Ben Hawthorne

I've been trying so hard to change this town... to make it perfect. And it already is. At least to me. And... I don't want it to change. I'm just so tired... of trying to get everyone to like me."
"Oh, honey. Everybody loves you."
"No, they don't. I'm just the mayor to them."
"No."
"But I know that you do. You know, that's what matters."
Ben Hawthorne and Kate Hawthorne, "Best of Enemies"

Ben Hawthorne is a character in the science fiction comedy television series Resident Alien. He is portrayed by Levi Fiehler.

Character overview[]

Ben Hawthorne is the mayor of the small town of Patience. His somewhat flaky behavior has earned him the nickname "Snowflake" from Sheriff Mike Thompson. He is married to Kate Hawthorne and is the father of the boy Max Hawthorne, who can see through the alien Harry Vanderspeigle's human disguise, as well as a currently unnamed child abducted from his wife's womb by The Greys. He had a standing therapy appointment with Sam Hodges on Tuesdays at 4 P.M. and demands that Vanderspeigle continue the arrangement as the new town doctor. Hawthorne is a people-pleaser. He wants to do right by everyone, but this often results his allowing people to run over him. He admits that he is scared of everything, though, when pressed, he can show a surprising reserve of courage.

He has an ongoing rivalry with the neighboring town of Jessup and its mayor, Mitch Green. Determined to improve Patience, he sets aboard to have a resort built within the town, but is opposed at every turn by the town's residents, including his wife, who feel that a resort would drive away the town's small businesses and ruin its charm.

Appearance[]

Plot summary[]

Snowflake[]

Ben Hawthorne is present when the alien who had assumed the identity of the doctor Harry Vanderspeigle arrives at Patience's clinic to conduct on autopsy on Sam Hodges, the town doctor believed to be murdered. He states that he knew it was hard on everyone but that a grief counselor is coming in to speak to all of them. His statement is immediately challenged by Sheriff Mike Thompson, who calls him a "snowflake" and asks if the counseling is coming out of the town's budget. Ben asks everyone to let him know when Sam's widow, Abigail calls, and Liv Baker, Mike's deputy, replies that he will know because she gave her his number, saying that she didn't know how to tell someone her husband had died. At this, Mike comments that he could give him her number, that he doesn't care.

Ben later recruits Harry as the new town doctor. Although Harry is reluctant, he lays his foot down, saying that he wants what is best for the people of Patience. He also admits that he had regular counseling sessions with Sam Hodges and that he wants continue them under Harry. The two soon settle into a routine. Ben seems to appreciate Harry's counseling sessions, but is unaware that the alien does not really care for him at all. He is also forced to deal with the behavior of his son, Max, who repeatedly claims that Harry is an alien. Neither he nor his wife, Kate, believe these claims, and it becomes a point of contention when Harry suggests sending Max away to a special school in Georgia. This, and the ongoing investigation into Sam's death, puts pressure on Ben, especially when he is forced to join a search of the lake, making him seasick.

Daredevil and the Black Widow[]

Ben's relationship with his wife continues to deteriorate due to a number of factors. She expresses that she wishes he would challenge her more, but he ends up taking it too far. Later, he expresses irritation when she invites two guests into their home, Sarah and Richard "Dick" Houston, who are secretly the government agents Lisa Casper and David Logan. Upset that she canceled the normal family taco night in favor of a fish dinner, he is quiet during dinner, leading her to chastise him for not making more of an effort. He suggests that he talk with David Logan about candle-making, but Kate does not this fascinating dinner conversation.

Things seemingly hit a low point for Ben when he encounters D'arcy Bloom, his old flame, on a bench in Patience's downtown. Finding her depressed, despite her recent heroic act in saving her friend Asta Twelvetrees and Harry, he calls her "amazing," saying that she isn't afraid of anything and that he wants to be more like her. She unexpectedly kisses him and he pulls back, reminding her that he is a married man. He then heads home, wondering how he is going to explain the incident to his wife and sure that divorce is on the table. Upon arrival at the front door, however, he hears sounds of intruders inside his home. He calls the sheriff's office, but realizes that they will not get there in time. He manages to make his way into the home and is poised for action as he discovers that it is "Sarah and Dick Houston" who had broken into the home and are threatening his son Max and his friend Sahar at gunpoint. Together with his wife Kate, who has escaped from being locked in a closet, he delivers the two agents an epic beating, forcing them out of the home. Sahar praises him and Kate as being like "Daredevil and the Black Widow." In the aftermath of the arrival of Sheriff Mike Thompson and Deputy Liv Baker to take a report, he and Kate get turned on and kiss, then begin passionately making out. Mike reminds them that they have a room upstairs, but they are lost in the romance of the moment, finally seeing eye-to-eye and appreciating one another.

