DISCLAIMER: This recap of Resident Alien Season 3 Episode 1, “Lone Wolf,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
Resident Alien is back, y’all. It’s just as out-of-this-world charming, goofy, heartwarming and bitingly funny as ever. Alan Tudyk is in full form as our titular alien, providing several laugh-out-loud moments in “Lone Wolf.” He’s a comedic force.
“Lone Wolf” is a solid start to the season, offering a strong foundation for the overarching narrative, with plenty of loose threads for further exploration down the line. Harry and Asta’s adorable friendship is the beating heart of this series, and the final scene in “Lone Wolf” is proof of that.
Harry takes a massive step on the character development front — he learns to work with a team instead of always flying solo. Teamwork makes the dream work, Dr. Vanderspeigle.
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Back Down to Earth
We open on a quiet, cold night in Patience. Time freezes temporarily as The Greys beam an unconscious Ben (Levi Fiehler) into his house. Unfortunately, the alien controlling said beam fumbles, missing Ben’s bed as our favorite mayor flops onto the floor. Uh-oh. The following morning, Kate (Meredith Garretson) asks if Ben slept well. Ben mutters a comment about it being cold outside despite not sleepwalking that night. Kate asks how he would know if it’s cold out.
RESIDENT ALIEN — “Lone Wolf” Season 3 Episode 1 — Pictured: Alan Tudyk as Harry Vanderspeigle — (Photo by: SYFY)
Meanwhile, Harry (Tudyk) prepares for the day ahead. He dons a suit and grabs a cup of coffee and his briefcase, making a beeline for a porta-potty. While inside, A camera scans him. The bottom of said porta-potty opens, revealing an underground tunnel. The tunnel takes him to an underground train, where he scarfs down the pizza slices in his briefcase. This bit made me giggle.
Not a Team Player
He arrives at Unit 5, where he works for General McCallister to thwart The Greys’ threat of invasion. On the wall, it says, “Sapientia omnia vincit,” which translates to “knowledge is power.” While at his desk, Harry accepts work from a coworker. Well, more like he rejects it and decides to take the task on by himself. McCallister (Linda Hamilton) calls Harry out on his inability to be a team player. The workflow has ground to a halt because Harry refuses to delegate. Hey, it’s not his fault that he’s practically perfect in every way (and filled with pizza).
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Elsewhere, we see Asta (Sara Tomko) and D’Arcy (Alice Wetterlund) acclimating to their new living situation as roommates. Before departing for the clinic, Asta discovers the front page of The Patience Post is about D’Arcy backing out of the hardback tournament. If you recall, Harry was also reading that newspaper on the subway. D’Arcy reads that headline. However, she insists it doesn’t bother her. When Asta leaves, though, D’Arcy crumbles the newspaper in anger.
RESIDENT ALIEN — “Lone Wolf” Season 3 Episode 1 — Pictured: (l-r) Corey Reynolds as Sheriff Mike Thompson, Enver Gjokaj as Joseph Rainier — (Photo by: SYFY)
Next, Sheriff Mike (Corey Reynolds) and Detective Lena (Nicola Correia-Damude) have breakfast at the diner. Before Lena heads out, she pays for their bill. Deputy Liv (Elizabeth Bowen) notices that Mike is irritated. He claims that Lena has been paying for their meals. He states it’s not the natural order of things — traditional gender dynamics should rule the roost!
Owl Neck
Liv pushes that narrow thinking aside to inform Mike about her progress in the Peter Bach investigation. She took a photo from the CCTV footage. If they can identify who was in the van with Peter, they might have a lead into his murder. She believes they should check out that van, which is currently on the property of her husband’s parents. Mike urges her to keep quiet. Anyone can listen in, including that mustard stain on the window that looks awfully like a UFO. He advises Liv to invest in getting an “owl neck” by doing neck exercises. Keep your head on a swivel, right?
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At the station, Joseph (Enver Gjokaj) drinks coffee in his office. He receives the duffel bag from Peter’s son, Robert Hutchins, who was abducted alongside Ben. A magnet that’s presumably a camera falls out of the bag and attaches itself to the desk. Joseph riffles through Robert’s diary before Mike and Liv arrive. Mike hands the bag to Liv, ordering her to examine its contents instead of Joseph. Of course, Joseph is one of The Greys, so he’s very interested in that duffel bag.
