What are the Schools like in the Apocalypse?
The pregnancy of actress Moon Bloodgood has raised a lot of speculation in the Falling Skies community. Author Justin Mathai brings us some interesting theories on how this could be handled!
What to Expect When Your Female Lead Is Expecting
Well I’m back! At this point, I think we’ve all found out that Moon Bloodgood (who plays Anne Glass) is pregnant; I mean have you seen all the Comic-Con footage of her rubbing her stomach? In any event, while I’m very happy for Ms. Bloodgood, it has raised some questions from the Falling Skies community, mainly: how in the hell is this going to work? If she weren’t showing it wouldn’t be a big deal but with filming slated to begin August 22nd and her baby bump already visible, it’s only going to get more obvious from here. So, as an aspiring writer myself, I’ve decided to tackle the issue of how to write the pregnancy into the plot (or avoid it altogether) with this handy piece of speculation. Keep in mind I said ‘speculation.’ My speculations tend to be a wild culmination of all sorts of internet conspiracy theories and rabid fan ideas (my compilation of theories on Maggie notwithstanding). Nevertheless, I present Justin’s unabridged ideas on how to incorporate a pregnant star into the script.
Idea #1: Have the wardrobe department get some really baggy clothing.
So the first and most obvious solution is to put Anne into some really, really baggy clothes. And I mean hip-hop, saggy-pants baggy. That would cover any baby bump but it would also be very strange and not very practical. In a post-apocalyptic world, while we may scrounge up stuff from Salvation Army bins, it wouldn’t be smart to wear clothing two or three times your size. How is she supposed to perform open heart surgery or dissect skitters when her basketball jersey sleeves keep getting in the way? Furthermore, Moon Bloodgood is arguably pretty attractive and while her wardrobe on the show at present isn’t exactly runway material (nor are the makeup effects) putting her into urban street wear will definitely put a lot of viewers off, and I don’t just mean Tom Mason. That said, we learned from her flamethrower-construction bit that she grew up in the ‘hood. Maybe she’s familiar with these fashion trends? Soon we’ll see Maggie, Pope, Dai, and Lourdes all dressed the same way. Matt will supply the baseball caps.
Idea #2: Baby Mason!
Before you start chanting about crucifying me, you should know that Bloodgood and Noah Wyle already shot this theory down. But it wouldn’t be the first time actors have misinformed the media to throw off bloggers the world over. A Mason baby would be very cliché, but would provide convenient plot points that would steer our characters all over the map. (We know Tom and Anne ‘consummated’ their relationship already). Would Anne be more worried about the baby than anyone else? How would Tom feel? Hal? Ben? Matt? The pregnancy could cause all kinds of complications for the 2nd Mass, ala Sarah (who appears to have been a throwaway character from season 1). And if you really wanted to heighten the drama, have the character miscarry after the actress delivers. It could raise more questions, like what would the aliens do with an infant? No matter what, if this is the (albeit disappointingly tired) route they take, the child will almost certainly be a boy with no more than three letters in his first name. Meet Joe Mason, boys. He’s your new half-brother.
Idea #3: Alien Incubation! Shivers.
They are currently running up and down my spine. Another tired old plot point? Absolutely. Might it work? Hell yes. Sci-fi writers have enjoyed impregnating Earth women with alien offspring since the beginning of time—I believe the Mayans even made a prediction about it. And if they can embed little eyeball parasites into Tom, why not implant freaky skitter-eggs into Anne? They could burst forth from her womb like hundreds of crawlies from Jamil’s mouth, causing Lourdes to seep deeper into a funk while Matt screams ‘That was awesome!’ Heck, you don’t even have to kill her off; she could actually give birth to the alien. Or maybe some sort of skitter/human hybrid that isn’t named Tyler? That would throw a wrench in the system, wouldn’t it? In any event, alien pregnancy would be yet one more threat for the 2nd Mass to worry about. Lourdes and Maggie would be forced to look over their shoulders for all eternity. You wanted to know how skitters reproduce Maggie? Here’s your answer.
Idea #4: Anne didn’t conceive willingly.
I will keep this as clean-cut as possible, but what if Charles-trap was full of more than just…whatever Charles-trap is full of? What if some disgusting creep forced himself on Anne and she conceived a child that way? The writers already showed in season 1 that they were not afraid of such subplots, given Maggie’s experience with John Pope’s less-charming brother. It would play well for Tom’s character, who could comfort her and such as she struggles to come to terms with what happened. I think this is the most dramatic, unexpected twist that opens up the most potential for character development but hey, that’s just me.
Idea #5: Anne is the new Virgin Mary.
Well Lourdes would be happy. I mean, if you want to inexplicably put in a pregnancy, just make her pregnant with the Second Coming and tie the whole thing in to some deeply profound religious thing that no one will understand. Also a good way to end the series if it doesn’t get a fourth season (which is impossible as this show is for all time): Jesus came and killed the aliens. I smell a new blockbuster—Jesus Christ: Alien Crusher.
Idea #6: Anne got fat.
This is pure humor, honest-to-goodness. If the writers are lazy, they could just ignore the problem altogether and force viewers to think that life aboard the med bus is grand.
So there you have it, six possible ways the writers could incorporate Moon Bloodgood’s pregnancy into Falling Skies season 3. If any writers are reading this right now, I want full credit if you decide to pick one of these six! In any event, as always thanks for reading and I believe Greg has some closing words for you, so take it away Greg…
Justin is a Contributing Author here at THE Falling Skies Blog, often defends the weaker characters, and is apparently unaware of just how much I hate the term “baby bump”…
More of Justin’s stuff can be found at: http://justinmathai.wordpress.com/ and he can be followed on twitter at @JustoMathai
Keep the Resistance Strong!
~ by The Falling Skies Blog on August 9, 2012.
Posted in Anne, Author Justin Mathai, Contributing Author, Theories
Tags: Anne Glass, Anne's Pregnancy, Falling Skies finale, Falling Skies Season 3, Falling Skies Spoilers
The Falling Skies Blog and the Road Less Traveled 
Frankly, I take a fat Anne in baggy clothes over a pregnancy story arc any day. We already had that lady giving birth in season 1 (Sarah?), that was enough for my taste. It’s just such an old hat with pregnant-in-apocalypse-situation.
I know, I know, I’m a horrible person, but if I was a writer and an actress decided to get pregnant while under contract for an on-going show, then her character would die. If it happens to fit in my story, fine. But if not, it isn’t my job to change the story I’m telling to match the actors. It’s my job to tell a story with actors that can portray the characters I wrote, not vice versa.
I’m sure in a big survivor group like Charleston, trap or not, the 2nd Mass could find a new doctor. It’s a post apocalyptic world, after all, and doctors happen to be on every corner in those.
I feel pretty much the same. But, remember Gillian Anderson’s pregnancy saved the X-Files and turned it into the cult classic it is today. Before they wrote in her pregnancy and the surrounding mythology, it was just another standard weekly-serial with supernatural element.
Like I said – if it fits in the story, there is no conflict. I just think writers don’t have to go out of their way/planned story just to make sense of the character suddenly having a baby. If an actor decides to get extensive, hard-to-hide body modifications and it makes no sense for the character I’d also kill the role asap – instead of bothering with either increased make up/costume difficulty or coming up with some weird reason why the president suddenly spots Enigma-style silicone horns.