The rival town[]

Ben is troubled when Mitch Green, the mayor of the nearby town Jessup, releases an advertisement promoting Jessup while slandering the town of Patience at the same time. The ad insinuates that Patience is an unsafe town in which dead bodies regularly turn up and people disappear without warning. He is even more disturbed to discover that somebody has painted a picture of a dead foot on the town's "Welcome to Patience" sign and that Judy Cooper is hosting a "Patience Murder Tour."

Ben decides to try to counter the negative publicity by filming his own ad for the town of Patience, but it does not go well. He is also confronted by the women of the town, including his own wife, regarding the pay gap between the town's male and female employees. Later, Kate brings him tacos, which he happily enjoys, until he learns that they are from a food truck based in Jessup. Kate, however, tells him that they need to visit Jessup, that the town has a lot to offer and they can meet the mayor, who is probably actually a nice guy. The restaurant visit, however, is a disaster, with the restaurant's staff pretentiously promoting awful water that they claim is a special vintage. They then meet Mayor Mitch, who turns out to be every bit as awful and self-serving as Ben suspected, resulting in Kate telling him off when he refers to her as "Mrs. Mayor" and insults the story of the 59 miners.

Following this incident, Ben continues to search for ways to boost the town's image. He decides to theme the town's annual Family Day celebration for the year as "Remember When," to honor the 59. To this end, he brings Max to the town cemetery for him to see the monument to the 59. Later, for the Family Day, he has the children of the town put on a play about death of the 59 miners. The play is an unusual, grisly affair in which the kids graphically present the deaths of the miners, followed by singing a bizarre song called "Where Have All the Daddies Gone?" The town's reaction to the play is mixed, which some deeply disturbed and one parent walking out, and others unable to restrain laughter. The town newspaper, The Patience Post, describes the play as a big bomb, though Ben is delighted when Max calls it the best ever, saying how much he liked the blood and the song.

An honest conversation[]

While Ben is trying to suppress the negative newspaper coverage of the article, Sheriff Mike Thompson points out another story: that Jessup is trying to build a five-star resort to attract tourism. Ben is depressed by the news, but Mike tells him that he can turn things around by seeing to it that Patience gets the resort instead, that the local Grady property is begging to be developed. He suggests that Ben pay a visit to assess it, but warns him to not tell anyone the truth, lest Jessup swoop in first. To that end, Ben visits D'arcy Bloom in order to get an ATV to survey the property, under the pretense of taking photos for the town website. As D'arcy is the only one licensed to drive an ATV, the two are forced to go together.

During the trip, both enjoy the view, with D'arcy telling him that he should have brought Kate, that she would have loved it. Ben, however, explains that Kate is away on a trip with Max to her mother's. He tells her that with Kate away, he doesn't have to worry about stuff like holding in his farts. D'arcy is surprised that he can't be himself around Kate. He explains that though the two of them have been having wild sex and appear to be happier than ever on the outside since the incident with the government agents, the truth is that there's a lot of little things he can't do. He tells her that there's a sign he's been wanting to hang for six months, but keeps in the closet because he knows Kate wouldn't like it. She tells him to do what he wants, that it's his house too. She apologizes for having kissed him, saying that it was a shitty thing to do.

Following the visit to the Grady property, the two retire to his household. She comments that they need to celebrate, saying that she once hid a joint in Max's room when they were teenagers. He is shocked to learn that there is weed in his child's bedroom. She tells him that it's fine, that Max is short and she tucked it in a position where he wouldn't find it for years. She comments that hopefully the next one will eat their broccoli and he tells her that there won't be a next one, that he keeps an ovulation calendar for Kate. She says she thought she was a disaster. He replies that one kid is plenty and that she is not a disaster. She insists that she is. He, however, tells her that she doesn't give herself enough credit, that he wouldn't be there if not for sure. She asks what he means and he tells her that she saved him and his family. When the government agents were in the house and he was waiting for Sheriff Mike, he thought "What would D'arcy do?" and went for it. He says that she saved him, so she can definitely save herself. Afterwards, she helps him to hang the sign, saying that she thought it was a stupid sign, but now she gets it. After that, the two of them smoke the weed together and she falls asleep in Max's bed. He tucks her in before going to bed himself.

