S02.E08: Alien Dinner Party

[jewel21]

Quote

It's a surprise party as everyone gathers to celebrate Harry, but some dangerous guests cause havoc.

Airdate: 03/16/2022

[AnimeMania]

(Mid-Season Finale)       No New Episodes for a while

[meatball77]

That was quite a dinner party

[Roxie]

I thought it was cute when the alien baby sucked its thumb.

Edited March 17, 2022 by Roxie

[possibilities]

Wow. They sure backloaded the finale with all the stuff that was casually floating around all season. There were about 5 cliffhangers there, and zero resolution of anything.

Edited March 17, 2022 by possibilities

[Harvey]

The "I kinda like being peed on" line was so unexpected and funny 🤣! Oh my god...

I really liked the scene where Asta's daughter asked her to have lunch together. Once again, the actress did a great job portraying the emotions. It was beautiful. 

I know we complained a  bit at the start of the season, but I remember back in season 1 the show needed quite a few episodes to start to get really good and I think that is finally happening here. There were so many funny lines, like when Max told Sahar she doesn't speak for him, only to say the exact same thing. And of course the ending was very interesting with a lot of implications, like why was Harry sent to Earth anyway if his people knew it was so dangerous? This information was kept from him for some reason and it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

[bosawks]

Asta is now not just my favorite character on this show, she is one of my favorite characters.  Full stop.

[iMonrey]

The party was a good way to bring all the different stories together, but I'm sorry I'm still not interested in Ben and Kate's marital troubles or D'Arcy or any of these irrelevant side stories that have nothing to do with Harry. Especially now that we know there are other aliens on earth planning to do away with humanity. And now Harry's got a little alien hybrid baby to think about. Lots going on there, we don't need this show to be a soap opera. They're trying to do two completely different shows here and it's not working for me. I end up only enjoying 50% of the show and wanting to FF thru the other half.

[AnimeMania]

7 hours ago, Harvey said:

I know we complained a  bit at the start of the season, but I remember back in season 1 the show needed quite a few episodes to start to get really good and I think that is finally happening here.

The actors couldn't ad-lib as much since this episode had to be tightly scripted in order to hit so many of the points they were aiming at. They did a good job of bringing so many disparate story lines together and to setup so many new plots like, alien baby assassins, new alien assassins, government agent assassins, Galvan/Powell Group assassins, The Alien Tracker (now there will be two people in town that can spot Aliens in their human forms).

I thought it would be clearer who cut the wires to the cabin's electrical box, I am guessing it was the alien baby, but I am wondering if it would be that smart (after all it was hiding in a toilet).

I wish they would have had the Galvan/Powell Group assassin explain why the doctor had to be killed before Asta assassinated him.

[Chicago Redshirt]

I was kind of hoping that Harry would have been exposed as an alien to all those in attendance at the party. I think the show would vastly improve if everyone knew about his secret and were drawn into Harry-related plots by definition. 

As things stand now, Darcy, Kate and Ben are generally not going to have much to do with Harry/Asta, and Sheriff/Deputy not very much except to the extent that they are investigating crimes where Real!Harry or Harry are or should be suspects.

[possibilities]

I thought Sahar cut the electricity, to get someone to come down to the basement so she could get her message to Asta.

Of course, Sahar probably knows how to disable a circuit breaker without cutting the wires, so maybe I'm wrong.

[WhatAmIWatching]

  My conspiracy mind is wondering if Liv could be the baby that was stolen from the alien tracker dude! When she heard the alien baby's sounds and had that flashback, and then said she wanted to bring tracker dude to Patience, is when my mind produced the theory.

Kate and Ben are so afraid to tell each other their real feelings, it's sad. Neither of them wanted another child, but they each thought the other did. Maybe it'll be a little baby alien 🤣 

The alien swimming in the punch bowl, and then the guys drinking it and saying it was better was funny.

So the agent that got shot off the bridge (I've forgotten his name) still had possession of the alien ball, right? I wonder if it he survives at all, with some major handwavium, or if the ball can be retrieved. Did the general get away in one piece?

