DISCLAIMER: This recap of the Resident Alien episode “The Wire” has spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
Welcome back, residents of Patience! Resident Alien‘s second outing of the season kick-starts the apocalyptic action with Harry selecting folks to hunker down with him in his bunker. However, the only person he wants to save from extraterrestrial destruction, Asta, would rather die with the other humans.
While there’s an overarching plot to “The Wire,” this episode feels more relationship-driven. We see Asta and D’Arcy strengthen their bond while Harry’s decision to horde Asta away in a bunker drives a wedge between them. Harry learns a difficult lesson: We might not be as important to our loved ones as they are to us.
Additionally, Harry discovers that humans don’t always get what they want. Harry experiences the harsh realities of this lesson when he loses the poker game, and Asta rejects his bunker offer. But, as Octopus puts it, Harry’s barreling headfirst down the road of humanity.
Ready to dive into “The Wire”? Let’s get to it.
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We open with Harry (Alan Tudyk) wandering through a desolate and dismal Patience. The town’s utterly bereft of people, save a zombified D’Arcy (Alice Wetterlund), who informs Harry that Asta’s dead.
Thankfully, Harry wakes up from his nightmare.
Later, Sheriff Mike (Corey Reynolds) and Deputy Liv (Elizabeth Bowen) observe Harry’s cabin from afar. They spot him with a wheelbarrow and way too much dirt. Perhaps it’s for all the bodies he plans to bury.
Mayor Ben (Levi Fiehler) watches a new tourism commercial for Jessup, wherein the mayor inserts a handful of not-so-subtle digs at Patience. While you might get lost in the town’s expansive corn maze, you won’t find any rogue feet or murdered doctors!
Meanwhile, we see Harry chatting with Octopus (Nathan Fillion) about the impending apocalypse. It’s only a matter of time before Harry’s extraterrestrial pals land on Earth to finish the job. Octopus accuses Harry of becoming “too human.”
Harry notices one of his alien tech balls is missing; he suspects Max is the culprit. However, Harry has enough to execute the following task: create an underground bunker.
After he tosses one of the balls down a cavernous hole, we see a legitimate, metallic bunker form out of thin air. Harry can’t wait to show Asta her new home!
Asta (Sara Tomko) meets the new town doctor at the health clinic. Ben encourages Asta to enjoy her day off. D’Arcy swoops in to save her bestie and make the already awkward Ben feel an overabundance of discomfort by reminding him of their kiss.
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Later, Mike and Liv show Ben the new and improved Patience town sign, complete with the avant-garde addition of a foot in spray paint.
Dan (Gary Farmer) chats it up with Harry at Joe’s Diner. He notices something’s amiss with our resident alien.
Meanwhile, Asta and D’Arcy enjoy a day of playing hooky on the lake. Resident Alien sports some seriously stunning scenery.
Max (Judah Prehn) wakes up with a beard courtesy of the alien tech ball he stole from Harry, now residing underneath his bed. Puberty hit this kid a little too hard. He calls in reinforcements — Sahar (Gracelyn Awad Rinke), who shaves Max’s face for him.
After her boating day, Asta visits her father, who blatantly reminds her she’s all that’s standing between Harry and worldwide destruction. Only Asta can prevent Harry from decimating Earth.
Then, we see Mike and Liv sitting in Joe’s Diner and spying on Harry. Liv tries to read Harry’s lips while he talks to Max and Sahar. Max’s face bears its fair share of cuts from Sahar shaving it. Harry knows the alien tech ball is to blame; however, Sahar suspects it’s due to Max’s time in space. Harry agrees to help the little s**t pocket.
Later, Asta replaces Max and Sahar in the seat across from Harry. She introduces the idea of him meeting new people and broadening his friendship circle beyond her. But Harry only wants Asta in the bunker — everyone else is dispensable. That said, he’s willing to compromise. He might include Dan or Jay, for good measure.
