RESIDENT ALIEN Recap: (S04E02) The Lonely Man

Geek Girl Authority

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Resident Alien Season 4 Episode 2, 'The Lonely Man,' sees Harry struggle with his new normal. He's a human now, y'all. It's hilarious to watch him discover differences between his former alien self and current human reality. Joseph takes a big gamble and proposes to Asta in a hysterical scene, only to shuffle out of Patience by the episode's end. I sincerely (I know how to spell it, Joseph) hope he returns soon. Enver Gjokaj is too damn funny. All in all, 'The Lonely Man' is another solid outing that moves the narrative forward.
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We open with a flashback to the '70s, with a young Eleanor McCallister and her father. They stand at the top of the lighthouse as they watch a massive Alien ship fly overhead. It drops various pieces of alien tech, one of which burrows itself into the sands of the beach.
In the present, Asta (Sara Tomko) drives Harry (Alan Tudyk), Sahar (Gracelyn Awad Rinke) and Max (Judah Prehn) away from the Mantid, who is still at Harry's cabin. Harry grapples with not having access to his alien self. Sahar suggests the Greys implanted an inhibitor in Harry to prevent his true facade from emerging. After all, they did experiment on him (aka put stuff in his butt). Harry is also quite offended that Asta never knew the Mantid wasn't him. That's not BFF behavior. Joseph and the Glowing Orbs
Asta pivots, suggesting they find a way to protect the kids from the Mantid. He offers to give Bridget to the little sh*t buckets as a temporary guardian.
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Meanwhile, Kate (Meredith Garretson) and Ben (Levi Fiehler) discuss Joseph. Ben is afraid that Joseph spotted him outside the flower shop. Kate views this as a positive — if Joseph winds up on their doorstep, she'll kick his half-alien ass and then some. Max returns home, but Mommy and Daddy Hawthorne didn't even know he was out. RESIDENT ALIEN — 'The Lonely Man' Season 4 Episode 2 — Pictured: Judah Prehn as Max Hawthorne — (Photo by: James Dittiger/USA Network)
Then, Kate learns that Ben disclosed Joseph's presence in this town to another person (ahem, Liv, but to be fair, that was Richard Nixon). Elsewhere, D'arcy (Alice Wetterlund) shows Asta the footage on her laptop of the Greys questioning Kate with their glowing orbs. Harry remarks that the Greys love using those things. Sleepovers With the BFFs
Harry plans to spend the night while he and Asta formulate a plan to rid the world of the Mantid. Also, big, head-eating aliens are super duper scary. Harry shotguns some milk to prove nothing has changed, but as a full-fledged human, he hates it. Lactose intolerance is par for the human course, bud. D'arcy discovers that Harry is now ticklish.
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Later, Asta and D'arcy chat about Ben and Kate's baby, who is with Kayla. D'arcy has grown attached to lil Daisy. Asta reminds D'arce that she essentially went out on a suicide mission not that long ago. D'arcy should probably process that.
Harry barges into the bedroom, naked as the day he was born. He asks for our besties to search for the inhibitor. The former alien's human body can only bend so far. After Asta and D'arcy relegate him to the couch, Harry lies awake that night, fearful that the Mantid could be lurking around any corner. Asta eventually lets Harry sleep in her bed (clothed, of course). Trevor's New Gig
The following day, Joseph (Gjokaj) surprises Asta while she's examining a patient. He bursts into the exam room with Trevor, a violinist he found on Craigslist, in tow. Joseph sings his little heart out. Then, he gets down on one knee to propose. Asta pushes him into another room to reject his proposal. She reminds Joseph that they're friends with benefits — sex buddies. They're not in a serious relationship. Heartbroken, Joseph trudges away, Trevor providing a melancholic score for his exit.
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Next, Deputy Liv (Elizabeth Bowen) tells Sheriff Mike (Corey Reynolds) that she's glad he's back after his hiatus. Lena calls with a development in the case: her crew has found the missing hunter … sans head. It appears to have been bitten clean off. Liv suggests aliens, which Mike doesn't like. He's not ready to believe (yet). After this, Liv confronts Ben at the diner about spotting Joseph in town. Oh, no, Richard Nixon saw Joseph, not Ben. RESIDENT ALIEN — 'The Lonely Man' Season 4 Episode 2 — Pictured: Corey Reynolds as Sheriff Mike Thompson — (Photo by: James Dittiger/USA Network)
Elsewhere, D'arcy finds Harry cuddling with Daisy's blanket. She plans to take it to Kayla's for the baby girl. The conversation pivots to Joseph. Perhaps he could assist Harry with his alien problem. It's here he learns that Asta's been having sexy times with the enemy (well, half-enemy, anyway). Betrayal! Still, Harry asks Asta to use Joseph's love for her to his advantage. Kill the Mantid
She calls Joseph, who pretends to have a new girlfriend. Asta asks for his help with Harry's situation. D'arcy mentions the Mantid residing in Harry's cabin. Oh, Joseph can take care of a Mantid. He'll move mountains for Asta.
