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  Rick Thompson
Rick-S2-Crop
Actor Daniyah Ysrayl
Seasons Season 1 & 2
First Appearance Prisoner of War
Last Appearance Love and Other Acts of Courage

Allegiance Skitter Rebellion
2nd Mass (formerly)
Age 14-15
Occupation Student (Pre-Invasion)
Family Mike Thompson - Father †
Cause of Death Shot in the stomach by Boon.
Status Dead
Rick-Dead
Rick dead after being shot by Boon
Make them believe.
— Rick's last words to Ben.

Rick Thompson was the son of resistance fighter Mike Thompson. He was captured during the Invasion of Earth and became one of the Skitter's harnessed children.

Although living with the 2nd Mass, he remained vocal in his fierce loyalty to the Skitters, who he believed to be morally superior to humans, up until Eight Hours. Later he regains his faith in skitters but also in mankind, seeking to facilitate an alliance between the rebellion and resistance. In Season 2 he is accidentally shot by Boon during the chaos when the Red Eye escapes.

Pre-Invasion[]

Rick spent more time with doctors than with friends as a result of him being born with cystic fibrosis.

Story[]

"Prisoner of War"[]

Rick was first seen picking up shrapnel for the Skitters and Mechs. During this sighting, Rick was grabbed by his father, Mike and was taken back to the high school so Dr. Harris could try to release him from the harness.

"Grace"[]

As soon as Rick wakes up, the captive Skitter wakes up, signifying a possible connection between the two. After reattaching his own harness, Rick was used by the Skitter to communicate with the group. Mike then ripped the harness off his son's back.

"Silent Kill"[]

Later on, Rick is approached by Hal in the courtyard, where Hal asks him what it is like to be harnessed. Based upon this conversation, Hal determines that it might be possible to simply sneak in and rescue Ben, which he does.

"Sanctuary (Part 1)"[]

Rick later joins his father and the rest of the children in the trip to the Sanctuary.

"Sanctuary (Part 2)"[]

At dinner in the Sanctuary, Rick does not eat the food they were prepared, and asks Ben how he can eat their food. After escaping from the Sanctuary with the other children, Rick's father is killed while protecting his son. At his father's funeral, Rick comments on how bizarre it is that "they", as in humans, kill each other. Ben is taken back by this.

"What Hides Beneath"[]

He also draws pictures one of them, a charcoal sketch depicting them as a spider nursing her brood. He also produces a remarkable likeness of Captain Weaver's old neighborhood and home, presumably despite not ever being there before. Noticing this it prompted Weaver to join the scout team for the structure in Boston to determine how to best destroy it. Anne and Ben later speak about Rick, and Anne tells him that she's worries him, with his father gone there's not a place for him in the gym as people are afraid and that she's worried about his attitude, as it seems his father's death has barely registered. Later after John Pope demonstrates the new ammunition he is manufacturing from Mech metal and fires a bullet through the head of a wrecked Mech, he runs off, presumably to find a Skitter to warn of the 2nd Mass impending attack on the aliens with their new ammunition.

"Mutiny"[]

While Ben is inspecting the transmitter, Rick walks in. Ben tells him that the transmitter will be able to jam the skitters, however Rick says that they then won't be able to find them. Ben asks if he's new thing is to come in and creep him out, and Rick asks why he hasn't told the other humans about him. Rick tells Ben that he hasn't told anyone because he's scared, and that he can feel the change as well. Rick walks to the window and says he hopes they come soon.

"Eight Hours"[]

He later attacks Scott and sabotages the radio they were using to jam the Skitters. When Ben confronts him about this he tries to convince Ben to escape with him and find the Skitters. He escapes the school and after wandering in the woods he finds Megan. She says they will welcome him back if he tells them everything about the 2nd Mass. After the encounter with Megan, Tom finds him and Rick realizes the Skitters do not truly love him, crying and saying that he misses his father. He appears to snap out of his loyalty to the Skitters and seems to become loyal to the 2nd Mass once more.