RESIDENT ALIEN — “Lone Wolf” Season 3 Episode 1 — Pictured: (l-r) Alan Tudyk as Harry Vanderspeigle, Linda Hamilton as General Eleanor Wright — (Photo by: SYFY)
Flipping Joseph the (Page 1 Charter) Bird
Later, D’Arcy visits Asta at the clinic. She presents her bestie with a pillow that says, “Cat Mom,” hoping it’ll persuade Asta to let her get a cat for their home. I’m Team Cat here. Harry pops in, running late because of his work with McCallister. Suddenly, Joseph arrives. He freezes everyone in the room to chat with Harry. Joseph claims he’s there to keep a close eye on Harry. For starters, Harry never went home per his superiors’ instructions. Harry resolves to discover what Joseph and The Greys are up to.
After Joseph unfreezes the humans, he introduces himself to Asta. Earlier, he remarked that he found her pretty, indicating that he’ll get close to her to burrow under Harry’s skin. Asta looks smitten. (I mean … it’s Enver Gjokaj. Who wouldn’t be?)
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Then, Kate wakes up in the middle of the night to an owl staring at her from her window. Remember Mike’s “owl neck” comment from earlier? You never know hoo-t is watching you. Get it? I’ll see myself out. The following morning, Kate tells Ben of her plans to get curtains for their windows. Meanwhile, McCallister arrives at the clinic after Harry takes a sick day from his alien investigation duties. After reminding him that he needs to attend the HR seminar, McCallister informs him of a new development — they have alien audio and need him to translate it.
RESIDENT ALIEN — “Lone Wolf” Season 3 Episode 1 — Pictured: (l-r) Alan Tudyk as Harry Vanderspeigle, Alice Wetterlund as D’Arcy Bloom — (Photo by: SYFY)
I Don’t Have a Plan
Harry shows McCallister a pic of Joseph. She identifies him as the one who shot Peter Bach and fired on her men. Harry reassures her that he has a plan to take out Joseph. (Plot twist: he doesn’t have a plan.)
Elsewhere, Max (Judah Prehn) and Sahar (Gracelyn Awad Rinke) meet at the diner. Sahar reveals she’s been kicking it at the comic book store, where other kids their age are chatting about Peter Bach’s death. They believe he was murdered. Sahar and Max decide to ask Harry if he’s involved somehow.
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Later, Mike and Liv reunite at the pub to discuss the investigation. Liv believes they should take advantage of how loud the music is. It can conceal their private conversation. Liv reveals the duffel bag belongs to Peter’s son. She claims she made this discovery by going through his diary.
RESIDENT ALIEN — “Lone Wolf” Season 3 Episode 1 — Pictured: (l-r) Elizabeth Bowen as Deputy Liv Bake, Corey Reynolds as Sheriff Mike Thompson — (Photo by: SYFY)
Naturally, Mike mishears her, thinking she said “diarrhea.” Comedy! The pair continue to misinterpret what the other says because of the loud music, with the song cutting out right when Mike shouts that he doesn’t have diarrhea. He reassures the dead silent room that he cleared that sh*t up. Literally.
Gurrrl Talk
Harry finally participates in “girl talk” at the diner with Asta, D’Arcy and Kayla (Sarah Podemski). The other gals are trying to persuade Asta to ask Joseph on a date. Initially, Harry’s all, “Don’t go, girl,” but once he realizes Asta could gain intel from her date with Joseph, he quickly changes his tune. Yaaas, queen. Girls run the world! Harry cracks me up in this scene.
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Then, Mike chats with John’s parents on their farm. They act like they don’t have a son or a daughter-in-law named Liv until our fave deputy appears with John (Trevor Carroll). Liv reassures Mike that they act like this around newbies. It’s a natural trust thing. Mike and Liv plan to dig through Peter Bach’s van on their property. Meanwhile, Kate puts up curtains, hoping to keep the owl away. She spots Ben’s new mug. It boasts a photo of Max’s ultrasound. Kate has flashbacks from her alien abduction and The Greys literally snatching her unborn baby from her womb.
