“Skywatchers” is episode nine of season three of First Wave.
At night, a woman is photographing what looks like a crater. It seems a number of meteors are coming down. She takes out a Dictaphone and says her name is Alana MacAfee, Raven Nation. She thinks that she’s onto something big. This proves that the Second Wave is here. She hears people coming and runs through the woods, followed by a humanoid shape. She drops her Dictaphone and can’t find it. She gets back to her car, but not fast enough.
Cade is being pursued by a police car. He’s there because an operative of the Raven nation disappeared whilst investigating an anonymous posting on the website about alien activity in the small mining town of Hope, Montana. Cade manages to shake the police car, as it’s gone into a ditch, and the driver, Cobb, reports that he’s lost an out-of-town vehicle and to keep an eye out for it.
Jordan is asking the manager of a motel, Sheryl, if she’s seen her friend. Yes, she stayed here; she seemed nice. She checked out and drove away. Jordan says her friend was apparently driving a rental car; does Sheryl remember anything about it? Not offhand, but she keeps a record of details on registration. She can get them. Sheryl seems a bit nervy. Cade arrives and Jordan hugs him, introducing Cade as her husband, Edgar. ‘Edgar’ asks Jordan if she’s found Alana. No; she was here but she checked out. Cade suggests they check in to see if she returns.
They rent a room. Alana hasn’t been heard from in three days but the posting was traced to this area. Cade tells Jordan that a cop tried to stop him and he ditched the car a couple of blocks away. If the cop recognised Cade, he may have to leave town in a hurry. Jordan can manage on her own. She’s a big girl. With a big gun.
Sheryl knocks with the details of Alana’s car. They’re going to check to see if it’s been returned. If it hasn’t, see if it has been towed. Even a town this small might have towed a car after three days. Then Cobb turns up outside. Cade has an idea. When Cobb knocks on the door, Jordan answers in a towel. Cobb says he pursued a reckless driver and found the car a few blocks away. He might be dangerous. Could he have a word with her husband. He’s having a shower. Cade comes out, wearing a towel, his face covered in shaving cream and wearing glasses. Jordan has got her gun ready as Cade says their car is a rental; it’s parked outside.
The owner of the towing place, Jim, says he hasn’t towed the car. Nor does he recognise Alana from the photo Jordan has. He seems a bit nervous as well. They’re welcome to look around, but they won’t find the car. Afterwards, Sheryl finds them. There was a call for them. The car has been found outside town. There was an accident.
Sheryl heads to speak to a man, Burke. She’s concerned. People came looking for Alana. Burke says it’s only natural that she had friends. Is that why he had Sheryl tell them about the car? To scare them away? What if they come and kill them, kill their families, torture them like they said they would? It looks like the town has been intimidated by the Gua.
Alana’s car is being pulled out of a ditch when Cade and Jordan arrive. He asks her to distract the cops whilst he checks out the car. A body bag is about to be put into an ambulance. Cobb comes over to Jordan and says she can’t be there. Jordan explains it may be her friend. In that case, head to the sheriff’s office. Jordan wants to see Alana now. Cobb tells her she doesn’t; she was thrown from the car. Cade has found some film in the car; Jim spots him leave. Jordan heads back to look at the body; Alana’s face is burnt. Not as if it had been in a car crash.
At Eddie’s trailer, Eddie thinks he has an answer to why Alana was burnt. He’s developed the photos but the pictures are damaged. The film has been exposed right through the cannister. Probably some sort of radiation. The whole roll was exposed at once, which could explain the burns. But it doesn’t help them figure out the photos. Cade has an idea; the photos could be a single picture. He assembles them into some sort of humanoid monster.
Burke is running a town meeting. They know who Cade is. They can’t call the state police, though. Cobb says they will handle it themselves, but everyone needs to sign off on it. Jim is not happy. First, they told their friends and relatives they couldn’t come. Then they started running visitors out of town for being slightly over the speed limit. They have friends and their friends will have friends.
There doesn’t appear to be any Gua influence directly in the town. No aliens themselves. But the town is working for the Gua, and at least partly out of fear, though Cobb is willing to do anything. The Gua seem to be using the town to assemble an army.