Resident Alien (2021) s02e12 – The Alien Within

“Resident Alien” takes a big turn this episode. No spoilers, but it will make some casting interesting down the line. I also don’t know if it’s original to the show or from the comic book; I never made it “this far” into the comic, though I got pretty far, so it’d be towards the end of the series.

And there are only four more episodes left, so it would appear the initial “Resident Alien” arc is wrapping up. They’re renewed for a third season, but they didn’t have it when they plotted out this season. Or maybe even filmed it.

In other words, we’re in an endgame.

There are some context-free hints throughout the episode, preparing for the big finale reveal. They’re hints at something else, teases of something else. The big switcheroo at the end changes everything about the show for everyone, characters and viewers alike. It’s a big swing, one they can hopefully pull off.

It also comes after a hilarious Alan Tudyk and Sara Tomko scene where he’s trying to explain his personal texting abbreviations to her, which gives a wonderful glimpse at their virtual friendship.

The episode’s got a “hometown” theme for everyone but Tudyk as mayor Levi Fiehler unveils his proposed resort to the citizenry. There’s not much enthusiasm, particularly from Tomko and Alice Wetterlund, who heckle him during the presentation. It takes until the end of the episode to figure out why, when Tomko and Wetterlund organize a Halloween girl’s night out for the regular and regular guest-starring female cast.

It’s a nice character development subplot.

Tudyk spends the episode trying to find the alien baby, teaming up with nemesis Gracelyn Awad Rinke for a hilarious buddy action subplot. Rinke’s smarter than Tudyk in all the crucial ways; she knows it too and frequently reminds him of his failings.

Meanwhile, Judah Prehn actually finds the missing alien baby. He has to reason with it while parents Fiehler and Meredith Garretson try to convince everyone their Sonny and Cher couples’ costumes are cool.

Then “[People] in Black” Alex Barima and Linda Hamilton are up to no good. It’s a well-balanced, packed episode with lots of subplot and main plot development, with some character stuff filtered in.

For example, Corey Reynolds is not in the main plot, but he’s got at least three great scenes in the episode, two of which have character work. One of them is just hilarious.

It’s an outstanding episode, especially given the massive twist.

Resident Alien (2021) s02e11 – The Weight

Besides one to two songs too many—seriously, “Resident Alien,” but your composer to work—the show’s entirely back on track after last episode. There are some considerable plot developments, but everything’s through a character development lens. The show does continue to adjust plot trajectories, however, as sheriff’s deputy Elizabeth Bowen takes it on herself to figure out what’s going on with the (now dead) hit men come to town.

Her boss, Corey Reynolds, and the neighboring town’s detective, Nicola Correia-Damude, are also on the case, but they’re a little too busy making eyes at each other. Early in the episode, Bowen puts her foot down about her work not being recognized, which changes the dynamic from how last episode left things. It also helps making Correia-Damude and Reynolds’s flirting likable. Reynolds is occasionally played entirely for a boob, and while he’s great at it, it doesn’t seem to endear him to Correia-Damude. This episode works at making him endearing to her and vice versa.

So it’s up to Bowen to actually get to the bottom of things, bringing in Sara Tomko to help. Tomko’s got extra time on her hands because she’s not hanging out with Alan Tudyk since discovering he tried to mind wipe her memory of killing a bad guy to save Tudyk. Tomko’s got a fantastic arc this episode, involving an old friend who knows nothing about her secrets, Bowen, an old friend who knows some of the secrets but not the alien one, Alice Wetterlund, and the dad who knows it all, Gary Farmer. It’s lovely, with some great work from Tomko and Farmer.

Wetterlund then also gets her own character development arc. As she makes life changes for her (offscreen) boyfriend, it turns out she might not have gotten the skiing bug entirely out of her system.

Meanwhile, Tudyk’s got a combination comedy and character development arc with kid Judah Prehn. Prehn and best friend Gracelyn Awad Rinke have a big secret: Rinke’s fostering the alien baby, now in human form, played by Kesler Talbot. Tudyk’s looking for the baby and enlists Prehn’s aid. It’s a funny arc, which also ties into Prehn’s parents, Levi Fiedler and Meredith Garretson, and their arc.

