“Alien babies have a big appetite for high calorie junky food. There’s nothing more junky than a human.”

It’s (the real) Harry’s birthday and while his friends celebrate Harry has to deal with a new arrival. Personal secrets finally come to light and a new threat emerges, one that imperils us almost as much as Harry’s original plan.

For this mid-season finale (I was wrong last time, it’s due to return at some point in the summer) most of this year’s threads resolve to some extent, in what is essentially a bottle show, set primarily in and around Harry’s cabin. It finally makes sense of some of the more soapy elements this year, particularly Ben and D’Arcy’s awkward friendship and their lack of honesty with Kate. The dual tensions of alien baby on the loose (not really a spoiler considering last week’s cliffhanger) and the possible exposure of D’Arcygate keep things moving along, plus we have a brief but significant sidestep to what remains of the primary People in Black (ranks depleted after Lisa’s distinctly unpleasant but well-deserved demise last week). As one would expect with a break we’re left with a cliffhanger that will likely have a significant impact on one of our main characters to be explored when the show returns.

This is certainly one of the better episodes this year, having the main cast all together in one place allowing for some fun interactions. Does it make up for so much soapery earlier in the series? Maybe, but I have felt this year, as I mentioned last time, that the switch between genres has been jarring at times. That’s probably a little unfair, I can see what they’re trying to do – this is a small-town comedy drama that just happens to have an alien among their ranks. That clash made the show distinct and fresh at first, Mork & Mindy meets Northern Exposure meets Dexter was a unique idea I think (coincidentally, I assume, the recent revival of Dexter was set in a town almost exactly like Patience which did rather colour my experience of that). Now though we’re used to the set up, and I have to wonder if the non-alien strands are really strong enough on their own. Take Harry out of the equation and are we left with a good comedy drama that stands up to its down-to-earth competitors? If we’re to continue in this vein I feel we need stronger stuff than “an old girlfriend kissed me”, “I might be pregnant” and “my cop partner died and I feel it’s my fault”.

Having said that I do enjoy this show, the cast are always engaging and while not all the elements are my cup of tea I am looking forward to the rest of the season later this year. Fingers crossed they dial up the SF a little bit though, it is on SYFY after all.

Verdict: A fairly strong conclusion (for now) to a season that’s been rather messy and oddly structured, albeit with plenty of memorable moments and some good laughs along the way. 7/10

Andy Smith