DISCLAIMER: This recap of Resident Alien Season 3 Episode 3, “141 Seconds,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
Harry finally gets the vacation he deserves. “141 Seconds” is another hilarious installment of Resident Alien, with a few heartbreaking and heartwarming moments sprinkled in for good measure. Season 3 is significantly stronger than its predecessor. It’s more cohesive and focused. Plus, now we have a connective thread between the Peter Bach investigation and Harry’s doings. We’re starting to bring these storylines together.
Kate’s burgeoning memories about her daughter in “141 Seconds” are gut-wrenching. I also loved watching Harry learn more about The Greys and their master plan. And that cliffhanger! There’s no way Harry will go quietly into the night.
He’s way too loud.
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Alien Nursery
We open with Kate (Meredith Garretson) sitting in a nursery. She rocks her baby, gazing sweetly at her daughter. That is until The Greys rip her from Kate’s arms. Kate begs for more time with her child. She also asks them not to wipe her mind this time. Oh, this is awful.
Later, we see Harry (Alan Tudyk), Asta (Sara Tomko), D’Arcy (Alice Wetterlund) and Dan (Gary Farmer) sitting in the latter’s diner before it opens. Dan chides Harry for allowing Asta to go on a date with Joseph. Asta reassures her father that she did this of her own volition. D’Arcy tells him that Asta was safe because she was her backup. Harry leaves hurriedly after learning that Ben and his family are heading to Yellowstone (not to see the Duttons, though). He still needs to learn more about Ben’s abductions.
Killer Mimes
Elsewhere, Sheriff Mike (Corey Reynolds) and Deputy Liv (Elizabeth Bowen) try to brainstorm ideas regarding who’s in the photo with Peter Bach. Who was riding in the van with the late alien tracker? Mike surmises it might be a mime based on the person’s posture. Mimes are clever. They can strike when you least expect it. Attack of the Killer Mimes, anyone?
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Liv suggests that since they didn’t find a match for the fingerprints in the van, perhaps they should contact Lena. She has contacts in every three-letter government agency. Mike’s not a fan of this, but Liv does it anyway. She leaves Lena a voicemail while Mike scribbles down updates about his life to pass on to his ex. Liv butchers it, misinterpreting his scribblings. Comedy!
Next, Mike finds Judy (Jenna Lamia) with her mother, who’s only 14 years older than her. They invite him to Judy’s upcoming birthday party, which her mom is organizing on her behalf. Mike tentatively accepts the invitation, but it’s clear he doesn’t want to attend. Meanwhile, Ben (Levi Fiehler), Kate and Max (Judah Prehn) prepare for their trip to Yellowstone.
Hawthornes Plus Harry
Harry pops up on their doorstep with a bag in hand. He whips up a sob story about losing his parents. What if the same happens to Max, and he’s forced to eat Ben and Kate? If Harry’s there, Max can eat him. That’s sound logic to me. Kate accepts him into the vacation fold with (somewhat) open arms.
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Later, the Hawthornes and Harry arrive at the lodge where they’ll be staying. Ben and Kate are grateful to be free of Harry’s verbatim recitation of every Law & Order episode. Max pulls our resident alien aside to ask about his motives. Harry doesn’t disclose that he’s there to scope out The Greys’ headquarters. Instead, he expresses interest in the talking cartoon raccoon display, which informs visitors about Yellowstone’s caldera.
That night, Kate wakes, hearing a baby crying. She asks Ben if he hears it, too. (He doesn’t.) Could this be her abducted baby calling to her?
The 59
Next, Liv wanders into The 59, where Judy’s performing her requisite karaoke duties and D’Arcy works behind the bar. Liv shows D’Arcy the photo of Peter Bach, featuring Harry’s plaid-covered arm. D’Arcy pretends not to know who Peter is. Before Liv departs, Judy plants a kiss on a napkin for the former to give to Mike. But not before also wiping it over her armpits, though. It’s all about the scent.
