Almost one year to the day that Resident Alien premiered, Resident Alien Season 2 Episode 1 picks up the story right where it left off.
The biggest question isn’t whether Harry will return to earth (of course, he does), but whether the series can maintain the same quality in its sophomore outing.
My best guess is that opinions will vary.
Resident Alien was easily one of the funniest shows of 2021. Alan Tudyk is always at the top of his game, and the supporting cast is incredible.
Every cast member understands line delivery can make or break a joke, and combined with the amusing plot of an alien sent to earth to kill all inhabitants getting more human every day, Resident Alien set the comedic sci-fi genre on fire.
As Resident Alien Season 1 progressed, the laughs were a little more infrequent, but Harry’s slow movement toward human emotions made up for it.
So, here we are with Resident Alien Season 2. It’s still amusing, but the premiere didn’t contain the laugh-out-loud scenes of early Season 1 episodes.
It’s no surprise, though, as the story brings Harry even closer to traits of the skinsuit he’s wearing.
One of my favorite things about how it’s done is that Harry sets the stage for each episode through his voiceovers. Memories were at the forefront and how they connect humans to each other and the past.
Being an alien is easier than being a human. We have evolved past emotions, so we aren’t forced to deal with things like seasonal depression or road rage. We also have no roads, so nobody can cut you off, not even Alpha Draconions, who are lizard-faced dickheads. After living on earth, I am not just an alien with human emotions. I am an alien with human memories. Is there a point when I become more human than alien?
Harry [voiceover]
Of course, Harry finds them annoying in his voiceover, but they drive his actions. He feels himself giving into their delightful persistence, which causes quite a conundrum.
Harry no longer wants to annihilate humanity. When he got the chance to let at least one human perish, he went into full father mode.
Harry: Can you go to the store and buy yourself one of those little trampolines.
Max: Cool.
Harry: Yes, and take it to the ceiling fan store just down the road. Turn on the overhead ceiling fans and trampoline into them so that your head chops off!
Max: That’s rude. Why are you being mean?
Harry: Because you are the reason I am stuck here!
Outwardly, Harry is embarrassed that he feels so strongly for Max, but inwardly, he’s in awe of the deep connections he feels for Max, and especially Asta.
At first, I thought that Resident Alien would try to keep the humor on target by continuing with Harry’s amnesia, but that was resolved quickly after a short period that found Harry believing he was Law & Order’s Lennie Briscoe (that suit was perfect).
Asta: He was like a child.
Harry: Schtuping a child is like a Class A felony. Do I have to call Benson and Stabler?
Instead, it seems like other characters will pick up the comedic pace while Harry gets in touch with and brushes aside his inner humanity.
Off the bat, Ben and Kate are in an entirely different place than they were when we first met them. Their tandem combat techniques to get rid of Dave Logan and his partner in crime have given them a new appreciation of each other — one that they’re dragging all over town.
It’s hilarious and embarrassing watching their horseplay and BDSM activities. Thankfully, we get it in short spurts as the stages of their fun get kinkier by the minute. When Liv took Kate a glass of water while giving their statements, I wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d doused them with it.
Liv and Sheriff Mike are at a lovely place now. Mike hasn’t backpedaled after their emotional duet that inspired him to treat Liv with more respect. They’ve developed a friendship.
Instead of taking credit for Liv’s discoveries, Mike welcomes her input and gives her the appropriate acknowledgment. Hell, he’s giving her compliments. There is even an undeveloped backstory that Mike lost someone he cared for deeply and is allowing Liv to help ease his pain.
That doesn’t strip away their humorous moments, though.
Mike: You know what? Maybe I’d be better with six arms. That’s better than four. Hell, I could cut my shower in half if I had six arms. I could get my nuts, my butt, and my pits and still have two arms left
Liv: It’s a great day to be alive.
That was laugh-out-loud funny from Corey Reynold’s fast-talking delivery to Elizabeth Bowen’s deadpan response.
Resident Alien has embraced the straight-man-funny-man dynamic beautifully with nearly all of its relationships, and they’re heightened in the premiere.
Again, the exception is Kate and Ben, once straight and funny, now both yukking it up for our benefit.
Now, Max is the straight man for his parents, as he is for Harry and Sahar, too.
Sahar has a penchant for coming out of nowhere, when she’s least expected, to rip into whoever isn’t understanding their difficult everyday situations.
Gracelyn Awad Rinke is so talented in that respect. She reminds me of a young Michael J Fox. His characters always had a snarky comeback, and Rinke seems destined for greatness in that arena, too.
As he did in the past, Harry loses all sense of himself when he’s with Max. Max hit the nail on the head when he said Harry was acting like his dad because he wanted to be his dad, and he hilariously pushed Harry’s buttons, getting him all flustered when he resisted.
Human memory is very powerful. It is more than just knowledge of what has been. It contains feelings of that moment. Memories connect humans, even when they are apart.
Harry [voiceover]
As Harry is in a push-me-pull-me situation in which he embraces and denies his burgeoning humanity, it’s getting harder all the time to keep it going.
Asta holds his heart, and the thought of her dying with all of the other humans digs at it. He’d like to think of his failure on earth to be humanity’s reprieve, but the octopus (Number 42, with black beans) reminds him that soon enough, another alien will land on earth to finish the job.
So how does the premiere set up the rest of the season?
From a plot standpoint, Patience is still not the place it was before Harry’s arrival. Sure, it might have gotten Kate and Ben all hot and bothered, but there are bad people in their midst.
David Logan was literally hiding behind a doorway with D’Arcy’s life hanging in the balance. If she’d been concerned enough about Ethan’s whereabouts to push further into his house, she might not have made it out.
With their new partnership dynamics, Mike and Liv unwittingly stumbled onto the truth about what happened at Harry’s place. They’ve got parts of it wrong, but they could be on the wrong side of it pretty soon.
Harry’s ship kind of disintegrated. All that’s left is what looks like a hockey puck. So Harry is stranded on earth again, which might thwart his abilities to protect it and the people he’s grown to love.
Asta and Harry’s friendship is as strong as ever, and she’s got D’Arcy and Jay to lean on, too.
There is an ever-growing number of people in on Harry’s secret, and if the close calls continue, there might be more.
Something is up with Max, who’s got a little hairy chest to compete with his mom’s horsetail. Of course, one is removable while the other will grow back. If Max confides in Harry about it, maybe we’ll find out what it means for the precocious kid.
If you watch Resident Alien online, you know it’s impossible to guess where the show goes next.
What did you think of the premiere?
Was it as funny as the first season?
What did you notice about the show’s dynamics as we launch into the second season?
Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
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.