Resident Alien: End of the World As We Know It
March 18, 2021 3:55 PM - Season 1, Episode 8 - Subscribe
Secrets are revealed when Harry's stuck in an icy crevasse with Asta and D'Arcy.
Harry’s identity crisis picks up where “The Green Glow” left off: with Harry and Asta trapped within the icy confines of a glacier after falling down into a deep crevasse. With his leg busted and his “breathing duct” filling with blood, Harry needs Asta’s help to get out of this mess and complete his mission. -SyFyWire recap
TV Fanatic review
Harry’s identity crisis picks up where “The Green Glow” left off: with Harry and Asta trapped within the icy confines of a glacier after falling down into a deep crevasse. With his leg busted and his “breathing duct” filling with blood, Harry needs Asta’s help to get out of this mess and complete his mission. -SyFyWire recap
TV Fanatic review
Well, they covered humanHarry's wife not realizing Harry isn't himself.
Old trope, but played ok here - unfeeling alien picking up emotions from inhabiting a human shell. Kind of. Using human DNA to make a human-looking shell doesn't actually change Harry from the inside (the kid sees him for what he is).
Liked the throwaway racism against the Reptilians immediately after accusing Astra of being racist (re: scales).
Disappointed that Harry is still lying to Astra. Dan (Astra's dad, Gary Farmer) had some great lines.
Alice Wetterlund cast as D'Arcy is working really well. There's more depth to the character than what we got introduced to in the first quarter of the season.
I thought the female MIB was familiar - it's Mandell Maughan (who was absolutely hillarious in 'Bajillion Dollar Propertie$').
Just noticed IMDB added a season 2, and it's been confirmed by other outlets. Two more episodes left to this season.
posted by porpoise at 5:02 PM on March 18, 2021 [3 favorites]
Old trope, but played ok here - unfeeling alien picking up emotions from inhabiting a human shell. Kind of. Using human DNA to make a human-looking shell doesn't actually change Harry from the inside (the kid sees him for what he is).
Liked the throwaway racism against the Reptilians immediately after accusing Astra of being racist (re: scales).
Disappointed that Harry is still lying to Astra. Dan (Astra's dad, Gary Farmer) had some great lines.
Alice Wetterlund cast as D'Arcy is working really well. There's more depth to the character than what we got introduced to in the first quarter of the season.
I thought the female MIB was familiar - it's Mandell Maughan (who was absolutely hillarious in 'Bajillion Dollar Propertie$').
Just noticed IMDB added a season 2, and it's been confirmed by other outlets. Two more episodes left to this season.
posted by porpoise at 5:02 PM on March 18, 2021 [3 favorites]
I think the MiB lady is an alien. Possibly a Reptilian. Can't trust those guys.
The glacier set looked cheap, but the acting was wonderful. I was delighted with it, and also by the way that even now Harry can't seem to decide if he is making a face turn. Is he still in the mood to destroy the planet? I don't know! Well, I do now, I guess, since there's going to be a second season. I'm glad to see it.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:40 PM on March 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
The glacier set looked cheap, but the acting was wonderful. I was delighted with it, and also by the way that even now Harry can't seem to decide if he is making a face turn. Is he still in the mood to destroy the planet? I don't know! Well, I do now, I guess, since there's going to be a second season. I'm glad to see it.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:40 PM on March 18, 2021 [1 favorite]
... that... that makes a lot of sense!
Reptilians hear about Harry's mission, wants to protect their 'Reptilian hybridization project,' infiltrates a military and recruits Linda Hamilton, tracks down Harry to interfere with their mission.
Hamilton's childhood photo of the UFO looks like a different model (lots of small circles inside a larger circle) than Harry's ship (one large circle inside of a circle?).
If lady MiB is a Reptilian (and using a similar kind of disguise as Harry's), I wonder if Max is able to see through it?
Here, I thought that they were just going with a "psycho black ops agent" (paired with a reluctantly-recruited non-pyscho) trope.
--
I have to take back identifying Harry as "male" since they revealed that their species doesn't have the same binary sex as humans do. But this weirds Harry's sadness over the loss of their mate since the gestator sex normally/ regularly dies after giving birth - like most octopodes.
Depending on species, typically the female cannibalizes the male, and often the male dies even if they're not eaten, but in some species males can detach their "penis" and escapes.
Tried to transcribe and use Harry's real name, but it's too long and even the subtitles say "Incomprehensible noises... etc." rather than give a transcription.
posted by porpoise at 11:54 AM on March 19, 2021
Reptilians hear about Harry's mission, wants to protect their 'Reptilian hybridization project,' infiltrates a military and recruits Linda Hamilton, tracks down Harry to interfere with their mission.
Hamilton's childhood photo of the UFO looks like a different model (lots of small circles inside a larger circle) than Harry's ship (one large circle inside of a circle?).
If lady MiB is a Reptilian (and using a similar kind of disguise as Harry's), I wonder if Max is able to see through it?
Here, I thought that they were just going with a "psycho black ops agent" (paired with a reluctantly-recruited non-pyscho) trope.
