By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
Accept
Nerds and BeyondNerds and Beyond
  • Television
    • ABC
      • 9-1-1
      • ABBOTT ELEMENTARY
      • THE COMPANY YOU KEEP
      • THE ROOKIE
      • THE ROOKIE: FEDS
    • AMC+
      • ANNE RICE’S MAYFAIR WITCHES
    • APPLE TV+
      • TED LASSO
    • CBS
      • FBI: INTERNATIONAL
      • GHOSTS
    • DISNEY+
      • PERCY JACKSON
      • STAR WARS SERIES
    • FOX
      • 9-1-1: LONE STAR
    • HULU
    • NBC
      • NIGHT COURT
    • NETFLIX
      • BRIDGERTON
      • MANIFEST
    • MAX
    • PEACOCK
      • YELLOWSTONE
    • PARAMOUNT+
      • STAR TREK SERIES
    • PRIME VIDEO
      • THE BOYS
      • THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY
    • SHOWTIME
    • SHUDDER
    • SYFY
    • THE CW
      • ALL AMERICAN
      • ALL AMERICAN: HOMECOMING
      • GOTHAM KNIGHTS
      • NANCY DREW
      • RIVERDALE
      • SUPERMAN & LOIS
      • THE FLASH
      • THE WINCHESTERS
      • WALKER
      • WALKER: INDEPENDENCE
  • Movies
    • MARVEL MOVIES
    • NETFLIX MOVIES
    • PARAMOUNT+ MOVIES
    • PIXAR
    • SONY
    • SONY MARVEL
    • STAR WARS MOVIES
  • Books
    • STAR WARS BOOKS
  • Recaps
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
  • Contact Us
Search
Reading: Recap: There Is Something About Harry in Episode 1 of ‘Resident Alien’
Share
Sign In
Aa
Nerds and BeyondNerds and Beyond
Aa
Search
  • Television
    • ABC
    • AMC+
    • APPLE TV+
    • CBS
    • DISNEY+
    • FOX
    • HULU
    • NBC
    • NETFLIX
    • MAX
    • PEACOCK
    • PARAMOUNT+
    • PRIME VIDEO
    • SHOWTIME
    • SHUDDER
    • SYFY
    • THE CW
  • Movies
    • MARVEL MOVIES
    • NETFLIX MOVIES
    • PARAMOUNT+ MOVIES
    • PIXAR
    • SONY
    • SONY MARVEL
    • STAR WARS MOVIES
  • Books
    • STAR WARS BOOKS
  • Recaps
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
  • Contact Us
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
© 2022 Nerds and Beyond. All Rights Reserved.
Nerds and Beyond > TELEVISION > RESIDENT ALIEN > Recap: There Is Something About Harry in Episode 1 of ‘Resident Alien’
RECAPSRESIDENT ALIENTELEVISION

Recap: There Is Something About Harry in Episode 1 of ‘Resident Alien’

Sarah
Last updated: 2021/01/27 at 10:25 PM
Sarah
Share
11 Min Read
Image Courtesy of James Dittinger/SYFY
SHARE

We have been seeing him in the promos, but it is time to officially meet Harry Vanderspeigle (Alan Tudyk). He is a doctor with very impressive credentials. Each year, he comes to his cabin in Patience, Colorado to relax and do some fishing. But this year, someone or something happens to disturb his getaway.

James Dittinger/SYFY

Harry’s “fishing” time gets interrupted by Deputy Liv Baker (Elizabeth Bowen) and Sheriff Mike Thompson (Corey Reynolds), who are calling him to shore. When Harry looks over his shoulder, it becomes clear why he has been staying out at the remote cabin; he is, in fact, an alien. The Sheriff tells him that they need his help since he is a doctor, because there has been a murder and they want Harry to look at the body, which happens to be the body of the only doctor in town. Without being able to find an excuse not to go, Harry reluctantly follows them into town.

