DISCLAIMER: This recap of Resident Alien episode “Welcome Aliens” is riddled with spoilers. You’ve been warned, human creatures. Proceed at your own peril.
Welcome back, extraterrestrials! We’ve reached penultimate episode territory with this week’s episode of Resident Alien! This season has flown by so quickly. “Welcome Aliens” hilariously showcases Harry’s first encounter with humans who are obsessed with, well, aliens. Terry O’Quinn and Giorgio A. Tsoukalos both guest-starred in this week’s outing. The highlight of this episode was Harry interacting with Tsoukalos and the “flower fruit.” Aliens, man! Asta divulging her experiences with Harry was a sweet moment. D’Arcy found the real Harry Vanderspeigle in our Harry’s freezer! That’s a big plot point that’ll undoubtedly catalyze the events in the season finale.
Ready to delve into “Welcome Aliens”? Let’s get to it.
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Now, we open with a flashback. We see a young couple boarding a bus three decades ago. The woman is expecting and both are animatedly discussing baby food. Suddenly, time seems to stop. Everyone on the bus save for the couple is frozen. While the man looks for a way out, his beau begins to inexplicably levitate. Then, time unfreezes, and life resumes normalcy. However, the pair discover that the woman isn’t pregnant anymore. It’s as if the baby never existed.
Next, we’re back in the present! Harry (Alan Tudyk) is hopped up on pain meds while Asta (Sara Tomko) is tending to his amputated leg. He looks like a human again. Asta pulls back Harry’s blanket to find a bewildering sight — Harry’s leg is regenerating. But it looks like he’s re-growing an octopus tentacle instead of a human foot. Harry notes that his species is descended from octopuses. Asta’s taken aback, and Harry perceives her reaction as “leg shaming.” No leg shaming allowed!
Meanwhile, Harry spots his device sitting by its lonesome. He’s reminded of his mission. Harry tries to shoo Asta away so he can continue to plot the end of humanity. After Asta leaves, we see her attempting to avoid D’Arcy (Alice Wetterlund) at work. D’Arcy is rightfully irritated that Asta just left her at the doctor’s office the previous night. Asta fibs that she had to rush Harry to a nearby hospital. Unfortunately, nobody can corroborate her story.
Then, Max (Judah Prehn) and Sahar (Gracelyn Awad Rinke) barge into Harry’s cabin while he’s hard at work on his device. Well, his “radio.” Max is hurt that their “alien secret” is no longer exclusive since Asta knows what Harry really is. Harry points out that Sahar is aware of his identity. Max vows that she swore on Allah not to disclose Harry’s secret to anyone. “Allah knows?” Harry responds in bewilderment. I don’t know why, but this line and Tudyk’s brilliant delivery made me cackle. Also: Sahar for president of the world. She’s fantastic.
Now, what he doesn’t tell the kids is that he plans on reverse-engineering his device by using a tracking implant that aliens inject into humans. The device’s power source is depleted, but this may help. Max mentions an alien convention as well.
Later, Asta returns to check up on Harry. He’s walking about, albeit with a slight limp. But for the most part, his foot is back in form. Harry’s trying to operate a motor vehicle after downing overwhelmingly powerful pain medication. Not a good idea. Asta decides to get behind the wheel. We see our pair are at an alien convention. “Welcome Aliens” (Title of the episode!) is emblazoned on the outside banner. Asta sees the irony. Harry hopes to find a human with a tracking implant he can extract to fix his device.
Meanwhile, Liv (Elizabeth Bowen) is having lunch with Mike’s dad. Sheriff Mike (Corey Reynolds) is stunned to find the duo happily enjoying a meal together behind his back. After Liv departs, Mike’s father urges him to make amends. Mend those fences.
Next, Mike arrives at his office and is struck with a revelation after he pays Liv’s murder board a visit. He realizes that Sam’s widow, Abigail (Deborah Finkel), is behind the murder. Mike heads to the local hair salon where Abigail works. He places her under arrest. Apparently, she surreptitiously killed Sam to conceal her affair.
Then, we see Harry and Asta sitting in on a variety of alien-related panels. Harry intermittently confirms or debunks whatever’s being said. Apparently, the moon landing did happen, but the real astronauts didn’t return to Earth. Additionally, Harry and Asta watch as one man showcases a myriad of different alien species. According to Harry, the Avians are quite nice.
Now, the duo is watching a man named Peter Bach (O’Quinn) inform the audience that he routinely hunts extraterrestrials with one objective in mind: to kill them. He opens up his panel to the crowd so they can disclose their alien encounter experiences. Every single story is tinged with fear, terror and abject darkness. Abductions. Probes of the butt persuasion. One woman even confessed that an alien implanted a tracking chip in her arm. This piques Harry’s interest.
