The Armory

"The Armory"
Season 1, Episode 2

Episode	2
Air date	June 19th, 2011
Written by	Graham Yost
Directed by	Greg Beeman
US Viewers	5.91M
Episode Guide
previous Live and Learn	next Prisoner of War
Cast Guide
Starring
Noah Wyle as Tom Mason Moon Bloodgood as Anne Glass Drew Roy as Hal Mason Jessy Schram as Karen Nadler Maxim Knight as Matt Mason Seychelle Gabriel as Lourdes Delgado Peter Shinkoda as Dai Mpho Koaho as Anthony Sarah Carter as Margaret Colin Cunningham as John Pope Will Patton as Daniel F. Weaver
Also Starring
Bruce Gray as Uncle Scott Martin Roach as Mike Thompson

"The Armory" is the second episode of Season 1, and overall the second episode of Falling Skies. It was written by Graham Yost and directed by Greg Beeman. It first aired on TNT on June 19, as the second part to the Falling Skies premiere, and drew 5.91 million US viewers.

Plot Synopsis[]

While scouting for supplies, Tom, Hal and their squad encounter a gang of marauders determined to get their hands on the 2nd Mass weapons. Leading the gang is an ex-con named John Pope, who decides to use his hostages as bargaining material.

Plot[]

At the Armory, Tom and the other members gather to see if aliens are present. Hal throws a tennis ball to the entrance, hoping that the dog with them will go for the ball. The dog moves forward, barking and a Mech appears. Before it can kill the dog, Jimmy stops it, compromising their position. They all move before the Mech attacks.

The next morning, Tom informs Weaver about the previous night's events. He tells Tom to return again tonight. Anne then confronts Weaver about the current sleeping situation, where civilians are living in tents and the fighters in houses. Anne deems it unfair, yet Weaver believes the soldiers need proper rest. Anne and Tom then discuss "civilians vs. the military". The pair then watches Uncle Scott teach the young kids about biology. Later, Uncle Scott talks to Tom about the aliens. He points out that when we made robots they looked essentially like us; however the Mechs do not look like the Skitters. After running into Lourdes, Karen talks to Hal about the other girl's intentions. Hal doesn't seem to care about Lourdes and kisses Karen. Tom interrupts, telling Hal they are due to return to the Armory later.

Later that night, the group gets ready. Jimmy is told that Click will be going in his place, which disappoints him. At the Armory, Click is shot and killed by two arrows and as he goes down, he shoots someone in the leg. It is revealed to be not aliens, but a group of outlaws who capture the group. The outlaws, led by a man named John Pope, take the group to an auditorium, tying them up. Pope interrogates them and Tom responds to all his answers. Pope pulls a gun on Tom, but Hal tells him that they can help him get weapons. Hal is led out of the auditorium by Margaret, a woman in Pope's gang, who gives him one hour to go back and get guns from the 2nd Mass. Tom and Pope discuss the aliens and Tom discovers that Pope is a gifted fighter. Tom asks for a beer and is untied by Pope, who notices Tom eying his brother's sidearm. He confronts him about it and Tom asks "What would you do?"

Hal returns and informs Weaver about the situation. Weaver says they will not trade with Pope and orders Mike to take Hal upstairs as prisoner until they are ready to leave. Mike, however, allows Hal to leave and on the way, Hal runs into Anne, who offers her assistance. They both return to find Margaret who escorts them back to Pope. Anne offers her assistance in relation to Pope's wounded brother, Billy. She bandages up his leg and Pope leaves him, Cueball and Margaret in charge of the prisoners as he and his other outlaws attempt to rob the 2nd Mass.

Pope sends a flare into the air to alert the airships, giving Weaver an ultimatum. Weaver reluctantly agrees and hands over food and ammunition. Back at Pope's base, Billy, Cueball and Margaret hold Tom and the others captive. Billy tells Karen to stand up and show her body, aggravating Margaret, who kills Billy and Cueball. She then lets the hostages go.

As Pope and his group load up the car, Tom and the other militia fire at them with guns, killing some of Pope's men. Tom offers him an ultimatum: "Join or die." Pope declines and waits for the aliens' attack. An airship flies above Pope, who drives away, allowing his men to be killed by the ships. Pope pulls aside not far away, trying to escape, but Weaver pulls a gun on him, taking him hostage.

The next day, Weaver talks to Tom about the events that occurred the previous night. He then hands Pope over to Tom, who puts him in custody. Tom meets up with Matt for a quick game of catch. After that Tom, Hal, Karen, Dai, Anthony and Margaret go in search of Ben at a local hospital.

Other Cast[]

Co-Starring[]

Uncredited[]

Deaths[]

Significant Events[]

Pope and his gang make their debut.
It is revealed Margaret was sexually abused by Pope's Brother and Cueball.
Margaret kills Pope's brother, Billy, and Cueball.
Margaret joins 2nd Mass.
An Airship kills the rest of Pope's Gang.
Pope is taken hostage by 2nd Mass.

Trivia[]

Greg Beeman stated that his first big project in the episode was to occupy an entire neighborhood. He needed to find an area that showed "No sign of humanity besides our fighters. That means we could see no cars driving by, no planes flying by, no incidental pedestrians, etc. Sometimes we had to take these kinds of things out digitally but mostly we had to figure out ways to frame them out."


		Falling Skies Season 1
#01	"Live and Learn"		#09	"Mutiny"
#02	"The Armory"		#10	"Eight Hours"
#03	"Prisoner of War"
#04	"Grace"
#05	"Silent Kill"
#06	"Sanctuary (Part 1)"
#07	"Sanctuary (Part 2)"
#08	"What Hides Beneath"