S01.E04: Birds of a Feather

[jewel21]

Quote

Harry travels to the Ute Reservation to help Asta's grandmother; he learns what it means to belong.

Airdate: 02/17/2021

[SoMuchTV]

Okay, I’m pretty sure I’m in for this now. I’ll check back tomorrow to see what everyone else thinks. 

[possibilities]

I love the kids. 

I love the deupty-- and I finally know her name (Liv).

Looks like the killers are not aliens after all.

I love Asta, her dad, and her entire family.

"I wasn't going to pay you! That would make you a prostitute!"

"You should not trust your balls. They're nuts."

"You shouldn't have asked her that! It's obvious she did it."

The wife backstory and the arrival of OriginalHenry's actual wife were both interesting twists.

 

 

 

[cardigirl]

This show continues to surprise and delight. I sure hope the deputy gets some well-deserved recognition soon. 

"I made a joke!"

Edited February 18, 2021 by cardigirl

[marketdoctor]

Also:  the aluminum foil headgear reveal; the whole dinner party sequence, Harry playing basketball (where he's good at the pure physics but terrible at the rules, so a nice twist from him being pure prodgidy or pure terrible), Harry's reaction to kissing D'arcy; her backstory...

And the line about how the alien wouldn't just reveal himself to the investigator/killers, even as Harry was doing just that.

Harry's tactlessness in the reveal about what happened to the daughter was tragic, but brilliant too.

ETA;  someone should just go to the show's production, open a box of Emmys, and hand them out to everyone involved.

 

 

 

Edited February 18, 2021 by marketdoctor

[giovannif7]

Gotta be honest - the "You should not trust your balls - they're nuts!" line actually had me do a spit-take - perfectly delivered.

That, and Tudyk's "It's rigor mortis - my penis is dying!" line after the cringeworthy kiss in the truck really hit the sweet spot on my juvenile side.

[ichbin]

Tudyk deserves all manner of recognition for this role.  The writing is good but his fantastic delivery makes it.  I haven't laughed out loud so much while watching a show in a long time. 

[SoMuchTV]

So far this show seems to have the right balance of being ridiculously dumb, and knowing it's ridiculously dumb.  Just hope he doesn't end up with kids in a cage in his basement (Big Sky reference).

[mjc570]

I really like this show and Tudyk is terrific, but D'arcy just ruins it for me, both the writing and the acting.  What is even the point of her? So obnoxious, and it's not as if Alan/Harry is even learning anything about humans from her.  Much more of her, and I think I'm going to rethink watching. 

I have to admit I am a bit confused - Alan killed Harry - is his body in the freezer or the lake? If the freezer, how did his foot get into the lake? 

I especially liked the Native American rap at the end, and how Asta and her father both were getting into it.  Another favorite moment the side eye the guy killer gave Harry in the restroom. 

[possibilities]

Alien"Harry" threw dead HumanHarry into the lake. Apparently a foot got separated from the rest of the corpse and that was found by a guy who was fishing. Then the rest of the corpse washed up on shore and Alien"Harry" put the corpse minus the foot in his freezer.

[jewel21]

I really like Harry's interaction with the kid. I hope we get more of that every episode because it just makes my day. 

I laughed at the rigor mortis scene and when Harry dropped both kids on the ground when he saw the wife in his house, heh. 

[Browncoat]

I love this show more and more every week.  I even love the little illustrations of how to be a human in the opening credits.  

Alan Tudyk is perfect for this.  That "kiss" had me in stitches, then his talking about his dying penis killed me.  

Nice twist coming up with Real!Harry's wife.

[Unclejosh]

Did something happen to Alan's left eye?  I don't recall it being that droopy before. Was there an illness or injury that happened?  Maybe age is causing it to be more noticeable?

[ZoqFotPik]

20 hours ago, mjc570 said:

I have to admit I am a bit confused - Alan killed Harry - is his body in the freezer or the lake? If the freezer, how did his foot get into the lake? 

19 hours ago, possibilities said:

Apparently a foot got separated from the rest of the corpse and that was found by a guy who was fishing.