Why was Ben so rude to and about Jade? Jade was a typical teen and chowing down and not caring what else was happening. I really love Asta! The actor is amazing at portraying the small emotional nuances. I really like Asta's dad, too.

 

I agree, Chicago Redshirt, I kept hoping Harry and Asta would tell the others that he's an alien. It was the perfect time to do so. 
 

I hate mid season finales! They build all this investment into the characters then yank it away, to start all over again, in however many months. I wish this had never become a thing.

[SoMuchTV]

2 hours ago, WhatAmIWatching said:

Why was Ben so rude to and about Jade? Jade was a typical teen and chowing down and not caring what else was happening. I really love Asta! The actor is amazing at portraying the small emotional nuances. I really like Asta's dad, too.

I thought it was Jay, but I agree.  I wondered if I missed or forgot something that would explain Ben's attitude toward her.

[AnimeMania]

2 hours ago, WhatAmIWatching said:

Why was Ben John so rude to and about Jade? Jay?

Maybe John (Deputy Liv's Husband) is complaining about Jay because he hasn't been told that she is Asta's child. John thinks that Jay just works at the Diner and was only there to deliver the cake, then invited herself to stay and eat all the food.

[SoMuchTV]

5 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

Maybe John (Deputy Liv's Husband) is complaining about Jay because he hasn't been told that she is Asta's child. John thinks that Jay just works at the Diner and was only there to deliver the cake, then invited herself to stay and eat all the food.

Oh, it wasn't Ben, then?  I wasn't paying as much attention as I thought I was.

[WhatAmIWatching]

2 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

Maybe John (Deputy Liv's Husband) is complaining about Jay because he hasn't been told that she is Asta's child. John thinks that Jay just works at the Diner and was only there to deliver the cake, then invited herself to stay and eat all the food.

Sorry, my autocorrect decided I didn't know what I was doing and I didn't notice, lol. One of my nieces is named Jade, so autoc took over!

 I didn't remember John being rude to Jay, but the mayor Ben was, too! He was complaining to Asta that she was eating all the food, crabbed about her bringing the cake, and he also made a snarky comment to her face, and I didn't catch why.

 

[AnimeMania]

Just now, WhatAmIWatching said:

I didn't remember John being rude to Jay, but the mayor Ben was, too! He was complaining to Asta that she was eating all the food, crabbed about her bringing the cake, and he also made a snarky comment to her face, and I didn't catch why

It might have been Ben, if it was that would be even funnier, since he would be disparaging Asta's daughter without realizing he is talking to Jay's mother. I don't think many people in town know that Jay is Asta's daughter.

[possibilities]

I wonder if the alien ball causes the shot guy in possession of it at the time to survive and regenerate, perhaps with tentacles.

[Zaffy]

The Baby-alien ark was hilarious, the rest was well... boring.
The show still suffers from spending too much time on the Mayor and Darcey and the sheriff etc.
I think I am gonna start FW all of their scenes.
 

[Atlanta]

Agree. Harry and Asta are the heart of the show with the kids being a close second.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I am still amazed at one of the bravest moments on TV I have seen lately:  The sound of hubby slapping wife (bathroom sex).  

I actually laughed when Harry pulled the popper right after the pregnancy was revealed.  Perfect.

One thing I could not figger out to save my life is why/how baby alien decided to attack a potential target.  Why did it not go after any number of different folks when it came upon them?  How did it not feast on the kids, who were especially vulnerable?

TPTB gave themselves a tremendous pivot from Harry being a category unto himself and on the surface a bad guy.  Now, he's the only thing standing between holocaust and survival.  What will he do with the intelligence chief?  Will she be won over and end up on the right side?

Very disappointing half-season for me until the twist of aliens was revealed.    