Not a lot for Rinke to do this episode, but fantastic when she gets material. Also outstanding are Diana Bang and Jenna Lamia, who both get a spotlight scene.

The script’s credited to Zach Cannon, his first writing credit on the show. It’s a really good script. Nice direction from Warren P. Sonoda. Some great Tudyk scenes, too, obviously. The episode’s exceptionally well-balanced.

Just got two or three too many bland country pop songs in it.

Resident Alien (2021) s02e10 – The Ghost of Bobby Smallwood

There are some fine performances this episode, but the whole thing seems strangely off, starting with the opening involving the kid who gets lost in the mines back in the thirties. It’s been a setting detail from the first season, but now we’re seeing it happen for some reason. By the time it’s relevant, the episode’s a third done, then it’s not clear why it’s more important for another third. In the meantime, there’s a lot of country music and sad regular cast members.

Except, of course, Sara Tomko, who Alan Tudyk brainwashed last episode to forget killing a bad guy to save him. He also wiped her memory of meeting estranged, given-up-for-adoption daughter Kaylayla Raine, who Tomko then stood up because she didn’t remember making plans. It ends up being an excellent episode for Tomko, as far as acting fodder, but the entire thing is a do-over of last episode.

They get away with it because it’s believable for Tudyk’s character, but… it’s not great plotting.

The script’s credited to Christian Taylor, their first credit. There’s some good stuff, and there’s some middling stuff. Good stuff is Tomko, Tudyk, hilarious deadpan nurse Diana Rang, and some of Alice Wetterlund’s romance arc. The middling stuff is Corey Reynolds getting excited to work with neighboring town’s detective Nicola Correia-Damude because they’re both from the East Coast. Last episode, Correia-Damude thought Reynolds was a loud-mouth doofus, this episode, she thinks he’s a loud-mouth from DC and full of good ideas.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Bowen’s jealous Reynolds isn’t paying attention to her professionally again, which was a big—and seemingly resolved—story arc.

Then there’s mayor Levi Fiehler and his wife, Meredith Garretson, having marital problems. Fiehler makes the mistake of asking Reynolds for advice and taking it. Just like Wetterlund’s arc with beau Justin Rain, the episode rushes into the fire, then puts it out immediately. Big, easy-to-resolve stakes.

Wetterlund and Rain are at least cute. Fiehler and Garretson are annoying.

Cute, but annoyingly not in the episode enough are Gracelyn Awad Rinke and Judah Prehn. At first, it seems like Prehn’s going to be off-screen the whole episode because he doesn’t figure into parents Fiehler and Garretson’s lives this episode at all, but then he shows up to check in with Rinke and set up something for later.

The episode seems discombobulated. Director Kabir Akhtar doesn’t do a bad job—and does quite well with some of the performances—but he also doesn’t save the episode from the meandering script.

Or the grating country songs over all the heartache and sadness scenes, which are most of them this episode.

Resident Alien (2021) s02e08 – Alien Dinner Party

Well. Here I thought this episode was the season finale. It’s not. It’s the end of “Resident Alien: Season Two: Part One.” Another eight episodes are coming later. Things make a little more sense (though they may have introduced more in this episode than they can resolve in another eight). The episode ends on a big cliffhanger, with all sorts of future connotations, after an episode where everything’s got different connotations for the future. Starting with the first scene, which introduces another alien species on Earth, seemingly protecting aliens from Linda Hamilton’s evil general.

Though maybe not, based on some of the later revelations in the episode.

Some developments are even more impressive with the episode not being the finale. They got a lot done in eight episodes, giving numerous cast members full arcs. Much of the episode involves Levi Fiehler and Meredith Garretson getting annoyed with one another at Alan Tudyk’s impromptu surprise birthday party. Tudyk and Sara Tomko are just back from a trip to New York, with an (unbeknownst to them) hatching alien egg in tow.

Garretson’s freaking out about a possible pregnancy, with Alice Wetterlund her only confidant. Unfortunately, Wetterlund’s keeping some secrets from Garretson about her and Fiehler. It’s a very complicated, very volatile situation, even without an alien baby due any minute. Plus, Gracelyn Awad Rinke has just discovered Judah Prehn probably got the town doctor kidnapped by Hamilton and wants to rush and tell Tomko. Only it’s not safe to go outside.