Ankles and wrists have relatively weak connections to the rest of the body, so they are the first parts that separate during decomposition. Since most people wear rubber soled shoes, once the feet disconnect the combination of decomposition gases and the rubber make the feet float. That's why you hear news stories about random feet washing up on shore every once and awhile. 

I like Harry keeps his keys in the visor. Learning about human society from TV would lead him to think that was the standard place to keep your keys.

 

[dwmarch]

3 minutes ago, ZoqFotPik said:

That's why you hear news stories about random feet washing up on shore every once and awhile. 

It may also be a wink to Vancouver Island where this is a surprisingly common occurrence:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salish_Sea_human_foot_discoveries

[iMonrey]

I'm really enjoying the show. It's not something that's causing me to burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter but I'm smiling all the way through it. However, I still feel like there is something of an uneven tone between Harry and Asta, as characters. The former is being played almost cartoonishly absurd, and the latter is being played more straight. Likewise, the Sheriff is being played almost as a cartoon whereas the Mayor and his wife are played more straight. That's mostly a nitpick though. I'm still getting a kick out of it.

Quote

I really like this show and Tudyk is terrific, but D'arcy just ruins it for me, both the writing and the acting.  What is even the point of her? So obnoxious, and it's not as if Alan/Harry is even learning anything about humans from her.  Much more of her, and I think I'm going to rethink watching. 

I'm guessing she's supposed to be sort of a love interest (if only one-sided) for Harry, since Asta is not the type of character that would immediately go there. They clearly wanted to throw Harry into some kind of romantic entanglement right off the bat for more laughs.

[Raja]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I'm really enjoying the show. It's not something that's causing me to burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter but I'm smiling all the way through it. However, I still feel like there is something of an uneven tone between Harry and Asta, as characters. The former is being played almost cartoonishly absurd, and the latter is being played more straight. Likewise, the Sheriff is being played almost as a cartoon whereas the Mayor and his wife are played more straight. That's mostly a nitpick though. I'm still getting a kick out of it.

I'm guessing she's supposed to be sort of a love interest (if only one-sided) for Harry, since Asta is not the type of character that would immediately go there. They clearly wanted to throw Harry into some kind of romantic entanglement right off the bat for more laughs.

I have to admit I am getting a kick out of Corey Reynold's  bored Sheriff pulling over a couple of kids. Part of me wants to think this is where  Sergeant Gabriel landed after his LAPD colleagues turned their backs on him.

 

Is this the first we heard of D'Arcy being an Olympic skier. One thing about her crushing on Harry is that by watching the promo's for The Good Doctor her interest fits even with Harry's weird social behavior.  But was it just time filler with the real Harry's wife coming to town?

Edited February 20, 2021 by Raja

[SoMuchTV]

Am I overthinking this, or was the baby in the dream sequence drinking from a bottle with a cow-teat sized nipple?

[SoMuchTV]

Oh and also, the cards at the beginning - do they always relate to something in the episode? In this one they did. I’ll have to go back and look at the earlier ones. 

[ZoqFotPik]

3 hours ago, Raja said:

Is this we heard of D'Arcy being an Olympic skier.

I believe it was brought up in the first episode. Asta brings it up when Harry goes to the bar for the first time.

Edit: I was wrong. It's the second episode. D'Arcy talks about it while she and Harry are having chili dogs on their date.

Edited February 20, 2021 by ZoqFotPik

[AnimeMania]

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I'm really enjoying the show. It's not something that's causing me to burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter but I'm smiling all the way through it. However, I still feel like there is something of an uneven tone between Harry and Asta, as characters. The former is being played almost cartoonishly absurd, and the latter is being played more straight. Likewise, the Sheriff is being played almost as a cartoon whereas the Mayor and his wife are played more straight. That's mostly a nitpick though. I'm still getting a kick out of it.

I was watching a video about the show and it said that they do one take the way it is written and then they are allowed to do a couple of takes where they improvise the dialogue, since everybody in the cast is very funny. That is how the Sheriff/Deputy Amazing Grace Beatboxing scene was created. 

Poor Deputy Liv - "I Hate Cletus"

[tennisgurl]

The dream intro was certainly interesting. Not only did it tie into the theme of the episode, but it also seems to be saying that Fake Harry is already questioning his mission to kill all humans, even if its just in his subconscious. 