[possibilities]

I liked this season all the way through, but it did irritate me that they basically crammed all the stuff into this episode that they ought to have developed more along the way. It was like a hint here, a hint there, then boom! We only saw the govt people what? once for a second, this season, until this episode. Ditto the "other alien species"-- they just made that clear now?? They had major pacing issues, with these major topics slightly hinted at and then looong lingering plotlines about Darcy's malaise or her kissing the mayor, or the sheriff's feelings about his partner. 

I am guessing the alien baby is not as dangerous as a pure alien baby. Maybe it doesn't eat humans, because it's half human. I also bet it grows really fast. Harry regenerated really quickly when he got injured. I imagine they will age the baby quickly, too. 

I thought the party dragged, to be honest. This was probably my least favorite episode this season because it was boring in parts (how much can we talk about eggs and pregnancy nausea and how much can we vamp for time while Harry eats and Asta panics, and how many times do we have to see the mayor and his wife have sex and avoid conversation?)... I'm also getting bored with how Sahra is smart and Max is the dimmest of dim. It's getting one note.

They introduced way too many things this episode, and did way too little with them.

 

[kirinan]

17 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Maybe John (Deputy Liv's Husband) is complaining about Jay because he hasn't been told that she is Asta's child. John thinks that Jay just works at the Diner and was only there to deliver the cake, then invited herself to stay and eat all the food.

I've already erased it off my DVR, so I asked Mr. kirinan about this because he has a better memory than I do. He's positive it was Ben, the mayor, who was complaining about Jay. 

[dwmarch]

5 hours ago, kirinan said:

I've already erased it off my DVR, so I asked Mr. kirinan about this because he has a better memory than I do. He's positive it was Ben, the mayor, who was complaining about Jay. 

It is Ben who has the issue with Jay being there. After he questions her about why she is still there he walks away and mutters "I didn't realize I hired Jughead to deliver the cake". I initially read Ben's reaction to Jay as being dismissive of hired help but I think the joke is meant to be that Jay has a big appetite (which I think we have seen a bit of previously) and Ben is insecure about running out of food. He's trying to be the best host he can be (because he wants a town doctor again) and little things keep popping up to ruin his perfect night. His domestic concerns about the party running well are meant to contrast with the problems he doesn't even know about like the alien baby who might eat a guest, gangsters hunting Harry and an alien who is good with a pistol (the one and only Enver Gjokaj!) who might also drop in. So it's Ben in a nutshell - while he's doing his best to stay on top of things there is a lot going on around him that he is completely unaware of and completely unprepared to deal with, even when it is just endless variations on the same problem which in this case is a parade of uninvited guests. He's the type of guy who is going to blame himself for everything that followed because he didn't tell Jay to hit the road after dropping off the cake.

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, dwmarch said:

I hired Jughead to deliver the cake". I initially read Ben's reaction to Jay as being dismissive of hired help but I think the joke is meant to be that Jay has a big appetite (which I think we have seen a bit of previously) and Ben is insecure about running out of food.

I see it as if somebody delivers you a pizza and then sits down to help you eat it.

[CarpeFelis]

On 3/17/2022 at 10:39 AM, AnimeMania said:

I thought it would be clearer who cut the wires to the cabin's electrical box, I am guessing it was the alien baby, but I am wondering if it would be that smart (after all it was hiding in a toilet).

It looked to me like the alien baby had chewed through the wires.

I’m wondering if the alien baby will remain a baby for long or if they’ll have it grow up super fast. I’d kind of like to see it stay a baby for a while. It was so cute when it sucked its thumb!

So who was Enver Gjokaj’s character supposed to be? One of the Galvan/Powell guys, someone from a competing government agency, or one of the other alien race disguised like Harry is?

[AnimeMania]

3 minutes ago, CarpeFelis said:

So who was Enver Gjokaj’s character supposed to be?

alien race disguised like Harry is (they showed a closeup of his eyes doing a weird sideways blink)

[Colorado David]

On 3/19/2022 at 1:41 PM, AnimeMania said:

I see it as if somebody delivers you a pizza and then sits down to help you eat it.

Its an archie comics joke. Jughead was notorious for always being hungry and eating.

