Home » TV & Streaming » RESIDENT ALIEN Recap: (S02E14) Cat and Mouse

Posted by Melody McCune | Sep 14, 2022 | Recaps, Science Fiction, TV & Streaming | 2

DISCLAIMER: This recap of the Resident Alien episode “Cat and Mouse” has spoilers. Microwave that day-old pizza, cue up the Law & Order reruns and proceed at your peril. 

Welcome back, residents of Patience! We’re reaching the endgame for this season, with only two episodes left. “Cat and Mouse” finds Harry squaring off against Peter Bach, the famous alien tracker. General McCallister finally encounters an extraterrestrial in the flesh when Alien Baby reveals his true form to her. All in all, these are crucial plot points that lend themselves to the seasonal arc. Yet, something is missing from this outing. 

Ready to delve into “Cat and Mouse”? Let’s get to it. 

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We open with General McCallister (Linda Hamilton) paying a visit to the Alien Baby (AB), who’s still disguised as Bobby Smallwood. She doesn’t believe he’s an extraterrestrial or that anyone in the facility is anything other than human. However, while asking little AB who put him up to this, he touches McCallister’s head, absorbing her memories. 

He sees her as a little girl with her father on the lighthouse, along with her first alien encounter. AB observes while McCallister’s father leaps from the top of the lighthouse. After he withdraws from her memories, AB transforms into his lil alien self. McCallister’s jaw drops at the sight. Admittedly, he’s pretty damn cute. 

RESIDENT ALIEN — “Cat and Mouse” Season 2 Episode 14 — Pictured: (l-r) Sara Tomko as Asta Twelvetrees, Gary Farmer as Dan Twelvetrees — (Photo by: SYFY)

Later, Asta (Sara Tomko) finds Dan (Gary Farmer) fishing at the lake. He apologizes for not warning Asta about her awful mother sooner. We learn Asta’s mom was a drummer in Dan’s band, already pregnant. After Mary-Ellen fled, Dan’s friends urged him to call Child Protective Services, but instead, he contacted an adoption attorney. Dan never looked back. The pair embrace and my heart is fit to burst. I’m already getting weepy this early in the episode, y’all! Asta and Dan are one of my favorite father-daughter TV pairs. 

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Meanwhile, Ben (Levi Fiehler) finds Kate (Meredith Garretson) and Kayla (Sarah Podemski) diving into lawyer stuff. What kind of lawyer stuff, you might ask? Applying a restraining order to prevent the resort’s construction. Ben proceeds to be a man-child about the whole thing, conveniently turning on the coffee grinder whenever Kayla and Kate try to discuss the restraining order. After Kayla departs, Ben and Kate make a pact never to discuss the resort whenever they’re home. 

Next, Harry (Alan Tudyk) gives Asta a letter to convey the truth about The Greys. Asta isn’t ready to save the world (again), but Harry vows to concoct a plan to eliminate The Greys threat. Whether that scheme goes off without a hitch is another story. 

Then, we see Sheriff Mike (Corey Reynolds) leaving a voicemail for Detective Lena. After rambling on for a hot minute, he finally asks her on a date. At that moment, Deputy Liv (Elizabeth Bowen) enters the fray, mentioning Mike and Lena popping out 10 kids together. Uh-oh. That remark might throw a wet blanket over the proceedings. 

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D’Arcy (Alice Wetterlund) conceals her pill bottle from Elliott (Justin Rain) and applies an ice pack to her gnarled, painful-looking knee. D’Arcy inquires about the top of her blender, her emotions teetering precariously on a knife’s edge. D’Arcy’s abrupt mood swings alarm Elliott, who asks if she’s okay. D’Arcy chalks it up to being in “competition mode,” but we know better. 

Meanwhile, Mike reveals that Peter Bach (Terry O’Quinn) is here to see Liv. As it turns out, he didn’t ignore the 62 emails she sent him. The pair head off to Joe’s Diner for a chat. Ben barges into the break room, revealing Kate’s decision to team up with Kayla to put a stop to the resort. Mike launches into a tangent about passing massage school with flying colors and how he practiced his masseur skills on a feral cat. God, I love Mike. His stories always crack me up. 

