Last season it was revealed that Skitters had Harnesses on them. I remember thinking at the time, “Cool, Skitters are slaves just like the humans are. That’s interesting!” But then something either later in that episode or a subsequent episode made me think that what was really happening was harnessed humans were turning into skitters which is not as cool in my opinion. I even remember discussing this on here.
In this week’s episode, though, it seems my first idea was correct. Skitters are enslaved species which we find have their own resistance. I am pretty sure this is new. I’m not complaining because, as I wrote, I think this is the better idea, but am I misremembering last season?
recent episode has a skitter specifically stating they were enslaved on thier own planet and brought to earth - so , no, they are not humans turned via the harness.
Last season, we saw that kids with harnesses also appeared to have skin changes that were consistent with them becoming skitters. We also saw that skitters had harnesses. So, that allowed us to speculate (and the characters in the show did speculate) that harnessed kids turn into skitters (and therefore current skitters were at one point harnessed kids).
Then this season we have a report from one skitter that he was from another planet and got harnessed by the “overlords” but was somehow able to resist the mind control effects of the harness. I see no reason to believe that he always looked like a skitter (given the discoloration and general weirdification of the harnessed kids’ backs). I also see no reason to believe just yet that this skitter’s account is the absolute truth (and, if the writers think of something else more interesting, then maybe this won’t be the truth in the future).
The fact that skitters have 6 legs also led me to believe they never were human. Hard to say if they always looked like that. It does seem like their harnesses have a lot of growth over them, so their exterior appearance may have changed substantially.
I don’t think they retconned anything. Ben still has those scales or whatever growing on his back near the spikes, so if anything’s been reworked, it’s not something that happened between seasons.
Mrs. Plant v.3.0 has become interested in the series, and we are watching it again from the start. In the first or second episode, Tom & Company watch a wounded skitter die. It sort of foreshadows the latest episode, wherein the Skitters are said to be enslaved.
BTW, with the humans circled around the dying skitter, someone says, “I wonder what he is thinking.” Mrs. Plant, having not seen the episode, said, “Nothing, now.” just before Tom.
