S02.E03: Girls' Night

[jewel21]

Quote

Harry meets a woman unlike any other and realizes that she is the key to his new mission.

Airdate: 02/09/2022

[AnimeMania]

Sarah Podemski as Kayla
Jenna Lamia as Judy Cooper
Alex Borstein as Carlyn

[AnimeMania]

5 minutes of plot and the rest was filler. I have no idea why the first part with the characters as young children was even included. The police finding out Harry was an Alien went no where and the rest was female empowerment.

[dwmarch]

I thought that was a lot of fun.

Last week they mentioned parallel parking but this week there are several shots of the parked cars and they are all angled. When D'arcy is dropping the flyers over town Asta is standing in the same spot she was in last week when she talked to Jay and the cars are all parked on an angle. The Audi is where the parallel parking was last week.

[possibilities]

I loved this. It was fun.

Harry with the kids is always a win. I was surprised, though, that they didn't tell hjim about the ball last week, in the diner. 

I never noticed before that venus rhymes with penis.

Edited February 10, 2022 by possibilities

[possibilities]

Also, what was this about someone with a broken wrist getting a cast on theit foot? I might be misremembering which bone was broken and which one was set, but that is more than a minor goof on the medical front. I have dealt with a lot of medical incompetence, but nothing that extreme. 

[kirinan]

Last night crystallized for me and Mr. kirinan what it is about this season that's bothering us. Too many stories going on. Last night felt like they didn't have enough to fill out the hour, so they gave us a bunch of backstory on a bunch of people, punctuated by a bunch of self-consciously quirky dialogue. We really do love this show, so we're hoping it settles back into whatever it was about last season's vibe that attracted us. 

[zibnchy]

Did this show change showrunner or writers between season one and two? Because I have no idea what's going on. I don't know who knows what, or who knew something but got mind wiped, or who suspects something but got mind wiped, or who is just too self absorbed to know if they know something. There were characters in the episode I don't remember ever seeing before. (Seriously who is Kayla?)

(I could just rewatch season 1 but life is short and I didn't like it that much.)

Please for the love of god can we stop with the mayor's sex life jokes.

Is Harry regressing? Is it just me or is he suddenly less good at acting human. Is this a plot point or is it just bad writing?

I don't like Darcy anymore. I don't even know what happened.

I don't know how much it costs to fly a helicopter but I suspect it is not a small amount. Plus Darcy wasn't flying, so who did she cajole into taking her up in a helicopter joy ride to toss out paper flyers with information that Darcy couldn't figure out any other way to distribute?! In a small town. In 2022.

I hope Alex Borstein comes back.

 

[supernatural666]

33 minutes ago, zibnchy said:

Please for the love of god can we stop with the mayor's sex life jokes.

Look I try and not kinkshame but dear god people keep in your bedroom your kid has enough going on in his life without being possibly scarred for life because of it, Max maybe old enough to hear about the bird and bees but please even if he was adult learning about all the kinky stuff from his parents is going to be embarrassing for everyone.

 

43 minutes ago, zibnchy said:

I don't like Darcy anymore. I don't even know what happened.

I have found she has been annoying the crud out of me the last three episodes and is getting to the point that I would love to see her get punched, And I don't get why she keeps bothering Ben does she want him and Kate to get a divorce because lady even if they did I highly doubt Ben would go cosy up with the woman who ruined his marriage and life, I have to disagree with the sheriff because good or bad Kate should know because with the way Darcy's going on she going to have the town and Kate think that she and Ben had a full blow affair, Also I fully ambit I want to see Kate beat up Darcy for lying about Ben kissing her when she was the one to drunk kiss him.

[mjc570]

The only two things I liked about this episode: (1) Alex Borstein (except when she was acting as Harry acting as her); and (2) how identifiable the kids were, Iyou could tell instantly who was Asta and Liv.  Also (slightly):  the scoutmaster sexism.

The rest - ugh,  too confusing about who knows what, way too much sex talk that wasn't funny in the least.  What a waste of some good actors.

[CarpeFelis]

On 2/9/2022 at 8:13 PM, AnimeMania said:

5 minutes of plot and the rest was filler. I have no idea why the first part with the characters as young children was even included. The police finding out Harry was an Alien went no where and the rest was female empowerment.

The first part showed just how differently the girls, especially Liv, were treated than the boys. This explains a lot about Liv and why she’s put up with so much crap from the sheriff.

21 hours ago, possibilities said:

Also, what was this about someone with a broken wrist getting a cast on theit foot? I might be misremembering which bone was broken and which one was set, but that is more than a minor goof on the medical front. I have dealt with a lot of medical incompetence, but nothing that extreme. 