Next, Asta decides to share her story about Harry without revealing his name, of course. Her words are imbued with hope and gratitude. She really does care for Harry. I like to think that her speech is working its magic on him. I believe that decimating humanity will prove to be more difficult now that he’s growing attached to Asta.
Meanwhile, Jay (Kaylayla Raine) waltzes into the pub while D’Arcy is on her shift. She wants to interview our Darce regarding the escapades in the glacial pass. Jay commences the chat by asking D’Arcy about the abrupt end to her Olympic career. Then, after Jay switches gears to the crevasse story, D’Arcy reveals that she saved Asta and Harry’s lives. They all could have died. D’Arcy’s a damn hero. Jay didn’t realize how grave the situation was.
Later, we see Kate (Meredith Garretson) preparing a sumptuous feast for some guests. Ben (Levi Fiehler) is derailed by the menu change. It’s supposed to be Taco Night! We see that Lisa Casper a.k.a. Sarah Houston (Mandell Maughan) and David Logan a.k.a. Dick (Alex Barima) are waiting in the living room.
Then, Harry follows the woman who claimed she was bestowed with an alien tracking chip. He tries to extract it from her arm. However, she reveals that it’s actually a bb from a bb gun. So, Harry was accosting this woman for nothing. Next, Harry’s attention is arrested by that Peter Bach fellow. He can see Harry’s true form like Max. Harry flees the scene once it looks like Bach is about to chase him.
Now, Ben and Kate are having dinner with Lisa and David. Both Lisa and David are laying the verbal smackdown on each other. Lots of subtle jabs. Kate pulls Ben aside and urges him to participate in the conversation. Step outside of his comfort zone. But don’t talk about homemade candles. Lisa asks to use “the powder room,” which is code for “I’m about to go snooping.”
Meanwhile, Harry runs into Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, but he has no idea who the latter is. Ancient Aliens, man! Harry divulges that he’s being chased by someone who believes he’s an alien. Tsoukalos proceeds to rant about … something. Harry’s distracted by the “flower fruit.”
Then, Lisa’s in Max’s room. She discovers the remnant from Harry’s ship that’s nestled in a box of candy. If you’ll recall, Max can see the green glow emitting from it. Bingo! Kate finds her in the act of snooping. She fabricates a story about not being able to conceive and, in her grief, she wound up in Max’s room. Kate offers to let Lisa babysit Max from time to time.
Later, Harry emerges from his conversation with Tsoukalos convinced that the Ancient Aliens dude should have his own TV show. Funny story…
Back at the Hawthorne residence, Ben shows David his candle-making station. He’s all about that candle-making life. David finds it all riveting. Pumpkin spice candle, anyone?
Next, we see D’Arcy and Judy (Jenna Lamia) playing pool at the pub. D’Arcy is venting her frustrations regarding Asta and Harry to Judy. They’ve been dodging her calls all day. Liv takes the stage for karaoke night. She begins belting out “Wind Beneath My Wings,” and like clockwork, Mike appears. He morphs her solo into a duet. As it turns out, Mike boasts a stellar voice. The best part about this is that even when he’s trying to “apologize” to Liv he’s still inadvertently upstaging her. Ever the showman. He presents her with her deputy badge and gets down on one knee. Liv accepts it. She’s going to be deputy again! I love these two together.
Meanwhile, Harry tracks down Bach. Bach asks Harry if the latter knows of his child’s whereabouts. So he was the young man in the opening scene! For the past 30 years, he’s been on the hunt for aliens as retribution for what happened to his son. Harry discovers that Bach is sporting an actual tracking implant. He promptly removes it, much to Bach’s chagrin. It’s his potential source of contact for his kid.
Then, Max wanders into his room and checks the security footage on his laptop. He spots Lisa Casper rummaging through his belongings. She snags the ship remnant. Max notices that it’s missing from his candy box. Drat!
Now, Harry and Asta leave the convention. Harry got what he wanted, and he’s now one step closer to remedying his device. D’Arcy breaks into Harry’s cabin in search of him and Asta. Instead, she finds something much more damning — the frozen corpse of the real Harry Vanderspeigle in his freezer.
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“Welcome Aliens” is such a delightful episode. It’s quintessential Resident Alien, in my humble opinion. Funny, zany and heartwarming. I loved Mike and Liv’s reunion duet. Bowen and Reynolds are electrifying and those subtle comedic moments played so well on camera. Additionally, I dug Harry’s intel about other alien species and how confident he seemed when doling it out. I’m curious to see if Lisa will take what she found in Max’s room back to General McCallister. I think she’ll meet Max in next week’s episode.
Do you think Harry and Asta will find D’Arcy waiting for them in the cabin? Will Lisa and David discover who Harry really is? Will Ben finally have his taco night? Join me next week as I recap Resident Alien, here on Geek Girl Authority.
Resident Alien will air its season finale next Wednesday at 10 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.
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.
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Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
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