Recriminations[]

That morning, Kate returns home from her trip. D'arcy starts to come downstairs, only for Ben to shoo her back upstairs, indicating that she should exit through the window. Kate then notices the sign. "You hate it," comments Ben and she tells them that she doesn't, that a lot of people have it in their homes. Nevertheless, he tells her that he'll take it down, sensing that she clearly dislikes it. She tells him he should keep it up if he wants to keep it up, but he says that he wants what she wants. He then heads to the town hall with the sign and to Deputy Liv Baker's office. Seeing her with coffee, he tells her that he was thinking of starting a donation jar for the coffeepots, that she shouldn't have to pay for it herself. She asks him what the deal with the sign is and why he's putting in there. He tells her that he thought she might like it, that it would bring an artistic statement. She asks if she has to say that likes it for the donation jar, saying that she loves it. She then shows him a video she made - "Incredible UFO in Patience." He tells her that she can't post it, that people already think that Patience is a murder town and he doesn't want them thinking it's an alien town too. She says that she owes it to the world to share it, and he agrees that she should, as long as she changes the headline to "Incredible UFO Near Jessup."

Sheriff Mike comes in, saying that he went to see the new town doctor that Mayor Ben put in the clinic, the elderly woman Dr. Smallwood. He complains that he went in to get stitches and she put his whole arm to sleep. Mayor Ben tries to defend Smallwood, saying that she's an institution who delivered him as a baby. Liv points out that she delivered his parents as well and that she saw her for a sore throat and she diagnosed her with hysteria. Ben still defends her, though, saying that he's going to see her later for his weekly checkup and he's sure she'll be as spry as ever.

Upon arriving in the office, however, Dr. Smallwood tells him that she has bad news: that his blood tests indicate aggressive cancer in his colon. Just then, however, Nurse Ellen Cho comes in, saying that Smallwood has Mrs. Patel's chart. She hands her Ben's chart, and Dr. Smallwood tells him that he actually has a vitamin D deficiency and to get some sunshine. She starts to walk away, but Ben points out that she basically just told him that she was dying. She replies that she had the wrong chart and it happens. Ben asks if it should. "No," replies Ellen. Ben tells Smallwood that she'll always be a pillar of the community, then asks if she's considered taking an extended vacation. "He's trying to fire you," clarifies Ellen. Smallwood asks if it's true and he replies that it's not not true. After she leaves, he comments that they now officially have no doctor. Ellen tells him that she's been reviewing the personnel files and Harry Vanderspeigle is the only real candidate, but he might not want to come back after having been dismissed by Ben. Ben points out that Harry has a birthday coming up and that he could maybe convince him. Ellen agrees that it's a sneaky idea, that he could soften him up.

Mayor Ben goes ahead with throwing the party for Harry Vanderspeigle. Harry is initially annoyed by the party, as he is secretly carrying a bag with an alien egg. Later, however, he starts to get into the party when he is told that there will be pie. During the party, the egg hatches and Harry goes to the basement to search for the baby. There, Ben corners him and asks him if he will consider again being the town doctor. Harry tells him nervously that he will consider it, secretly watching as the baby skitters up behind Ben's head in a semi-cloaked form and very nearly lunges at it. Harry makes a swipe and Ben, sensing something, asks what it was. Harry tells him that it was a sick racoon and Ben, scared, tells Harry that he'll go warn the others. He then receives a call.

Later, Ben finds himself the center of unwanted attention when Kate reveals to D'arcy that the call was from a company that wants to put a resort in Patience, on the Grady property. D'arcy says that he lied to him by telling her that he wanted the photos for the town website. He hedges, saying that he did put them on the website, so it wasn't technically a lie. She says that he totally lied to her, that they spent the whole day rock climbing just so that he could destroy the town. Kate is surprised that he went rock-climbing, saying that he had told her that he spent the day doing nothing. He claims that nothing can mean a lot of things, but she says she's pretty sure that it means nothing.

