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In the classic film "War of the Worlds", when humanity was faced with extinction at the hand of an alien race, the people were shown huddled in churches, hoping for a miracle.
I can't help but notice that in "Falling Skies"-- which I love, by the way-- there is no spiritual leader, no sanctuary, and little or nothing to give the survivors reason to have faith. They seem to live in a perpetual state of limbo, lost and without direction or faith. If this were a real situation, would there not be prayer? Just sayin'.
In the book of War of the Worlds by Wells, there is actually little mention of churches. The people in Falling Skies would recognise that world and the people in it. Its a really sunning *book* to read outloud and let all the images form in your head. The two that stand out most to me are the people running in panic from the martians, trampling and shoving away the same neighbors they greated that morning, and people trying to escape from London, running for the trains, mainly freight, dumping them empty and crowding until none can move in the hope of surviving for in this case the ones who don't take the chance of surviving the journey will die. The soldier digging his way into a secret world, with a dream our traveler wishes he could share, except the dreamer was too lost in his dream is also most powerful.
The fifties 'classic' skipped the whole point, which was Earth under the Martians, with the Red Weed and the whole second half of the book. That was the legacy of the Martians, not the middle of the book where that film leaves off. I like it but don't consider it a real version. The fx were good, but the message was very over muddled by the politics of the time. When the martians come and just destroy the church would be something you'd expect from the book. I don't think they'd gather in large groups, but hide in small ones hoping not to be noticed like the children did where Weaver found his daughter. The one mention of churches in Well's novel is the preacher who has lost faith and his wife who insists there must be more to life, and a hope of tomorrow. When the martians drag her away he sacrifices himself to them.
I'm thinking in a real situation some would be praying. But they wouldn't be with this group, or more likely it would be private. This group is about simple survival, and their hope is to fight long enough for enough of their own to survive to start over. Its also a very very powerful message. Private things have become very private to them, and that is respected. Faith is often a private thing, so I would expect that would continue to be. They bury their own, but leave the ones they don't know on the ground to rot. Their world has shrunk down to being a very small one where the known alone are allowed to matter.
I'm looking forward to the graphic novel about Fitchberg. The first was rather good. But imagine the psycyological effect of seeing some half of your own die in a trap. You don't see many small children anymore. And NO non-combatents. Even but the few smallest of children are carrying arms and know how to use them. But the effect of that loss on them psychologically would have been stunning and now they go day to day, like the calander the doctor keeps. The day ends with you alive, you get another. The day ends without you, you lost. Yes, they mourn but live every moment knowing that it might be the last and their point of view has narrowed to what might insure that happens.
There might have been someone who did spiritual duties before fitchberg but maybe along with the last vestage if illusion, they died too. There were a great many who we never saw and neither Tom nor Weaver strike me as those who would go looking for one. They had all the candlelit memorials, but those are over too. Dead is dead. Missing is gone. But they do bury their dead and recover the bodies if they can, so they may just be saying silent personal prayers now.
It will be interesting so see if they make Charleston and its not a ruse, how others are doing it differently.
One of the criticisms of the 'classic' woftheworlds film is the religious bent, which was never there in the Well's story, but added since it was the fifties and it was required. I much prefer the Tom Cruise version, which very much tells the story Wells did. And its STILL spooky seeing the lines of beaten down refugees wandering away from war but barely noticing anything, like it was some tribal third world hell. Which it is but the winners were martians. When the scores of lost and desperate poured out of New Orleans, it reminded me of that. This was the FIRST film, by the way, which featured American refugees in a world which has or nearly had lost. Much more authentic to the book and the story it told.
Whaaaaaaaaa. In Two weeks. A marithon is good, but I already did two of those.
Good episode. The end was a true step beyond for Tom and Ben.
I'll say more when it just hasn't been on, but it left lots to wonder about.
(and this time of year every creepy crawly around hatches out and invades you here, and I already wish it was winter and it snowed and they'd all die... )
In the classic film "War of the Worlds", when humanity was faced with extinction at the hand of an alien race, the people were shown huddled in churches, hoping for a miracle.
I can't help but notice that in "Falling Skies"-- which I love, by the way-- there is no spiritual leader, no sanctuary, and little or nothing to give the survivors reason to have faith. They seem to live in a perpetual state of limbo, lost and without direction or faith. If this were a real situation, would there not be prayer? Just sayin'.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AutumnTraveler
Excellent observation! You would think at least one person among the bunch would provide that role. Then Dan Weaver, after describing the next plan, would say "And now, Bishop will lead us into prayer..."
And where exactly would such "faith" stem from? Everything around them has been destroyed. Prayer up until the current moment in the story hasn't yielded much if any success has it?
With all the events which happened in the last episode, the one that stands out if Ben walking away at the end. And Tom does not think of the augmentations from the spikes, or the growing likelyhood that Redeye really is an ally of their cause, or anything but Kindergarten. And you can see he understands that Ben, not the one changed, but what of him is the Ben he was, has grown up now and can make his own decisions with calm and confidence. It all hooks back to the comment in the beginning from Ben that fifteen year olds fought in the Revolution, and weren's second guessed. Its this very personal statement about their world, that now, in this one, childhood is over for all of them.
I checked the website and all surviving episodes on the dvr, but the second season promo with Ben standing next to his father, addressing that crowd, saying he knows why they had to keep fighting ect got erased. I sure wish I had a copy since I'd like to see the full words. If it is "keep fighting" does that mean they got the offer of their own personal human ghetto and have to decide?