This show is nuts, and I am liking it more and more. The characters are all getting more developed, and the sincerity and the wacky comedy bits are gelling more and more. I like the many different things going on, from the sci fi stuff to the quirky small town comedy to the kids running schemes against Harry to the family drama with Asta, it seems like it wont work but it actually does, especially when they feed into each other, like Harry telling everyone about Asta. Harry blurting out the truth about Asta's baby was so clingy, but it seems like it might be a good thing in the long run, and I love seeing more of her family. The poor deputy, I hope that she gets some props soon. 

The kids are so flipping cute. Come on kids, Bigfoot is obviously in Seattle. 

Well snap, this certainly changes things. 

[Captain Asshat]

Speaking of the dream intro, I found it interesting that only the humans disintegrated. One of the dream montage scenes showed someone with a dog, and the dog was still there after the human disintegrated. I don't know if that's how the weapon works (kills only humans), or if that's just Harry's subconscious.

Can someone please fill me in on the last minute or two? Our DVR cut off just after the kids got zapped.

[ctlady]

On 2/22/2021 at 10:15 AM, Captain Asshat said:

Speaking of the dream intro, I found it interesting that only the humans disintegrated. One of the dream montage scenes showed someone with a dog, and the dog was still there after the human disintegrated. I don't know if that's how the weapon works (kills only humans), or if that's just Harry's subconscious.

Hub and I blurted out, "Not the dog!".  We seem to think that the disintegrator is programmed to wipe out anything with human DNA

On 2/19/2021 at 10:10 PM, AnimeMania said:

Poor Deputy Liv - "I Hate Cletus"

I feel for Liv, but I am enjoying the cranky, snarky non-PC Cletus Sheriff

On 2/19/2021 at 8:29 PM, SoMuchTV said:

Am I overthinking this, or was the baby in the dream sequence drinking from a bottle with a cow-teat sized nipple?

I have to re-watch, but now that I think about it - you may be right!

On 2/19/2021 at 3:22 PM, ZoqFotPik said:

I like Harry keeps his keys in the visor. Learning about human society from TV would lead him to think that was the standard place to keep your keys

This is a habit I never understood.  What's the point?  Between pockets and purses, why does one need to keep keys to their house and car in thier UNLOCKED car?

On 2/19/2021 at 11:10 AM, Browncoat said:

 I even love the little illustrations of how to be a human in the opening credits.

I love them too.  Their like little Easter Eggs.  Reminds me of the openings of Fear The Walking Dead where they show a silouetty illustration which gives hints to what's in the upcoming episode.  Now that I think of it - I think the opening illustrations differ each week and may serve the same purpose.  Check off the right way to use a urinal and X off the wrong way (behind some guy whose in front of a urinal).  The first illustration had to do with lighting a stove the right and wrong way (with the wrong way having the stove set fire and using an extinguisher)  There was a gas station urinal scene, but I don't recall a lighting the stove scene

On 2/18/2021 at 6:47 PM, mjc570 said:

D'arcy just ruins it for me, both the writing and the acting.  What is even the point of her? So obnoxious,

I don't like her either - not even for comedic relief.  She's just too......OTT

 

Edited February 25, 2021 by ctlady
Because Cletus is the dog, not the sheriff

[SoMuchTV]

2 hours ago, ctlady said:

I feel for Liv, but I am enjoying cranky, snarky non-PC Cletus

I love them too.  Their like little Easter Eggs.  Reminds me of the openings of Fear The Walking Dead where they show a silouetty illustration which gives hints to what's in the upcoming episode.  Now that I think of it - I think the opening illustrations differ each week and may serve the same purpose.  Check off the right way to use a urinal and X off the wrong way (behind some guy whose in front of a urinal).  The first illustration had to do with lighting a stove the right and wrong way (with the wrong way having the stove set fire and using an extinguisher)  There was a gas station urinal scene, but I don't recall a lighting the stove scene

 

You do know Cletus is the dog and not the sheriff, right? 🙂

And I was just noticing the same things about the cards at the beginning.  Instead of lighting a stove, I though it was something about using a gas pump.  And they were at a gas station...  I was already planning to go back and rewatch the opening credits for the earlier episodes.  Now I'll have to rewatch this one too.  Maybe they'll get their own website like the Chuck Lorre vanity cards.

