DISCLAIMER: This recap of the Resident Alien episode “Girls’ Night” has spoilers. Proceed at your peril. 

Welcome back, residents of Patience! “Girls’ Night” marks the third episode of the season. Resident Alien never shies away from featuring multifaceted, complex and strong women, but “Girls’ Night” centers them in the narrative, putting Harry on the temporary backburner. 

I’m waiting for the inevitable avalanche of male egoist crybabies to claim this episode is too “preachy” or spews leftist propaganda because it’s all about the power of women. While it’s different compared to the Harry-heavy outings we usually get, it’s a breath of fresh air. “Girls’ Night” fleshes out these women we love and serves as a reminder that female friendships are so crucial. 

Alan Tudyk and Alex Borstein have sizzling chemistry, and their comedic styles pair well together. Borstein is a perfect fit for Resident Alien; she executes a spot-on impression of Tudyk as Harry. It’s frighteningly accurate. 

Ready to dive into “Girls’ Night”? Let’s get to it. 

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We open with a flashback in the mountains of Patience, 24 years ago, with young Asta, D’Arcy, Judy, Ben, Liv and Kayla. Surprisingly, Ben’s a little firecracker, cracking dick jokes left and right. 

Suddenly, the gang spots a bright light in the sky, and everyone except Liv chases after it. However, Liv’s the one who gets the best glimpse of said light, proving once and for all that aliens exist. 

Now, we’re in the present, with Sheriff Mike (Corey Reynolds) and Deputy Liv (Elizabeth Bowen) attempting to arrest Harry (Tudyk) for murdering Sam Hodges. Asta (Sara Tomko) tries to protect Harry while the latter crawls through the rafters like Nightcrawler. 

Mike assumes Harry’s an “albino werewolf,” that is until our fave resident alien discloses his extraterrestrial status to Mike and Liv. 

Resident Alien Season 2 Episode 3 Girls' Night

RESIDENT ALIEN — “Girls’ Night” Season 2 Episode 3 — Pictured: (l-r) Alice Wetterlund as D’Arcy Bloom, Alex Borstein as Carlyn, Sara Tomko as Asta Twelvetrees, Meredith Garretson as Kate Hawthorne, Sarah Podemski as Kayla — (Photo by: SYFY)

Later, Mike and Liv enjoy a cheerful, carefree breakfast at Joe’s Diner the following day. Mike praises Liv for trusting her instincts regarding Hodges’ murderer. Liv attempts to ask for a raise, but Mike gifts her more bacon. Why not both?

Harry and Asta grab a booth adjacent to Mike and Liv. The sheriff and deputy jovially call out to Harry, seemingly forgetting his alien confession (because they did). 

We see Harry erasing Mike and Liv’s memories in another flashback from the previous night. 

Then, an FBI agent approaches Mike and Liv, commending them for their excellent work tracking down the town killer. However, it’s time for the FBI to seize the reins. Oh, and Harry Vanderspeigle? The doctor that’s not as handsome as ET? He’s not the murderer. That means Mike and Liv should abandon the case altogether. 

We learn that Harry planted those memories in Mike and Liv’s brains like the pro he is. 

Harry reveals he killed the man responsible for Sam Hodges’ death. While he pats himself on the back for averting a crisis and slaughtering a murderer, Asta reminds Harry that Abigail, Sam’s widow, is behind bars despite her innocence. She urges Harry to put himself in someone else’s stinky, potentially sweaty shoes. 

Meanwhile, Ben (Levi Fiehler) shoots a tourism commercial for Patience to rival the Jessup one from last week’s episode. Kate (Meredith Garretson) assists him, providing one of the couple’s titillating BDSM photos as a suitable background for the commercial. 

Resident Alien Season 2 Episode 3 Girls' Night

RESIDENT ALIEN — “Girls’ Night” Season 2 Episode 3 — Pictured: (l-r) Alan Tudyk as Harry Vanderspeigle, Alex Borstein as Carlyn — (Photo by: James Dittiger/SYFY)

Asta encourages Harry to assemble his radio device to communicate with his fellow aliens. Otherwise, everyone on Earth will succumb to Death by Little Green Men. Harry, finally free of Human Harry, disposes of the container of botulinum toxin in the trashcan for curious children to find. 

Later, Kate barges into Harry’s cabin with her cousin Carlyn (Borstein) in tow, asking our alien doctor to treat Carlyn’s injury. Harry tries to conceal his extraterrestrial device, but Carlyn admires the visible parts while revealing she’s a scientist. 

Carlyn’s attracted to Harry and his not-ET human face. 

Then, D’Arcy (Alice Wetterlund) invites Kate and Carlyn out for a girls’ night, much to Ben’s dismay. Ben’s abundantly uncomfortable being around D’Arcy after their kiss, and even more so after bearing witness to a burgeoning friendship between D’Arcy and his wife. 

Meanwhile, Max (Judah Prehn) shows Sahar (Gracelyn Awad Rinke) a new development from exposure to Harry’s alien tech ball — a hairy back. He’s turning into Wolverine! So, Sahar takes Max to Lisa Casper and David Logan’s old camper, living that desolate life in the woods. 

Speaking of, David (Alex Barima) now lives in a lonely cabin in the woods, trying desperately to pinpoint General McCallister’s location. However, it’s not easy to do this when you don’t have the right tech and a stronger signal. Unfortunately, his laptop cuts out before he can catch McCallister and Casper. 

Sahar shaves Max’s back and gives the latter a lesson regarding the pervasive patriarchy while Ben attempts to bond with Mike, broaching the subject of a potential “guys night out.” Of course, Mike rejects any bonding, especially with Ben.