Deputy Elizabeth Bowen also gets an arc about her alien encounter memories, which she gets to share with her newly introduced (to the show) husband, Trevor Carroll. No doubt, it’s set up for a “Season Two: Part Two” subplot, but when you think it’s the finale, it just seems like some nice character development for Bowen. Sheriff Corey Reynolds gets something similar, finally working through his grieving over a dead partner. Though Reynolds is mostly around for the one-liners. He’s hilarious and seemingly the only guest who’s fully aware Fiehler’s got ulterior motives for throwing the bash, which doesn’t even end up being important because there’s so much other stuff.

And not just with Fiehler and Garretson.

It’s a very, very full episode—Tudyk’s got an entire alien baby care arc, and then Tomko has a small but significant one with daughter Kaylayla Raine.

Claudia Yarmy’s direction is solid; she gives the actors enough time and space, taking advantage of the background to keep other plots moving, and the jokes coming. Reynolds has a few times he’s just behind the main action telling jokes. I’m not sure the show’s ever brought the whole cast together before—there are ten adults plus two kids. And Diana Bang has a great, short bit as Rinke and Prehn’s babysitter.

Show creator Chris Sheridan gets the script credit. He does well with so much going on in a short present action (a few hours at most).

I had fully prepared myself for “Resident Alien” to lose its renewal chicken. The acting’s way too good in a way too peculiar show. But knowing it’s just on a mid-season hiatus? I can just appreciate its considerable successes (Tomko’s particularly great this episode) and eagerly await its return.

Resident Alien (2021) s02e07 – Escape from New York

Once again, I've failed to keep up with episodes per season on shows this year, and it turns out this episode is the penultimate one for "Resident Alien: Season Two," which makes a lot of sense. If the season were running ten episodes, it'd be a little strange to introduce so many new plot threads with three episodes to go.

Though maybe if it were running thirteen, there might be time. And with just one more, they can position the show for season three, something they really didn't get to do with season one's finale.

The episode concludes Alan Tudyk and Sara Tomko's trip to New York City (which looks more like Vancouver this episode than last time), with two big surprises. One came as even more of a surprise because I thought they were just adapting the comic arc, but they are not; they're upping the "Alien" ante. The other surprise is a phenomenal moment, with the show acknowledging it's hurrying some things and then taking the time to make things count.

After resolving Tudyk tripping on acid, Tudyk and Tomko's arc leads to some nice character bits in Central Park (or whatever it's called in Vancouver) and then is mostly action. They've got to find out what other alien's human companion Maxim Roy knows before woman-in-black Mandell Maughan kills them, plus there are some New York thugs following them, thinking Tudyk's still the human Tudyk. Lots of action.

Things back in small mountain town Colorado are slower but with similarly significant developments. Alice Wetterlund and Meredith Garretson have a girl jock character arc together; Wetterlund gets off her duff and gets back to the gym, where she runs into Garretson. Now, Garretson's unaware Wetterlund spent last episode on a bonding arc with Garretson's husband, Levi Fiehler. As Garretson muses about her marriage in this episode, Wetterlund's got some relevant information she can't share.

Luckily they can still bond over exercising.

Considering the other arc involves sheriff Corey Reynolds deciding he's made a mistake with a murder investigation and might be entirely up-ending the show (it includes him getting some detective novels, which are straight out of the comic), Wetterlund and Garretson's character arc is this episode's most ambitious, but also smallest swing; especially since Tomko doesn't end up with much to do. She's entirely support for Tudyk after a certain point.

She's got a couple terrific scenes. There's a lot of strong acting in this episode, especially Tudyk, whose absurd comedy moments are phenomenal, and Gary Farmer. Farmer gets a bonding scene with Reynolds where Farmer monologues a war story, and it's incredible. Oh, and then Diana Bang—the nurse at the town clinic who's been getting more and great material this season—has an awesome scene with Fiehler.

