Word of God promises us the death of a “fairly major character” in Falling Skies season 2 and the guessing game is open. Let’s see which bet is a good investment.
Nomination 1: Matt Mason – $40
Tom’s youngest son sure hasn’t a lot to do and if so, it’s usually a no brainer. He certainly qualifies as “fairly major” since he’s a relative of 3 “very major” characters. But unlike them, he is at risk to grow out of his role: an actor can’t play a 9 years old forever. If Matt sticks around, Falling Skies wouldn’t be the first show to realize that the story is progressing too slow to keep up with the growth of a young actor. It usually results in killing the character, putting him on a bus (and having a magical plot device to justify the rapid aging in case of a return) or a recasting, which is certainly the most unfortunate solution. Better deal it with the old fashioned way of Infant Mortality and capitalize on the drama potential while you can. IMDB lists the character with credits for 20 (aka “all”) episodes though.
Nomination 2: Lourdes – $20
Lourdes has been nominated as “alien bait” due to previews for the next episode. However, it is also hinted that her relationship with Anne will grow this season and she got a love interest; something the writers seem rather obsessed with lately. She’s “fairly major” despite not getting very much development in season 1, but has caught up a bit in season 2. I personally have my doubts she’s the one to be killed off for real. Also credited for 20 episodes.
Nomination 3: Dai – $30
Dai is on the losing side of character development. Even the one episode character – the pilot from Charleston – revealed more about herself than Dai, billed as main character. He can basically be summarized as “Tom’s sidekick (if Hal isn’t being Tom’s sidekick)” and “not a man of many words”. He’s always around, does some things that make the viewer remember him – delivering the orders from Porter, taking out the antenna – but generally, it screams “Red Shirt” and “Sacrificial Lamp” all over. Credited for 20 episodes.
Nomination 4: Margaret – $40
She just got wounded by a raging super-human strength Karen and more or less dumped her love interest Hal – Karen’s ex, who still seems rather attached to her. Jimmy has shown that Dr. Glass will not magically save every wounded person who happens to land on her table, so just because Maggie was still breathing by the end of the episode, it doesn’t mean she’s over the hill. From the looks of it, the writers seem to favor the love triangle Hal-Karen-Ben over Maggie-Hal-Karen. All that sets off yellow alert for Maggie. Credited for 18 episodes.
Nomination 5: Anthony – $0
Sorry, guys, but I’m not nominating a character I see a damn lot potential in. You’re free to come up with your own evaluation, but I’ll ignore it. The only acceptable way for Anthony to die is in a blaze of glory, surrounded by alien motherships, fighting back to back with Pope, and there’d be a damn lot of explosives involved, too.
Nomination 6: Karen – $60
So she’s back from the near-dead, possibly unharnessed, likely still under alien influence, and ran off with Ben. She’s a major player in the current plot arc and she’s dangerous. One way or another, the 2nd Mass will have to deal with the issue. From a character development point of view, the main characters would profit most from her death, namely Ben and Hal. As it stands, she’s a threat of yet unknown dimensions – and threats need to be eliminated by the heroes. Credited for 9 episodes.
Nomination 7: Tector – $20
Also known as Cell Phone Guy, due to Tom calling him out on his lack of responsibility by saying “a few months ago, you were selling cell phones”. Genre logic dictates that Pope needs to kill him, or in other words: Major Paul Davis from SG-1 has to eliminate the leader of the Genii rebels; scientist Ladon Radim from SGA. I admit, that alone doesn’t make any sense. However, Tector got more lines and a bit of development – more than the other Berzerkers (and more than Dai – sorry, I had to point that out) and a girlfriend that seems not relevant to the writers. It does make him “fairly major”, though far enough from “major” to kill him without a fan outrage. The girlfriend also gives a background for a “fairly dramatic” death, as there is someone to mourn him, yet someone insignificant enough to not compromise the development of the main characters. It would be the savest bet for the writers to go with him. Credited for 8 episodes.
Nomination 8: Jamil – $30
“Fairly major” is probably the best way to describe Jamil. He’s one half of a “fairly major” couple (with Lourdes, the one couple that just “is”, but doesn’t get much spotlight), he has a “fairly major” profession (pulling Deus Ex Machinas outta nowhere) and gets a “fairly major” amount of screen time and lines. His predecessor, Uncle Scott, appearantly went boom off screen – according to Ben, Scott was torn into pieces by a mech bullet – so tech guys don’t seem to be a priority of the writers. But what mostly paints a target on his head is the hint that Lourdes will develop a stronger bond with Anne. We remember, Anne lost her husband and son in the initial alien attack. What better way to bring two people together than shared grief and similar experiences? Credited for 7 episodes.
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