That was to point out that the current temporary doctor (the lady who supposedly went to med school in the ‘40s, which would put her in the neighborhood of 100 years old) is completely incompetent because she’s no longer all there mentally.

12 hours ago, zibnchy said:

I don't know how much it costs to fly a helicopter but I suspect it is not a small amount. Plus Darcy wasn't flying, so who did she cajole into taking her up in a helicopter joy ride to toss out paper flyers with information that Darcy couldn't figure out any other way to distribute?! In a small town. In 2022.

We saw last season that she’s part of a crew that checks for avalanches up in the mountains and they get up there by helicopter. She must have talked one of them into going up. Who’s paying for the fuel, though?! I don’t know if helicopters use the same avgas as planes, but that stuff is far from cheap.

12 hours ago, zibnchy said:

There were characters in the episode I don't remember ever seeing before. (Seriously who is Kayla?)

IMDB says she’s been in 5 episodes so far. I think she’s Asta’s cousin from the reservation.

The two scenes that had me rolling on the floor: Max’s voice changing, and Harry-as-Alex Borstein literally throwing her boss around the lab.

[NaughtyKitty]

This episode was terrible.  It felt like different writers and different director. I could barely sit thru it. Bring back the tone of season 1 please.

[iMonrey]

I think I understand that the writers are trying to build out this universe more so the show can go multiple seasons. The first season was more or less a self-contained story, but now that Harry is here to stay they sort of need other stories besides him trying to complete his mission and return home. 

Unfortunately, none of it is really working for me. I found the girls' night out a complete snooze fest. I'm mostly just bored with the scenes without Harry, especially when they revolve around Asta and D'Arcy. The tone of this show is just all over the map. 

I hate to say it but this probably should have been a limited one-and-done series.

Maybe it will get better when the government agents swoop back in, because stories about the townsfolk and their mundane personal issues just isn't working for me.

Edited February 11, 2022 by iMonrey

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Suicide is patience?

TPTB have now gone past any semblance of any hard and fast laws of physics.  They can do any retconning they wish and get Harry out of literally any physical situation.  How boring.

The snark about ET being a sexy beast was actually humorous...the first time.  Of course, they milk it like they were in Wisconsin.  How boring.

Will we be getting an anatomical breakdown of itself  by Octopus.  Oooooh.  Tentacles!  Will it complain about a certain James Bond villainess (rhymes with Octo-hussy)?   

[CarpeFelis]

1 hour ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

Suicide is patience?

The song was “Suicide is Painless”. I wonder if D’Arcy now thinks she’s Hot Lips Houlihan.

[possibilities]

I'm actually dreading the return of the govt agents. I really don't miss the conspiracy stuff at all. I agree this season is less linear than last, but I don't mind that. I did think the mindwiping was annoying. It's way tooconvenient. Make them work for things. Don't just make Harry able to reset every situation.

When he was trying to fit in with more of the townspeople last season, I enjoyed that. His scenes at the clinic were hilarious. But now that he blends in better (though... not perfectly), and his circle of contacts has narrowed, the humor from that is still there but not as intense. Maybe they limited the cast because of COVID. I still enjoy the show a lot, though. I'm surprised it's getting such bad reception.

Edited February 13, 2022 by possibilities

[Browncoat]

I liked this episode a lot.  I liked that Harry got to inhabit a woman for a while and really see what women put up with all the damn time.  Too bad more men can't get that kind of education.  I loved that he sat down, shut up, listened, and said, "Yes, Ma'am" when Sahar talked to him about his silver balls.  

I even loved the girls' night out bonding.  D'Arcy on her light-up roller skates was the best.  

Harry needs to learn about humans, and this ep was a good learning experience for him.  I just hope that he remembers what he's learned.

Oh, and I also loved Liv's new car.  Not one I would have chosen, but it fits her.

[Harvey]

It already bothered me in the first 2 episodes, but now we are 3 episodes in and we still didn't see the hot doctor that the government kidnapped at the end of season 1, thinking he is an alien. You just know those scenes with the agents prodding him, being convinced that he is an alien while the poor guy is completely confused will be funny. When are they giving us that? There is no reason to hold out this long.

[gibasi]

The first season had a sweetness to it that this season lacks.  And it was fun watching Harry adapt to life on earth and his skewed perspective on humanity. I loved the first season.  Now I waited 2 days to watch the latest episode. It is not as fun for me.

However, I did love the women walking down the middle of the dark street. Visuals like that always get me. And I liked the ET comments.

