Isabelle

**Isabelle** is a character in the science fiction comedy television series *Resident Alien*. She is portrayed by Elvy.

## Character overview

Isabelle is an artist who met the doctor Harry Vanderspeigle during a charity art event. The two met, romanced each other, and got married. At some point, afterwards, Isabelle became disillusioned with Vanderspeigle and tried to divorce him, only for Vanderspeigle to drag out the process. Vanderspeigle then retreated to their cabin in Patience, Colorado, where he was killed by an alien who assumed his identity. Several months later, Isabelle makes a splash when she finds and confronts the alien Vanderspeigle in the cabin, believing him to still be her husband.

## Plot summary

Approximately five years ago, Elvy was an artist hosting a painting at a charity art exhibit. Her piece caught the eye of Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle, who asked her what she thought it was saying. She told him it made her feel a bit upside-down, asking him what *he* thought about it. He admitted that he didn't know, but he told her he loved the mystery. She suggested he share that opinion with the artist, revealing it was her. She then noted that somebody had outbid him, so he raised his bid, telling her he wasn't letting it get away and he wanted to solve the mystery. The two then began a whirlwind courtship, resulting in their getting married and settling in New York. Their romance eventually faded and Isabelle sought a divorce, but Vanderspeigle fled to their vacation cabin in Patience, where he spent several months before being killed by the alien who assumed his identity.

A couple of weeks after the true Harry Vanderspeigle's death, Isabelle arrives at the cabin. She confronts the Vanderspeigle alien, demanding to know what's going on with him. She tells him that she was ready to sign the divorce papers and he stonewalled the lawyers for months, ignoring all messages. She tells him that if he's ready to get a divorce to just sign the papers and, to her surprise, he does so immediately then leaves. The next night, he is surprised to find her still around and that morning, still in the bed. He leaves, telling her he has to go into work as the town doctor, leading her to ask if he's abandoning his practice to play "Dr. Fix-It" in Patience.

She travels to the Patience Health Clinic, and surprises Asta Twelvetrees, as Vanderspeigle had told her his wife was dead. Shocked to hear this, she begins throwing boxes and papers at him, asking if she looks dead to him and if a dead person would do that. She calls him a monster and leaves. She then goes to the local bar, The 59, and tries to drown her sorrows, telling the bartender D'Arcy Bloom that her husband used to be so alive and present, but now is blunt. Bloom chats with her about the guy she's dating, the two not realizing that it's the same person. That evening, Isabelle returns to the cabin and decides to try again. She tells Vanderspeigle that she didn't handle things very well. The two have a steak dinner and dance, and somehow end up connecting. That evening they have sex and they continue to enjoy each other's company the next morning. That evening, she annoys him with her snoring, but he decides to keep her alive, despite having killed her husband.

The two continue to spend time together, Vanderspeigle enjoying it when she cooks chickens for him. However, he begins to become resentful of how the time spent together is cutting into the time that he has to search for his spaceship and his device. He therefore begins knocking her out with a combination of alcohol and sleeping pills. Although his trick seems to work at first, she begins to get suspicious and discovers the sleeping pills hidden in a drawer. She then fakes another blackout and tails Vanderspeigle, confronting him late at night, unaware that he is being targeted by military officials who have discovered his spaceship. He manages to evade their detection by playing it off as a domestic dispute between a husband and a wife, but it turns out to be the last straw for Isabelle. Despite his pleas, she leaves him, this time for good. Before leaving, she asks him if he ever really loved her. "Once," he admits, and she thanks him for being honest.

After Asta Twelvetrees learns of Vanderspeigle's true nature as an alien, she asks him about Isabelle and how it was that she never figured out that he was an imposter. He tells her that some people only saw what they want to see and that she had seen every part of him, but never knew. She asks what would have happened if Isabelle got pregnant, but he tells her that it isn't possible, that if she had, she would have started to emit a sulfuric scent and erupted with hundreds of babies. Twelvetrees then realizes that what he had said about his wife being dead was true, though he clarifies that his species does not actually have genders.

## Quotes

"*How did you get in here? The door was locked?*"

"*I have a key. I am still your wife.*"

- Harry Vanderspeigle and Isabelle

"*Do I look dead to you, Harry? Would a dead person do this? Or that? Ooh, I’m so sorry. All right, then. Ooh, and this must be a ghost. You’re dead, too. I guess we’re all dead. Dead!"*
- Isabelle, raging upon learning of Vanderspeigle's assertion she was dead

"*Just answer me one question. Did you ever love me?*"

"*Once.*"

"*Thank you for finally being honest.*"

- Isabelle, leaving Vanderspeigle for good, and Vanderspeigle

## Navigation

Mayor Ben Hawthorneportrayed byLevi FiehlerKate Hawthorneportrayed by Meredith GarretsonMax Hawthorneportrayed by Judah PrehnGeneral Eleanor McCallisterportrayed byLinda HamiltonDavid Loganportrayed byAlex Barima
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