The long drive into town is the perfect time for a flashback. See, four months ago, while flying in the skies of Earth, Harry’s ship was hit by lightning and crashed. With being stranded and having to blend in, he breaks into a cabin and kills the man inside after he hits him, then throwing the body into the frozen water. Re-entering the cabin, the alien changes form, now becoming Harry Vanderspeigle, taking over his identity. So how does one learn English and how to be human? Well, by watching Law & Order over and over, of course, in-between searching for his ship and lost cargo.

James Dittinger/SYFY

At the clinic in town, Harry meets Mayor Ben Hawthorne (Levi Fiehler), who takes him to the body. Entering the room, he walks straight up to a woman lying back in a chair, “I say from the smell she’s been dead at least six hours,” then pokes the side of her face. Imagine the surprise when she wakes up, jumping out of the chair, upset. Ben then points, directing him to the body on the ground under a sheet while introducing the sleeping woman as Asta (Sara Tomko), the nurse.

James Dittinger/SYFY

When they uncover the body of Dr. Sam Hodges, there is a scalpel sticking up out of his neck. “This is awesome.” Harry explains that it is like Law & Order trying to decipher how he died as he stands back up, saying that it was fun. Mentioning the wounds and blood’s angle, it looks like Sam murdered himself then leaves the room. The Mayor chases after him trying to get him to stay. With a smile on his face, Harry asks if there are other dead bodies. But all the Mayor wants is for him to do an autopsy. Excitedly, as Harry confirms that it is a “cut into the body remove the organs autopsy,” he agrees. When the Mayor leaves, Harry watches a mother and her son walk down the sidewalk. As the young boy sees him, he screams and runs away in terror. In an unexpected turn of events, it appears Max (Judah Prehn) can see Harry’s true alien form.

“Humans have a term for this, bad luck, and raw deal, and this is some bullshit.”

- Advertisement -

Not trusting Harry, Asta tells him she is helping with the autopsy. After some banter about the idea, they get ready to begin. Asta points out a valid fact that makes Harry think that there is a chance that Sam, in fact, may not have killed himself, finishing with, “I am smarter than a lizard.” It is time to play the oddly upbeat song with the removal of the organs taking place, including smelling and bouncing an organ like it is a yo-yo. When they are done, Asta thanks him for his help, confusing Harry, and invites him to go to The 59, a bar across the street, to get a drink. Harry turns her down, saying he has work to do. She calls him a weirdo and leaves. During Harry’s inner monologue, he figures out that he has to go now to prove that he fits in and is one of them, a human. But first, he wants to cut open Sam’s head and squish his brain in his hands. Yeah, that sounds about the right time for Sam’s wife to walk through the doors looking for her husband, who she thinks is alive.

SYFY

At The 59, Asta opens up a bit to Harry and then asks for his help to pick up the rest of her things from her ex’s place. D’arcy (Alice Wetterlund), the bartender, comes over and sees how Asta is doing, and the three do a shot with local whiskey. It’s time to do more shots and dance to “Starships” by Nicki Minaj. This is one of my favorite parts of this episode; we get to see human and alien Harry get drunk, probably for the first time, and awkwardly dance. At the end of the night, he feels like he fits in but then remembers Max, the boy who can see him. That is when drunk on whiskey Harry, gets the brilliant idea to break into Max’s room and kill him.

Harry climbs through Max’s window and then puts his hand over his mouth, telling him that he will not hurt him, just kill him. Max bites his hand and screams. His parents rush in to see if he is okay. Surprise, the Mayor is Max’s dad. As his mom carries him out of the room, Harry partially comes out from under the bed and gives Max the middle finger.

James Dittinger/SYFY

The next day, hungover, Harry goes out looking for what he lost during the crash and comes across a sign over a miner tunnel. The date on it is January 17, 1884, with the inscription “59 Died To Save One.”