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Meanwhile, Liv observes from afar as Ben and Kate question the proprietor of the flower shop. She confirms that Joseph was there; however, he paid in cash, so she doesn't have an address for him. Ben shoves a glass vase off the counter to intimidate her. Ben's clearly the mildly bad cop here. RESIDENT ALIEN — 'The Lonely Man' Season 4 Episode 2 — Pictured: (l-r) Meredith Garretson as Kate Hawthorne, Levi Fiehler as Mayor Ben Hawthorne — (Photo by: James Dittiger/USA Network)
After this, Joseph returns from Harry's cabin. He fought the Mantid bravely. And guess what? The Mantid fought back. Joseph lost an arm, and half of his face looks like minced meat. Curse Manty for sullying Joseph's attractiveness. Bruce in Paris
Joseph reveals that the Mantid packed his belongings and hightailed it out of there. Asta offers to drive Joseph to the clinic for medical assistance, which he declines. Harry asks Joseph to remove his inhibitor. Unfortunately, Joseph doesn't know how to do that. So, Harry would need a full Grey for the removal.
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Liv now questions the flower shop owner. She informs Liv that Joseph purchased pink peonies, so he's in love with someone in Patience. He also wasted several note cards because he couldn't spell 'sincerely.' At the same time, Judy (Jenna Lamia) helps a customer with their bags at The Copper Ridge Motel. The Mantid (voiced by Clancy Brown) watches from afar, puffing on a cigarette. He believes it's time to ditch this form. RESIDENT ALIEN — 'The Lonely Man' Season 4 Episode 2 — Pictured: Elizabeth Bowen as Deputy Liv Baker — (Photo by: James Dittiger/USA Network)
Then, Harry learns that Bruce is in Paris, so he needs to fly there to ask Bruce to remove the inhibitor. Asta corrects him — Bruce is in Las Vegas. D'arcy would accompany them on this trip, but she's banned from, well, all the hotels there. That's doing Vegas right. Not Bonobos
Liv sits with Mike and Lena (Nicola Correia-Damude) in the bar. She learns that Lena plans to send a team to scope out the mountains for whoever murdered that hunter. Liv knows Peter is dwelling in the cave there. She volunteers to search the area herself, but Lena is hesitant to task her with that. Liv also tries to subtly insert aliens into the conversation, but nobody picks up what she's putting down.
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Meanwhile, in Vegas, Harry wants to see a Magic Mike show. He and Asta find Bruce (voiced by Jinkx Monsoon) living his best life at the slot machines. Robert is off losing money somewhere. Asta wonders how Bruce is still in one piece. After all, the Greys cannot survive in Earth's atmosphere for long stretches of time. Sure enough, Bruce's arm falls off. Uh-oh.
Then, Mike stumbles upon Liv visiting with Peter (Terry O'Quinn) in the cave. Liv insists that Peter is proof of the existence of aliens. Mike is still incredulous. The alien he thought he caught vanished. Peter tells him that the government stole that alien and planted the 'radiation leak' excuse to throw Mike off their scent. RESIDENT ALIEN — 'The Lonely Man' Season 4 Episode 2 — Pictured: Sara Tomko as Asta Twelvetrees — (Photo by: James Dittiger/USA Network) Goop Soup
Back in Bruce's Vegas hotel, our favorite Grey ain't doin' so hot. He's melting. Earth's atmosphere is killing him. Asta asks how they prevent the Greys from contacting Ben and Kate. Bruce weakly informs our dynamic duo that the Greys won't stop until they get what they want (that baby).
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Harry pivots to himself, asking if Bruce can help extract the inhibitor. Bruce claims there is no inhibitor. The Greys have always been fascinated with Harry's kind and their ability to transform. So, the Greys stole Harry's alien energy. He's human forever now. Harry threatens to return Bruce to the Greys, since he's a defector. Perhaps this will prompt the Greys to restore his alien-ness.
However, Bruce is essentially soup at this point. Harry scoops him into a tote bag. Bruce tells him and Asta that it was all worth it — escaping to Vegas. Aw. He also forgives Harry for trying to betray him. I Believe
Meanwhile, D'arcy visits Kayla (Sarah Podemski) and Daisy. She gives the baby her blanket. D'arcy urges Kayla not to tell Asta about this clandestine meeting.
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Asta reunites with Joseph upon returning from Vegas. He looks a bit better (I think?). Asta and Joseph have a deeper conversation about their relationship status. Joseph opens up to her, claiming he feels like a better person with her. He feels like he can be good. What if he never feels like that again? Asta reminds him that his goodness is inherent — he can tap into it whenever he wants. Ole Joe's got his redemption arc.
Later, Mike opens the duffel bag he used to contain the alien in the Season 3 finale. He feels around inside it and pulls his hand out, which is covered in alien goop. He believes in aliens now, you guys! This is huge. RESIDENT ALIEN — 'The Lonely Man' Season 4 Episode 2 — Pictured: Alan Tudyk as Harry Vanderspeigle — (Photo by: James Dittiger/USA Network) A Lakeside Burial and a Retrieval
Judy shows another customer to her room. However, a headless body is in said room, so she moves the customer to a different room. The Mantid left a parting gift. Harry spreads Bruce's goop (RIP) in the lake by his cabin. He reflects on how easy it was to manipulate Bruce; to take advantage of that sweet Grey. It wasn't right, especially after Bruce saved him.
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Ben finds a note from Joseph, stating he doesn't know where Ben and Kate's baby is, but he can say she's on Earth, and she's safe. Ben hurries inside to share the news with Kate. Joseph watches from behind a car. He smiles. Then, he tries to hitchhike his way out of Patience.
Next, Harry explains that he could trade alien tech from his people with the Greys in exchange for his alien energy. He knows precisely where to look first for said tech. Unfortunately, General McCallister (Linda Hamilton) is on a beach near her father's lighthouse, a metal detector in hand. She retrieves the alien tech we saw in the episode's opening minutes. Sorry, Harry.
Resident Alien drops new episodes every Friday at 11 pm ET on Syfy and USA Network.
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