Ben sees the silver bracelet on her wrist, which unearths memories of being bound by ropes courtesy of The Greys. Uh-oh. Both become nauseous, trying desperately not to vomit. At the same time, Harry develops a listening device to eavesdrop on Asta and Joseph’s date. Max and Sahar arrive. Sahar digs through his home until she finds Peter’s alien tracking weapon. Outside Harry’s cabin, Sahar shows said weapon to Max. Max can’t believe Harry lied to him about his involvement with Peter. Harry claimed Peter never made it to town.
RESIDENT ALIEN — “Lone Wolf” Season 3 Episode 1 — Pictured: (l-r) Judah Prehn as Max Hawthorne, Gracelyn Awad Rinke as Sahar — (Photo by: SYFY)
Fingerprints and Dates
Next, Liv and Mike sit in Peter’s van. They discover fingerprints within, which could lead them in the right direction. At the clinic, Harry gifts Asta with a unique makeup compact for her date. It’ll allow him to listen in, but she doesn’t know that. That evening, Asta and Joseph hit up a nice restaurant. After breaking the ice, Joseph not-so-subtly asks her about her boss, Harry.
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Later, Harry realizes Asta left her compact at home when he hears Judy (Jenna Lamia) instead. He breaks into Asta and D’Arcy’s apartment, where Judy sings a song about her hairless cat to the tune of “Danny Boy” while both soak in the tub. Yes, that is a sentence I wrote. Harry grabs Asta’s compact before Judy asks him to taste her “Judy soup.” Look — it’s another sentence I wrote.
D’Arcy spots Judy as the latter attempts to sneak out of the house. Judy confesses that Harry was also there. Harry finally slips the compact into Asta’s purse while pretending he’s there to support her on her date. Elsewhere, Sahar breaks the news to Max that she’s been accepted into a prestigious school in California. She hoped to help Max befriend the comic book store kids so he wouldn’t miss her. Aw. I’m going to miss Sahar. She runs the world.
A Taboo
Sahar encourages Max to embrace his unique gifts for detecting aliens. She hands him Peter Bach’s weapon. Max accepts his new destiny as a bona fide alien tracker. Kate heads downstairs and asks Sahar if she’ll stay for dinner before hopping over to the diner. Kate waits for her food with Kayla and Rachel (Jennifer Podemski). She tells them about the owl who sits outside her window every night. Kayla explains that owls are taboo in their culture. Rachel adds they’re a symbol of death.
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Dan (Gary Farmer) arrives with Kate’s takeout. When Kayla and Rachel inform him about Kate’s owl problem, he instantly reaches into his pocket and hands her cedar, urging her to light it with a match and spread that smoke around her house. Meanwhile, D’Arcy confronts Harry after finding the listening device in his home. She breaks it. However, Harry explains that Asta is on a date with Joseph, one of The Greys. D’Arcy tries to call Asta before realizing the latter has left the restaurant.
RESIDENT ALIEN — “Lone Wolf” Season 3 Episode 1 — Pictured: Sara Tomko as Asta Twelvetrees — (Photo by: SYFY)
Later, D’Arcy gets Joseph out of her house by claiming she has a stomach bug. Harry emerges from the shadows. They drop the reveal that Asta was on a date with an alien. Asta kicks Harry out, angry with him for not disclosing this info beforehand. Harry reflects on his actions while sitting outside Asta’s home. After Asta goes to bed, D’Arcy procures a vodka bottle from the couch cushions and adds some liquor to her soda. Oh, girl.
Bat-Harry and Ro-Asta
Then, Max finds a farewell note from Sahar. I love that she has special stationery because, of course, she does. Upstairs, Kate dumps this onto Ben: she thinks they should sell the house. That’s precisely what one needs to hear while reading Don’t Hassel the Hoff. Harry barges into Asta’s room, waking her to confess something personal. He had planned to kill her because his love for her prevents him from saving the world. However, he loves her too much to murder her. Thankfully, Asta volunteers to continue dating Joseph so she can get intel for him. She’ll help him with his mission to protect Earth.
Harry muses that working together in a team might not be so bad. He and Asta embrace. It’s super sweet.
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Is Max officially the new alien tracker? What will Asta learn from her dates with Joseph? Will Ben and Kate actually move? When will they learn about their respective abductions? Only time (and more episodes) will tell.
Resident Alien airs new episodes every Wednesday at 10 PM on SYFY, with next-day streaming on Peacock.
Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: ASTA TWELVETREES
Melody.McCune@geekgirlauthority.com
What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.
Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
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