, she meets Hal in her final moments and says that her wish this entire time has been to be with him. As she apologizes, Maggie enters the frame and shoots Karen twice, killing her.
Although Karen is presented as an antagonistic force this entire season, all of her actions can be traced back to her alien programming. To that end, her dream sequences with Hal gain a new layer of meaning, as they can be interpreted as her subconscious desire to break free of Espheni control and be with Hal. However, in reality, she is never offered the chance and ultimately meets her tragic end. With Karen gone, the Espheni lose their greatest communications tool, as well as the last chance to negotiate a truce deal with the 2nd Mass. Thoroughly defeated on the Boston front, they are forced to retreat for the first time in two years since the invasion, marking a landmark victory for humanity.
Why do the Volm let the 2nd Mass go?
Unlike the Espheni, who are the clear-cut villains of ‘Falling Skies,’ the Volm occupy a narratively gray position, and their alliance with humanity is constantly put under question. When the larger Volm forces descend on Earth, however, some things become crystal clear. The Volm fully intend to make the battle their own, given their long and violent history with the Espheni. This means cutting out humans from the resistance entirely, and the 2nd Mass refuses to accept that as a reality. At the end, the humans reject the Volm proposal and choose to continue fighting, and the alien species are forced to relent to their wishes. Cochise, who has grown to be Tom’s trusted friend, sends the group off, cautiously hopeful about their future success against the Espheni.
The proposal to give up on resistance is not new in the show. As seen in the season two finale, the Charleston leaders make the same offer to the 2nd Mass, pointing to the safety and comfort of the underground settlement. However, the crew’s desire for freedom reaches far beyond the fulfillment of basic necessities, and it is this drive that sets them apart. Cochise’s father, the leader of the Volm, remarks that humans are the only species to reject a proposal of sanctuary, and this is not without reason. It is only because the 2nd Mass moves forward with grit and passion that they have managed to clench so many victories, and that feat doesn’t go unnoticed by the Volm. As such, humanity, through the 2nd Mass, continues fighting for its own independence, with or without any help.
Read More: Falling Skies Season 4 Ending Explained: Is Tom Alive? Is He Dreaming?
