So, the disgruntled general storyline is still in full swing? Meh.
How long until one of our beloved characters gets caught in that trap?
That was just a small portion of Resident Alien Season 2 Episode 4, but it seemed like that story had yet to take flight for the season.
“Radio Harry” did an excellent job of what the show does best — skirting between deep human emotions and giggle-inducing silliness.
On the sillier side, Kate saw a lot of merit in how the Jessup mayor was handling his town and wanted Ben to retain an open mind about it.
Ben was transported to a street truck in Mexico with the glorious taste of tacos but spit them out when he realized they were from Jessup.
Still, Kate talked Ben into a trip to their rival town that suggested their competition wouldn’t blow over any time soon.
Is broadening the scope of Resident Alien outside of Patience a necessity for future storylines? I’m not so sure. Shows like Gilmore Girls and Eureka never ventured far from their respective towns, and in the case of Gilmore Girls, there was far less material to mine.
It’s not necessary to continue with Jessup excursions, but it would open new storyline avenues, so why not?
Ben: What happened to he’s probably a pretty nice guy?
Kate: Screw him. We’re outta here. Douchebag.
With so much emphasis on Jessup and their BDSM proclivities, Kate and Ben are not being the best parents to Max.
Max doesn’t need good parents with Sahar on his side. Sahar does more than Kate or Ben on a bad day, and with her cunning mind and sharp wit, she’s a lot more fun to spend time with, too.
Harry’s attempt to get his alien ball back from the kids under the guise of being humanity’s savior didn’t go far. He went from diabolical (jamming his finger into Sahar’s pancakes) to whimpering after Sahar gave him a tongue lashing with killer gestures as backup.
You are a monster! You will bring me my alien ball, you sick, broken child.
And, frankly, Sahar’s bomb theory wasn’t too far off from the truth.
Harry built a phone-home device, but he only temporarily defused humanity’s annihilation by 50 years, effectively igniting a very long fuse assuring our destruction.
It’s too bad, too, since he continues to learn so much about what humanity has to offer. This is where the not-so-silly content comes into play.
Many of you weren’t keen on the heavy-handed feminist nature of Resident Alien Season 2 Episode 3, so I wonder how you feel about the message that anyone not indigenous to our continent can’t be good for it.
[internal] Humans live to consume, and their appetites are endless. They drop garbage on the ground wherever they go. Earth is like a house they’ve lit on fire but continue to live in. They use earth’s resources to make ugly things like teal crocks and truck nuts.
Those indigenous to the land do have greater respect for it no matter where they come from. Long ago, they learned how to live symbiotically with nature and honor earth as it is essential to our life and wellbeing.
But the destruction of the planet comes from being conned by the ruling class and big business into thinking that bigger and newer is better. We do not necessarily believe that in our hearts, but our society is set up as a long con that demands our obedience.
Humans don’t know anything about anything.
It’s too easy to fall under the spell of that kind of sorcery, but it’s even easier to believe that there’s no hope.
Asta’s family, who are living in tandem between their native world and modern society prove it. Since Asta cut Harry’s transmission, she robbed them of 50 years to come up with a plan that would keep everyone alive.
Harry: If my device would have delivered its message, we would have had 50 years to figure this out. Now we will have 50 days if we are lucky!
Asta: No. Would have had 50 years for you to do nothing! I know that you don’t care unless it’s me, but guess what? It’s me again!
It’s doubtful that the series will end with humanity going up in smoke, but with the heavy messaging, I hope that Resident Alien has a plan to show us how to do it right and not just how we get it wrong.
Rubbing our faces into the sand about the error of our ways would be well worth it if there was a message of hope behind it. And if they can do it in as entertaining a fashion as the dressing down, we’d be in for something truly special.
Harry’s temporary understanding of humanity after witnessing Asta’s family coming together for the birth of a baby set well against the trauma other Patience residents have suffered.
Children. Generation to generation, the earth’s troubles are passed on to them. Babies on my planet are self-sufficient and can survive on instinct alone. Human children learn everything from the humans around them. Without nurturing parents to guide them, those children become lost. Without a community to help, humans end up alone with nobody to turn to when they’re in trouble. But there is still hope. There are some who can find their strength. I discovered there are some humans who are taught how precious the earth is. It is not enough to save them, but if they can’t, who will?
Harry [iternal]
It helps to explain why D’Arcy, so beloved by everyone, still has such a low opinion of herself. Are parents everywhere similar to D’Arcy’s? My mother does the same thing to me.
Their expectations for D’Arcy come from their internal strife and personal disappointments. They want more for D’Arcy while simultaneously wishing she’d follow a path similar to their own.
Since their behavior shows them to be unhappy, it’s the whitewashing of that unhappiness and our need to fit society’s version of success that charts their errant path.
It broke my heart when D’Arcy walked away from Elliott instead of toward him. Their earlier experience in the bar heightened their ballfield flirtation and suggested there could be something special waiting in the wings for D’Arcy.
Elliott seems like a fairly intuitive guy, so I hope this isn’t the last we see of him. Even when surrounded by so much love and beautiful friendships, D’Arcy has struggled with love. Without feeling that special connection, she gets bogged down with negativity.
She deserves a change of course.
And we finally got a better understanding of Sheriff Mike. He’s been an enigma, so getting context for his standoffish behavior was beautifully timed to an episode celebrating connections.
We had already seen him buying coffee for a friend who was no longer with him. Now we know that he was a cop in DC who lost his friend, seemingly on the job.
That also explains why he was so unwilling to accept Liv’s competence and gestures of friendship. Little by little, he’s changed course, and with her urging, he even accepted a date with someone.
His date seemed decent enough, but she was pushing him too hard into territory he didn’t want to visit. Mike may have ended the night eating dessert alone in his office, but Liv was thinking about him with concern.
Hopefully, recalling why he moved to Patience won’t close him down to the possibilities of new friendships. Harry has to see the very best of us to continue fighting for us.
But his human traits also make him frightened for the unknown waters he’s wading into. His anger took him by surprise, and his near-tears after witnessing the birth took me by surprise.
Unfortunately, all of this goodness could be sidetracked with the reemergence of the general. She’s collecting people she believes to be aliens. She was on the right track with snatching someone from Patience, but poor Ethan wasn’t it.
With an actual alien within her view, grabbing the wrong guy doesn’t say much for her keen awareness of the possibility of alien activity. It’s my least part of the show, so if she disappears again for a while, I won’t be disappointed.
How about you? Were you slapped in the face with heavy messaging, or was that just me? What funny Resident Alien quotes made your day?
After you watch Resident Alien online, please let me know what you think about “Radio Harry.”
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on Twitter and email her here at TV Fanatic.
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