Resident Alien: Prisoners

Ben: Does that dummy look like me?
Kate: What?
Ben: I mean, did it – did it always? Did you -- did you do something to it?
Kate: No. Came like that. OK? It's not you. And I'm going to get her back, all right? I've been training. I'm ready for anything. If and when they take me again, they are getting killer Kate.

Episode description: “Harry must escape an outer space prison to stop a dangerous threat in town.” The last episode of season three gave us what appeared to be important resolutions to the overall storyline. They were: Deputy Liv finding Peter Bach the original Alien Tracker alive (well, sort of alive); Sheriff Mike encountering a Grey alien so he now believes; D’arcy on the Hawthorne front step with Ben and Kate’s baby girl, bringing their child home at last.

They were all extremely satisfying; I even described a lump in my throat as I watched D’arcy knock. But I also felt (although I didn’t complain about it at the time) that this was a scene I wanted to watch. I want to see Ben and Kate finally get their baby.

But Resident Alien managed to claw much of that back with some clever and admittedly logical plot twists.

The least emotionally important, Liv finding Peter Bach, was not reversed. Apparently his robotic legs are broken, so he’s hiding in a cave (presumably the military would like to find him, but General Eleanor Wright stepped through a portal at the end of season 3 so Bach's disappearance may have slipped through the cracks). Peter Bach, who is mostly artificial, doesn’t need to eat – he can’t swallow as he no longer has a stomach – so even with defective legs he doesn’t need much looking after. But he still likes how things taste, and the bits of having him chew food and swirl drink in his mouth and then spit everything out were a lot of fun.

We were also led to believe that, after his close encounter in season 3, Sheriff Mike would now accept the existence of aliens, but the idea that he saw an alien convinced him instead that there is something wrong with his brain. This aligns perfectly with his character in the other seasons, so I liked it. In fact, what he calls a hallucination bothers him so much that he’s taken medical leave.

The most important story emotionally is the baby. D’arcy was about to take her to her parents, but apparently stopped at the last minute. At first I felt this was a cop out, but the episode convinced me it was the right thing. The Greys want the baby back and so she cannot give her, yet, to her parents as the Greys will be searching for her at the Hawthornes. Ben and Kate, however, are aware their baby is gone. Kate is training to make herself strong so she can fight the Greys when they take her again.

However, the ostensibly main plot is that our alien Harry has been replaced by Mantid Harry, who is especially dangerous because he likes to eat humans (especially their heads). Mantid Harry – who is smoking all the time – gives Alan Tudyk the chance to play another version. Gosh, that actor can act!

I really liked how Resident Alien managed the escape of the three prisoners, aided by an Earth-loving Grey. At first I thought they did it that way to save money; certainly fight scenes can be expensive. Another reason might have been because it's emotionally kind of boring to watch Harry and Bridget beat up some Greys (imagine the writers saying, oh, let's just skip it this time). But there’s another reason – because alien Harry might actually be human now, so he might not win a fight. When Max sees alien Harry again, Max sees a regular human, describing him as a man (of course Max has never seen the Alan Tudyk version of Harry before now).

Asta and our Harry and the kids escape from mantid Harry, but the latter is still in Patience and Ben and Kate don’t have their baby yet. Plenty of material for this season!

Title musings. The title of the episode is "Prisoners," and it applies most obviously to alien Harry and Bridget and Peter Bach’s son Robert, who are prisoners of the Greys in their moonbase. With some effort, we can make metaphorical interpretations: Mike is a prisoner due to his doubts; Peter Bach is a prisoner because he cannot walk; Ben and Kate are prisoners because they don’t know where their daughter is; Asta is a prisoner because she does not know that the current Harry is not her Harry. Yeah, all these metaphorical interpretations are lame; the title really only works well for our Harry and the others in the Grey prison. So, not an inspiring title, but at least one that strongly identifies the episode – and isn’t that what a title is supposed to do?

Bits and pieces

Glad, like D’arcy, that Asta is finally getting some with Joseph the Grey.

In the month or so in Resident Alien time (obviously longer in filming time) Liv lost a lot of weight. Well done, Elizabeth Bowen! I liked how they dealt with this via the ill-fitting uniforms.

The kids changed a lot since we saw them last. Sahar got braces now. Max is now taller than Sahar.

Enjoyed how mantid Harry hit on Asta and I liked how uninterested she was. She is very good friends with our Harry, and he is fond of her, but they are not romantically interested.

D’arcy finally takes the baby to the Res, as having her be so close to Ben and Kate’s place is just too dangerous. But it was fun watching her be a mother.

Wonder if they’ll keep calling the baby Daisy? Rather similar to D’arcy.

Quotes

Deputy Liv: I know you're on extended leave, but I can't get a new uniform unless you sign for it. This one doesn't fit me anymore.
Mike: Might I remind you that I'm on medical leave since I started hallucinating?
Liv: You didn't hallucinate. You really saw an alien.

Harry: Humans are annoying, but when you believe you will never see them again, you begin to remember only the good things. Now I am beginning to miss people I do not even like.

D’arcy: Doesn't she look like a Daisy? Just like a pretty little flower.
Asta: OK. Maybe instead of naming her and bonding, we should find somewhere she's safer. And not five minutes away from Ben and Kate's house.

D’arcy: You know the CIA has six different markers on how to detect a liar? I'm actually proficient in all six, but I don't need any of them because you have hook-up hair.
Joseph: Hey, I like her hooker hair.

D’arcy: As much as I hate to admit it, I'm kind of glad you're getting some.
Asta: If only he wasn't half alien.
D’arcy: Oh, I've done worse.

Max: Why did you call that guy Harry?
Sahar: Because he's Harry.
Max: No, he's not. He's just a guy.

Overall rating:

Enjoyable and amusing, but the setbacks, even though made logical and good for the plot, cost some of the emotional satisfaction. Three out of four ill-fitting uniforms.

Victoria Grossack loves math, birds, Greek mythology, Jane Austen and great storytelling in many forms.