Who's who in Patience, Colorado: Your primer on the characters of 'Resident Alien' before Season 2

As fans new and returning alike wait for Season 2 of SYFY's hit series Resident Alien, premiering on Jan. 26, we know you're out here binging the first season all over again – or maybe for the first time. Either way, we know you're having a blast. From Harry Vanderspeigle's (Alan Tudyk) first human transformation to the race to find his planet-destroying weapon and beyond to the pizza-eating, heart-wrenching finale, there's so much to love about creator Chris Sheridan's show, adapted from the Dark Horse comics of the same name.

Part of what makes Resident Alien so great, of course, is its characters. Harry's not the only fascinating being wandering around the small town of Patience, Colorado, where he's found himself stranded. Read on for a refresher on all your favorite characters and what they were up to in Season 1, and maybe a few hints as to where they'll find themselves in Season 2.

Resident Alien Season 2 Will See Harry Explore Humanity Like Never Before

You know him, you love him, he's the Resident Alien in question — it's Harry Vanderspeigle, as played by Alan Tudyk (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Firefly). Harry's on a mission to destroy our planet, but due to some technical issues (read: his spaceship crashed and he lost the bomb), he finds himself stranded on our world. Luckily, he finds himself in the small, quirky town of Patience, Colorado, where he kills the real Harry and assumes his identity, only to fall into cahoots with several townsfolk.

Throughout Season 1, we saw Harry grapple with the beginnings of human emotions. His race of aliens (whose name we can't even say, let alone spell out) are highly intelligent and adaptive, but the intensity of human feelings is a new one. He's still getting this whole "how to human" thing figured out, but at least he has some help. Now that his friend Asta (Sara Tomko) knows his true identity and stopped him from killing everyone she knows and loves, she can help him on his journey of self discovery, and maybe, together, they can stop whatever's coming next...

Sara Tomko Digs into Resident Alien Season 1 and Her Hopes for Season 2

As a standout fan-favorite character in Season 1, Asta Twelvetrees, played by Sara Tomko (Once Upon a Time, Girls! Girls! Girls! or: As Tammy Withers Away), is going to get plenty more screen time in Season 2. Back at the top of Season 1, Asta was simply a small town nurse with a complicated family dynamic: She'd just left her abusive husband; and the daughter she gave up when she was a teenager has unknowingly reentered her life. Then an alien came to town.

Asta befriended Harry pretty quickly despite his quirks — or, rather, because of them. She found him oddly charming, which helped the day she found out he was an alien sent to destroy the planet. And because of his love for Asta, Harry chose not to destroy the world at the end of Season 1. In Season 2, we'll see more of that no-bullsh** attitude Harry and everyone else loves, as well as dig further into the complications of Asta's relationship with her daughter, Jay (more on her below).

Credit: SYFY/Getty Images

Poor Max. In Season 1, Episode 1, we learn that Judah Prehn's (Adam Ruins Everything) Max Hawthorne carries a special gene that allows him to see through Harry's disguise. Meaning: When Max sees Harry, he just sees a huge alien wearing human clothes and baring sharp teeth 24/7. This little coincidence makes Max and Harry instant nemeses, and our Resident Alien spends much of Season 1 trying and failing to kill little Max, who's far more clever than Harry gives him credit for.

As the town mayor's only kid, Max gets some pretty big leeway in terms of riding his bike around and causing chaos alongside his friend and partner-in-crime Sahar (more below), and the pair work together in Season 1 to uncover Harry's big plot. They know he's up to something. By season's end, Max and Harry have reached a sort of stalemate, and the final shot of the finale episode shows Max stowed away on Harry's ship — likely bringing Harry's trip back home to a screeching halt.

Resident Alien Season 1, Episode 9: "Welcome Aliens." Credit: SYFY

Everyone's favorite bartender and former Olympic hopeful D'Arcy Bloom, played by Alice Wetterlund (Space Force, People of Earth), could easily be described as the heart and soul of Patience. There are few people who don't know and love (or at least appreciate) D'Arcy, and those who don't haven't met her yet. She's the bartender at the local watering hole, The 59, named after a local legend you'll have to watch the show to learn more about.

At one point in Season 1, D'Arcy has a bit of a thing for Harry, only for that to fizzle out pretty quick and eventually lead to her being suspicious of him. She finds the real Harry's dead body in a freezer, but her best friend Asta soon convinces her it wasn't real. In Season 2, we'll hopefully be seeing more of Asta and D'Arcy's friendship, as well as moments in which D'Arcy takes Asta's daughter Jay under her wing.

The Sheriff and Deputy Baker Play Good Cop, Bad Cop | Episode 106 Top Moment

How to sum up Sheriff Mike, as played by Corey Reynolds (The Closer, The Terminal)? He's a Sheriff with big dreams and the attitude to match. He views himself as something of a savant, and while he's certainly a talented and dedicated sheriff, he'd be nothing without his trusty deputy (more below). In Season 1, Sheriff Mike spends most of his time trying to track down Dr. Sam Hodges' (the town doc before Harry came along) murderer. He's (rightfully) suspicious of Harry, but eventually arrests Sam's wife Abigail instead.

On top of his day job, the good sheriff's father also comes to town and hints at a dark-ish past and a death Mike seems to feel responsible for. Will we learn more about Mike's backstory in Season 2?

Liv is the Wind Beneath the Sheriff's Wings | Episode 9 Highlight

Sheriff Mike certainly seems like the man in charge at the Patience Police Department, but Resident Alien fans all know that Deputy Liv, played by Elizabeth Bowen (Upload, Fargo), is the real star. She's the first one to listen to Max's accusations of an alien hanging around town and is rarely wrong about a hunch when on the job. We don't know much about Liv's life outside of being a Sheriff's Deputy, and we're certainly hoping we get more information on her in Season 2. Because she is the wind beneath Sheriff Mike's wings, and he knows he cannot do this job without her.