Good direction from Claudia Yarmy; she gives the actors time and room, never slowing down the action but never rushing anyone either.

Not knowing the season was almost over saved me worrying about it not being renewed (until now, anyway), but I really hope they get at least one more. With a bigger order too. Eight episodes—albeit an obviously Covid-19 lockdown limiting season—isn't enough, not with this cast.

Resident Alien (2021) s02e05 – Family Day

Describing “Resident Alien” as ‘“Northern Exposure” with an alien’ is reductive (and doesn’t properly acknowledge “Alien”’s R-rated but PG-13 executed humor). But it’s where my mind goes when trying to shortcut describe the show, especially this season. “Alien” is an ensemble. Though Alan Tudyk’s semi-reformed alien invader is the lynchpin, the core relationship is Sara Tomko and Alice Wetterlund. The character development all ties back to how Tomko and Wetterlund are experiencing their hometown as it changes, and they change and how everything around them affects those experiences.

Including Tudyk.

Tomko and Tudyk’s friendship has been one of the show’s greatest successes. No matter how wild the plot can get, no matter how absurd Tudyk can get, there’s a calm, comfort to their scenes. Whereas Tomko and Wetterlund’s scenes often bring the drama. In this episode, Wetterlund’s pissed-off Tomko spent the night at abusive ex Ben Cotton’s, and Tomko claps back, bringing up Wetterlund’s drinking problem. Wetterlund gets hangover IVs at the clinic from nurse Diana Bang (who gets a bunch of great material this episode).

Wetterlund resents Tomko for the secrets she’s kept—given-away daughter Kaylayla Raine—and Tomko resents Wetterlund’s present-day friendship with Raine. Their relationship is currently the only one on the show where there’s room for actual growth.

Mainly because everyone else’s development is in some way tied to Tudyk. For example, this episode has kids Judah Prehn and Gracelyn Awad Rinke discover they’ve lost track of Tudyk’s silver alien space ball. Unfortunately, they can’t tell anyone about it because it’s a big secret, meaning Prehn’s relationship with parents Levi Fiehler and Meredith Garretson has a significant constraint. Similarly, as Elizabeth Bowen becomes more and more convinced there’s been an alien incident (her lost memories from a day, which Tudyk indeed did wipe) when she and Corey Reynolds bond over it… it’s only going to go so far before alien space magic gets involved.

The episode actually opens with Reynolds, flashing back to the tragic end of his career in Washington DC (and the introduction of adorable puppy Cletus), and he’s got a few excellent dramatic scenes. Not really any comedic, just a handful of reminders Reynolds can act the hell out of any tone.

The A-plot involves everyone—including Tudyk—discovering human Tudyk has a teenage daughter, played by Taylor Blackwell. Thanks to bad dad tropes, they’re quickly able to get to absolutely hilarious montages of Tudyk trying to ingratiate himself to Blackwell; they just keep getting funnier as the episode progresses. The only missed opportunity is Blackwell getting to hang out with Prehn and Rinke (but she can’t because she can’t know Tudyk’s an alien).

Everyone ends up at the town’s annual Family Day, which mayor Fiehler has partially reimagined as a way to better advertise the town to tourists. There’s a play starring kids, involving lots of blood, guts, and boulders. It’s awesome.

The script, credited to Biniam Bizuneh (first-time script credit, though previous story editor credits), is fantastic. Not just in the comedy, but in the multiple tough talks the characters have to have with one another. Lots of good acting from Tudyk and Tomko opposite a wide variety of supporting cast members. Also, Blackwell’s a perfect foil for Tudyk (and Tomko). Her appearance, just as Tudyk’s understanding liking babies (before they turn into shitty teens) and Tomko’s got her… trauma arc? Oh, yeah. Okay. “Resident Alien”’s core plotline is Tomko’s trauma and recovery arc; I’m embarrassed it took me so long to describe it as such.

Anyway. It’s the right time and the right character to introduce. And Blackwell’s the right performance. She’s appropriately sullen, sardonic, and sympathetic. I also can’t believe how well they integrated her into the plot on her first appearance.

Lea Thompson directs, which seemed notable as trivia during the opening titles, but she does a fine job balancing the absurd comedy and the human drama.

