Written by the first season showrunner Mark Verheiden and directed by Greg Beeman, "Worlds Apart" was the first original Falling Skies episode in 10 months.
Once Aubuchon entered the writer's room, he began speaking of the cliffhanger left over from the first season finale.
Assuming their father is dead, Tom's eldest son, Hal, becomes more of a presence in the 2nd Mass, along with Ben, whose hatred of the Skitters grows stronger.
After Tom's return, through flashbacks, "Worlds Apart" details his torture by the Overlords and his pilgrimage back to the 2nd Mass.
Three months have passed since Tom Mason (Noah Wyle) boarded the spacecraft, and the 2nd Mass has been on the move.
Ben Mason (Connor Jessup), who was captured by the Skitters months earlier, has since grown to despise the extra terrestrials.
Anne Glass (Moon Bloodgood) and Lourdes (Seychelle Gabriel) operate on Tom.
It tells Tom about a “Neutral Zone”, in which survivors can live in peace – detained in a camp run by The Overlords.
[3] For the second season, Brandon Jay McLaren joined the cast in October as Jamil Dexter,[4] a mechanic.
[11][12] Once Aubuchon entered the writer's room, he began speaking of the cliffhanger "it became a really fun challenge."
"[1] Series lead Noah Wyle received several phone calls after the first season finale aired.
[1] Moon Bloodgood, who plays Dr. Anne Glass, says she was sort of daunted but impressed by the writing.
[1] Aubuchon added that Tom Mason's capture helped the writer's change the character slightly.
He said that Remi had "a lot of ideas about how to keep the good stuff we’d established in Season 1", and "diminish the things that weren’t as strong".
[13] Steven Spielberg's original conception of Falling Skies was that the characters in the series would be nomadic.
[13] The idea for the second season was to "create a mobile refugee camp made up of vehicles and rag-tag tents.
"[13] Chris Faloona, who was the Director of Photography in the first season, was unable to return due to commitments on another series, and Nate Goodman was hired.
[13] In its original American broadcast, "Worlds Apart" was seen by an estimated 4.46 million household viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.
[14] After spending the last several months mulling and anticipating the Falling Skies season 2 premiere, I finally got a look at the two-part debut including the episodes "World's Apart" and "Shall We Gather at the River".
Falling Skies has set the standard for prime-time action and Science Fiction and delivered an opening act that finally fulfills the promise of a blockbuster level experience on the small screen.
Newsday's Verne Gay called stated " "Skies" has made the bad guys intriguing, and now if it can only get serious about character development with the good ones -- humans -- then the second season will be a big improvement.
"[19] Chuck Barney declared "Sunday's explosive two-hour opener boldly delivers on the promise by TNT producers to rev up both the pace and the firepower in Season 2.
"[20] Matt Richenthal of TV Fanatic called the episode a "strong start overall to Falling Skies Season 2," and continued by praising the performances of Wyle, Patton and Cunningham.