Mike tries to put his two cents in by trying to defend Ben, saying it was D'arcy who kissed him, but this only makes things worse since Kate didn't know about the kiss. Soon, everyone is saying that they think that Ben's resort plan is a bad idea. As everything comes out into the open, Ben says that he's trying to explain to his wife why he hung out with D'arcy a couple nights ago. This turns out to be a bad idea too, as Kate becomes angry with him for hanging out with her. He says that he has nothing to hide, but Kate isn't impressed when she learns that D'arcy went out the bedroom window. She ends up calling D'arcy a false friend and says that the truth is that she herself has been lying for years, that she hates Patience and she hates her life. She continues that she hates that she really thought D'arcy was her friend and that she's glad she peed on her hand when she "took that pregnancy test." "What?" asks Ben and she admits that she's pregnant.

"Well, who's keeping secrets now?" asks Ben as Kate stalks off and Sheriff Mike comments that he's not sure it's really the road he wants to be going down. Ben goes to find Kate in the cabin's bedroom. He tells her that he should have told her about the D'arcy stuff, that she probably already knows by now, but she's married to a dipshit. She says she's sorry for not telling him about the pregnancy. He asks why she didn't and she says that she was scared, noting that they don't really talk about stuff anymore, that they just have sex instead of talking about what's really going on. "Let's talk, right now," he tells her, saying that they're going to have a baby. They both agree that it's a lot. They then start making out and it is not long before they are in the bathroom, once again engaged in wild sex play.

Last resort[]

Harry accepts Ben's offer to once again become the Patience town doctor, secretly wanting the position so that he can perform the autopsy on Tanner Corrington, whom Asta Twelvetrees killed after he tried to kill Harry, in order to cover up the truth. With Harry resuming the position of town doctor also comes the resumption of Harry giving him regular counseling sessions. Harry, however, acts bored and distant during the sessions, something which Ben misinterprets as a tactic to make it seem less like he's talking with a therapist and therefore get him to open up more. He and Harry also butt heads when he tries to get the investigation over Corrington's death transferred to Jessup, not wanting more bad publicity for Patience due to another murder.

Ben gets news that a company is interested in purchasing the Grady property in order to build the resort that he has been so hoping for. This leads to a clash between him and his wife, Kate, after the other women of Patience convince Kate that a resort would ruin the village's small-town charm. When she fails to convince him not to build the resort, she works together with her cousin Kayla to file a temporary restraining order stopping the building of the resort. The two then agree not to discuss the resort while they're at home in order to keep things happy between them. Despite this, the two continue to come into conflict, as Ben ends up inviting Sheriff Mike Thompson over for dinner, and he has not made any such agreement. Meanwhile, Kate learns that her pregnancy was a false positive and shares this news with Ben. She expects him to be upset with this, but he admits that he's actually pleased about the news and wasn't looking forward to 3 A.M. feedings and the two celebrate.

The argument over the resort causes Ben to become very stressed, leading to a recurrence of his childhood sleepwalking. As a child, he would sleepwalk and end up getting locked out of his house. He starts having nightmares about how his family wouldn't help him and the sleepwalking leaves him drowsy during the daytime. He eventually ends up in an accident and is rushed to the Patience Health Clinic. There, he is met by Kate, who tells him that they have to do something, that they cannot live this way. She explains that Deputy Liv told her about his nightmares and that she knows he's feeling abandoned by her because of her not supporting the resort.

Kate tells him that he doesn't have to worry anymore, that she knows there's a lot of good that can come from having a resort in town. She tells him that she's with him and doesn't want him to have to stop doing something he believes in. He tells her that he thinks his life might have flashed before his eyes when he thought he was about to die. He remembered special moments, and they were all there in Patience, with her, Max, Asta, and everyone else in Patience. He says that he's been trying so hard to make the town perfect and it already is, at least to him and he doesn't want it to change. He tells her that he's tired of trying to get everyone to like him. She tells him they already do, but he says that to them, he's just the mayor, but he knows that she likes him and that's what matters. He is soon proven wrong when the villagers of the town all come to visit him, shocked and concerned about his accident.