Otherwise no.

[Colorado David]

Ok episode, but yes definitely felt like a filler even with the radio plotline. My 2 cents worth:

I liked the ladies' night out, even if it felt like a long commercial for 'this is how ladies act on ladies night out in a bar.'  You see the writers trying to build up the more minor characters, and that's why this episode felt light on Harry. I liked the street walking group scene as well, it's completely trope but yeah it always works for me too - I think for me it's comparing how different people strut and swagger when they walk - it's interesting.

Harry - he's becoming cocky in his human suit, and this is what has changed from season 1 - he's lost the naivety he had which was so funny and charming. Now he seems rather obnoxious and not in a good way. Also - you are an advanced alien race, and the best tech you have for communicating is radio??? 

Ugh, sex and bondage jokes (and peeing on a plant joke, when there's gotta be restroom in that building). These were not funny, and too low-brow for this show unless they have meaning of some sort, which I don't think they do. I watch a lot of tv and rarely IMO are dildos funny.  

I liked Alex Borstein's character. Yay Liv getting a different car and the mayor looking into fixing the pay inequality. Boo on the Darcy tossing flyers scene, that seemed like such a inspirationally-weak 'i am doing things!' moments. Plus I'm sure the sheriff would point out if you can't post flyers on poles around town, you damn sure can't toss them out of a copter and litter all the friggin streets with them.

SOOOO glad we are past the Max turning into a little man storyline, ugh. I do hope we don't go down the road of 'the kids are always smarter than the adults' route.

Why would the government people just abandon a vehicle out in the woods, except for the sake of convenience for the kids to find?

Yay the sheriff's dad, I dunno why exactly but I liked him.

 

[SonofaBiscuit]

I also disliked the government agents storyline last season, so I would be fine if they disappeared. And please show, don’t have Harry’s wife pop up again. I HATED that whole storyline.

Not one of the best episodes, but I did enjoy two scenes:

- Harry scrambling up the walls like a “damn werewolf” (and flipping off Liv and the Sheriff, LOL) at the start of the episode. 

- Max trying to compare how he sometimes has to brush his teeth (as a “man”) to the expectations society has when it comes to women.

[GregL65]

Early in the episode, Deputy Liv Baker says they are saving for a riding mower, which would likely cost around $2,000. Later, persuaded that she needs a working car more than they need a riding mower, she is seen driving what appears to be a very fancy new BMW Mini, likely close to $50,000.

Also, let's remember that in the previous episode, she said she "doesn't have $65" to fix her car's starter.

So...she doesn't have $65 to fix her car's starter, but how much have they saved toward that ~$2,000 riding mower...and then suddenly she can afford to buy a ~$50,000 fancy new car? Her down payment on that car would likely have bought the fanciest riding mower in town.

Plus we get a lecture that men are only allowed to respond with "yes, ma'am", when women tell them something.

Here's hoping Jenna Lamia never writes another episode of Resident Alien.

The best part of this episode was Alex Borstein's channeling of Alan Tudyk's alien. So good it was believable.

[Colorado David]

22 hours ago, SonofaBiscuit said:

 

Not one of the best episodes, but I did enjoy two scenes:

- Harry scrambling up the walls like a “damn werewolf” (and flipping off Liv and the Sheriff, LOL) at the start of the episode. 

 

Yeah, I don't like superhero type moves on my funny alien characters. I would've rather seen him grab the guns and crush/bend them (we know he's quite strong) rather than the acrobatic parkour moves.

Edited February 14, 2022 by Colorado David
typo

[WhatAmIWatching]

I still love this show a lot!

I loved girl's night and that they have a code to call one (GN59) and everyone drops what they're doing to show up. This is the first episode where I actually liked Max's mom.
  My friends and I used to do the "drive to the middle of nowhere and hang" thing, so it brought back a lot of memories. (My bff even had a giant, ugly car we called the boat!) Loved the slo-mo strut when they were going to go confront the mayor about unequal pay!
Judy is just a mess all the way around, and watching her stumble on the skates was so on brand. I loved how they all rallied behind Liv and her low pay. 

I wonder if they're going to build on Liv believing in aliens from the childhood class trip thing or not? That camping trip sure explained why she doesn't speak up, or stick up for herself.  Also curious about where Max's mom's story will go. She sure seemed to relish cleaning up the blood from the agents vs parents scuffle!

 Continuity wise, I noticed there was no dish atop the rv when the kids were going there, in any of the overhead shots, but when the agent needed a new one, suddenly there was. 

 Alex Borstein's character (as Harry, as herself) throwing around her boss, with her tiny stature was funny.

