Despite his alien intentions, Harry is becoming more attached to the humans in and around Patience, Colorado.
The search for the missing-foot body continues, much to our Harry’s annoyance. He wants to get rid of the dead body in his freezer, but has to make do with padlocks because the humans keep taking up his time. In the meantime, they are getting closer, having ended the search in the lake to a search on Harry’s shore.
Max sees cookies and his parents sitting together and assumes they are getting a divorce. He is prepared for this. Do kids these days really consider in advance what to do if their parents were to tell them this? I never thought about this while I was a kid, but my childhood was a long time ago, and divorce is really common. Max is disappointed, however, because his parents are telling him that they invited the new doctor/Max’s alien over for dinner.
Sahar tells Max this is an opportunity and they use this to get the keys to Harry’s house while his truck is parked in front of Max’s house. Max makes himself be nice to Harry, mostly to delay Harry’s departure so that Sahar can steal and copy the keys, but the weird thing is, that often when you pretend to feel something, you end up feeling that way. Harry, at least, begins to think that Max actually likes him, which is strange because Harry has tried to kill Max three times.
Again, D’Arcy is annoying. She insists on being Harry’s date to the dinner with Ben, Kate and Max, only to spend the evening flirting and reminiscing about making out with Mayor Ben when they were young, much to the annoyance of Ben and Kate. How clueless is she? And before that she goes on about how Harry said the word date before her (Kate said it first) and how Harry is into her (he first asked Asta to join him at the dinner). Now, I know, humor in television usually involves embarrassment, and other viewers seem to find this funny. Maybe I don’t just because of personal history, but it made me cringe. But weirdly, it only made me cringe the first time, and not on the rewatch, where I found her directness refreshing. However, she is amazingly bad at reading people – or should I say, bad at reading men and relationships. Because in her interaction with Deputy Liv, she is absolutely great.
Harry is also bad at reading people, but we expect it. He’s also a wretched kisser but D’Arcy says it’s not the worst kiss in her life. Maybe she was just being polite, because it looked terrible.
There’s a minor plot thread about a missing prescription pad, not especially interesting. The main thing is that it allows more interaction with Jay, the high school student getting credit at the clinic.
Sheriff Mike is usually dismissive of Deputy Liv, although his reasoning is not always totally illogical. I did like him when he discovered the kids Max and Sahar riding their bikes. He wasn’t just scolding them for not using hand signals, he was establishing relationships and letting them know they were a little far away from the town. In this case a little Sheriff Mike intimidation is a good thing.
The second part of the episode takes place with the Native Americans. Dan’s mother – Asta’s grandmother – needs a shot for her back. Although it seems strange to include time on the Ute reservation, as it means introducing a whole additional setting, the experience is pleasant. Harry gets to see even more warmth among humans, especially family members.
The time at the reservation also gives Harry the chance to let out the fact that Jay is Asta’s biological daughter, using their similar facial features and eating styles as support. This surprises everyone, but I like how it was handled. Dan reproaches Asta for not mentioning it before, and points out that the entire community would have stepped up to help if Asta had not given her child away. But he also says something beautiful: we’re always OK, even when we’re not OK. Later in the episode, Harry has the perceptiveness to apologize, but Asta also knows it is actually for the best, getting it out there, and she thanks him for it.
The basketball scene deserves praise: Alan Tudyk is at his alien best with his awkward movements. Sometimes he is great at basketball, hitting essentially a three-pointer – although their court is not marked to regulation – and other times he messes up, hogging the ball and once scoring for the other team. Despite his mistakes, the other guys reproach him when he stops, out of exhaustion.
Title musings. “Birds of a Feather” is the title of the episode, and it seems as if they are making more of an effort this time. There is no mention of birds in the episode, and only one mention of a feather. So we need to go to the usual metaphorical interpretation of this phrase, where people who are like each other tend to gather together. The most glaring example is when Harry outs Asta’s secret, that Jay is her biological daughter. However, the episode has other instances: the bond Harry feels with the other residents in Patience, at least during his dream, and how at happy the Utes are with each other on the reservation. Nevertheless, although there’s more effort in this title choice, I still don’t think it’s inspired.
Bits and pieces
Playing the "Where Everyone Knows Your Name" song (Cheers!) makes Patience feel like home. Harry is in his alien form but still waving at other people in the dream town, only to have them explode at the end.