[ctlady]

17 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

You do know Cletus is the dog and not the sheriff, right? 🙂

ARGH - I'm an idiot!  I never recalled hearing the dog's name.  Now that I think about it - I don't recall the sheriff's name, but I'm kinda digging him

 

[possibilities]

I agree Darcy is over the top, but I think that she (and the over the top Police Chief) are part of why AlienHarry's weirdness is not making people more suspicious of him.

[alvajon]

On 2/22/2021 at 11:32 AM, ctlady said:

ARGH - I'm an idiot!  I never recalled hearing the dog's name.  Now that I think about it - I don't recall the sheriff's name, but I'm kinda digging him

 

Why is it the sheriff reminds me of Sheriff Bart from Blazing Saddles? 

[SmithW6079]

On 2/24/2021 at 1:01 AM, alvajon said:

Why is it the sheriff reminds me of Sheriff Bart from Blazing Saddles? 

I don't see it, other than they're both Black. Sheriff Bart from "Blazing Saddles" was smarter than everybody else in town. This sheriff is "quirky" but dim. The deputy is smarter than he is. 

[cardigirl]

On 2/22/2021 at 11:13 AM, ctlady said:

I feel for Liv, but I am enjoying cranky, snarky non-PC Cletus

Isn't Cletus the bulldog? The sheriff is Sheriff Mike. 

ETA:  I see someone else answered already.  🙂 

Edited February 25, 2021 by cardigirl

[possibilities]

FWIW, this is the sheriff from Blazing Saddles:

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001476/?ref_=tt_cl_t1

This is the sheriff on Resident Alien:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8690918/mediaviewer/rm3825390593/?ft0=name&fv0=nm1556631&ft1=image_type&fv1=still_frame

[alvajon]

On 2/24/2021 at 11:50 PM, SmithW6079 said:

I don't see it, other than they're both Black. Sheriff Bart from "Blazing Saddles" was smarter than everybody else in town. This sheriff is "quirky" but dim. The deputy is smarter than he is. 

Well, yeah, true.  Both look pretty spiffy in their cowboy hats...

[femmefan1946]

Alan looks pretty spiffy in a cowboy hat too. Waiting for a shirtless scene.

Also the Snotty Nose Rez Kids:

 

[snarktini]

On 2/22/2021 at 8:13 AM, ctlady said:

This is a habit I never understood.  What's the point?  Between pockets and purses, why does one need to keep keys to their house and car in thier UNLOCKED car?

 

Because if you leave them in the unlocked car, you can't lose them and never get locked out. (What that means for house keys, which are usually connected to car keys, I don't know.)

I'm just now watching this series. Not sure I'm sold. I'm weirded out by how weird he is. I mostly like it but my cringe meter is having a hard time.

[Rockstar99435]

I just started watching this show on Netflix. I'm really liking it so far. I love all the town people and their love/hate relationships with each other. I live in a regular sized town, but a branch of my family lives in a town with about 2,000 people. Even if you hate someone, you still hang out and go to parties and stuff together because there's no one else your age to hang out with. And everyone has dated everyone and has weird complicated past baggage.

I loved the reveal that the two aliens were actually humans working for the government/armed forces. I was totally expecting them to be aliens and then we would end the season with a standoff where Harry has learned to love his town and has to protect them from the other aliens. I also really liked Harry being homesick and wanting to go home. It was a nice, "humanizing" moment.

The only storyline I'm having an issue with is the Asta/Jay stuff. I'm almost positive there are very specific Federal laws about how Native American adoptions work and you absolutely cannot just hand over a Native American baby to a random white family. There has to be an attempt to place the child with their biological family, then to their local tribe, and then with the extended tribe. Given how close and loving Asta's family is, there's no way they wouldn't have kept her baby or at the very least, kept up with family visits in order to teach her all about her cultural heritage. It pulls me out of every scene that they are in.