Resident Alien Season 1 Episode 3 Review: Secrets
Carissa Pavlica
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Well, that was fun!
On Resident Alien Season 1 Episode 3, we got the first questionable development so far, but that didn't tear away from our good time.
Alan Tudyk once again shared the comedic stage with Corey Reynolds, who was on fire, and Alice Wetterlund, who is the most adorable ever.
Harry's aggravation with humanity and Max pushed him to the mountains, trying his damndest to find the parts of his machine so that he can get the hell out of our orbit.
But Harry is also suffering the consequences of the humanity he claims to abhor. He's overly emotional, which is chipping away at his intelligence, and he cannot catch a restful 40 winks.
Stress. Fear. No wonder humans can't sleep at night.
Harry
Welcome to humanity, dude!
What really seems to be happening is that Harry is getting an affinity for us lesser beings. If he doesn't keep a laser-like focus on his task to waste humanity, he's likely to lose his desire to do it.
Harry: Sleep. Another example of humans being weak and inefficient. Their bodies must shut down for eight hours every single day, or they don't work properly. Please be six am. Please be six am. [It's 3:46 am]
Lack of sleep and secrets really do chip away at the better parts of us. If you're like me, it feels damn good when an alien justifies it. Or, you know, a show about an alien with all-too-human writers doing the justifying for it.
It feels so good to know that we're not alone. Writing that, it just dawned on me that the more Harry's molecular human frailties pick away at him, the less likely he is to be lonely. Because just like it comforts me to know others are experiencing what I do, Harry and his molecular humanity will feel the same way.
And as much as he likes to speak ill of us, Harry is beginning to appreciate that genetically, humans have so much to deal with that his people have never taken into consideration. Maybe we're not the lost cause that he thought when he was sent here to end us.
It's unlikely that he's aware of it himself or that he's going to admit it any time soon, but everything points to that being the case. Walk in someone else's shoes, so to speak, and you being to understand them better.
Harry: [internal] [holding up severed foot to his] Definitely my foot. It's amazing how my people have developed the ability to mimic other lifeforms on a cellular level. We are an incredible [Asta makes a noise] and I forgot to close the door!
Asta: When you're done being next-level weird, we have the Briscoes in the exam room.
Harry: Oh! There's my sock! It's here.
Sheriff Mike: Where's my goddamned foot? You stole my dead five little piggies, not to mention Liv's favorite bucket. She puts her soda pop in there!
Molecularly changing yourself into the being that you're tasked with exterminating has to be one of the more challenging things to do when that human body keeps messing with his mojo.
Harry's plans were foiled over and over again. He found a piece of his craft, and D'arcy and her partner started a planned avalanche to cover it up. A fisherman found the first piece of human Harry's body -- a foot Harry hilariously compared to his molecularly similar foot.
And Harry does not understand Max, who is as emotionally stunted as Harry because although he's in adult form, Harry has the emotional maturity of a kid (if even!).
Harry is inundated with secrets, and since you're human like me, you've kept them, and you've been tied up in knots because of them.
Trying to pull the wool over the town's eyes is proving the most difficult.
Harry has to remember to laugh appropriately when he says something he shouldn't.
He's still studying medicine, and what he learns sends shivers down his spine. He's got a town scared to death because there's a serial killer on the loose, which he knows from watching Law & Order means people's suspicions will get the best of them.
Max is his only respite. He can say and do anything to Max because nobody believes Max. He gleefully calls him dickhead and shit for brains, knowing full well that even if Max repeats it, his parents will think he's lost his marbles.
Harry: Do you want to put them back up? Go ahead. No one believes you, anyway, not even your parent. Tell people I am an alien. Climb to the highest tower in town and shout it to everyone.
Max: We don't have towers, you dumb alien.
Harry: I know! That was a figure of speech.
Max: No it wasn't. Oh my God. You actually thought we had towers.
Harry: I did not!
Max: You're so stupid. Hi, I'm an alien and I think it's castle times so there are towers.
Harry: I was testing you to see if you thought there were towers, and you're lucky you passed!
Max: Well, I'm going to go to school now.
Harry: Wait.
Max: I hope a tower doesn't fall on me because we live in make-believe times.
Harry: YOU'RE THE ONE WHO THINKS THERE'RE TOWERS! Dickhead. Assh...asshole.
Watching Harry and Max go toe-to-childish-toe was so much fun. That kid is having a gas. His nya-nya nya-nya-nya tone while egging on Harry was perfection. And it dug right into Harry the same way a kid doing that to us does.
Max has a partner in crime now, though. That will give him a leg up against Harry unless Harry finds another way to get under Max's skin. It smells like we could be in for Home Alone experience between Harry and Max and his new friend.
The only other person who is anywhere close to realizing something isn't right with Harry is Sheriff Mike.
But thankfully for Harry, Sheriff Mike is so busy thinking he's the smartest person in town (It's a trait they share) that he doesn't allow himself to go down that rabbit hole with Harry because I don't think he'd have a clue what to do if one of his crazy theories turned out to be true.
Sheriff Mike doesn't give himself enough rope to hang himself. Good on him, I guess.
Now that we know Asta and D'arcy a little better, it's easier to understand their fascination with Harry, too. Although their dreams got them out of Patience, it was too good to last, and they're right back where they started.
Somehow, it's even worse for them, though, because everyone else who stayed had families and changed in the town where they grew up. Asta and D'arcy changed outside of it, and when they returned, nothing was the same, but they didn't know how to catch up with everyone else. Or, at least, how to accept Patience was their fate, too.
D'arcy: They find that body, I'm gonna legit kill myself.
Asta: When you said have some fun, I thought you meant dinner or maybe a movie.
D'arcy: Come on! We've got a live show here. The finale, fingers crossed, is a bloated dead corpse.
They're the girls who will still go to a house party for fun, only to realize that the friend they knew had grown out of house parties, and it was his son and his teenage peers who were still doing it. They're the girls who set up camp lakeside to watch the search for a body. They're bored and without an outlet.
D'arcy's Olympic dreams were dashed after she suffered a debilitating injury. It's got to be terrible to be so close to everything that gave you life knowing that you'll never feel that thrill again.
For Asta, it's a surprise pregnancy that she cannot forget, especially since her daughter is working with her day in and day out now. Asta has to be at once thrilled to be near Jay and terrified that Jay will find out who she is and want nothing to do with her.
Stress, fear, secrets. They're killer.
Everybody has secrets. Fear is such a great motivator. It makes people lock those secrets away. But for every one person locking away their secrets, there are two more people seeking to uncover the truth.
Harry
But there was one secret that felt written only for the secret's sake -- two people hunting Harry.
That came out of nowhere, and it was uncovered after Harry recalled the last time he was carefree. He had just stolen that cowboy's hat and horse. Now that carefree feeling will cost him a couple of other pains in the neck hunting him down.
Who are they? Alien hunters? They have orders. From whom? I'm not sure that I care. There is still so much to mine from everyone else that adding these two feels trite. But I don't know their purpose just yet, so I'll hope for the best.
What was your favorite part? If you're new to this party, please watch Resident Alien online because this is the most fun I've had yet in 2021. Get on board!
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.