In town, the Deputy and Sheriff are in their patrol vehicle when Deputy Liv turns on the music. That turns into them both beatboxing and singing “Amazing Grace.” Yes, more of this, please! They abruptly stop when Harry gets there, accusing him of taking Sam’s body. Harry casually takes them to the alley behind the clinic where Sam’s feet are sticking out of a pile of snow. He put him there to keep the body cold after the autopsy.

Asta and Harry are at her ex’s, Jimmy, house and pack up her stuff when he shows up threatening Harry, revealing that he has a gun on him. Asta tells Harry to leave and that it is alright. Telling himself that he doesn’t want to get involved lasts for a few seconds before he turns around to go back because he knows she is in trouble and wants to help her — a very human moment for Harry. He walks in to find Asta on the ground and Jimmy yelling at her, having hit her. Harry breaks through the wall, grabbing Jimmy and pulling him to the front porch and choking him. Asta stops him, and they leave, but not before she gets a few good kicks in.

- Advertisement -

They drive to a spot in the woods with a magnificent view of the mountains and have a heart to heart. “Sometimes just feeling human is alien to me.” You have no idea how right you are, Asta. She then tells Harry that she was pregnant when she was 16 and gave the baby up for adoption.

Later at the funeral for Sam, Harry asks the Mayor why people are calling him, thinking that he is the new town doctor. The Mayor tells him that he is the replacement and that every Tuesday, he will be there to see Harry for therapy before walking off.

Asta thanks Harry for coming to the funeral, saying that he is a breath of fresh air. He looks to Asta like he just thought of something and runs to the casket opening it in front of everyone getting close to the body searching for something – maybe not the time, Harry. Asta pulls him away, and he tells her that he knows how Sam died. Sam needed air and tried to give himself a tractotomy to breathe but couldn’t do it in time. Now we know that the doctor was poisoned and someone in the town of Patience, Colorado is a killer. Kung Kung!

We cannot wait to see what Harry does next. Stay tuned for next week’s episode of Resident Alien on SYFY at 10 p.m. ET.

SYFY

Share this:

  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Related

You Might Also Like

‘Citadel’ Recap: Season 1, Episode 6 “Secrets In Night Need Early Rains”

‘The Flash’ Stars Join FAN EXPO Chicago Lineup

Season 2 of ‘The Wheel of Time’ Gets Premiere Date and First-Look Photos

‘Sweet Magnolias’ Season 3 Coming to Netflix This Summer

Odette and Dave Annable to Appear at ATX TV Festival

TAGGED: resident alien, SYFY
Sarah January 27, 2021
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Reddit Copy Link Print
Share
By Sarah
As a Ravenclaw and introverted tattooed cat, Sarah enjoys reading, writing, and watching hockey (Go Leafs Go). You can follow Sarah on Twitter at @WyldeFandom
Previous Article
New Images and Character Posters Released for Netflix’s ‘Shadow and Bone’
Next Article
Creation Entertainment Postpones ‘Stranger Things’ Los Angeles 2021 Convention
Leave a comment Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Stay Connected

2.6k Followers Like
35.3k Followers Follow
2.2k Followers Follow
3.8k Subscribers Subscribe

Latest News

‘Citadel’ Recap: Season 1, Episode 6 “Secrets In Night Need Early Rains”
PRIME VIDEO RECAPS TELEVISION May 27, 2023
‘The Flash’ Stars Join FAN EXPO Chicago Lineup
CONVENTIONS DC FAN EXPO FANDOM TELEVISION THE CW THE FLASH May 26, 2023
Jack Quaid to Star in ‘Companion’ From ‘Barbarian’ Team
MOVIES May 26, 2023
Season 2 of ‘The Wheel of Time’ Gets Premiere Date and First-Look Photos
PRIME VIDEO TELEVISION May 26, 2023
Nerds and BeyondNerds and Beyond
Follow US

© 2022 Nerds and Beyond. All Rights Reserved.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?