[CarpeFelis]

17 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

alien race disguised like Harry is (they showed a closeup of his eyes doing a weird sideways blink)

Thanks! I missed that.

[gibasi]

On 3/18/2022 at 1:22 PM, WhatAmIWatching said:

My conspiracy mind is wondering if Liv could be the baby that was stolen from the alien tracker dude! When she heard the alien baby's sounds and had that flashback, and then said she wanted to bring tracker dude to Patience, is when my mind produced the theory.

My memory sucks. Can you fill me in on this? I don't remember the alien tracker having a baby stolen. I barely remember the alien tracker to be honest. 

With no new episodes for a while I am going to forget this whole mini season. I agree with others that the heart of the show is Harry/Asta and the kids. I like the other characters (I can tolerate Darcy) but I wish I saw less of them unless it is related to Harry.

[WhatAmIWatching]

5 hours ago, gibasi said:

My memory sucks. Can you fill me in on this? I don't remember the alien tracker having a baby stolen. I barely remember the alien tracker to be honest. 

With no new episodes for a while I am going to forget this whole mini season. I agree with others that the heart of the show is Harry/Asta and the kids. I like the other characters (I can tolerate Darcy) but I wish I saw less of them unless it is related to Harry.

In the beginning of one of the episodes, (I think back in season 1?) there was a young couple on a bus, and the young woman was pregnant. The aliens came and there was a lot of strangeness happening, and when it was over, the young woman wasn't pregnant any more. The alien hunter was the young man of the couple.

 

I've thought that Ben might be the "baby" because of Max's ability to see through Harry's human disguise, but I thought Liv might work, too, since she's had experiences with seeing the ship and the jogged memory when she heard the baby alien noises.

 

 

[Athena5217]

Is anyone else afraid to use the toilet now because an alien baby might be hiding in it?

[AnimeMania]

2 hours ago, Athena5217 said:

Is anyone else afraid to use the toilet now because an alien baby might be hiding in it?

And I can't drink anything "Tangy" out of a glass (especially Tang).

[Ilovepie]

I am so sick of the mayor's wife. Who decided her character needed to be expanded? She is completely unlikable now and seems like a totally different person than she was last season. And I don't need to know any more about their kinky sex life. I really don't care. The mayor's best scenes were the ones not involving her. Darcy also works better as a side character. The kids continue to be a surprising delight. I love their relationship with Harry. So fun and funny. I love that Sahar is the badass of the show.

I sometimes envy Harry's ability to just say exactly what he's thinking without thought to anyone's feelings, especially at that party. I laughed at him opening the crappy gifts and saying just that.

[juno]

2 hours ago, Ilovepie said:

I am so sick of the mayor's wife. Who decided her character needed to be expanded? She is completely unlikable now and seems like a totally different person than she was last season. And I don't need to know any more about their kinky sex life. I really don't care. The mayor's best scenes were the ones not involving her. Darcy also works better as a side character. The kids continue to be a surprising delight. I love their relationship with Harry. So fun and funny. I love that Sahar is the badass of the show.

I sometimes envy Harry's ability to just say exactly what he's thinking without thought to anyone's feelings, especially at that party. I laughed at him opening the crappy gifts and saying just that.

Yeah, I get that. Same issue with me. They spent so much time on Harry, Asta and the kids and that was great and for some reason went away from the formula and turned the show into Northern Exposure. Now we get tons of depth on all the side character and Harry, Asta and the kids are part time.

[Colorado David]

On 3/23/2022 at 7:25 PM, juno said:

Yeah, I get that. Same issue with me. They spent so much time on Harry, Asta and the kids and that was great and for some reason went away from the formula and turned the show into Northern Exposure. Now we get tons of depth on all the side character and Harry, Asta and the kids are part time.

While I love Northern Exposure, you totally hit the nail on the head. There's a lot of side character focus, which is fine in small bits but NOT as the primary. If it drives their main story ahead, that's good...but just fleshing out minor characters without any purpose feels fillery. And yes, enough on people's sex lives - it just doesn't make interesting watching, and only creates a quick smirk joke at best and diminishes whatever characters have to use it.

