In the Science Fiction, or Sci-Fi (definitely not SyFy), genre there is a popular theme for characters in the post apocalypse landscape of shows like ‘Battlestar Galactica’, ‘The Walking Dead’ and now even ‘Falling Skies’; love. In ‘BSG’, the newly appointed Madam President of the, now defunct, 12 Colonies said it best, “They better start having babies”. This is a topic that has been briefly bridged in this past week’s episode “Silent Kill”.

Now I’m not naïve enough to think having babies and love go hand-in-hand, but for the sake of Network or Cable drama they typically do. ‘Falling Skies’ has not been immune to this trend, following the lines of Chief and Cally, Chief and Boomer, Lee and Dee, Lee and Starbuck, Adama and Roslin in ‘BSG’, Rick, Shane and Lori in the ‘Walking Dead’, and now Tom Mason (Noah Wyle) and Dr. Anne (Moon Bloodgood) in ‘Falling Skies’ can be added to that list. See it’s a trend; love is in the air even during the worst possible catastrophe.

Now, the sparks of love are slowly simmering beneath the surface for Tom and Dr. Anne; they both lost nearly everything in the Skitter attack and have found each other in the 2nd Mass. Tom lost his wife in the initial attack and has his boys to look out for; while Dr. Anne has to look out for the rest of the unit and all of the civilians. Yet they are still finding time to share small moments together. It may not be a full-blown love affair, but TNT and the writers at ‘Falling Skies’ are definitely laying the groundwork.

How is Tom Mason going to react to these feelings for another woman? That remains to be seen, but I can bet he will be conflicted for sure, and he will worry about what his boys think of him moving on so soon after their mom’s death. I think it will be good for morale to see two of their leaders setting the path to moving on with life when all seems lost.

On one hand, I think it is important to show these kinds of relationships in shows dealing with humanity surviving and fighting to save what they know. On the other hand, I feel like too much time spent on the topic of love and moving on takes away from the action and Sci-Fi aspect of these shows. I know it’s all about drama, but sometimes it has to be about the Science Fiction. I also understand it is about bringing all kinds of viewers, but I don’t have to be crazy about it.

Anyway, Tom and Dr. Anne have a long way to go before they are able to express their love, but hopefully it will be an interesting journey built more on the drama of the show and less on the “will they or won’t they” kind of a premises. It is not only old and played out, but it will be another cliché for ‘Falling Skies’ to visit, and while the buzz on the show has been positive, the show is not immune to the trappings of the genre. So, if they keep it simple and keep it authentic we can look forward to Tom and Dr. Anne having a long and loving relationship… as long as the Skitters don’t win.