I won't lie, I didn't have high hopes for this third season. Primarily because it came at such a troubled time for the film industry, and was even met with some bad news that the season would see a massive reduction in its number of episodes. From afar this seems like a major negative, but upon watching through the season, it became clear that it wasn't really a bad thing after all. In fact, it ended up being a bit of a blessing for the show. The previous seasons saw more focus on drama, with many episodes that had too much focus on things that just didn't quite fit or make sense. Episodes that were clearly more agenda driven and had no interest in pursuing depth to the characters nor progressing the story forward. Season three took a big step back from this, and instead focused on getting the ball really moving again. Perhaps someone, somewhere saw that the previous seasons inflated their budgets a bit too much, and that many fans were complaining that there was a lack of the show's main appeal: Harry, the alien. Whatever the reason, I was really happy to see how things improved, how the show changed its direction and gave attention to the threat to the world that it was building up on.
I enjoyed the fact that this season also contributed to telling more of a story to its main characters, how it began a new set of stories that gave these characters more depth and thus gave us more to care about, all while somewhat slowly bringing a lot of things together. This season, it really did actually feel like a real show for once, one with some good writing and mixed together with the already rather good quality on the production side of things. There's this feeling that tension is rising, and things are slowly coming to a broader narrative that requires the participation of many unique characters each with their own traits. All while adding in questions on what it means to believe in aliens, the coming to terms with the idea of being abducted, and how to go about being better people. That last one being a common theme throughout the show, with much of Harry's questions relating to certain ways that humans react to different events, how emotions impact us and cause us to lead ourselves down different paths. Things such as loss, love, and curiosity. A lot of the episodes somehow relate to a specific emotion or reaction to something, and how people ultimately have their own ways of coming to terms with aspects of life.
Resident Alien, for the most part, has been a show about an alien becoming human. Trying to see what it means to be human, while also being more human than most real humans in some situations as we see the bad sides of people filter through. Selfishness, jealously, and cruelty. It's a nice show, but now it seems to be taking things a little more seriously. Where are we headed next? This review will feature spoilers from throughout the show, as well in this current third season. Read on at your own discretion.
Resident Alien: Season Three
Resident Alien thrives on showing us heavily flawed characters, and some of them are genuinely insufferable. It does this to heighten that aforementioned growth of Harry as he witnesses the changes in people and notices their flaws and strengths under different situations through life as he himself attempts to learn what it means to be human. These insufferable characters seemed a little less insufferable in season three, with a little more growth to them that had them acting more mature and aware of their flaws, perhaps this came with Harry and his agendas, the pursuit of trying to save the Earth and its inhabitants from the grey aliens that seek to destroy the Earth. Ironically, Harry's initial plan was to arrive at Earth and destroy it himself, but having met people, this changed everything. Harry now attempting to save the planet alongside secret agencies, the show takes a completely different direction than the previous ones, now giving the general story a bit more of a serious pursuit. I think some of the better changes in its characters comes from the more serious story, but also is partially due to better writing and giving them growth as they learn how to be better alongside Harry.
In this season, there's the plot that the grey aliens intend to cause an explosion within Yellowstone National Park, leading to the super-volcano which already remains active in the area holding a massive eruption that leads to the total wipeout of humanity. These aliens already have bases in the area and are gaining closer to being capable of achieving their goal. Harry for some reason is the only one capable of dealing with them, leading to his cooperation with secretive organisations to wipe them out. Various other alien species are caught up in this as Harry at the same time is considered a traitor for abandoning his race and failing his task, leading to a court order requesting his return for trial. Mixed in with this is Harry's first glance at love, falling in love with a bird-like alien woman which double-crosses him, breaking his heart in the process. We see the ways in which Harry continues to become more human and experiences more human emotions while dealing with the threat of another alien race seeking the destruction with Earth. This is the main story, for the most part. But there are interesting additions to the characters which bring them closer to this.
Many of the characters are starting to notice the odd events that have been taking place around Patience for a while now, some already believing in aliens and struggling to get others to believe them, others quietly noticing something strange without having the courage to tell others. One in which is the Mayor's wife, who started to notice the frequent sighting of owls at night, followed by a strange chip that was found within the back of her neck. Slowly but surely she comes to terms with this strange set of events, not quite sure what to believe. Though noticing that others are sharing similar stories. Moments like these add a bit more of an eerie atmosphere to the show as it holds more true to that spooky alien story in which regular people are both haunted and tormented by aliens in the dead of the night. There's that psychological horror aspect as people struggle with what to believe and who to tell. I think this side story added a lot to the season given many of our main cast are already used to the fact that Harry is an alien, and that there are more beyond him. This stopped things from growing stale while also giving contrast to the fact that this side of Harry and his group of friends are mostly seen as a comedic group that take little seriously.
One thing that hold no change was the directing and cinematography. This is probably the strongest part of the show throughout its three seasons. It's an incredibly well made show for something you'd consider to be a bit more niche and lower budget. But the lighting in this show genuinely looks great, particularly in the more natural landscapes and interior scenes. It seems like the show took more of a shift to shoot on location rather than relying more on the special effects. Now it seems as if they're used a bit more sparingly and only when needed. A bit of a leap, but I wouldn't say this has made too much of an impact given it was already a show that looked pretty good. Only in the first season did they rely a bit much on fake environments, particularly with reducing some costs and minimising risk given the unknown popularity the show would receive, as well as the fact that the prior seasons just did have a much higher number of episodes which would've eaten away at the budgets of other episodes to some degree. I think everything really improved, even down to the performances. Though Alan Tudyk continues to carry the show forward with his awkward alien performance that seems socially incapable while starting to really nail the comedic humour of a person.
All-in-all, it has been an incredibly fun season. A lot of great humour, mixed with the more serious drama that gave the show a bit more to care for. It definitely feels as if things are picking up, and the fourth season could easily be the season to setup the major plot for Harry and the rest of the characters. Leading to a bit more of a conclusion in the upcoming seasons. This is a show that is really refreshing to see. A unique idea that just isn't really appreciated and popular in the grand scheme of streaming services. Perhaps SYFY's own problem, and I hope it can find a way to market it a bit more and ensure it continues to improve. But also actually receive a final season and avoid the typical cancellation axe. Honestly, I'm just surprised it made it this far.