I noticed I'm still looking forward to the scenes with the kids, with or without Harry. They're both great and still fun to watch.

[seacliffsal]

While there are still some fun moments, this season generally seems to lack "fun."  It's as if the writers think that the supporting characters should become major characters and that's not the show I really enjoyed last season.  Also, as a woman, I don't appreciate the blanket "76 cents to the dollar" statements as there is more to it than that.  To see pay inequality we should see another person in Liv's same position and what (his) pay would be.  They compared her pay to a science teacher and there are a lot of variables beyond male/female.  Do I think she should have had a pay raise?  Absolutely.  I would have preferred that they found budget items that were just ridiculous rather than a male/female issue.  I know, it's probably just me-but when serious issues are presented in an absolute and generic way I feel it lessens the seriousness of such issues.

[AnimeMania]

The situation was silly, you don't have enough money to fix your old broken down car and the next day they give you a raise (and you can buy a brand new car?). That is not how life works.

[lostsock]

 

On 2/13/2022 at 7:12 AM, Colorado David said:

Ugh, sex and bondage jokes (and peeing on a plant joke, when there's gotta be restroom in that building). These were not funny, and too low-brow for this show unless they have meaning of some sort, which I don't think they do. I watch a lot of tv and rarely IMO are dildos funny.  

Not only dildos, but...ice dildos? How....why......It's neither funny nor sexy. Or logical. I agree, enough already with the BDSM stuff. I guess it's there to be edgy or something but they blabber on so much about it, now they have Max asking questions. Just stop. 

I'll keep watching, but a spark has gone out between the two seasons. 

 

 

[tennisgurl]

That was quite cute, I enjoyed them fleshing out some of the minor characters, although the actual plot itself this season has been a bit lacking. I wish we had a mystery or something again, last season we had millions of plots but now we really only have one. The character stuff is good, even if a lot of Harry's development from last season has been a bit pushed back, but I hope we get to a bigger plot soon.

Darcy throwing the forms out MASH style was fun, but I don't like how she keeps teasing Ben about her kissing him like she keeps hoping to get him to admit it in front of his wife. Ben very clearly told her he wasn't into it and practically shoved her off of him and its not like it seems like she is seriously interested, what is she trying to achieve here? Just messing with him? 

Girls night was fun, especially the one woman clearly about to fall on her ass on roller skates. And Harry learning a bit more about the human experience by being a woman, which I hope becomes more of a theme for the season, its one of the best things about the show. "Yes Ma'am."

Edited February 18, 2022 by tennisgurl

[peachmangosteen]

On 2/12/2022 at 4:12 PM, Harvey said:

It already bothered me in the first 2 episodes, but now we are 3 episodes in and we still didn't see the hot doctor that the government kidnapped at the end of season 1, thinking he is an alien. You just know those scenes with the agents prodding him, being convinced that he is an alien while the poor guy is completely confused will be funny. When are they giving us that? There is no reason to hold out this long.

I assume it's because the actor wasn't available.

[TV Anonymous]

I just wanted put it out there that it was amazing that D'Arcy able to secure a Canadian helicopter in Colorado to drop the leaflets.

Of course, the meta explanation is that the production took place in British Columbia and TPTB neglected to cover the Canadian registry.

[Chicago Redshirt]

On 2/16/2022 at 10:17 AM, AnimeMania said:

The situation was silly, you don't have enough money to fix your old broken down car and the next day they give you a raise (and you can buy a brand new car?). That is not how life works.

Depends.

According to some Googling, the median salary for law enforcement in Colorado is about $41k. 

Let's say Liv was making $25k a year as a deputy in Patience when the episode began. That is a place where she might feel obligated to nurse the broken down old car and spend her portion of money on other things.

Now let's say that Liv has gotten a raise to $50k. 

She's still going to have to take a loan out to buy a SUV that looks like it costs $40-50k. The car dealership or her bank might have given her such a loan when she was only making $25k because of other assets to secure the loan. (I don't know if she owns a house, but probably, her husband/boyfriend's income, and so forth). It's more just that she prudently felt like she shouldn't push her financial situation. With a large raise, she might feel more confident signing up for the loan.

[LaylaGirl]

On 2/11/2022 at 8:40 PM, CarpeFelis said:

On 2/11/2022 at 6:50 PM, Lonesome Rhodes said:

Suicide is patience?

The song was “Suicide is Painless”. I wonder if D’Arcy now thinks she’s Hot Lips Houlihan.