Lourdes has been providing some spiritual input from time to time. This time we lost Jamil but gained Pope who just showed up out of nowhere motivated and ready to follow orders. Yeh, right. After the fight he had with Tom last encounter and he’s all better now? He had to have gotten past the 2nd Mass gate sentries but where has he been? The little bugs reminded me very strongly of the Replicators from SG-1 and I hope the show isn’t going to start wandering off the deep end towards the ridiculous.
To be honest the show is starting to lose my attention as I find the interaction with the skitters monitoring the 2nd Mass position too prolonged. If they are giving 2nd Mass a pass just to try and find the rebellion skitter Red Eye then maybe, but with the skitter and overlord technology you’d think it would be easier for them.
I bet saving the overlord’s life will come back later with a favorable result like later on they could be surrounded and the overlord will intervene and prevent them from being slaughtered.
Lourdes has been providing some spiritual input from time to time. This time we lost Jamil but gained Pope who just showed up out of nowhere motivated and ready to follow orders. Yeh, right. After the fight he had with Tom last encounter and he’s all better now? He had to have gotten past the 2nd Mass gate sentries but where has he been? The little bugs reminded me very strongly of the Replicators from SG-1 and I hope the show isn’t going to start wandering off the deep end towards the ridiculous.
To be honest the show is starting to lose my attention as I find the interaction with the skitters monitoring the 2nd Mass position too prolonged. If they are giving 2nd Mass a pass just to try and find the rebellion skitter Red Eye then maybe, but with the skitter and overlord technology you’d think it would be easier for them.
I bet saving the overlord’s life will come back later with a favorable result like later on they could be surrounded and the overlord will intervene and prevent them from being slaughtered.
I thought Tom shot the overlord in the first place?
I thought Tom shot the overlord in the first place?
True. The Overlord played his game wrong, starting to kill Ben, then getting Tom to beg, then taunting him. Everyone has a breaking point, and Tom found his.
I think one things the Overlord has learned is Tom will do what he threatens, and if it ever comes to a point where they are armed sufficently to really hurt back, I'll bet Tom would really want to. Now that Ben is no longer with them I wonder if their small protection will be over. Or are there things Tom knows he just doesn't remember that they are also worried about?
I suspect the Overlords may be figuring out that the psychology of this species is not quite as they assumed and while in the end they will win, its going to be more messy than usual.
Lourdes has been providing some spiritual input from time to time. This time we lost Jamil but gained Pope who just showed up out of nowhere motivated and ready to follow orders. Yeh, right. After the fight he had with Tom last encounter and he’s all better now? He had to have gotten past the 2nd Mass gate sentries but where has he been? The little bugs reminded me very strongly of the Replicators from SG-1 and I hope the show isn’t going to start wandering off the deep end towards the ridiculous.
To be honest the show is starting to lose my attention as I find the interaction with the skitters monitoring the 2nd Mass position too prolonged. If they are giving 2nd Mass a pass just to try and find the rebellion skitter Red Eye then maybe, but with the skitter and overlord technology you’d think it would be easier for them.
I bet saving the overlord’s life will come back later with a favorable result like later on they could be surrounded and the overlord will intervene and prevent them from being slaughtered.
I wouldn't call Lourdes point of view spiritual as much as compassionate. The doctor is busy and in the zone and Lourdes was the human connection for the patient. It was interesting that she was deliberatly chosen for the characters who loses faith, where there is nothing left, since she had always been consistantly there with compassion and encouragement to hope. Now, she has lost it. But Jamil was the last best thing in her life, and I think she connected all of the hope to him, and when he met such a horrific death, she let it all go. Sad, but its true of how people work.
I suspect Pope has been shadowing them, since he was pretty much alone. They found them along a road I think, when Karen was still their 'guest'. Of course he'd not going to follow orders like others, but I think he knows where survival lays, and will probably be *allowed* to go rogue when its suitable. But they need everyone they can get.
The idea for the small bugs was probably something like that, but the replicators were not biological. These are AI/Organic mixes with that special horror of eating one from the inside out. Ugh. Almost worse than the SGI types, but in line with the other alien tech like the harnesses and ships on this show.
The eye probe was more like the replicator tech, being as it was not 'alive'.
If the Overlord risked life and limb to leave his safe spaceship, then he had to *really* have a good reason. Ben said they are really worried that the skitters rebellion will join the humans. They overlords are not quite as assured as they think. How many wars on this planet have ended with an offical 'victory' which wasn't when disloyal within your side margainize your effectiveness and continued wasting away at your resources make it no longer desirable to waste any more. I see this as the equalivancy of the rise of guerilla warfare after WW2, which gained its impidus for the native training in this given locals under Japanese occupation. Sometimes it was so successful that areas were abandoned. At the least it made it impossible to trust anyone but yourself. Short of mass genocide of everyone around, we still don't know how to really 'win' a guerilla war.
The human resistance isn't impeding them much now, but if they do join with the skidders and had weaponry which would do major damage, and an understanding of the strategy used against them, most would fight til they died trying. That could be bad news for the Overlords.
Put the skidders under Redeye into the mix as the uncertain forces and you can go there easily.
Question is, would the overlords just go, assuming the locals did not have the teck to follow or warn anyone else, or would they waste the skidders, of any possible persuasion first just to be sure nobody could follow. This would also apply to those like Ben. And they'd deharness the rest.
And where exactly would such "faith" stem from? Everything around them has been destroyed. Prayer up until the current moment in the story hasn't yielded much if any success has it?
The faithful do not ordinarily abandon their faith in the face of tragedy, they embrace it.
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