Resident Alien’s Season 4 Premiere Hilariously Solves A Big Problem From The Season 3 Finale

Review

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Resident Alien season 4, episode 1, «Prisoners.»Resident Alien season 3, episode 8, «Homecoming,» ended with several of the show’s main characters in precarious positions, but the season 4 premiere quickly dispels the danger of one specific scenario. Resident Alien season 4, episode 1, «Prisoners,» picks up one month after the events of the season 3 finale. So, enough time has passed for the Mantid to slot himself into Harry’s life in Patience, Colorado. Harry begins «Prisoners» still locked up aboard the Greys’ moon ship, while two other characters have conveniently avoided their teased fate at the end of Resident Alien season 3.

Clancy Brown was added to the Resident Alien cast as the voice of the Mantid in «Homecoming.» Brown’s role has been boosted in season 4, as the Mantid co-narrates with Harry in «Prisoners,» although both characters are portrayed physically by Alan Tudyk. The Mantid poses a huge threat to pretty much every other Resident Alien character, but two members of the cast have already managed to avoid being killed by the nefarious insectoid after initially seeming doomed in «Homecoming.»

Sahar's Lie About Max Stepping On A Bee Explains How They Were Able To Escape The Mantid In Resident Alien Season 3's Finale

The Mantid was easily fooled, but that's okay

Max (Judah Prehn) and Sahar (Gracelyn Awad Rinke) ended Resident Alien season 3 at the front door of Harry’s cabin, unaware they were about to come face-to-face with the Mantid. From Sahar’s perspective, Harry did open the door, but Max’s genetic ability to see through alien disguises resulted in him screaming when the Mantid revealed himself. The scene left me thinking that the only two fates for Max and Sahar were either capture or death, with the latter being extremely unlikely. However, «Prisoners» reveals how they got out of the interaction unscathed.

As it turns out, Sahar passed off Max’s scream as being caused by something other than seeing the Mantid. Instead, she told the villain that Max’s outburst had been caused by stepping on a bee.

When Max withholds the binoculars from Sahar while spying on Joseph (Enver Gjokaj) in Resident Alien season 4’s premiere, Sahar points out that Max wouldn’t even be alive if it hadn’t been for her quick thinking. As it turns out, Sahar passed off Max’s scream as being caused by something other than seeing the Mantid. Instead, she told the villain that Max’s outburst had been caused by stepping on a bee. The lie is comical in how simple and out-of-place it would be, but the show’s absurdist formula means Sahar’s excuse weirdly works. Plus, the Mantid wouldn’t know any better.

Plus, it’s quite funny to think about how the scene played out. Cutting away after Max’s scream, the Mantid would likely have shown early signs of violence, only to be disarmed by Sahar’s lie about Max stepping on a bee. I doubt it’s something that will ever be shown, and seeing it probably wouldn’t be as humorous as it is to imagine it. Regardless, it’s fixed now, and the show can continue.

Resident Alien Season 4's Quick Max Fix Saves A Lot Of Time

It would have taken up too much time to see how Max & Sahar were saved from the Mantid

As mentioned earlier, although it would make sense for the Mantid to kill Max and Sahar when Judah Prehn’s character screamed, it wouldn’t really fit with the tone of the show for this to happen. So, the other main possibility of them being held captive becomes the most viable option. That said, if they had both been trapped by the Mantid, it would have resulted in a pretty boring and predictable continuation of Max and Sahar’s storyline. They weren’t going to die, but it also would have hurt the show to sideline them to the basement of Harry’s cabin.

The Resident Alien writers could have started season 4 with Max and Sahar as the Mantid’s prisoners, but by already having them free and back to their usual investigations, «Prisoners» saves viewers from watching a storyline that can only really end up with them regaining their freedom. Although season 4 is 10 episodes long, and therefore 2 episodes longer than season 3, it makes sense that showrunner Chris Sheridan would want to be as economical as possible with Resident Alien‘s current run of episodes.