Resident Alien Episode 2 recap: Harry starts to feel real human emotions

Resident Alien Episode 2, “Homesick,” follows Harry’s continued journey of acceptance into the town of Patience, Colorado, as he tries to balance his new job as town doctor while simultaneously gathering materials to repair his ship and return home.

The main obstacle standing in Harry’s way is a young boy in town named Max who has a one-in-a-million gene that allows him to see through Harry’s human disguise to reveal the alien within. Max is willing to tell anyone who will listen that the town doctor is an alien, but no one believes him. The only person willing to listen to Max is Deputy Liv, who consoles him by offering to sketch the alien and hang up flyers in town.

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Then something happens at the end of the episode that could change everything going forward. In the episode’s cold open, a jogger takes a tumble off the side of a cliff. Instead of hitting the ground, he halts midair, floating over a stranger disc made of tellurium, which has levitating properties.

In the final moments of Resident Alien Episode 2, a group of people on snowmobiles stumble upon the strange and creepy sight of a corpse and two dead birds seemingly suspended in midair over a weird disc with alien symbols carved into it. If people start to suspect there could be something extraterrestrial in town, then they might start taking Max’s claims more seriously. As to what the “disc” is, I’m guessing it has something to do with Harry’s ship.

Potentially even more problematic for Harry is that he still hasn’t found the body of the real Harry, who is floating in the lake somewhere. If anyone finds it before him, they’re going to have a lot of questions.

Resident Alien Episode 2 recap: Harry fails to kill his archnemesis, Max.

Max might be a kid, but he’s smart enough to outwit Harry at every turn so far. Harry tries to kill Max multiple times throughout the second episode, so he no longer has to worry about his cover being blown and fails on each occasion. First, Max manages to escape during his “doctor’s” appointment.

Then, Harry notices the sketches of himself around town. Harry tries to convince Max he’s someone from school, and then the post office, over the phone and claim he saw the alien leaving town, but Max doesn’t buy it. Throughout the hour, Harry fantasizes about all the ways he could have Max killed, from blowing up his house to dropping a piano on him.

Then Darcy, unknowingly, gives him the best idea of all — make it look like an accident. Harry cuts the brakes on Max’s bike. Max does take a tumble that results in him needing stitches, but that’s it. And Harry accidentally slips up at the doctor’s office by revealing he knew the brakes were cut.

To try and put their silent war at rest, Harry offers to give Max novocaine while he stitches him up if he leaves him alone and stops trying to spoil his identity. Max isn’t willing to cave and grits his way through the sutures without complaint. He’s a brave kid!

Resident Alien Episode 2 recap: Harry starts to feel human emotion.

Asta is still reeling from Sam’s loss, and Harry is a surprising comfort to her throughout her grieving process. Toward the end of the episode, Harry asks Asta if she wants to play a game of cards and acknowledges that he’s not interested in playing, but he knows Asta is, and that’s why he suggests it. He also goes bowling with Darcy for a fun night out.

If you didn’t know any better, you’d say he’s genuinely starting to like these people. And by the end, Harry admits that he has started to feel the very human emotion of loneliness. He misses his home and his people. But that’s not necessarily a good thing for the people of Earth, as it motivates Harry to get a move on detonating the weapon and destroying the human race so he can get out of here and return to his home planet.

New episodes of Resident Alien air Wednesday nights at 10/9c on Syfy. The first three episodes are also available to watch on-demand via the Syfy channel or app.