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Feb 21, 2024 · The Upper Hand: Directed by Lea Thompson. With Alan Tudyk, Sara Tomko, Corey Reynolds, Alice Wetterlund. D'arcy inserts herself into Harry's mission, while Kate grows more uncomfortable in her own home.
- (658)
- Comedy, Drama, Mystery
- Lea Thompson
- 2024-02-21
- Overview
- Synopsis
- Plot
- Cast and characters
The Upper Hand is the twenty-eighth episode of the science fiction comedy television series Resident Alien and the second episode of the third season. It premiered on February 21, 2024.
D'arcy inserts herself into Harry's mission, while Kate grows more uncomfortable in her own home.
A suicide mission
70 years ago, a young girl is out camping with her family. As she swirls a snowglobe, her father tells her it's dark and to not wander too far. She finds a sign leading to a hot spring. Upon reaching it, the water bubbles and from it, a Grey alien emerges. She screams, dropping both the snowglobe and her flashlight. The alien picks up the globe, studying it curiously. In the present day, Max bicycles up to Harry Vanderspeigle's cabin with the "conspiracy kids" from the comic book store that Sahar wanted him to become friends with. One of them comments that he can't believe Max is friends with an alien. Max knocks on the cabin door, telling them to get ready to meet a real-life extraterrestrial. The door opens, and the kids are naturally nonplussed, as they see only the human form of Harry, whose face and neck are covered in shaving cream. He tells Max that he doesn't want visitors and that he hates bike lines in his driveway dirt. Max comments that aliens are always making jokes, inviting the other kids in. Harry asks where Sahar is, then laughs when Max tells him she moved away. Max tells him that he started an alien club, introducing the other kids as Mari and Leo. Max demands that Harry turn into an alien so that they can see what he looks like, but he plays dumb. Max pulls out the taser, telling him he leaves him no choice. Harry thinks to himself that he wants it back, that it heats his coffee in seconds, but if he does, the other kids will think he's alien. The kids comment they should go, but Max turns to Harry, telling him he's the new Alien Tracker. Outside, Max zaps himself, and Harry laughs, seeing Mari and Leo dragging him away from the window. Heading into town, Harry thinks to himself that most humans are not special. He discovers a parking ticket on his truck and finds himself confronted by Joseph Rainier, the Grey-human hybrid. He crumples the ticket and moves to toss it, but Joseph warns him that there's a fine for littering. He tosses it in his truck, then empties his coffee on the ground, laughing that it's not littering if it's liquid. He then thinks that he needs to get another coffee. Meanwhile, at the clinic, D'arcy confronts Asta, telling her that she can't go on another date with Joseph with him being a Grey alien and all. Asta tells her it's not a date, that she just has to keep him interested while Harry starts his apartment. D'arcy points out that Harry's plans often fail, but Asta insists she doesn't have to worry. D'arcy tells her she's coming with, but Asta tells her that Joseph will be suspicious and she didn't even tell her dad. She says she can take care of herself, just as Harry comes up asking her what kind of cake she likes. When she asks why, he tells her there's a ritual on his planet, that when they send a volunteer on a suicide mission, they prepare a last meal. "You're not going," insists D'arcy, but Asta again tells her it'll be fine.
A dancer's arch
Judy Cooper is inside the Hawthorne family home talking with Kate. Ben asks what's going on and she tells him she mentioned to Judy they were putting it on the market and that Judy is a realtor. Judy clarifies that she keeps failing the test, but that her aunt lets her work with the clients she doesn't care about. Ben asks if Kate is really serious about this and she tells him she is. Judy asks how they feel about animal print. She posits a series of increasingly ridiculous suggestions and Ben tells Kate he's not sure it's the right time to sell. Judy replies that the market is always strong for a murder house. "I'm sorry?" asks Kate and Ben says that he's not sure about murder that the previous owner slipped and fell. Judy agrees that she did - on her own blood after being shot in the gut. Ben claims it isn't ringing a bell. Max comes in, asking who got shot, and Kate tells him to go upstairs. Ben tells Kate that they ought to at least talk about it. She says that they did, just now, and she can't live there. Judy agrees to do the listing, but suggests that maybe they don't pull up the floorboards. "Maybe we could just burn the house down with me inside it," mutters Ben. At the sheriff's office, Sheriff Mike arrives to find Deputy Liv with baked goods. She explains that they're for a lady from the lab to expedite the prints from the Bach van and chocolate chip cookies for Maureen at the post office to hurry the prints to the lab. She tells him that Detective Torres called twice looking for him, but he dismisses it, saying they should get to work. "You're not talking," realizes Liv, and Mike tells her that Lena planned a trip for the two of them the next month, all expenses paid by her. He says that it was first her paying for dinners and now this. "Not this again," complains Liv and he tells her the conversation is over. He leaves, taking baked goods with him, bringing some to Ben. He sees Ben studying a brochure about pools and Ben explains about Kate wanting to sell the house. He says that he though if he put in a pool, Kate might want to stay. Mike then tells Ben to take off his shoe and sock, then does so himself when Ben won't. He tells him that he has a dancer's arch and that he has the answer to his problems, to come see him after work. Harry thinks to himself that his people should not have given up the Earth to the Greys, that they've beaten them every time they've faced each other. He thinks that he can do it himself, only for D'arcy to enter his truck. "Let's do this," she tells him, donning a ski mask. As they arrive at Joseph's place, D'arcy complains that she can't believe a Grey alien got in when she applied and got turned down. Harry tells her to stay outside and be the lookout, but she insists she has to see which unit he got. "Okay," he tells her, climbing up to a window. She points out that the can't, tossing him a rope and telling him to pull her up. "Oh no, I missed," he comments, tossing the rope back down. She tells him that if he doesn't, she'll put a sign in the bar saying that he kicks dogs. She says that people will believe her because she has a dog-kicking face. She warns him to pull her up or she'll make up worse. As Harry toys with D'arcy, jerking the rope about, Asta and Joseph sit down for a meal at Joe's Diner.
