Resident Alien’s main character, Harry Vanderspeigle (Alan Tudyk), has always had an interesting origin story, but the show’s final episode just completely recontextualized his journey. With Resident Alien’s ending brilliantly tying up most of the show’s loose ends, showrunner Chris Sheridan has intentionally left a few plots unresolved.

One of the biggest last-minute reveals Sheridan includes concerns the leader of the Resident Alien cast. Harry’s arrival on Earth in the show’s pilot episode has long been established as the story’s main starting point. However, Resident Alien season 4, episode 10, “The End Is Here,” reveals Harry’s adventures in the fictitious town of Patience aren’t all that original.

“The End Is Here” Essentially Proves That Harry Isn’t The First Alien To Go On His Journey

The return of Michael Cassidy as Dr. Ethan Stone, and then his alien namesake, gives Resident Alien one last villain before the show wraps up. That said, Alien Ethan’s bad guy status quickly becomes something else. Instead, Resident Alien makes it very clear that Cassidy’s new character is about to embark on a journey very similar to that of Harry’s.

Just as Harry arrived on Earth with orders to kill all humans, Ethan has also been sent by his people to succeed where Tudyk’s character failed. Although “The End Is Here” is Resident Alien’s finale, it’s also essentially a creative rehash of the pilot, placing Ethan in the role that Harry once held.

It becomes obvious that “The End Is Here” is setting up Ethan to go through the same form of redemption as Harry did, and that he, too, will eventually fall in love with his new home and refuse to carry out his orders. The episode also makes several references to the possibility that this pattern began long before Harry crash-landed in season 1.

Therefore, Harry’s story isn’t unique anymore, and it becomes retroactively likely that it never was. Ethan may only be the second alien to land in Patience, but it’s highly likely that he and Harry are not the first to be transformed from villains into allies by people across all of Earth.

Resident Alien’s Final Episode Makes Humanity The Real Heroes Of The Story

Harry has been one of the biggest advantages for Earth in humanity’s ongoing fight with the Grey Aliens. His vast knowledge of extraterrestrial technology and how the interstellar community functions has saved the day more than once. His efforts definitely contributed to saving the human homeworld, but he didn’t act alone.

Despite lacking the advanced tech and fearsome weaponry boasted by the Greys and other races, humans always seem to come out on top. The implication in “The End Is Here” is that countless aliens, like Harry and Ethan, have come to Earth to either kill or dominate humanity, but have found themselves swept up in the unique love and quirks of the native species.

So, even though Harry’s role in saving Earth can’t be denied, he was only initially prevented from being a threat via the subconscious and non-violent method of humans winning him over to their side. Therefore, humanity continuously acts as its own biggest protector in the most wholesome way imaginable.

Dr. Ethan’s Origin Story Being So Similar To Harry’s Removes The Need For Resident Alien Season 5

There is arguably still a lot of merit to the idea of Resident Alien season 5 happening someday, even if there are no immediate plans for the show to return. On the other hand, a continuation could be deemed as more than a little superfluous. With Ethan so perfectly replacing Harry, I don’t think there would be much point in making more episodes.

“The End Is Here” sets up Ethan to have exactly the same life as Harry is leaving behind. As Cassidy’s character becomes increasingly changed by the humans around him, he’ll be serving as the town doctor and presumably living in the vacant cabin that Harry has left behind. He’ll probably even save the world a time or two.

All of those storylines have already been thoroughly explored with Tudyk’s character in the show’s central role, so simply going through the same thing again with Ethan wouldn’t be a particularly worthwhile endeavor. Besides, Resident Alien season 4 ended so beautifully, it would be a crime to resurrect the show just for the sake of it.