Resident Alien Review: Secrets (Season 1 Episode 3)
Harry is about to learn an important lesson: nothing will keep you up at night like a body you thought you’d buried. On Resident Alien Season 1 Episode 3, “Secrets,” the body of the real Harry Vanderspiegle threatens to come to the surface, and it’s making Harry assess his priorities.
“Secrets” is that it’s a highly relatable episode. The opening episode where Harry laments, “I am an alien, I don’t know every little detail about earth works,” feels like a classic line. We understand that Harry is an alien, but it’s still funny to hear this supposed genius scientist from another planet lamet that he doesn’t know some things. Especially when on Resident Alien Season 1 Episode 2, “Homesick,” he said that medicine was easy for him.
Plus, even though Harry is an alien, the fact that something as “simple” as sleep alludes him is relatable for a lot of people. Who hasn’t attempted to fall asleep tossing and turning over and over again, remembering that you have to buy milk, going over your to-do list, and generally hating the fact that the clock reads anything other than 6 a.m.?
Add in his reaction to circumcision and the avalanche that prevents Harry from finding more of his ship and it’s hard to find a moment where Harry isn’t relatable on some level.
But aside from Harry dealing with some human inconveniences, he also has to grapple with the idea that he isn’t truly alone and the outside world is making its way in. From the avalanche to Kate’s visit, and the search party on the lake owned by the State of Colorado, there are multiple forces tipping into Harry’s life.
But, let’s get real, because the thing that makes “Secrets” different from the first two episodes is how it branches out past Harry’s perspective. While the outside world is coming in, the series is also expanding.
Following Max to school, for example, is a good start. It would get very stale to just see Max with his parents and constantly have him running out of the doctor’s office. Seeing him in a new environment, where he may have a friend changes the game.
We see Max alone and isolated and it’s heartbreaking to see that he doesn’t belong. When he meets a new friend who believes him, it’s almost a relief, he has an ally.
Even Deputy Liv gets a few moments that let us peek into her life beyond the series.
Asta is another character who gets a little more play in this episode, as her story continues to expand. Sara Tomko’s performance has been a refreshing counterpoint to Harry, and her world continues to expand.
We get a little bit about her and JT, and watching her and Darcy attend a party that turns out to be a high school party is an interesting piece of comedy, even if it is to reveal that Asta gave a baby up for adoption. The balance of comedy and heartbreak is well played, and a moment that Resident Alien needed to make sure it wasn’t just one note.
Resident Alien ups the ante at the very end of this episode too when it introduces a new threat to Harry’s secret; the unknown characters who are seeking out alien experiencers.
This is the kind of threat that Resident Alien needs to stay interesting and it’s going to be curious to see where it goes from here as the narrative gets more complicated.
What did you think of this episode of Resident Alien? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Resident Alien airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on Syfy.
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Lauren Busser
Lauren Busser is an Associate Editor at Tell-Tale TV. She is a writer of fiction and nonfiction whose work has appeared in Bitch Media, Popshot Quarterly, Brain Mill Press Voices, and The Hartford Courant.