“Resident Alien” keeps impressing in new ways; season two’s outstanding.

Resident Alien (2021) s02e04 – Radio Harry

This episode has six plotlines going. Or maybe five and a half, since kids Gracelyn Awad Rinke and Judah Prehn kick off the A-plot, which has Sara Tomko suspicious Alan Tudyk’s alien radio is actually a bomb. The first scene has Tudyk trying to bully the kids into returning his silver alien ball—he’s only got the one left—and Rinke is suddenly convinced he’s got ill-intent with his new device.

So the kids warn Tomko, who decides she and dad Gary Farmer will accompany Tudyk to the transmission site to make sure he’s not going to nuke the planet. The site is on the reservation, so they all visit Tomko and Farmer’s family first; they’re celebrating the return of relation Tommy Puco. It’s never clear how he’s related.

Puco’s hilarious. Since the episode’s got so much going on, he’s only got a couple big scenes. His first one is opposite Tudyk and having an inevitably awkward conversation about belonging. Tudyk prefers spending time among the Native family on the reservation, finding them less obnoxious (and callously destructive) than the white people in town. It softens his resolve to save the humans and has him considering maybe he does need to destroy all human life to save the planet, after all.

Farmer’s got some magnificent scenes on during the reservation visit too. Because it’s Farmer, give him a scene, and he’ll nail it.

Then there are a series of sometimes interconnected subplots, starting with deputy Elizabeth Bowen getting interested in sheriff Corey Reynolds’s love life. Bowen will be in Reynolds’s subplot, Alice Wetterlund’s family subplot, and have one of her own running throughout–a dress she thought she’d lost turned up at the dry cleaners, and she doesn’t remember bringing it in.

Wetterlund’s got a flirtation subplot with charming baseball opponent Justin Rain, but we also get to meet her parents—Barclay Hope and Lini Evans—when she goes to Hope’s birthday dinner. She brings Bowen along because Hope and Evans are so awful to Wetterlund. It’s a quick scene in a quick subplot, but it turns out to be the episode’s best scene; lots of good work from Wetterlund, though it resolves real quick since it’s not one of the main plot lines.

The most significant subplot is Linda Hamilton’s return and the revelation new town doctor Michael Cassidy is still alive. Hamilton’s holding him captive as an alien in her alien jail. Mandell Maughan’s back as her faithful subordinate. While it’s a developing C-plot in the episode, it feels like a bigger plot since it’s returning special guest star Hamilton (and Maughan’s first time back this season).

Similarly, Meredith Garretson and Levi Fiehler have a purely comedic subplot about Fiehler’s rivalry with the nearby town. Sturdy comic acting from Fiehler, and then Garretson gets to do all the big work when the time comes. It’s real funny.

And I just realized there’s a whole sixth plot, not a half one, because the “kids” plotline isn’t just Tudyk versus Rinke and Prehn; it’s also got to do with Tomko’s relationship (or lack thereof) with daughter Kaylayla Raine.

The episode ends with a cliffhanger out of the comic series, which is a big surprise since the show has only used a handful of plot points from the source material.

There’s some terrific acting from Tudyk and Tomko, who gets some great scenes together—including one where Tomko’s got to maintain against an increasingly absurd, but also serious, Tudyk.

Good, packed but never too full script, credited to first-timer Timmy Pico (who’s had story editor credit before), and direction from Shannon Kohli. Kohli’s one of “Alien”’s most reliably strong directors at this point.

The show remains rock solid.

Resident Alien (2021) s02e03 – Girls’ Night

I kept wondering why they weren’t using any recognizable licensed music during this episode, even though it’s about (as the title suggests) a “Girls’ Night.” They’re listening to music multiple times, and then there’s a sequence with an accompanying song, but nothing big.

Then the finale uses a very famous, very recognizable theme song, and I imagine licensing it ate up the music budget for the episode. To great effect too.

The episode begins with a flashback to the nineties, with the main townie cast all kids out camping. There’s some good old sexism and toxic masculinity—intentionally—before establishing Elizabeth Bowen’s gotten the poop end of the stick since childhood. It comes up later, with the main plot involving Bowen never getting a raise as sheriff’s deputy, but the scene primarily serves as a tension break from last episode’s cliffhanger.