"Suicide is Painless" was used, with lyrics, in the movie version of MASH. The song without lyrics was used as the theme song for the tv series. Helicopters were a big part of both as they were used to transport the injured soldiers from the front lines to the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH.) The tv series opened with shots of helicopters loaded with the injured flying and landing.

Makes me feel old to realize MASH is no longer the cultural touchstone that it once was! And D'Arcy actually does have some similarities to Houlihan - they both sometimes act tough to cover up their internal hurt.

Edited May 8, 2022 by LaylaGirl
updated info

[Ottis]

This repeating gag about the deputy wanting a raise is silly. She is a government employee, and therefore gets a raise at regular intervals regardless of performance.

[lucindabelle]

There were lyrics in the tv show in the opening, not in the closing. I remember it well because it came on when I had to go to bed and I could hear it through the walls!

 

suicide is painless

it brings on many changes 

 

Such a wistful song with such urgency and then the show was to me anyway so silly and even goofy (yes sometimes bittersweet).

 

im clearly an outlier and am binging the series way after the fact but so far I vastly prefer season 2 to season 1. There’s still a lot at stake but I find the tone MORE even and somewhat sweeter now that I feel like Harry really won’t kill everyone.

[Affogato]

On 2/11/2022 at 12:32 AM, CarpeFelis said:

 

We saw last season that she’s part of a crew that checks for avalanches up in the mountains and they get up there by helicopter. She must have talked one of them into going up. Who’s paying for the fuel, though?! I don’t know if helicopters use the same avgas as planes, but that stuff is far from cheap.

 

A lady pilot might be sympathetic and maybe on the town payroll. 

Edited March 23 by Affogato

[Affogato]

On 3/16/2024 at 10:22 PM, lucindabelle said:

 

 

Such a wistful song with such urgency and then the show was to me anyway so silly and even goofy (yes sometimes bittersweet).

 

Winning the Oscar for most understanding Dad, Robert Altman used his teenaged son’s poem as the lyrics for the movie’s theme song. 

[Affogato]

On 3/23/2024 at 10:54 AM, Affogato said:

Winning the Oscar for most understanding Dad, Robert Altman used his teenaged son’s poem as the lyrics for the movie’s theme song. 

No i I meant it. Being a teenager is about figuring out what life is about and why we live it. It was a great thing for altman to do, listening to his son, and the son is right. I. Order to live, it whould be a choice. Neither forced or stolen from you. 

[Anela]

On 2/12/2022 at 2:01 PM, Browncoat said:

I liked this episode a lot.  I liked that Harry got to inhabit a woman for a while and really see what women put up with all the damn time.  Too bad more men can't get that kind of education.  I loved that he sat down, shut up, listened, and said, "Yes, Ma'am" when Sahar talked to him about his silver balls.  

I even loved the girls' night out bonding.  D'Arcy on her light-up roller skates was the best.  

Harry needs to learn about humans, and this ep was a good learning experience for him.  I just hope that he remembers what he's learned.

Oh, and I also loved Liv's new car.  Not one I would have chosen, but it fits her.

I liked it, too. Although I wonder why d’arcy keeps bringing up that kiss.  

[Orbert]

I guess I can understand why this one wasn't well received in its initial run, but I'm another viewer coming to the show later and just watched this one, and I thought it was great.  Since we're binging it, it's not a week between episodes and a year or more between seasons, so we know who all the characters are (and there are a lot, many of whom are brunette females with similar looks), and it was nice to get a more character-centered episode.  I liked the glimpse into the past at the very beginning, too.  It was easy to tell who everyone was, it helped explain why things are as they are now, and fun to see that they've basically been this way since they were kids.  Which is the case for most people.  Our personalities are formed pretty early.

I thought Harry-as-Carlyn was great.  As soon as she spoke, we knew it was Harry and what his plan was.  Sure, it still should have been a little harder to get into a secure facility at night like that, but whatever; it's TV.  At least her boss won't bother her anymore.

I guess I'm not as enamored of the kids as a lot of people are, but they're not nearly as annoying as a lot of child actors/characters, so there's that.  And they're obviously a part of the show and here to stay.

Yeah, getting pretty tired of Mayor Ben and his wife and the sexy talk all the time.  I get that things were rough with them for a while, and something happened that lit a fire in both of them, and it wasn't that long ago in show time, but there's still such a thing as overdoing it, and they passed that point a while ago.

If anything, I think the show is becoming better, more fun.  And more weird, which is also okay and adds to the fun.  Harry suddenly having mind control powers and explaining them as "I'm an alien and have powers" was kinda weak, but we try not to take the show too seriously, so it was okay.