The Weight of the World Bears Down On Asta in this Bittersweet Episode

This week’s Resident Alien was a bit unexpected. While there were definitely some humorous moments in The Weight, there’s also some unexpected revelations, and one truly shocking moment. And though Asta seemed in better spirits last week, here she’s clearly still being weighed down by the burden of killing a man.

To my surprise, that big revelation I mentioned happened very quickly. David and the General are trying to find the mole by watching a live-feed from their black ops prison. They discount a conflict between a guard and a prisoner, but we see the full story. Namely, that guard uses telepathy to threaten the prisoner, showing he’s not just only one of the dangerous new alien species, but also the one that tried to assassinate David earlier. Better yet, he’s played by the talented Enver Gjokaj from Agent Carter and Dollhouse fame.

We also get some interesting tidbits about Gerard, the man Harry Kevorkian-ed last week. Ellen tries and fails to take a fancy scarf from his belongings, only to get told off by Asta. Then when Harry and Asta talk, it’s indicated that Harry putting him to death wasn’t exactly sanctioned euthanasia. Worse, Asta seems quite upset with Harry, and he’s not taking it well at all.

The police are getting closer and closer to the truth, despite their shortcomings. Torres quickly identifies that Asta recognizes the man that tried to kill Harry, and later on they find the wallet Goliath vomited up.

D’Arcy is also having a rough time. First because she’s feeling the weight of helping hide a dead body, but also because she’s worried her relationship with Elliot will suffer from her own secrets. D’Arcy also reconnects with a mentor that helped teach her to ski, and he helps reorient her, motivating her to compete in a big ski event.

Mayor Ben and wife Kate also have a few misadventures, mostly dealing with their son Max. They don’t want him to know that Kate is pregnant, but Max probably wouldn’t care. He’s much more interested in getting a drum set, but his parents don’t want all that noise, and say they won’t pay for it. Which of course leads to Max deciding to talk with Harry.

Harry is desperate to find baby Goliath, and even follows his trail into the mine that terrified him last week. But there he discovers that Goliath is no longer in alien form, but has instead taken a human hybrid form. Which makes him much harder to track. So, why not work with the only human that can see aliens in their true form?

This leads to a poorly planned alliance between Max and Harry. Harry, of course, has no idea Max knows all about the identity of little Goliath. The little hustler uses that to leverage Harry into paying him to do chores, promising he’ll keep his eyes peeled for the alien. There’s a fantastic montage, including Max being a footstool, serving Harry milk and hammering his back. On the plus side, this leads to Max getting enough money for his drum set. On the negative side, this infuriates his mom, who confronts Harry about the whole thing, leading to Harry lying to cover his butt.

There’s even a team up between Liv and Asta, as they work together to check on Sam Hodges’ death. They find a common thread of a place called Hawthorne Creek and rashes, leading them to suspect a heavy metal poisoning cover-up. Which seems unimportant for now, but I’m sure it will fit into the larger picture soon. As a bonus, this series of interrogations reveals Judy and her hairless cat Kevin, a really abusive and absurd relationship.

What I was shocked to realize in The Weight is that the General, played by Linda Hamilton, is truly not a good person. I’d even go so far as to now construe her as a villain. See, David helps her realize that doctor Ethan is probably human. So she tests that theory by releasing him from prison, ascertaining he knows nothing about the alien sphere, and then giving it to him before pushing him off a cliff to what would otherwise be a certain death. Sure, he survives, but he’s badly hurt. And instead of helping him, she drops him on the side of a Albuquerque street with some drugs, leaving him to his devices.

The big moment in the episode happens after Max lets slip he knows the identity of the baby alien. Him and Harry head to the RV, only to find the police already on the hunt. Harry uses a subsonic scream to confuse the search dogs, but it also draws some angry birds to him, to hilarious effect.

Harry thinks he’s golden once he comes to the RV, but Sahar interferes. She keeps Goliath from going to Harry, eventually convincing the little rascal to scamper off. He quickly gets hit by D’Arcy’s car, but is largely unharmed, running deeper into the woods.

It all ends with Harry finally trying to be a good friend, and confiding fully in Asta. Kate also gets news that she’s not actually pregnant, and the General is now hunting for Harry in Patience. A fun episode, especially the “baby pooping” moment with Sahar and Goliath. I also appreciated that it looks like Mike and Torres might be starting up a relationship. A solid episode, though I hope next week’s is a bit more focused on humor.