All things considered, the season 2 finale for Resident Alien was pretty satisfying. Admittedly there wasn’t a huge focus on laughs, though there were plenty of them. But what this finale had in abundance was surprises. It also had a few really confusing segments that eventually make sense at the very end. They are peppered throughout the episode, including at the beginning. They’re all testimonials from people who swear they’ve been abducted or otherwise encountered alien crafts. We’ll get to that later. First, let’s see how our crazy little town of Patience is faring in I Believe in Aliens.
D’Arcy and Asta are in a good place. After all, they’re getting ready to move in together, and Harry is back from his “medical conference”. Better yet, Asta’s child Jae wants to spend more time with her biological mother, and asks to work at the clinic again. Sure, she needs to get some school credits, but a win is a win. But by far the coolest thing to happen to Asta is she gets the baby download from Goliath, the whole thing.
Though we knew Earth was being invaded by the Grays, we didn’t know how they were doing it. Harry comments the Grays are weak and awkward creatures, but they’ve mastered hybridization techniques. Not sure if that means human / alien or alien / alien, but either way it means Harry and Asta can’t underestimate them. Worse, Goliath says only one person that he accidentally kills in the future can stop them – someone named Eleanor McAllister.
It’s an understatement to say Harry doesn’t take the news well. Not only doesn’t his species have a word for failure in their language, but he’s terrified of screwing up. So his plan is simple – he’ll pour all his energy into loving his children, his alien baby and Peter’s son Robert, who he “adopted”. Harry tries out several terrible names for the baby, including Moishe, Brad and Jebediah, finally settling on Bridgit (really). There’s also some hilarious moments with the little monster, such as when it’s drinking toilet water and later drinking milk from Harry’s breastfeeding apron.
As for Mike and Liv, they have some satisfying arcs. At first Mike is being a goofball per usual, trying to get more deputies, patrol cars and body cams from the mayor. Ben tells Mike he doesn’t need any of that, since the resort is a thing of the past, but Mike clearly doesn’t believe him. Liv meanwhile finally finds proof her worst fears were well founded when a news blast says Peter was killed in a car accident. She’s not buying it, and immediately starts investigating. Mike warns her not to waste her time, but instead she finds Peter’s van and takes it home to look for evidence, against Mike’s wishes.
One of the most exciting scenes in the episode is when Harry officially meets Enver Gjokaj’s character, Joseph. They met briefly last week, but didn’t really trade pleasantries. Joseph is smooth as silk, and arrogant to boot. He walks in on Harry in the diner, first freezing all the humans in the room. Turns out, Joseph isn’t an Alpha Draconian, but a Gray hybrid. He tells Harry that his species conceded the planet to the Grays, and that he can return home without danger. Harry spends a lot of time worrying about how Joseph got his cel phone number, but then realizes maybe it’s time to just quit and head home with his baby (and Robert). He also steals Ellen’s milkshake after time starts up again, for good measure.
As for the General, now that the base has been compromised she’s moving to another. First she looks for the hard drive Peter stole, and then discovers Joseph was the mole. More happens with her story, but I’ll save that until the very end.
Harry tries and fails to be a father to Robert. After the 20 something refuses to go into time out, Harry does something kind. He gives him the alien sphere and says it will keep him safe, letting the human go free, and probably causing Peter to thrash in his grave. But Harry’s heart was in the right place, even if he is a horrible father.
Speaking of terrible fathers, Kate wakes up again, alone in her bed. Ben is sleepwalking, and having the same weird dreams. As for his son Max, Harry tries to say goodbye to the boy the weirdest way possible. He gives him a “self portrait”, which is just a stick figure of how he supposedly looks as a human. Max says Harry won’t leave him, he likes him too much, which irritates the awkward alien. Then Sahar meets Harry and baby at the cabin, and there’s almost a tearful reunion. Baby calls her Mama, and she gives him a doll, while admonishing Harry to come up with a better name for him (this is what convinces Harry to name him Bridgit, cause he’s a bridge between the species).
Liv is suddenly harassed by cops about the van she stole, but to my shock Mike covers for her. He even helps ascertain that the cops aren’t really cops, and is finally willing to give Liv’s conspiracy theories some credit.
Harry is about to head into space with the baby, when he realizes something. Goliath sent the baby to him to change him. Which means he’s not Goliath yet, and that he can still change the future. So he sends baby into space alone, and heads back to confront his destiny.
I Believe in Aliens culminates in a few key scenes. Liv finally gives her own testimonial, admitting she believes in aliens. D’Arcy finds evidence in Asta’s room from the Hodges murder, and when she confronts her and Harry about it, Asta still won’t come clean. Realizing their friendship is at a breaking point, Harry does the right thing and reveals his alien form to D’Arcy, and all becomes clear. She takes it surprisingly well, calling him a dinosaur, much to his hurt feelings.
Then Joseph gets hired as Mike’s newest deputy, moments before helicopters assault Harry’s cabin. They break in and take him captive to the General, and it seems Harry is willing to work with her to help stop the Grays. And Robert is sitting on a park bench when he gets abducted again, as who is his “roommate” but Mayor Ben! Turns out, he wasn’t sleepwalking after all.
Overall, I Believe in Aliens did a lot of things right, and set the stage well for Season 3 of Resident Alien. Here’s hoping Harry can get his act together before the Grays destroy the entire planet!
