"Falling Skies" season 5 finale aired on Aug. 30, Sunday, on TNT. It also served as the final season of the alien-invasion drama, and according to the TNT series' executive producer, the series has an alternate ending.
"Falling Skies" season 5 executive producer David Eick told TV Line that in the original outline, after the leader of 2nd Mass militia and former history professor Tom Mason (Noah Wyle) crushed the vial to release the Dornia critter to kill the Espheni, the Queen of the powerful alien invaders, "we see the critter scurry away."
"Later, after Tom's big speech, the camera soars to the heavens, 'We are not alone,'" Eick added. "But then it zooms back down all the way back to the Lincoln Memorial, now deserted, as that little Dornia critter patters off into the night."
On the other hand, according to Eick, they ultimately decided to end "Falling Skies" on a hopeful note instead of an ominous one.
In the climactic scene of the "Falling Skies" season 5 finale, Tom Mason uses the Dornia bioweapon at the Lincoln Memoral to infect the Espheni. The flashing forward from the defeat of the aliens to Tom Mason's "We Are Not Alone" speech was intended to leave viewers feeling hopeful about their future.
On the other hand, original plans on how to end "Falling Skies" would have made viewers think that something evil may occur down the road.
Before "Falling Skies" series finale aired on Aug. 31, Sunday, Drew Roy told Hit Fix that "somebody is not going to make it." He said he wanted his character Hal Mason, the oldest of son of Tom Mason, to be rescuing people before dying.