This week on Resident Alien, Harry got to know his human counterpart’s wife; Jay found out who her parents are; and Max’s parents considered sending him to a school in Georgia for children with mental health issues.
“Love Language”
Written by Sarah Beckett
Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar
1. Harry Got Laid with Harry’s Wife
The cold open establishes Human Harry met his wife, Isabelle, five years ago, at an art gala displaying her work (turns out, it’s her painting hanging in the cabin bedroom.) She came to the cabin at the end of last week’s episode to get him to sign their divorce papers, but after he does that, she starts to warm up to him again, free from whatever it was about their marriage that stifled her feelings for him. (It certainly wasn’t her snoring.)
Despite his odd and confusing behavior, Isabelle decides to seduce Harry after an encouraging conversation with D’Arcy, and succeeds in an utterly beguiling sequence, by singing to their song, Nat King Cole’s “Nature Boy.” Is it actually consensual, given he’s lying to her about his identity? No. Is Harry a murderous alien? Yes. Did I scream with laughter and secondhand embarrassment when Harry made a noise like a castrated chicken as well? Also yes. (It’s even funnier when you remember Tudyk voiced Heihei the chicken in Moana.)
2. Poor D’Arcy
D’Arcy didn’t realize Isabelle was talking to her about Harry when they were drowning their sorrows at the bar, but I’m getting ahead of myself: the scene where she broke up with Harry was very funny, I loved the irony of him thinking him being rude to her would blow his human disguise. (If only.) She was quite mature when she came to the cabin to reconcile with him, and saw him with Isabelle — I expected the episode to conclude with a fight scene, not a sex scene. All these little ironies, make for quite the poignant, and surprisingly complex, comedy: it’s like Harry points out, the irony of wanting people to go away because you love them, not because you hate them. I just hope she’s not drinking too much…
3. Poor Asta and Jay
Speaking of having to send the ones you love away, Asta and Jay’s story continued to move at a surprising pace this week, when Sam’s widow dropped off his private medical files at the clinic, and Jay, while going through them, discovered Asta had a child the same day she was born. As a result, Asta’s forced to call up her scumbag ex Jimmy, to warn him Jay might come looking for him. I think Harry’s presence as comic relief in these dramatic scenes worked with mixed results: I was annoyed when he commented after Jay stormed out of the clinic that he was going to fire her, but I appreciated him actively looking out for Asta when Jimmy was present. (“Ninja!”)
4. The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship?
After Harry recommends the special school to Max’s parents, Sahar comes up with a stunningly simple plan to prevent him from leaving Colorado: they confront Harry at the diner, and hold their breaths until he calls a truce. (Despite the amount of time he’s spent here, it’s clear Harry still does not know what our nostrils are for — good grief.) Afterwards, the two start asking him questions, like whether aliens poop or not (of course they do, he replies), and Harry realizes he may enjoy having two humans who know his secret.
Probably best not to tell them about Human Harry’s murder though.
5. Thompson is So Inappropriate
We got to know Sheriff Thompson a little better this week, as we’re introduced to his ailing father Lewis (Alvin Sanders), who we learn was not the most encouraging dad. This is probably why Thompson was trying not to get his hopes up that the test results from the lab in Denver would verify Sam Hodges was murdered, instead of dying by suicide — don’t get me wrong though, he still behaves like an absolute weirdo when he learns someone was murdered in this quiet town.
Bonus Thoughts:
– Turns out Human Harry was divorced when he met Isabelle: realism, or a seed for the future?
Continued below– Funny to think Max had never seen Human Harry’s appearance until now; it’s also ironic Harry suggests he has face blindness, when his dad’s the one who can’t tell Russell Crowe and Sam Neill apart.
– Harry confirms that Gray aliens exist, and that they’re the ones with “the ass fetish.”
– Never thought I’d see Thích Quảng Đức, or the dress, get referenced on TV.
As always, tell us what you enjoyed about this week’s Resident Alien in the comments, and we’ll be back next time to discuss “Sexy Beast.”
(Wait, that’s the title of the episode? Oh god…)