Trapped
At the sheriff's office, Deputy Liv discovers a strong magnet that fell out of the bag that came from Peter Bach's son, Robert Hutchins. Meanwhile, Mayor Ben poses for a foot photo with Sheriff Mike. He expresses his discomfort with the whole thing, but Mike tells him that there's no shame in making money. He grumbles about Lena having planned an impromptu vacation, saying that he's supposed to be one initiating that. Ben tells him that everyone has a role in a relationship and it works, so long as one of them doesn't suddenly switch up the roles. Mike comments that he feels like it's no longer about him and Ben tells him that "fear" is his thing, ever since he was a child, but now Kate is afraid of birds. Mike tells him that a man's job is take care of his woman. He says that he's old-school and likes holding doors open. Ben tells him he's not married and that if he doesn't like Lena to break him off. He tells him that he does like Lena, that she's smart and beautiful. He says that he finds her independence sexy, but asks if it's too much to have an independent woman who only does what he wants. He then notices a lump in Ben's foot, which Ben tells him has been there since he was a kid. Mike tells him he might want to get it to get it looked at, that it could derail his foot-modeling career before it even starts. Just then, Liv comes in, then ducks out upon seeing what they're doing. "She don't know art," comments Mike. D'arcy and Ben arrive inside Joseph's apartment, D'arcy commenting that she's pissed about all the new appliances. He tells her to focus. He asks her to look for anything out of the ordinary, and she says that out of the ordinary is a $600 microwave. She calls aliens "bougie" and he tells her that his species and the Greys are not the same, that his people are protectors and the Greys are just cruel. He points out that their bodies only even allow them to live in Earth's atmosphere for a short amount of time. "That's why they created hybrids," realizes D'arcy. Harry says that his people belong there and the Greys do not. He spots a pizza box, calling it the jackpot. He tells her he's hungry. He goes over to inspect it, but she suggests it might be a trap. He opens it anyway and nothing happens. He tells her it was worth the risk. At Joe's Diner, Joseph tells Asta that he was upset about their last date being interrupted so quickly. They chat for a bit about family. Back at the apartment, D'arcy asks Harry what if the pizza is poisoned. He goes for some pepper flakes and the two are trapped in a sort of blue force-field box. "Oh no, the pizza's outside the trap," comments Harry. Joseph's phone dings and he sees an alert telling him that his Reticulan Photon Net has been engaged. "Good, that's done," he comments and he tells Asta that they can drop the act, that he knows she knows what he is. She asks what that is and he replies that she knows. She suggests they say it at the same time. "Grey alien" he says and she says "asshole." He tells her that she will tell him everything she knows about Harry because he has him trapped. Inside the trap, D'arcy complains about her cell phone being shut off for not paying the bill. Harry, however, tells her it's not the phone, but the trap. She asks why he can't just override it if his people are so superior. He says it's very advanced and you can't just override it. He suggests they could unplug it, that humans can pass right through it. She asks why he didn't just tell her. She tries and and is zapped. He tells her it was 50/50. At the Diner, Dan walks by and Joseph tells Asta to act normal, that he'd hate for something to happen to her father. She kicks him, saying that it's normal for her to kick her dates when they lie to her. She tells him that she knows he can't kill Harry because it's against the Galactic Charter. He tells her that he has her, but that her friend is fair game. He shows her D'arcy inside the trap on his phone. She tells him that she will kill him if he hurts D'arcy. Jay arrives at the Diner. Joseph warns Asta not to do anything stupid and Asta tells Jay that she's busy. "Okay," Jay tells her and walks away. "Nice work," comments Joseph, and Jay goes to Dan, telling him that Joseph is trouble. He tells her to go, that he has it.
Starring:
•Alan Tudyk as Harry Vanderspeigle
•Sara Tomko as Asta Twelvetrees
•Corey Reynolds as Sheriff Mike Thompson
•Alice Wetterlund as D'arcy Bloom
•Levi Fiehler as Mayor Ben Hawthorne
Oct 24, 2024 · Embark on an intergalactic adventure with our beloved alien Harry Vanderspeigle as he navigates love, deception, and the looming threat of the Grey Aliens in Resident Alien Season 3 Episode 2: The Upper Hand. Dive into our in-depth recap and analysis to uncover the hidden gems of this captivating episode.
Feb 20, 2024 · Resident Alien Season 3 Episode 2 Recap: The Upper Hand. Seventy years ago, a young girl plays with a snow globe while her family camps in the woods. A rumbling sound attracts her, and...
Feb 21, 2024 · The Upper Hand. D’Arcy inserts herself into Harry’s mission, while Kate grows more uncomfortable in her own home. Aired: 02/21/2024.
- 44 min
- February 21, 2024
RESIDENT ALIEN -- "The Upper Hand" Episode 302 -- Pictured: (l-r) Alice Wetterlund as D'Arcy Bloom, Alan Tudyk as Harry Vanderspeigle -- (Photo by: James Dittiger/SYFY) Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 302 of ‘Resident Alien’.
Feb 22, 2024 · Our review of Resident Alien Season 3 Episode 2 ponders the change sprouting in Patience and how it affects the show and characters. Read on!
