The Invaders 2.05

The Enemy

A UFO crash lands in rural Utah. Gale Frazer, a former US Army nurse who served in Vietnam, finds the only surviving alien and seeing that he is injured she does what she can to help him. She knows that he's an alien but she doesn't care.

David Vincent shows up looking for the remains of the UFO but there are none because the alien destroyed it. David tries to tell Gale about the danger that the aliens pose to Earth but she doesn't believe him. It isn't until she sees him kill Deputy Vern Hammond (who had come to warn Gale about a big storm rolling into the area) that Gale starts to see the alien for who he really is.

The alien insists that they go the nearby abandoned mine. They take a box that he took from the UFO before he destroyed it. He tries to force them to help him but they refuse. David and Gale run off when his condition starts to get worse.

They run into one of the mine shafts. The alien comes after them. Two more aliens show up. They order him to kill David and Gale but he instead shoots the two aliens and then asks David help him end his life because his condition is just getting worse and there's nothing they can do to help him.

The episode ends with David and Gale leaving town, but not together.

Thoughts

In the last minutes of the episode the alien's name is revealed to be Blake.

In the previous episode David attempted to prove that the alien prisoner was an alien by asking a doctor to check and see if he had a heartbeat. Gale checks Blake's pulse in this episode. What gives?

As Blake's condition deteriorates towards the end of this episode the audience finally gets to see what the aliens look like. Actually, that's debatable, because Blake was injured so it's unclear if all aliens would look as weird as he does.

The final scene with David and Gale seemed almost flirtatious to me. It seemed like she was hoping that this wasn't the end for her and David. 

Deputy Vern Hammond wasn't in this episode for very long. He was killed fairly quickly after he met Blake.

This was a pretty good episode, in large part because the actors playing Blake and Gale both seemed to play it straight. From what I could see they both invested themselves in the roles.

Notes

Barbara Barrie played the part of Gale Frazer. This is the only episode of this show in which she appeared. She also appeared in one episode of The Twilight Zone (1959) and two episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. She was also in at least a couple movies I have watched.

Richard Anderson played the part of Blake. I have seen him in films, TV shows, and TV movies including The Night Strangler (1973). He is best known to me for playing the part of Oscar Goldman on The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman.

Paul Mantee played the part of Deputy Vern Hammond. This is the only episode of this show in which he appeared. He also appeared in an episode of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and at least three movies that I have seen.

One of the other two aliens was played by Gene Lyons. This is the first of two episodes of this show in which he appeared. I've also seen him in an episode of Star Trek (1966), 1.23 A Taste of Armageddon.

Russell Thorson played the part of the sheriff. This is the only episode of this show in which he appeared. He also appeared in one episode each of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. 

George Keymas played the third alien. This is the only episode of this show in which he appeared. He had a small part in The Six Million Dollar Man: Wine, Women and War (1973). He also appeared in one episode each of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) and The Twilight Zone (1959).

This episode was written by John W. Bloch. It is the fifth of six episodes of this show that he wrote. The fourth episode he wrote was 1.15 Moonshot.

This episode was directed by Robert Butler. It is the second of three episodes of this show that he directed. The first episode he directed was 1.14 Panic. He directed scenes from the original pilot for Star Trek which were later used as flashback footage in two episodes, 1.11 The Menagerie - Part One and 1.12 The Menagerie - Part Two. He directed one episode of Moonlighting, 1.01 Pilot. He also directed two episodes of The Twilight Zone (1959).