--
I have to take back identifying Harry as "male" since they revealed that their species doesn't have the same binary sex as humans do. But this weirds Harry's sadness over the loss of their mate since the gestator sex normally/ regularly dies after giving birth - like most octopodes.
Depending on species, typically the female cannibalizes the male, and often the male dies even if they're not eaten, but in some species males can detach their "penis" and escapes.
Tried to transcribe and use Harry's real name, but it's too long and even the subtitles say "Incomprehensible noises... etc." rather than give a transcription.
posted by porpoise at 11:54 AM on March 19, 2021
When I have seen it before, the "aliens came to earth in the past to help people" has just been a way of implicating that indigenous peoples could not have succeeded without some kind of outside help. This show does invoke the aliens-as-allies trope, but it doesn't disregard indigenous peoples' concerns. I really appreciate that.
posted by Quonab at 7:24 PM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Quonab at 7:24 PM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
Good point! I'm only vaguely aware of "aliens visited non-Western people in the past" (negative) trope but always dismissed it as just racism or woo-crystal-nonsense.
I've always seen it through the lens of that non-Western people have records of the past - sometimes even better ones (absent the records willfully or incidentally destroyed by colonialists) re: astronomical and geological phenomena like supernovae, eclipses, tsunamis, etc. - being recast as "superstition," like astrology or even the Hellenistic traditions that persist in named constellations (the Chinese similarities and disparities are fascinating).
N.American First Nations indeed do have stories about the night sky - as just about every culture does.
A couple [thewalrus.ca] of articles [cbc.ca] that might be relevant.
posted by porpoise at 8:29 PM on March 19, 2021
I've always seen it through the lens of that non-Western people have records of the past - sometimes even better ones (absent the records willfully or incidentally destroyed by colonialists) re: astronomical and geological phenomena like supernovae, eclipses, tsunamis, etc. - being recast as "superstition," like astrology or even the Hellenistic traditions that persist in named constellations (the Chinese similarities and disparities are fascinating).
N.American First Nations indeed do have stories about the night sky - as just about every culture does.
A couple [thewalrus.ca] of articles [cbc.ca] that might be relevant.
posted by porpoise at 8:29 PM on March 19, 2021
Yeah, I was really doing the squinty-eyed "Really? We're doing that?" thing when he mentioned the Pyramids and Stonehenge, because god forbid ancient indigenous people were able to do those things on their own. I'm not totally sure they made it less offensive, but chalking it up to visiting and "helping" was slightly less bothersome.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 11:36 AM on March 20, 2021
posted by kitten kaboodle at 11:36 AM on March 20, 2021
Because I never know how many episodes a season has anymore, I thought this might be the last one, which seemed like an ok cliffhanger, all things concerned (coulda been worse, we all know it) but then I haven been Ehh? about this show from the start, loving Alan Tudyk, not big on most of everything else, to the point I was wondering if I'd abandon it until the end of the 5th (?) ep. when i though, "--oh, crap, I may actually really like this show now?"
But then the next episode cured me of that.
The good things can be really good, hinting at it being a better show someday (?) but the not good things are very not good in that SyFy way that seems to imply it would never be allowed to be-- I just don't know with this. That it has another season means they might do that thing where they really look at it as it is, cut out the lazy stuff and things that are not working and really makes a good show. I have enough hope but it is at times just hard to watch. it does seem to be building up speed for a big flourish at least, but I kind of want it to be better or over.
posted by provoliminal at 12:41 PM on March 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
But then the next episode cured me of that.
The good things can be really good, hinting at it being a better show someday (?) but the not good things are very not good in that SyFy way that seems to imply it would never be allowed to be-- I just don't know with this. That it has another season means they might do that thing where they really look at it as it is, cut out the lazy stuff and things that are not working and really makes a good show. I have enough hope but it is at times just hard to watch. it does seem to be building up speed for a big flourish at least, but I kind of want it to be better or over.
posted by provoliminal at 12:41 PM on March 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
D'Arcy is a straight-up hero. Great character, great portrayal.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 2:50 PM on March 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 2:50 PM on March 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
I had a thought while watching this and talking about the original human Harry... is it likely that he's the one that poisoned the town doctor?
posted by Marticus at 6:20 PM on March 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Marticus at 6:20 PM on March 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
Old trope, but played ok here
Am I a complete dummy?
I just binged V (2009) and this is like if Tudyk's character there got retrieved, healed, and sent on his current mission - now.
posted by porpoise at 1:41 AM on March 24, 2021
Am I a complete dummy?
I just binged V (2009) and this is like if Tudyk's character there got retrieved, healed, and sent on his current mission - now.
posted by porpoise at 1:41 AM on March 24, 2021
really liked seeing D'arcy get to be more than the town drunk. her backstory is really tragic, and definitely provides a reason for her somewhat self-destructive (or at least nihilistic) behavior. but she's a hero!
posted by supermedusa at 11:18 AM on June 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by supermedusa at 11:18 AM on June 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
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posted by kitten kaboodle at 4:09 PM on March 18, 2021 [7 favorites]