I have spent a lot of time in not-my-mother-tongue land, and so I understand Harry’s delight when he makes a real joke.
The kids use walkie talkies, or whatever today’s equivalent are. Do kids really use these? Or are they the TV alternative when kids are too young for cell phones but the plot requires them to have a means of communication?
Harry is better at basketball than he is at bowling.
Liked how Harry said Mars’s second moon is a transit station.
Liked how Sheriff Mike kept apologizing for using bad language around the kids.
Quotes
Sheriff Mike: We strongly believe the body washed up on the beach.
Harry: How do you know that?
Sheriff Mike: Because I can feel it… in my balls.
Deputy Liv: Well, and I checked the currents.
Harry: So the currents and the sheriff’s balls. Currents aren’t always accurate, and you shouldn’t trust your balls. They’re nuts.
Kate: Max, honey. Can you come in here?
Max: Cookies. This must be bad.
Kate: Your dad and I have something we want to talk to you about.
Max: I knew this day was gonna come, and I just want you to know I’m okay with it. I’ll live with Dad Monday to Wednesday and every other weekend, and I’m with Mom on Thanksgivings, ’cause she can cook turkey.
Kate: D’Arcy, I had no idea you two were so close growing up.
D’Arcy: Oh, yeah, I mean, in fact, Ben – Benny was my first kiss.
Kate: Benny never mentioned that.
Mayor Ben: I’m sure I did at some point.
Kate: Nope. You didn’t.
Harry: What are you doing? Why are you being so nice to me? I tried to kill you two times. Wait. Cut your head off with a bone saw, tried to kill you in your sleep, cut your brakes so that you’d die in traffic. Three times. I’ve tried to kill you three times.
Max: You didn’t mean it.
Harry: Yes. Yeah – no, I did. I looked forward to it. I was even planning on eating some of you to see what humans tasted like.
Max: You know what? I think I’d do the same thing if I were an alien. I’ll bet we taste like pot roast.
D’Arcy: Are you gonna kiss me?
Harry to himself: I’ve seen this on TV. I can do this.
He licks her face repeatedly.
D’Arcy: It’s – it’s not the worst… kiss I’ve ever had.
She leaves Harry’s truck.
Harry notices his own stiffening response: It’s rigor mortis! My penis is dying!
Dan: I don’t want him to go.
Harry: I don’t want to go.
Asta: Well, I don’t want men to act like children. So I guess none of us get what we want.
D’Arcy: Is this a Sheriff Mike spiral again?
Liv: You had a whole country cheering for you. And I just need one person. Just one. He makes me feel so dumb.
D’Arcy: Listen, you are the best cop Patience has ever had. You’re the only cop I’ve ever met that people are actually excited to see. You treat everybody fairly. And you always do the right thing. So do right by yourself and go stand up to that power trip.
Gram: It’s about time you have one of your own, honey.
Asta: I don’t know about all that, Gram.
Harry: She already has one of her own. A 17‐year‐old girl named Jay.
Dan: What?
Kayla: What?
Harry: Jay at the clinic. That’s Asta’s daughter. It’s very obvious: you have the same facial structures, and you both eat like you’re starving to death.
Asta: Are we gonna be okay?
Dan: Even when we’re not okay, we’ll always be okay.
Overall rating
Like Harry, I am becoming more attached to the people in Patience and the surrounding areas. Three and a half out of four basketballs.
Victoria Grossack loves math, birds, Greek mythology, Jane Austen and great storytelling in many forms.
Lovely review, Victoria. I agree that this one made me start liking the characters a lot more.
ReplyDeleteI liked the scenes at the reservation and the glimpse of community life there, I liked D'Arcy telling Liv truthfully what a good cop Liv is, and I liked the storytelling shortcut when Harry told the world that Jay is Asta's daughter. I liked Sheriff Mike's positive interaction with Max and Sahar; it made him look more like a competent, caring sheriff than a joke.
I also really enjoyed Alan Tudyk's physical comedy. Licking D'Arcy's face in particular was hilarious.
And you make a good point about Max and his parents, the clueless Ben and Kate. They're probably the only two characters I don't care for much. Although I do like Max and giving him a friend was a good movie on the writers' part.
"a good move". Not "a good movie". :)
DeleteEvery now and then there's a scene where one actor has to lick another, and I can't help but think "Eww..." For both parties.
Delete