Resident Alien Season 3’s Genius Star Wars Reference Has Huge Implications For Season 4

Warning: Major spoilers ahead of the Resident Alien season 3 finale, “Homecoming.”

Resident Alien season 3, episode 8, “Homecoming,” includes a not-so-subtle wink to a famous Star Wars moment, but the scene goes far beyond a nod to the George Lucas-created franchise. Although Resident Alien season 4 has yet to be confirmed, the ending of the Resident Alien season 3 finale makes it obvious that Harry’s story isn’t over yet. In fact, the stakes have never been higher for the cast of Resident Alien.

Alan Tudyk’s Harry Vanderspeigle and the other residents of Patience, Colorado all went through life-changing events to varying degrees of importance in Resident Alien season 3. As well as the continued threat of the Greys trying to take Earth for themselves, “Homecoming” revealed something new about the show’s diminutive antagonists that completely transforms their reputation going into a prospective Resident Alien season 4.

Resident Alien Recreates Star Wars’ “That’s No Moon…” (But Reverses It)

Obi-Wan’s famous line gets the Resident Alien treatment in “Homecoming”

The Resident Alien season 3 finale reimagines a famous line from Alec Guinness’ Obi-Wan Kenobi that was immortalized in 1977’s Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. While Obi-Wan says, “That’s no moon…It’s a space station,” Resident Alien flips one of the best Star Wars quotes of all time on its head. When Alice Wetterlund’s D’arcy Bloom declares, “At least we made it off the ship,” Sara Tomko’s Asta Twelvetrees replies with, “Erm, except it’s not a ship.” As it turns out, the Greys’ ship was disguised as Earth’s moon all along.

It would have been a little too on-the-nose for Asta to reply with, “That’s no ship, it’s a moon!” Thankfully, Resident Alien went for an artful homage rather than a direct and inelegant parody. By taking this approach instead, the writers allowed the Star Wars reference to breathe while also letting the gravity of the game-changing reveal take hold. As such, the moment is a brilliant blend of comedy and drama, which is where Resident Alien always shines brightest. Resident Alien has never taken itself seriously for too long, and this scene is a perfect encapsulation of that philosophy.

Resident Alien’s Moon Reveal Explains Why The Greys Are So Present In Human Folklore

The Greys look and act very similarly to the aliens in real-world folklore

Resident Alien doesn’t confirm if the Greys destroyed Earth’s original moon and took its place or whether the Greys’ ship has always been in orbit of the planet. However, the implication is that the Greys have been watching humanity throughout Earth’s history. If so, this would explain why Resident Alien draws so heavily on existing conspiracies from the real world. The Greys are heavily based on accounts from supposed UFO and alien sightings throughout history, and the extraterrestrials’ ongoing presence in Earth’s orbit would support their legend being so tightly woven into humanity’s myths and folklore.

Resident Alien‘s Greys have the ability to wipe the minds of the individuals they abduct and experiment on before returning them to Earth. As a result, many of the unfortunate souls have to operate on instinct and memory fragments to support their theories that they have been taken by the Greys at some point. This happening for so many generations would likely lead to several humans maintaining slightly more of their memories than the Greys intended. Therefore, while it still might not be much, the recollections have obviously been enough for their stories to hold an element of truth.

Resident Alien Season 4 Will Have Higher Stakes Due To The Moon Reveal

The Greys’ Moon-ship displays their immense power and gives them several advantages

If Resident Alien season 4 is greenlit, Harry will find himself fighting a much tougher battle against the Greys. Even if he can escape from his current imprisonment, Harry will need to find a way to bring down a species that clearly holds an incredible amount of power. The Grey’s Moon-ship is enormous, so there’s no guarantee that Harry’s bomb-making skills would destroy the vessel. Additionally, the absence of a moon would have a big impact on Earth if Harry were to succeed in blowing up the ship – not to mention the chunks of debris that would breach Earth’s atmosphere.

Paired with the logistics of taking down the ship, Harry also needs to consider the fact that the Greys are harboring many human babies who would also meet a devastating end along with the ship. Regardless, the Greys are clearly not going to give up on their plan to take Earth, and Harry will need to come up with a very specific plan to rid everyone of the Greys without the babies or their homeworld dying. So, Resident Alien‘s reference to the first Star Wars movie carries dramatic gravitas rather than just being a throwaway gag.