Respite

"Respite"
Season Five, Episode Six
Episode	48
Air date	August 2, 2015
Written by	Ayanna Floyd
Directed by	Jonathan Frakes
US Viewers	1.93 million
Episode Guide
previous Non-Essential Personnel	next Everybody Has Their Reasons
Cast Guide
Starring
Noah Wyle as Tom Mason Moon Bloodgood as Anne Glass Drew Roy as Hal Mason Connor Jessup as Ben Mason Maxim Knight as Matt Mason Sarah Carter as Margaret Doug Jones as Cochise Will Patton as Daniel F. Weaver
Also Starring
Treva Etienne as Dingaan Botha Catalina Sandino Moreno as Isabella Todd Weeks as Marty Chelah Horsdal as Alicia Brendan Meyer as Kyle Timothy Webber as Willie McComb

"Respite" is the sixth episode of Season 5, and overall the forty eighth episode of Falling Skies. It was written by Ayanna Floyd and directed by Jonathan Frakes. It first aired on TNT August 2nd, 2015. It drew 1.93 million US viewers.

Plot Summary

Tom takes refuge with a unique family who has distanced themselves from the fight, giving him a glimpse of life without war.

Plot

Tom Mason wakes up in a bed, with a woman he thinks at first is Rebecca treating the wounds on his face. He reacts badly to her presence and the woman leaves the room locking the door behind her. Mason finds a weapon and an older man enters with a rifle. After a brief standoff explanations are given from both sides.

The leader of the 2nd Mass is in a part of North Carolina that has not been touched by the war. The man, his daughter, and her three children are staying out of the fight. Mason gets a break from the war, and it is overwhelming; he cries at dinner and tells the family that he is fine when asked.

The woman, Alicia, lost her husband to another war and she wants to protect her family. Her oldest son, Kyle, strains boundaries and wants to know what is really going on. When he learns about the conflict from Tom the 15 year-old wants to join the effort.

Back at the 2nd Mass, Weaver is having a hard time accepting the fawning gratitude of Marty, the grief-stricken and slightly mad father from last week's episode, who shot Daniel. As they bivouac for the night, Marty is so intrusive that he is making Weaver uncomfortable; arranging his backpack and tent, and finally Weaver asks Marty to find him a bottle of whiskey.

They have followed the signal to a distillery and Weaver has split the 2nd Mass into separate groups to search for the source; the transmitter. Maggie asks Anne to take out her spikes, that Ben gave her, and Anne says no. Glass tells her that later they can talk about removing them, but now she needs her "super soldier."

Cochise tells Maggie that he will take them out. Later, he attempts to remove the three spikes and on the last one, problems arise. The final spike attempts to dig in further and starts cutting off Maggie's spinal cord. Cochise gets Anne who steps in to finish the procedure. The spikes are successfully removed and Ben is upset that Maggie had them taken out.

“I gave you part of me,” Ben says, “and you threw them into the trash.” Ben also tells Maggie that he loves her. Meanwhile Tom continues to heal and bond with the little family who saved him from the giant hornet. Hal and Isabella are also bonding as they search for Tom. On the way they find the giant hornet, it is wounded but still alive. After Hal empties his gun’s clip into the creature, Isabella notices wheeled tracks that lead away and they follow the trail. Later while camping for the night, Isabella reveals that her father was a diplomat who taught her that people were essentially good inside - she tells Hal that she has since learned differently but concedes that ''It's war - it happens.'' After a moment, they share a kiss.

Back at the distillery, Marty has gone off to find his hero and savior a bottle of whiskey. Just as he finds the elusive item, he sees something glowing underneath some wooden flooring. He pries a board up and finds the Espheni transmitter. Telling Weaver, Marty gets more praise for his find than for the whiskey and it looks like this may turn the tide of the war.

Back at the farm, Tom has to tell Alicia’s oldest son about the war that she has hidden from him. The boy finds remains of a Mega-Mech and Kyle tells Tom that he wants to be a fighter like his late father.

The episode ends with the family staying where they are, Hal finding Tom and returning to the 2nd Mass. Ben is upset, as is Anne; although she is angrier at Cochise, “you want to explain to me what you thought you were doing,” she asks him and he replies, “Not really.” Isabella may have bonded with Hal but when they get back to the 2nd Mass, the existence of Maggie, who she was aware of, puts the dampers on this burgeoning relationship.

Other Cast

Co-Starring

• Dakota Guppy as Jessica
• Dean Petriw as Zach

Uncredited

• Jon Johnson as Jon
• D Harlan Cutshall as Butterfield
• Greg Zach as Franks

Deaths

• None

Significant Events

• Tom Mason and Hal Mason return to the 2nd Mass.
• The 2nd Mass discovers a Shadow Plane's hub.
• When Daniel Weaver connects to the Shadow Plane, he discovers many Espheni Overlords communicating.
• Maggie has her spikes removed by Cochise.
• Ben confesses his love for Maggie.

Tom's History Lesson

• Tom mentions that cigarettes haven't been popular since the Nixon administration.

Outside References

• Hal Mason discusses the Super Bowl scores with Isabella.

Photos

		Falling Skies Season 5
#01	Find Your Warrior		#09	Reunion
#02	Hunger Pains		#10	Reborn
#03	Hatchlings
#04	Pope Breaks Bad
#05	Non-Essential Personnel
#06	Respite
#07	Everybody Has Their Reasons
#08	Stalag 14th Virginia