| Skitter (Prisoner of War) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Seasons | Season 1 |
| First Appearance | "Prisoner of War" |
| Last Appearance | "Silent Kill" |
| Race | Skitter |
| Allegiance | Espheni |
| Origin | Skitter homeworld |
| Cause of Death | Stabbed in its nerve center by Anne Glass. |
This skitter attacked Tom Mason in a tunnel and was captured by him. During its imprisonment it tried to communicate to the 2nd Mass but failed due to an obvious language barrier. It is possible the Skitter tried to talk through Rick, but Rick's father ripped off his harness before any real talk could be done. It was eventually killed by Anne Glass.
Story[]
Season 1[]
"Prisoner of War"[]
It was first seen near a group of harnessed children and went into a building and went into a tunnel. While Tom was searching for his sons Hal and Ben, he was walking down a dark tunnel, he used the flashlight Dai gave him when he turned it on, and he found the Skitter right in front of him. After a brief fight Tom used a shotgun to shoot off two of the Skitters legs, while it was wounded he beat it repeatedly with the flashlight. He dragged it all the way back to where the Resistance was as a prisoner of war. Being the first one they captured alive, they made a cell for it so Dr. Harris could study it. It appears to be weakened the rest of the episode, when near the end it eventually woke up.
"Grace"[]
It wakes up and bangs on the door to escape, however it is calmed down by Tom Mason, Anne Glass and Michael Harris were assigned to communicate with it. Anne had a more soft teaching method however Michael Harris did not, resulting in it becoming unhappy multiple times which made it hate Harris and like Anne. Mike approached it and like Harris was very mean Mike interrogated and tortured it for answers. Mike hit it in the mouth with his gun knocking it out which provided more info about Skitters due to its reaction. It attempted to use Rick to communicate by getting Rick to put on the harness. Mike and Harris wouldn't listen and Mike even ripped off the harness making it mad.
"Silent Kill"[]
It kills Harris while he was researching it; he flashed a light in its eyes and tried to inject it with something, angering it. Captain Weaver decided it needed to die for this, Dr. Glass said they still had things to learn from it. Weaver agreed to keep it alive for 24 hours, after which he would kill it himself. Anne teaches the others to kill a Skitter silently by stabbing the "soft pallet" in the back of the Skitter's mouth with a scalpel.
Death[]
Killed By[]
After Tom and Hal Mason asked for a way to kill a Skitter while it was sleeping, Anne told them that there was one possible way: a few days before, Mike Thompson had hit the Skitter in its soft pallet where there was a nerve center connected to its brain stem. Anne theorized that attacking this spot with a weapon could kill a Skitter. To test it, Anne opened the Skitter's cage on the guise of giving it water and then tasered it. While the Skitter was stunned, Anne thrust a scalpel through it mouth into its soft pallet and nerve center. After writhing in pain, the Skitter dropped dead when Anne removed the scalpel.
Notes[]
- While the 2nd Mass dismissed Rick Thompson apparently communicating for the Skitter, given later encounters, it is very likely that the Skitter was actually communicating through Rick.
- The Skitter appeared to be afraid when the fact that Rick's harness was removed was revealed. It was at this point that it requested to die, possibly afraid of some form of punishment.
- This Skitter is indicated to be the first thing Anne ever killed.
- After killing it, Anne wipes the Skitter's blood on the memorial board for the lost children in place of a picture or toy belonging to her deceased son Sam.
- The "silent kill" method created by Anne through this Skitter is later adapted and used by the 2nd Mass many times.