'War of the Worlds' Episode 4 Review: The survivors become the focus as the sci-fi drama hits halfway mark
Spoiler alert for 'War of the Worlds' Episode 4
With more than five major characters, 'War of the Worlds' manages to divide the screentime between each without really rushing it despite reaching the halfway mark. As far as the writing for the episode goes, this makes perfect sense as the episode still delves into the psyche of the survivors who have barely made it alive.
One of the recurring themes in any alien v human show is the connection they share. It's something of an enigma. And Episode 4 gives us the first hint that there's a connection between some people and the race of extraterrestrials. Emily Gresham (Daisy Edgar-Jones) may be introduced as a blind character, however, she is one of the survivors with a strong bond to the aliens and her on-off sight restoration might have a more concrete explanation. The sci-fi drama also ensures the history of the aliens is a mystery.
The main character in focus is Stephen Campbell Moore as Jonathan Gresham. His plan is simple: Get to his family. His story picks up from the chance encounter with another survivor in Chloe Dumont (Stéphane Caillard), who's in search of her son, Sacha (Mathieu Torloting). The duo journey across the desolate and yet dangerous streets of France and eventually make their way to her home where they reunite with a terrified Sacha.
Chloe's backstory as a rape victim is another minor storyline. However, it becomes a lot more prominent when Sacha uses that news to kill Noah (Guillaume Gouix ), Chloe's cousin and the man who rapes her. When the family gets targeted by the aliens, Noah is one of the victims. Sacha, despite having an opportunity to save Noah refuses to do so when he hears of his heinous act to Chloe. And Jonathan witnesses all of this.
At this stage, there is still no storyline where he meets his family, but in Sacha and Chloe, he finds a group. His storyline also shows him as a man who is desperate to get to his family, but not at the cost of marooning another survivor. His arc charts out a whole new story even as the other survivors back in England fend off the creatures. They have a weapon in Emily, however, this needs a lot more delving into. With four more episodes to go, 'War of the Worlds' manages to keep us glued by meticulously breaking down every character. It's as if each of them has survived for a greater purpose.
Episode 4 might probably be the last we see of more character backgrounds. With another four episodes left, the series might just pick up the pace and focus more on the invaders and their reason to attack earth. Sci-fi aficionados have every reason to tune in to EPIX and not get disappointed.
'War of the Worlds' airs Sundays 9 pm on EPIX.