On Resident Alien’s penultimate episode of the first season, Harry recovers quite quickly from his amputated leg. Too bad his device can’t be fixed so easily. He and Asta attend UFO Con to find more extraterrestrial materials for replacement parts. At the same time, the government is closing in on Harry and are hoping to exploit Max to get to him while D’arcy discovers the real and very dead Dr. Vanderspeigel in a freezer. At least Dr. Hodges killer is finally caught. Right?
The season finale begins with a flashback of the real Dr. Vanderspeigel poisoning Hodges’ insulin while our Harry talks about keeping things in balance and karma. With dead Harry playing such a vial part in “Heroes of Patience”, it seems this revelation is to soften the impact of the resident alien murdering him when the series began. Vanderspeigel died because he’s a murderer. However, there’s no real closure since there’s no real motive and I doubt we’ll know why. Plus, what about poor Abigail Hodges who is wrongly incarcerated.
What follows is a wild race to prevent Harry from destroying all of mankind. The government wants to capture an alien, Max and Sahar want to save their new friend, and Asta wants to know the truth. It’s fun because the writers lay out these breadcrumbs to guide the viewer where the story is heading. Once you pick it up, it’s pretty satisfying when the reveals arrive such as how human Harry has become and Max’s drawing of an alien doctor.
The main relationship of Resident Alien is between Asta and Harry. They have a predictable and emotional falling out after she puts the different pieces together about Vanderspeigel’s murder. It’s that destroyed friendship that pushes Harry over the edge to carry out his mission. We know that an eventual reconciliation is coming but the abrupt about face in Asta’s feelings at the end seems forced considering how quickly it happened. The judgement by her and Max to enter a secret base along with the relative ease are a bit questionable but at least we receive a Harry heroic moment filled with goon beating action.
Reconciliation is a common theme with the fulfilling conclusion of some of the character seasonal arcs. Sheriff Thompson offers an olive branch to Deputy Liv in the form of a new espresso machine. The mayor and his wife resolve their marital issues by taking out their aggressions on Max’s kidnappers. D’arcy and Jay even team up to help give each other support and direction in life. It’s good to see all the positive progress with the residence of Patience.
Resident Alien does leave some interesting loose threads to explore next season. Sheriff Thompson and Deputy Liv are still trying to solve, unbeknownst to them, the real Dr. Vanderspeigel’s murder and they think their prime suspects are Lisa Casper and Lt. David Logan. Speaking of the government, Linda Hamilton’s General McCallister is working for a mysterious organization. Then there’s the big problem with Harry and Max but at least it gives Harry a reason to return to Patience. I hear they might need a new doctor.
In the season finale, the good outweighs the bad in this fun romp to save the human race. There are satisfying endings to some of the character arcs while opening up exciting new storylines to explore when the show returns.
New episodes of Resident Alien air Wednesday nights on Syfy.
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