Everybody Knows Harry’s Secret on Resident Alien Ahead of the Finale. Now What?

For the first time in the show’s history, all the key players in Patience are aware that Harry is not of this planet.

With just two episodes of Resident Alien to go, it’s about time everyone in Patience got on the same page.

Following the events of Season 4, Episode 8 (“Mine Town”), all of the show’s key players — from Asta (Sara Tomko) to Sheriff Mike Thompson (Corey Reynolds) — are finally aware of the fact that Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle (Alan Tudyk) is not of this planet.

How does that affect the show’s remaining two episodes?

How Harry’s secret getting out affects the final two Resident Alien episodes
“It changes a lot of stuff,” creator, showrunner, and executive producer Chris Sheridan told USA Insider over Zoom. “You go from Harry having to hide it, to Harry having to find some way to work with the others to accomplish a bigger goal, which happens in [Episodes] 9 and 10.”

Sheridan continued: “It was a nice reveal when D’arcy found out, and that really helped us going into Season 3, where someone else knew about it and added another dynamic. But the truth is, these people are pretty close, so it made sense that once it starts coming out and they’re on his trail a little bit, it will fall like a house of cards. And that’s ultimately what happens. So by the end of the season, they all know, and it definitely changes the dynamic. I think it’s a fun new dynamic to play with.”

For Sheriff Mike and Deputy Liv (Elizabeth Bowen), the earth-shattering revelation of Harry’s true identity represents a profound a-ha moment that explains so many odd behaviors and occurrences from a position of hindsight.

“This was like, ‘Oh, man! He has been under our noses this whole time!’” Bowen exclaimed. “The opening scene in the pilot is [Liv and Mike] meeting him, and thinking that he is an odd person. But we never wondered until now.”

Reynolds agreed, describing it as “a very powerful moment,” in which all the mental jigsaw pieces finally fall into place. We wouldn’t go so far as to suggest they kick themselves right about now, because who in the wide world suspects a neighbor to be an extra-terrestrial?

“When you look at it from the perspective of being on ground level, it makes perfect sense that they missed so many things,” Reynolds explained. “When they go back in that quick rundown of all the things that have happened over the season, going all the way back to Max drawing him in Season 1. He’s been saying this this whole time, and because it was such a ludicrous prospect, everyone — with the exception of Deputy Liv and Asta — rejected it. Just like we would right now if someone was telling us that someone was an alien and they could see it. We’d paddy wagon the motherf—er. They’d be gone!”

But like Sheridan said, everyone being on equal footing allows them to rally around a common goal: Ridding Patience of the Mantid interloper currently taking the form of Deputy Liv.

“It creates unity in some ways,” Reynolds continued. “It bonds the townsfolk. It certainly brings a new dynamic to Patience when all of these players all finally on the same page. In many ways, that lights a new fuse.”

At the same time, “it opens up some wounds for Liv and Mike, because they come to discover that Harry acted in some nefarious ways towards them that I don’t think either of them truly appreciates,” he added. “That sends Mike spiraling in a way. It definitely hurts Deputy Liv, but I think it enrages Mike.”

That sense of betrayal extends to the other characters who kept their mouths shut.

“We’re the last to know,” Bowen concluded. “It’s almost like when you find out a family or friend group secret and you’re like, ‘What?!’ You feel like the youngest sibling when you find out something everyone else knows. You’re like, ‘You guys! How could you not tell us?!'”

How to watch the final episodes of Resident Alien
Only two more episodes of Resident Alien remain. Episodes 9 (“Tunnel Vision”) and 10 (“The End is Here” — aka the series finale) will debut on August 1 and 8 at 10:00 p.m., respectively. New installments are available to stream on Peacock a week after they air.