Resident Alien Season 2 Episode 3 Girls' Night

RESIDENT ALIEN — “Girls’ Night” Season 2 Episode 3 — Pictured: (l-r) Alan Tudyk as Harry Vanderspeigle, Sara Tomko as Asta Twelvetrees — (Photo by: James Dittiger/SYFY)

Later, we see Asta, D’Arcy, Carlyn, Kate and Kayla (Sarah Podemski) living it up for girls’ night. Carlyn spots Harry in the doorway of the pub, dressed to the nines for an evening of unadulterated seduction. Asta chastises him for attempting to woo Carlyn under pretenses; he merely wants access to a diffuser in Carlyn’s lab because it’s the last component necessary for completing his radio device. 

Harry and Carlyn separate from the group for a private date. There’s lots of flirtatious behavior and awkward physicality. Harry asks Carlyn to take him to her lab, but no dice. 

On another note, Borstein and Tudyk are excellent in this scene. 

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Then, Liv and Judy (Jenna Lamia — fun fact, she wrote this episode) enter the bar for girls’ night, although the group didn’t technically invite Judy. One of her many talents is sniffing out a good party. 

Meanwhile, Ben, Mike and Mike’s father Lewis (Alvin Sanders) commence their guys’ night at the local pub mere feet away from the women. Ben asks for advice regarding the D’Arcy/Kate situation. He wants to tell Kate about what happened between him and D’Arcy, but Mike orchestrates an elaborate metaphor to ensure Ben thinks twice before spilling the beans. 

Asta scolds Harry for leading Carlyn on and urges Harry to think about what women go through. 

Girls’ night moves to the woods, wherein our gals dance with abandon and jam out to some tunes. Liv and Asta reminisce about their camping trips while they were kids, a conversation that morphs into a “Come to Jesus” chat regarding Liv’s unequal pay compared to Mike. 

Resident Alien Season 2 Episode 3 Girls' Night

RESIDENT ALIEN — “Girls’ Night” Season 2 Episode 3 — Pictured: (l-r) Sara Tomko as Asta Twelvetrees, Alice Wetterlund as D’Arcy Bloom, Jenna Lamia as Judy Cooper, Elizabeth Bowen as Deputy Liv Baker, Sarah Podemski as Kayla — (Photo by: SYFY)

Thus, the festivities migrate to the police station, wherein the women dig through files to figure out who dictates the city workers’ budgets. The crossing guard rakes in more money than Liv! All of the women make less than the men. Thankfully, Kate knows who they can harangue into remedying this situation. 

Later, we see the gang standing above a sleeping Ben. They present the problem at hand; however, Ben reveals he’s not in charge of city budgets — he only signs off on them. Kate pukes in the trashcan next to him while D’Arcy holds back her hair. Look at these besties!

Next, Asta finds Carlyn in Harry’s cabin. Well, who she believes is Carlyn. We see the real Carlyn sitting on Harry’s bed while Harry masquerades as the woman who’s smitten with him. He takes the currently catatonic Carlyn and Asta with him to New Mexico, where Carlyn works, to retrieve the diffuser he needs for his device. 

Meanwhile, Sahar researches what happens when someone undergoes space exposure. Max’s testosterone kicks into overdrive as he starts flirting with Sahar. His exposure to Harry’s alien tech accelerated the puberty process!

Harry dons Carlyn’s clothes and sneaks into her lab. He runs into Carlyn’s boss, who inappropriately touches Harry and spews creepy remarks about his (as Carlyn) appearance. Suddenly, Harry grabs the man by his neck and tosses him about the room like a ragdoll. 

After their sojourn to New Mexico, Asta reiterates how important it is that Harry see things from a woman’s perspective. Thankfully, his brief stint as Carlyn allowed Harry to live vicariously as a woman.

Asta urges Harry to listen to women, a vital piece of advice for every man out there. 

Later, Harry finishes constructing his device. Yay! Now, time to make contact with the alien baddies. Sahar and Max enter his cabin, wherein Sahar scolds Harry for withholding what he knew about the alien tech in Max’s possession. Harry puts Asta’s advice into practice, replying to Sahar with “Yes, ma’am.” What a good little alien!

Resident Alien Season 2 Episode 3 Girls' Night

RESIDENT ALIEN — “Girls’ Night” Season 2 Episode 3 — Pictured: Alan Tudyk as Harry Vanderspeigle — (Photo by: SYFY)

Then, we see D’Arcy posting signage around town championing equal pay for women. Mike puts the kibosh on D’Arcy’s sign mission, citing that it violates town laws. Liv finally gets a new car, much to D’Arcy’s delight. 

Thankfully, D’Arcy finds a way around the pesky law. D’Arcy proceeds to toss flyers from a helicopter in homage to the M*A*S*H opening credits. While Kate gushes about how badass D’Arcy is (because she is), Ben almost confesses what transpired between him and D’Arcy to his wife. However, he switches gears, telling Kate he will do something to eradicate the pay gap between men and women in Patience. 

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That M*A*S*H homage is perfection! I can’t help but think Kate and D’Arcy’s strengthened bond will break when Ben delivers the news, culminating in a fallout rippling through the core group. It makes for juicy drama, that’s for sure. 

I hope we get to see Lisa Casper and General McCallister soon. David Logan’s appearance is promising and a move, plot-wise, in the right direction. 

While “Girls’ Night” isn’t particularly narrative-heavy, it hones in on character development with Resident Alien‘s signature charm, heartfelt humor and snappy writing. 

Will Harry contact his fellow aliens now that he has a fully assembled radio? Will Ben finally spill the beans about D’Arcy? On a scale of one to creepy, how turned off are you regarding Harry’s inexplicable attraction to ET? You don’t have to answer that last one if it’s too traumatizing. 

Resident Alien airs Wednesdays at 9 pm on your Syfy affiliate. 

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Melody McCune
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