RESIDENT ALIEN — “Cat and Mouse” Season 2 Episode 14 — Pictured: Alan Tudyk as Harry Vanderspeigle — (Photo by: James Dittiger/SYFY)

Later, Harry tells Asta his grand plan to stop The Greys — another sci-fi convention. Asta and Harry spot Liv with Peter in a booth, prompting them to seek shelter in the kitchen, much to Dan’s irritation. Obviously, Peter knows what Harry looks like, so this could spell danger for them. 

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Liv tells Peter about her UFO experiences. Amid their conversation, he sees Harry through a window in the kitchen. Uh-oh. Peter excuses himself from his meeting and flees, on the hunt for Harry. 

So, Asta chats with Liv to get the lowdown on their meeting while Harry evades the famous alien tracker. Unfortunately, the two come face-to-face, and Peter whips out a weapon to subdue our fave resident alien. Thankfully, Judy (Jenna Lamia) knocks Peter out of the way when she opens the door in his face. Harry feigns an attraction to Judy to escape Peter and whisks her away into the pub. 

Once inside, Harry constructs a flimsy excuse for “dumping” her. I’m kinda tired of the cast incessantly dumping on Judy. She’s funny, but I’d love for the show to flesh her out. Judy’s deserving of love like everyone else.

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Meanwhile, Peter returns to his meeting with Liv. She gives him a detailed book chronicling Patience’s potentially “alien” events. Peter finds the sketch of Harry in his alien form from Season 1. Liv claims it was an elaborate ruse crafted by Max; however, Peter knows better. He asks to meet with Liv later that day at The 59.

Next, Judy gives D’Arcy some pills at the latter’s behest. I hope D’Arcy gets help. It’s a slippery slope she’s on, and it’s not one of the skiing persuasion. 

RESIDENT ALIEN — “Cat and Mouse” Season 2 Episode 14 — Pictured: (l-r) Elizabeth Bowen as Deputy Liv Baker, Terry O’Quinn as Peter Bach — (Photo by: James Dittiger/SYFY)

Harry stops at the clinic to eat Ellen’s lunch, as usual. Asta urges Harry to return to his cabin since Peter hunts for him. Speaking of, Peter encounters Max (Judah Prehn). He asks Max about the sketch of Harry, which Max brushes off as a prank he pulled. Peter digs deeper after noting Max’s lie. He hands Max his card should the kid change his mind. 

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Later, Mike joins Ben, Kate and Max for dinner, hoping to convince Kate to put the kibosh on the restraining order. Max departs during the dinner, clearly feeling the tension radiating between his parents. Kate and Ben break their new rule about not discussing the resort while Mike stokes the flames. Hey, I’m Team Kate. Resort = bad.

Meanwhile, Kayla and Asta hang out at The 59, with Kayla comforting her cousin after the encounter with Mary-Ellen. They observe while D’Arcy spews venom at a customer because his tip is meager. Her overreaction worries Asta. After the guy storms out, D’Arcy’s demeanor does an alarming 180. 

Max finds Harry sitting on his bed, engorging himself on Max’s leftover Halloween candy. Harry persuades Max to refrain from giving away his location to Peter. They’re friends, remember? This scene kills me. Any interaction featuring Harry and the kids is sure to be hysterical. 

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In retaliation, Harry steals Max’s Halloween candy and pretends to call a “friend” while climbing out the window. I’m sure Max 100 percent bought that. 

Next, Mike and Liv drink at the pub. We learn that Peter stood up Liv for their later meeting, but she assumes he’s merely tailing an alien. Detective Lena (Nicola Correia-Damude) waltzes into the bar, making a beeline for Mike and Liv’s table. Liv departs quickly to give them space. Mike and Lena bond over their choice of knife. These two are peas in a pod. 