Resident Alien Season 1, Episode 7: "The Green Glow." Credit: SYFY

Levi Fiehler's (The Fosters, Ray Donovan) Mayor Ben is a bit of a mystery. Not in a "is he secretly an alien sent to destroy Earth?" kind of way, but in a "how did this guy become mayor?" kind of way. Ben's a nice dude, and definitely loves Patience, but he's not exactly a leader; he allows the townsfolk to push him around all the time, and he'd be the first to admit he's got some issues with standing up for himself. Maybe that's why he and his wife Kate's (more below) relationship is on the rocks for most of the season — that is, until they beat a couple of intruders half to death at the end of the season and rekindle their, um, love for each other.

Credit: James Dittinger/SYFY

We don't get too much time with Kate Hawthorne (Meredith Garretson; Fosse/Verdon, Elementary) in Season 1 of Resident Alien, but something tells us we'll see more in Season 2. As of right now, we know that she's married to Mayor Ben and is Max's oft-beleaguered mother. She loves her son and... kind of tolerates her husband, whose quieter, nervous personality is a direct clash with Kate's authoritative take on life.

Harry Reveals the Identity of Asta's Daughter | Top Moment 104

Someone else we'll see more of in Season 2? Jay, as played by Kaylayla Raine (Upload). Jay was understandably upset in Season 1 when she found out her budding friendship with Asta while they worked together at the town clinic was a lie. Asta was keeping her close in order to spend time with her estranged daughter, and we enter Season 2 wondering if they'll be able to repair that relationship.

Jay getting a job at Asta's adoptive father Dan's diner is a good start, as that means she'll slowly become more integrated into the Twelvetrees family. And becoming buds with D'Arcy can't hurt either.

Resident Alien Season 1, Episode 8: "End of the World As We Know It." Credit: SYFY

Asta's "father" Dan, as played by Gary Farmer (Dead Man, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai), knew there was something wonky with Harry from the moment he met him. By the end of Season 1, he's one of the privileged few in town who know Harry's true identity, and that's bound to lead to some fun interactions in Season 2.

Dan runs the local diner, where his adoptive granddaughter now works and the majority of folks in Patience seem to eat at least once a day. He's taught Asta about his Native heritage, so we can't help but wonder if he'll encourage the same for Jay, whom he obviously cares for despite the rifts in their family.

Max and Sarah Find Harry's Alien Tellurium | Episode 104 Top Moment

Max's best friend and confidant Sahar (Gracelyn Awad Rinke; DC's Legends of Tomorrow) is the real brains of the operation between herself, Max, and Harry. She's the one with the plan, and the one with common sense when Max gets in too far over his head, like when they outsmarted government agents looking for Harry. Our hopes for Sahar are to see a bit more of her family life in Season 2, and to see her kicking more butt, obviously.

Mandell Maughan's (Bajillion Dollar Propertie$, Grace and Frankie) government agent Lisa Casper is a ruthless, determined killer who will stop at nothing to hunt down the alien threat. She and her partner David Logan (below) are assigned by General McCallister (also below) to take Harry down and figure out what he has planned. She'll stop at nothing to get that information, including killing folks and threatening children with the same — and that's exactly what her superior officers are looking for.

On the other side of the spectrum from Lisa is her partner David, as played by Alex Barima (Schmigadoon!, The 100). David's a dedicated Lieutenant in the U.S. military, but he's horrified by Lisa's "psychopathic" behavior and tells his general as such, only for her to reassure him that Lisa's got the attitude she wants. By the end of the season, Lisa and David have kidnapped Harry's replacement town doctor, Dr. Ethan Stone (below), mistaking him for the alien. What they do with him is anyone's guess, but it's definitely not going to be good.

Credit: SYFY

Sam Hodges' (Jan Bos; Apollo 18, The Flash) death is kind of the starting point for this whole mess Harry and the other Patience residents find themselves in. If he hadn't been killed ahead of the season premiere, Patience wouldn't have been in need of a town doctor, meaning the others likely would have left alien Harry in peace at his cabin. Instead, Harry's dragged into town to investigate the death, which he eventually realizes isn't a murder but is instead a self-inflicted wound when he was trying to give himself a tracheotomy.

But why did he need the tracheotomy in the first place? Well, turns out the original Dr. Vanderspeigle wanted him dead... but now Doc Hodges' wife has been arrested for the murder, and everyone involved is gonna have a lot of questions if this comes to light...

Doc Sam Hodges' wife Abigail (Deborah Finkel; iZombie) has been through a lot in Season 1. First she lost her husband, then she was (wrongfully) arrested for his murder. And the real murderer is technically dead and been replaced by an alien. What's a gal to do? Hopefully, someone will find a way to free her.

As played by genre legend Linda Hamilton (The Terminator franchise, Dante's Peak), the general is a ruthless military leader determined to hunt down alien threats and put a stop to them. And if she just so happens to pick up some sweet alien tech along the way that the U.S. government can use for its own devices? All the better.

Little did Doc Stone (Michael Cassidy; Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Army of the Dead) know that taking an open physician job in a sleepy Colorado town would lead to him getting kidnapped by two government agents because he's been mistaken for an alien. He's really done nothing wrong beyond be handsome and good at his job, so we're eager to see what's become of him in Season 2.

RESIDENT ALIEN SEASON 2 PREMIERES ON SYFY ON JAN. 26.