Bowen and boss Corey Reynolds had just discovered Alan Tudyk killed someone (not Tudyk the alien, Tudyk the human, before the alien killed him—making alien Tudyk a “murderer murderer”). There’s a fast, simple resolution to the cliffhanger—and the entire subplot—because “Resident Alien: Season Two” is also introducing new alien powers for Tudyk. Rarely used ones, like his silver Starman balls, discussed at one point to good comic effect.

So while that leftover thread from the first season is resolved, there’s still the matter of calling off the alien armada from destroying Earth; Tudyk needs more technology than his small mountain town can provide, so it’s good there’s a guest star.

Alex Borstein guests as Meredith Garretson’s cousin, who’s just hanging out. They happen to meet Tudyk, and Borstein’s quite taken with him, eventually leading to both a hilarious seduction sequence (complete with Tudyk in a cravat) and Borstein getting to do a Tudyk impression. Borstein’s fantastic.

She and Garretson go out with Sara Tomko, Alice Wetterlund, Bowen, and some other female semi-regulars for a night on the town. At the same time, Garretson’s husband, mayor Levi Fiehler, organizes a boy’s night for him, sheriff Reynolds, and Reynolds’s dad, Alvin Sanders. Since it’s a small mountain town, they all end up at the same bar.

It’s a funny episode, which eventually gets serious as the women realize Bowen’s lack of pay raise might not be exceptional for the town’s women. Also, Tomko charges Tudyk to think about things from women’s perspectives.

The last subplot is the kids’ one, with Gracelyn Awad Rinke finally figuring out what’s going on with Judah Prehn’s testosterone boost.

It’s a really good episode, with the show—script credit to Jenna Lamia, directed by Shannon Kohli—showing it’s got places to go with many of its characters, not just Tudyk. It’s still mostly Tudyk’s show, plus Tomko’s, but it’s got some well-executed and robust ensemble tendencies.

Resident Alien (2021) s02e02 – The Wire

This episode allays sophomore slump concerns, maybe completely.

While there are still leftover plot threads from last episode and season, the show seems to be going full ahead with sheriff Corey Reynolds and deputy Elizabeth Bowen investigating Alan Tudyk as a serial killer. There’s a very funny moment when they confront Sara Tomko about it; however, she knows the easy explanation is he’s a formerly genocidal alien visitor but can’t tell.

Reynolds and Bowen’s investigation is the B-plot, but the show plays it more like a comedy plotline, where they’ve got to pose as a married couple to find out details into Tudyk’s past. But Tudyk’s an entirely different “person” now; the revelations would surprise him just as much as anyone else, which sort of figures in.

The A plot is Tudyk building a bunker so he and Tomko can hide out when his alien species sends someone else to nuke Earth. Tudyk’s now got a regular roomie—Nathan Fillion voicing a rescued-from-the-kitchen octopus (Fillion’s outstanding)—and so there’s constant banter. Tudyk still gets some great narration, including a lengthy bit during a diner scene with kids Judah Prehn and Gracelyn Awad Rinke. Will it ever stop being funny when Tudyk’s alien is super-shitty to ten-year-olds? Possibly, but probably not. It remains absolutely hilarious, especially since Rinke keeps up with Tudyk’s malarky, and then they both can laugh when Prehn’s behind.

Tudyk’s got to use his Starman balls to build the bunker. Prehn’s stolen one, and it’s having odd effects, but that resolution’s not in this episode. It does create some good rancor between Tudyk and Prehn, which Rinke doesn’t understand because Prehn’s lying to her about stealing the space ball too. The balls appear to have the same rules as Starman: The Movie and maybe “The TV Show,” where Tudyk can use it once to do something seemingly magical, but really it’s alien technology. One he uses to build the bunker, the other he saves for something else. There are four total, so there are two left. “Resident Alien”’s not wasting its time moving through them either.