RESIDENT ALIEN — “Cat and Mouse” Season 2 Episode 14 — Pictured: (l-r) Corey Reynolds as Sheriff Mike Thompson, Nicola Correia-Damude as Detective Lena Torres — (Photo by: James Dittiger/SYFY)

Ben and Kate sit on the couch silently, each reading a book. Ben is reading The Guttenberg Bible, which feels strangely on brand for him. Kate is reading Our Town, which also strikes me as fitting her personality, especially given her change of heart regarding Patience. 

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Anyway, Kate gets a phone call about the restraining order for the resort — it went through! Ben seethes at his wife throwing a wrench in his plan, but he vows to rise like a phoenix from the litigation ashes. 

Later, Asta approaches Jay (Kaylayla Raine) after the latter’s tiring shift at the diner. Asta tells Jay she loves her for the first time and confesses that she thinks about Jay daily. If Jay wants anything to do with Asta, she’s here. If not, that’s okay, too. My eyes are leaking again. 

Elliott finds D’Arcy asleep in the pub by herself with the door unlocked. He reminded her she missed their hangout session; he waited two hours for her. D’Arcy claims she was merely cleaning after closing. Elliott urges D’Arcy to be honest and tell him what’s happening with her. However, D’Arcy keeps mum, refusing to divulge her pill addiction and excruciating knee pain. 

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So, Elliott breaks things off, leaving D’Arcy at the bar. D’Arcy sobs and my heart breaks for her. D’Arcy heads to Asta’s house. She shows Asta the pill bottle, and the pair embrace while D’Arcy cries it out. I love how much these two support each other. 

RESIDENT ALIEN — “Cat and Mouse” Season 2 Episode 14 — Pictured: Alan Tudyk as Alien Harry — (Photo by: James Dittiger/SYFY)

Meanwhile, Peter sneaks into Harry’s cabin while the latter sleeps. Peter stands over Harry’s slumbering form, procures his weapon and zaps Harry with it. However, Harry’s elsewhere, clearly staging his bed to look like he’s in it. Then, Peter wanders into the living area, finding Harry looming behind him in his complete extraterrestrial form. The shot switches to an external one of the cabin as we hear Peter yell and see a blue glow emit from the windows. It seems Max picked a side — Harry’s. 

RIP Peter Bach, Alien Tracker. 

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“Cat and Mouse” isn’t as propulsive as last week’s episode, but it does plant the seeds for the season finale. Alice Wetterlund delivers a stirring performance as D’Arcy struggles under the weight of a burgeoning addiction and unbearable pain. We’ve never seen D’Arcy hit such a low point as this, and Wetterlund gives it her all. 

There are wonderfully heartfelt moments in this outing, from Mike and Lena finally going on a date to Asta confessing she loves Jay. In addition, Harry’s scene with Max is hilarious, and Ben and Kate have some funny bits. That said, it’s hard to believe we only have two episodes left. “Cat and Mouse” is slower, and, realistically, it should be balls-to-the-wall bonkers from here on out. I’m not saying the narrative needs to whizz past us at a breakneck pace, but we need more action. Plus, Terry O’Quinn was woefully underutilized. 

I can’t see how this season will end. We still don’t know how Enver Gjokaj‘s character figures into this except that he’s of the Alpha Draconian race. Will The Greys end it all? How will Harry stop them? It feels like we’re in the middle of the season, not the end. Here’s hoping things pick up in the last two episodes. 

Resident Alien drops new episodes every Wednesday at 10/9c on your Syfy affiliate. 

Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: ASTA TWELVETREES

Contact: Melody.McCune@geekgirlauthority.comWhat I do: I'm Managing Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet. Bylines in: Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, inkMend on Medium. I love cheese. I love geek. I love lamp.

I’m going to speculate that Peter Bach isn’t dead. He’s not a bad guy, and he was done wrong by the Greys. He also has the lead Harry needs to find the baby alien. It makes more sense narratively that Harry and he form an uneasy truce, defeat the Greys, and then Peter tells Harry everything he knows about the government project so that Harry can track them down.

That makes a lot of sense. We didn’t see him “die” onscreen, so there is a chance he’s alive. I hope so! I’d like to see them team up with McCallister and her crew, and then they defeat The Greys.

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