Resident Alien, Season 1, Episode 8 “End of the World As We Know It”
Air Date: Wednesday, March 17, 2021 at 10:00PM – 11:00PM ET/PT on Syfy
Reviewer Rating: 4 Stars
***WARNING: Spoilers Ahead ***
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“It’s human nature, Harry; nobody wants to hide who they really are.” – Asta
In “End of the World As We Know It,” our beloved trio – Harry (Alan Tudyk), Asta (Sara Tomko) and D’Arcy (Alice Wetterlund) are dealing with the aftermath of falling into a crevasse on the glacier. Harry found his humanity-destroying device but after the fall, he’s lost it and is severely injured. It’s inevitable that Asta is going to find out he’s not exactly who he claims to be.
The majority of “End of the World As We Know It,” consists of two revolving themes – Harry, Asta, and D’Arcy trying to survive and the adventures of Asta’s dad Dan (Gary Farmer) and Sheriff Mike Thompson (Corey Reynolds) trying to find out where they are. There are some other key plot points embedded that, while not getting much screen time, are quite significant.
Let’s start with Harry and Asta, who have both fallen further into the crevasse. Harry leg is pinned by a large chunk of ice which causes him to lose his strength thus his inability to keep up the façade of being human. Yep, he’s turning into an alien and Asta can see everything. While most people may scream in fear or try to pummel a man…er, alien, while he’s down, not Asta. She’s a nurse and she uses her rational brain to reconcile that while Harry really isn’t human (and has the most difficult name ever that maybe starts with a ‘Z ‘or ‘Q,’ maybe a ‘Ch’), he’s a creature that needs her help.
Asta gets a deeper look at Harry’s alien anatomy when he has trouble breathing. His greenish-blue blood is all over the place and is now clogging his breathing duct. As Asta prepares to go in to clear the airway, Harry’s little arms come out to help guide her past the “teeth” in his chest (or stomach) cavity. I would love to know how it was to film this scene for both Tudyk and Tomko. It looked like so much fun, even the gooey glob she yanks from his duct. Bravo to the cast, costume designer, make-up department, and everyone involved because this is a beautiful defining moment for both Harry and Asta, and the future of their friendship.
The General (guest star Linda Hamilton) dispatches Lt. Logan (Alex Barima) and his menacing partner Lisa (Mandell Maughan) to go to the source of the signal on the spaceship when Harry found his device. They arrive in Patience, CO and see the flyer that Max (Judah Prehn) posted and begin plotting their next move.
Sheriff Mike must go to a local restaurant to find John (Trevor Carroll) who works with D’Arcy on the mountain. John and Deputy Liv Baker (Elizabeth Bowen) are enjoying a cozy dinner so I know Sheriff Mike is quite uncomfortable to see her again, especially after the childish display back at the station earlier. But people are missing so no time for pride to get in the way. Meanwhile, at the same restaurant, Ben (Levi Fiehler) and Kate (Meredith Garretson) are having their anniversary dinner. They overhear the Sheriff and want to help. When Kate goes to the restroom, she meets a woman who’s new in town – Lisa.
Crazy question: Did Lisa purposefully remove toilet paper from every stall anticipating she would run into Kate who would then ask for some from the only person in the restroom?
D’Arcy is still dangling from a jagged piece of ice after Asta and Harry fell further down. She regains consciousness with renewed determination to climb out and rescue her friends. D’Arcy is also injured but she pushes through until she falls again. She makes a good-bye video saying farewell to all the men that will miss her, specifically saying Dr. Ethan’s (Michael Cassidy) name, then tearfully saying how much she’ll miss Judy (Jenna Lamia). If you’ve been watching the whole season, you know these two are closer than they seem – the name calling is just a front.
As D’Arcy lies down on the ice, she recalls memories of Asta coming to visit her in the hospital after her skiing accident. Asta tells her to “get up bitch” and “not quit” which spurs D’Arcy to climb that icy wall one more time to save herself and her friends. It’s a truly inspiring moment that’s delicately blended with humor. Well done.
Harry fears D’Arcy seeing him as an alien, but Asta figures out a quick solution – bundling him up head to toe in clothing to cover his face and body. As they reach the top, Asta tells D’Arcy that Harry is severely injured and needs to go to the hospital fast. When they get to the clinic, D’Arcy runs in for help. Asta calls her dad for help and takes the truck and Harry over to the diner.
Dan is shocked by what he sees. Harry has become so weak, he’s full alien again. It’s hilarious that Dan thinks the alien is Mayor Ben instead of Harry. To save Harry, the injured leg must be amputated. Asta tried but Dan steps in to chop it right off. Meanwhile, Sheriff Mike stops by the diner and Dan must cover for Asta and alien Harry. I know Sheriff Mike may not have been as quick to piece the clues together about Dr. Sam Hodges’ (Jan Bos) murder, but it would take an oblivious fool not to see that Dan is hiding something.
Now that the alien is out of the bag, it’s going to be a real treat to see how all the storylines play out. Harry now possesses the device that will destroy mankind but will he be able to go through with it after spending time with Asta who essentially saved his alien ass? I have a feeling we are all going to be surprised.
And with the announcement of season 2 coming, it’s like Tudyk stated to Syfy Wire, “It kinda gives away that Harry doesn’t complete his mission and destroy the human race at the end of this season, but it’s great to get another season’s worth of trying to do it!”
Resident Alien – S01, Ep. 8 “End of the World As We Know It” Photos
Only one more episode before the season finale. Watch episodes on Syfywire.com
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Judy Manning
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