Asta and Harry approach Mike and Liv’s table. She asks if Harry can join Mike’s poker night. Our sheriff sees this as an opportunity to catch a murderer and seizes it.
We see Harry playing poker with Mike, D’Arcy and Ben that night. Liv sits outside the bar, listening to the conversation through Mike’s concealed microphone. Harry proceeds to chat with different folks at the table to determine who should join him and Asta in the bunker.
Ellen (Diana Bang), Asta’s nurse coworker at the health clinic, spills the beans regarding something Human Harry did a while ago. He blew his fortune, put his house on the market, then promptly removed it, purchasing it with newfound cash.
Mike heads to the bathroom and confers with Liv. They decide to meet with Human Harry’s realtor. Meanwhile, Ben asks the former Dr. Vanderpseigle about the health boundaries concerning choking in the boudoir. Pass!
Harry ultimately loses the game, which wasn’t supposed to happen. He studied it for 15 minutes beforehand with a dog video on YouTube (maybe this one)!
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Later, Mike and Liv go undercover to meet with Harry’s former realtor. Mike constructs an elaborate backstory while assigning Liv to the “housewife” role. However, when they finally meet this realtor, Liv smoothly steals Mike’s character history and makes him the “househusband.” It’s a brilliant comedic moment in an episode chock full of them.
So, the realtor agrees to share information about Harry’s cabin after Liv expresses interest in it.
Asta catches up with Jay (Kaylayla Raine), but her adopted mother isn’t a fan of this. She asserts that Jay, not Asta, decides when (and if) they reconnect.
Ben talks to Max about shooting a commercial for Patience as a counterattack to Jessup’s defamatory clip. Judy (Jenna Lamia) walks by them while conducting a “Patience Murder Tour,” much to Ben’s dismay. Mike also spots Judy and the Murder Tour gang, but, thankfully, Liv swoops in and saves him from the cringe.
Liv reveals she contacted the hospital Human Harry worked for in New York. Before Human Harry moved to Patience, he was reprimanded at his old place of employment for being where he shouldn’t and tampering with bottles of botulinum toxin. Boom!
Later, Asta arrives at Harry’s cabin with pizza in tow. She wanders into his bunker, wherein he drops the invitation bombshell on her. Harry ensured the bunker had everything Asta would need — even a hand-drawn portrait of the outside world, complete with bloody corpses from the impending alien invasion for added realism!
However, Asta’s not on board. She doesn’t want to spend a year stuck underground with Harry while her loved ones perish. So, to test Harry’s resolve, she steps barefoot into a bathtub full of water with Harry’s toaster in her hands. After a delayed reaction, Harry saves Asta from electrocution.
He won’t let her die, which means he could save humanity from his people.
Asta urges him to make contact with his extraterrestrial race. Harry vows to construct a device to do just that.
After Asta answers the door, Mike and Liv enter Harry’s cabin. But Asta seems different — peculiar, even. Mike and Liv wander downstairs to the basement, searching for Harry. Suddenly, they encounter the actual Asta, standing by the bunker entrance. As it turns out, Harry transformed into Asta with the power of his alien tech ball. We see him revert to his regular form after the sheriff and deputy descend the staircase.
He’s getting too powerful, folks.
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Even though “The Wire” doesn’t explicitly reference The Wire (much to my disappointment), it encompasses everything Resident Alien does so well — it’s a deeply heartfelt, thought-provoking exploration of humanity. The cast delivers top-tier comedic performances across the board. “The Wire” provides character-driven nuances with plenty of laughter-inducing moments and a whole lot of love.
Do you think Mike and Liv will finally learn Harry’s secret? Can Harry convince Asta to join him in the bunker and avoid human extinction? Can he fit a calf through that narrow bunker entrance? We’ll have to wait a week to find out, friends!
Resident Alien airs Wednesdays at 9 pm on your Syfy affiliate.
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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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