[Ilovepie]

On 3/25/2022 at 4:37 PM, Colorado David said:

And yes, enough on people's sex lives

The only time I laughed about it was when Harry was "flirting" with the scientist lady. So awkward and cringey and delightfully horrible. More of that please! I also liked when Harry was dating Darcy for kind of the same reason, so maybe the show should lean into the weird sex life of Harry more and less of Ben and his wife who nobody cares about.

[possibilities]

9 hours ago, Ilovepie said:

I also liked when Harry was dating Darcy for kind of the same reason, so maybe the show should lean into the weird sex life of Harry

I will never get over the "rigor mortis" scene.

It seems that people generally prefer stories that revolve around Harry. I've seen other shows where this happens, but the actor gets exhausted from being in every scene, so the writers expand focus on other characters, to give the lead a break.

I miss seeing Harry work at the clinic. His ridiculousness was very funny to me, but I've been a patient a lot and have a lot of doctor-related interactions to get over, so that might just be my thing.

Fish out of water stories like this get harder to sustain as the misfit adjusts to their circumstances. They've introduced half a dozen conspiracies and it's a bit much at this point. Too many plots, too little development of most of them. 

[Ilovepie]

11 hours ago, possibilities said:

I will never get over the "rigor mortis" scene.

It seems that people generally prefer stories that revolve around Harry. I've seen other shows where this happens, but the actor gets exhausted from being in every scene, so the writers expand focus on other characters, to give the lead a break.

I miss seeing Harry work at the clinic. His ridiculousness was very funny to me, but I've been a patient a lot and have a lot of doctor-related interactions to get over, so that might just be my thing.

Fish out of water stories like this get harder to sustain as the misfit adjusts to their circumstances. They've introduced half a dozen conspiracies and it's a bit much at this point. Too many plots, too little development of most of them. 

I too miss Harry at the clinic. Maybe Ben's party to woo him back to being the town doctor will see Harry returning there next season. Maybe it's time to bring more people into his circle who knows the truth about him. I think the scenes with the sheriff and the deputy or the kids work because their story lines are Harry-adjacent. That's the problem with the mayor, his wife and Darcy - nobody cares about them. If everyone knew about the alien in town it would get them all involved more.

[Atlanta]

It could be funny if the main characters know about Harry and the comedy is them preventing outsiders from knowing the secret. 

[cmahorror]

As an 80's bad horror movie lover, this is the first thing I thought of when I saw the alien baby in the toilet:

 

Anyone else? Bueller? Bueller?

[Quickbeam]

I can’t stand the Sahar character. I realize the actor is just doing as scripted but I find her annoying. I need more Asta and Harry (Asia’s dad too) and less of the mayor and his wife.

[Ottis]

All the fun has gone out of this show. It used to be about a quirky alien, his mission and his internal conflicts. Now it is about being pregnant, an alien egg that hatched, adoption and birth mothers and two precocious kids. Somehow a scifi show became a Hallmark movie. Losing interest fast. 

[possibilities]

It does get  better again in season 3.

[Paloma]

On 3/17/2022 at 10:41 PM, possibilities said:

I thought Sahar cut the electricity, to get someone to come down to the basement so she could get her message to Asta.

I assumed it was the alien baby because it looked like the wires were chewed through rather than cut.

On 3/18/2022 at 3:48 PM, AnimeMania said:

On 3/18/2022 at 1:22 PM, WhatAmIWatching said:

Why was Ben John so rude to and about Jade? Jay?

Maybe John (Deputy Liv's Husband) is complaining about Jay because he hasn't been told that she is Asta's child. John thinks that Jay just works at the Diner and was only there to deliver the cake, then invited herself to stay and eat all the food.

It was definitely Ben (the mayor) who was rude to Jay for no apparent reason. I did not see anyone else being rude to her, and I don't remember Deputy Liv's husband (I didn't know his name before) even talking to her.