After an awkward interaction with Tudyk, Gary Farmer advises Tomko she needs to get Tudyk caring about more humans than just her. The A plot then turns into Tudyk trying to bond with the locals, including a poker game against Reynolds, mayor Levi Fiehler (whose absurdist kinky sex subplot with wife Meredith Garretson gets back-burnered, but they leave the flame on), and some other folks, including nurse Diana Bang. Bang’s been in the show since the pilot or soon after, usually giving Tomko crap at the medical clinic where they work, but now she’s loose amongst more cast, and she’s incredible.

Besides being around for Tudyk’s bunker-building plot (though she knows nothing about it), Tomko gets the C plot, which is just she and Alice Wetterlund being best friends and figuring out how to support one another. Even though Tomko can’t dump all the secrets on Wetterlund (only dad Farmer also knows Tudyk’s an alien, well, plus the kids), the scenes give Tomko a space to decompress from the rest of her adventures.

Sarah Beckett gets the script credit. It’s excellent; lots of good jokes for everyone and peculiar character moments for Tudyk. Robert Duncan McNeill’s directing again and doing well. There are still some very CGI-looking backdrops, but the show’s also got an extended mountain lake boating sequence, which widens the scope for a bit.

And the cliffhanger’s good.

“Resident Alien”’s fantastic as ever.

Resident Alien (2021) s02e01 – Old Friends

It’s been nine months since the first season finale of “Resident Alien” aired, and this episode picks up the following day. So, long enough I’ve forgotten who was doing what and where; other than Alan Tudyk finally free of Earth and his evil pursuers, headed into the stars, on his way home.

Only to discover kid nemesis turned pal Judah Prehn stowed away.

This season premiere starts with Prehn back home with mom Meredith Garretson and dad Levi Fiehler, who successfully defeated assassins last time and are now very into each other. Obnoxiously kinky on main, basically. Sara Tomko and Prehn have a great moment uncomfortably watching Garretson and Fiehler canoodle, with many other cast members getting similarly great moments throughout the episode.

Prehn knows where the spaceship crash-landed but not where Tudyk has ended up. The audience, however, knows he’s in the hospital somewhere (a nearby town, it turns out), and he’s got amnesia. But only of his cover story; he’s more than happy to tell everyone he’s an alien come to Earth to decimate the population.

The main action is getting Tudyk back home and back to normal—it’s a bumpy road to recovery, including a diversion into pretending he’s Jerry Orbach’s Lennie Briscoe character from “Law & Order Prime,” which is hilarious. There are several subplots, including Tomko and best friend Alice Wetterlund checking in after Wetterlund found out town teen Kaylayla Raine is Tomko’s kid. It’s season finale resolve material held over for the next season premiere, but it’s what happens when you’ve got big cliffhangers.

But the biggest subplot is sheriff Corey Reynolds’s investigation into Tudyk; he and deputy Elizabeth Bowen don’t think he’s an alien monster, of course, just a serial killer.

Lots of great acting. Tudyk gets numerous showcases thanks to amnesia, then Tomko and Reynolds both get subtle and profound arcs. The stuff with Garretson and Fiehler’s hilarious. Also really funny—as always—is Gracelyn Awad Rinke as Prehn’s friend. Rinke’s actually superfluous, but she’s so delightful it doesn’t matter. Kind of like how Gary Farmer seems a tad extra—very, very welcome, but he’s mostly around for the one-liners, even when he and Tudyk have a nice bonding moment.

“Resident Alien” doesn’t seem to be suffering any sophomore slump—there’s a little more CGI composite shots than before, presumably because of COVID-19 restrictions—and the cast is strong as before. Especially Reynolds. Tudyk, of course, but it’s his show. Reynolds has always quietly walked off with “Alien,” but even more now, since he gets to share his scenes with Bowen instead of crowding her out (due to character hubris, not Reynolds’s performance).

The episode—script credit to series creator Chris Sheridan, directed by Robert Duncan McNeill—also makes sure to check in on the friendship between Tudyk and Tomko after the latest developments have settled, including her knowing he’s a genocidal alien invader.

Last thing—great cameo from Nathan Fillion. He only does a voice, but his timing opposite Tudyk’s so outstanding it’s an even better performance if they recorded asynchronously.

Season two’s off to a fine start.