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Then, Jay (Kaylayla Raine) visits Asta at the clinic. She asks if Asta’s okay following her weird date. Asta reassures Jay that all is well. Jay proceeds to invite Asta to a double-feature film showing on Saturday night. Asta gently rejects her, citing that she has to work a double. Once Jay departs, D’Arcy enters Asta’s office. She reveals that Liv and Mike are trying to figure out who’s in the photo with Peter. They’re circling Harry, even if they don’t know it yet.
Asta realizes she must warn Harry. She prepares to call him, but D’Arcy yanks the phone out of her hands. She smashes it on the floor, as one does. D’Arcy worries they’ll track everything to Asta’s phone and her conversations with Harry. D’Arcy’s tenuous grasp on technology aside, the BFFs decide to head to Harry’s cabin to destroy anything linking him to the late alien tracker.
Where Will They Go Today?
Later, Harry barges into the Hawthornes’ hotel room in nothing but his tighty-whities and a matching robe. Oh, and the pastel blue manicure he received from the woman at the front desk. It’s certainly an image, to be sure. Harry urges Ben to choose what they do that day. Kate wants to see Old Faithful. Ben agrees with her. Of course, Harry believes Ben will select a destination that’ll lead him to The Greys because they tampered with his mind. He doesn’t know about Kate’s abduction yet.
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Meanwhile, Dan accompanies Asta and D’Arcy to Harry’s cabin. They find a closet full of plaid shirts of various colors. Welp, it’s time to burn them all. Sorry, Harry. It appears a shopping trip is in your future. At Yellowstone, the group admires Old Faithful. Ben rejoins them after purchasing a beanie from someone who works for Sullivan Gravel Company. They’ve been in business for 70 years. It was around 70 years ago when that little girl with the snow globe stumbled upon a Grey in Yellowstone.
Harry notices Ben has scrawled the Sullivan Gravel Company logo all over their map. This company must be The Greys’ headquarters. Elsewhere, Liv gets a phone call from Lena. Lena has a contact who can run the fingerprints through a more comprehensive military database. However, Liv’s high comes crashing down when she reads about herself on the front page of The Patience Post. The article accuses her of utilizing precious resources to chase her fascination with aliens. One source “close” to her calls her a “liar.” Ouch.
Crisis Mode
Then, Liv shows Mike Judy’s bar napkin, which contains her lipstick kiss and armpit scent. Mike claims he’s grown somewhat fond of Judy but recognizes that he’s leading her on. At Harry’s cabin, D’Arcy and Asta continue burning Harry’s clothes. D’Arcy reveals she’s glad she knows about Harry. Now she can help Asta with all this. Asta heads inside to wash dishes. Dan has a heart-to-heart with his daughter. She’s always in crisis mode. What does Asta’s life look like when she’s not trying to save the world? I have a feeling we’ll be exploring this in Season 3.
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Next, Harry sits in a car outside the Sullivan Gravel Company headquarters. He notices the employees are too pretty to be working the night shift. He believes they’re all Grey hybrids. Suddenly, Max pops out from the back seat to scare Harry. As the new alien tracker, he wants to assist Harry with his mission. Instead, Harry gives Max an orange, ordering him to peel it while he’s gone. He’ll eat it when he returns.
Meanwhile, Mike finds Judy at The 59. He pulls her aside for a difficult chat. Mike draws a line in the sand, revealing he’s not looking for anything serious right now. Taken aback, Judy eventually tells him she understands. They shake hands before he departs. D’Arcy notices the bar napkin Judy was doodling on. It says, “Mr. and Mrs. Sheriff.” Aw. She really liked him. D’Arcy comforts Judy as she cries. Judy wonders when it will be her turn. Girl, preach.