When Weaver overheard Anne say they had run out of medicine, Weaver called Rick and Ben over. Weaver told them the enemy was surrounding them. He said under normal circumstances he wouldn't go to them but he was out of choices. Weaver wondered if they could still sense the Skitters. Weaver felt he could use them to find a way out between the enemy lines. Ben felt he could sense them if they were close enough. Weaver then asked Rick if he could. Rick said he still heard them and that he would do what he could. He then allowed them to leave, telling them to keep their heads down and not to engage the enemy. After traveling for some time Rick sensed the Skitters were close and told Ben, Ben said he knew. Rick then heard something else and asked Ben if he did. Ben said he did and that something was following them. Jimmy revealed himself to the two boys and said he was making sure they didn't get into trouble. Rick and Ben then heard the buzzing, meaning Skitters were nearby so they hid in a pharmacy.

"Shall We Gather at the River"[]

After Tom returns to the 2nd Mass, Anne Glass revealed to him that Rick went missing: "I don't know. One day he was here, the next he's gone."

"Love and Other Acts of Courage"[]

Several weeks later he reappeared, having been found by Hal in a battlefield where Skitters and Mechs had been fighting each other. He is taken to Anne in the medical convoy and treated but remains unconscious for a time. When he awakens he is in shock and not speaking, this is until Tom arrives and Rick ask's where Ben (who had been missing) is. Tom decides to follow Rick after arguing the point with Weaver. Rick then leads a group to where he believes Ben could be, following signals from his newly glowing spikes (a trait seen in Ben previously by Hal), when they were close he senses Ben and another, leading the group to them. Here Tom and the group meet Red Eye and Ben who's defending him. Rick begins acting as the translator for the Red-Eyed Skitter until it passes out (forcing Rick to as well), the group take the pair back to the 2nd's camp where Anne treats the skitter until it awakens. Rick begins translations between the skitter and Tom (discussing the rebellion of the skitters and a potential alliance) but they are interrupted by an approaching attack squad after Red Eye. Rick dies when Boon accidentally hits him in the chest with a blast from a shotgun as he was trying to shoot the escaping Red Eye during the chaos. His final plea to Ben was to make his father understand as he "still had a father", dying in Ben's hands hoping for an alliance between his 2 families.

Death[]

Killed By[]

After Captain Daniel Weaver orders the death of Red Eye, Boon tried to kill him with a shotgun. Trying to stop Boon, Rick jumped in front of him and was accidentally shot by Boon with a shotgun, leaving Rick mortally wounded. As he died with Ben by his side, Rick told Ben to make his father and the others believe about the Skitter Rebellion.

Appearances[]

Season 1 appearances
Live and Learn The Armory Prisoner of War Grace Silent Kill
Sanctuary (Part 1) Sanctuary (Part 2) What Hides Beneath Mutiny Eight Hours
Season 2 appearances
Worlds Apart Shall We Gather at the River Compass Young Bloods Love and Other Acts of Courage
Homecoming Molon Labe Death March The Price of Greatness A More Perfect Union

Abilities[]

Due to his harness spikes, Rick developed superhuman abilities.

  • Superhuman Agility: Due to his spikes, Rick became much more agile, able to climb up a wall and brace himself in a corner.
  • Enhanced Speed: Rick's spikes increased his speed as seen during his escape from John F. Kennedy High School after attacking Uncle Scott.
  • Skitter Communication: Rick's spikes enabled him to communicate with Skitters telepathically. A Skitter could use this to speak through Rick as seen with the captured Skitter and Red Eye. When this happened, Rick's spikes would glow. If Rick was connected to a Skitter in this manner when it was injured, he would suffer harm as well as seen when Rick collapsed at the same time as an injured Red Eye.

Trivia[]

  • During a Q&A with Greg Beeman he answers that Rick died mostly because he felt he'd served all the story purpose he could. Another reason being that Daniyah Ysrayl lives in Toronto, and since they didn't have a series contract with him it wasn't possible to fly him cross-coast all the time. [1]

Gallery[]

Sources[]

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