Judy and Harry and Max
Side note: Lamia delivers a beautifully heartbreaking performance here. Sometimes, I feel the Judy teasing crosses into mean-spirited territory. It’s also becoming a tiresome running gag. Don’t get me wrong, she’s hilarious. However, she’s also a sweetheart with a sensitive soul. I hope Judy finds someone who will love her as she is in all her weirdness. At the same time, though, I feel Mike rejecting her has more to do with his issues than hers.
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Later, Harry breaks into the Sullivan Gravel Company trailer. He notices a door on the floor that potentially leads to their ship. However, a portal opens, with an alien emerging from it. Before said alien notices Harry, though, Max shocks him with his alien tracker device. He also presents Harry with his freshly peeled orange. Now, that’s what I call multitasking.
Harry explores the underbelly of the trailer, finding a series of underground tunnels leading to a cavernous reservoir. What do The Greys plan to do with all that water?
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The following morning, Ben tries to heat stones to give Kate a hot stone massage. Unfortunately, one of those stones was probably a poor turtle. But Kate seems more distracted by what she hears than anything else. She follows the baby crying down a hallway to a hotel room. She knocks on the door until a young woman answers. Said woman has a child on her hip. Kate asks if the baby is hers and if she can hold the child. Ben, who catches up to Kate, apologizes to the woman for Kate and leads her away.
It All Makes Sense
Meanwhile, Harry sits in his hotel room. He tries to calculate why The Greys need the water. The Greys are adept at destroying things, not storing them. Also, they may be part human, but they’re more intelligent than humans. He heads to the lobby to watch the cartoon raccoon talk about the Yellowstone caldera again. Then, it all clicks. He realizes if they fill that cavern full of water, they can connect it via tunnels to the magma chamber underneath the caldera. The water would heat up and cause the caldera to erupt, becoming the worst natural disaster in history. The Greys want to kill all humans and take over the planet, even though they can’t survive in Earth’s atmosphere for long.
Later, Mike and Liv run into Liv’s gran (Mary Walsh), the source cited in that newspaper hit piece. Liv’s gran claims she didn’t call her granddaughter a liar, just someone who loves making up stories. Then, she insults Liv before leaving in a flurry. Once Liv and Mike get back into their car, Lena texts Liv. Apparently, the prints in the van belong to Dr. Wendy Beasley, a retired military chemist.
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However, as Mike celebrates this development, Liv bursts into tears. “I try so hard,” she says. Oof. This hit me in my gut. Realizing it’s about her not-so-nice grandma, Mike consoles Liv. “I know, deputy,” he tells her. Aw.
Natural Disaster
Next, Harry eats with Asta and D’Arcy at the diner. Dan joins them after serving the food. Harry explains he can stop The Greys from blowing up Yellowstone, which could happen in a year. Unfortunately, he cannot prevent a supervolcano from erupting on its own. He tells them the caldera erupts after every 600,000 years. The last time it erupted was 634,000 years ago. That baby is crowning. Harry remarks that it would be funny if he saved the world from The Greys, only for Yellowstone to blow everything to smithereens. Comedy! Side note: Harry’s “comedic timing” gag cracked me up. Tudyk is a genius.
Asta wonders what they should do with this information. Dan reminds them that volcanos are a natural part of life. They should just go out and live as best as they can. I love Dan. Meanwhile, the Hawthornes return home after their trip. D’Arcy surprises Judy for her birthday with a cake and a present. Mike and Liv dance in their vehicle. Asta blows off work to attend that double feature with Jay.
141 Seconds
Finally, Harry receives a visitor at home. Meet Heather (Edi Patterson), a Blue Avian from the Galactic Federation who’s there to serve Harry with a summons. She explains he broke Galactic laws when he didn’t honor his contract with The Greys to vacate Earth. So, Harry must leave the planet immediately. “Son of a b*tch,” Harry mutters.
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Will Harry obey the law and leave Earth before he can save it? Will The Greys succeed in their plan? How long until Ben and Kate connect the abduction dots? 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.
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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.
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