Sleepwalking again[]

Sheriff Mike comes by to visit Ben in his office, noting that the new budget's going in soon and asking him if there were any updates on his requests. Ben reiterates Mike's requests, which include eight new deputies, four more patrol cars and body cams for everyone in the Patience police department, including his dog Cletus. He tells Mike it seems like a lot and Mike tells him that it's the bare minimum once the resort comes in, and that they'll probably even need a new jail. Ben explains that he's no longer planning to support the resort, telling Mike he had gotten so caught up in trying to rebrand Patience that he forgot how much he loved it. He tells Mike that he can give him one more deputy as well as a Hot Wheels car that Max left in his office. Mike asks him if he has one of the loop-de-loops that goes with it and Ben tells him he can get him one. "I'll take it," agrees Mike.

That evening, late at night, Kate discovers Ben simply standing alone in the kitchen. Despite their having resolved their conflict over the resort, it seems that he is still sleepwalking. He tells her that he again had the same dream, that he was in bed with his whole family and then suddenly he was in the kitchen. "Next time don't wake me up until I've finished the dishes," he quips, and she tells him to come back to bed.

Baby Hawthorne — Ben and Kate's baby in an incubation tank of The Greys

Sometime following this, Ben is abducted from his bed by The Greys along with Robert Hutchins, a man whom they have been abducting for years and stole from his mother's womb. "Do not be afraid," one of the Greys tells him. "Your baby is here, too," indicating the baby whom they secretly stole from Kate approximately three months ago, inside an incubation tank.

Greys and owls[]

Ben continues to be regularly abducted by the Greys. One morning, he comments on it being freezing outside, confusing Kate, who wonders how he could possibly know that. About a week following this, Kate tells Ben that she keeps waking up at night seeing an owl staring at her from their bedroom window. She tells him that she's getting new blinds so that she doesn't have to see it. He tells her not to, saying that having an owl stare at you is good luck. When she asks just why this is, however, he admits to it being something that he just made up to save money on blinds. "Blinds it is," he agrees. Later, he arrives home to find Kate hanging the blinds. She sees him drinking from a mug with a picture of a fetus on it. She asks about it and he tells her that it's Max, that he kept having an image in his head and figured it must have been Max's ultrasound. Kate then has a flash of the child that the Greys abducted. Ben then notices a strange bracelet on Kate's arm, which she claims to have gotten from an antique market. Seeing it, both of them feel sick. Not long after this, Kate, having been told that having an owl stare at you is an omen of death, tells Ben that she thinks they should sell the house.

Ben is not enthusiastic about selling the house and even less so when Kate invites over Judy Cooper to look over the place with an eye towards putting it on the market. He shares his feelings with Sheriff Mike Thompson, whose strange idea of solving the problem is helping Ben earn money by having do foot-modeling. He is unconvinced, though the two commiserate about their shared concerns with roles in relationships, Ben expressing that fear is his thing and so therefore it's weird for Kate to be acting this way. Ultimately, he returns home and tells her that he thinks they should sell the home if that's what she thinks. She, however, tells him that she's changed her mind. She says that she just doesn't feel right and that she thought it was the house, but that now she's thinking that it's her, that a part of her is missing. He then suggests that the two of them go on a vacation to Yellowstone National Park.

Ben pays a visit to Harry Vanderspeigle, concerned about a bump in his foot that was pointed out by Sheriff Mike. He tells Harry that he's had it ever since he was a kid and Harry is immediately interested. He recognizes the bump as being a tracking device used by the Greys. He then tells Ben he needs to hypnotize to determine where it came from. Once he is under hypnosis, however, Harry makes him recall everything he can about his last abduction. Among Ben's remembrances is a snowglobe with the word "Yellowstone" upon it.

Quotes[]

"Sometimes I think about being a kid again. It makes me feel good. It's better being a kid. Sometimes."
- during a counseling session with Harry Vanderspeigle, "Homesick"

"You're still sitting with me.
"Yep."
"So I also wanted to ask you what you are doing tonight."
"(in his head) I was thinking of chopping up the body in my freezer. Spring cleaning."
- Mayor Hawthorne and Harry Vanderspeigle, "Birds of a Feather"

"I will take your silence as a "yes" and see you at 6."
- Mayor Hawthorne to Harry regarding his dinner invitation, "Birds of a Feather"

"Honey, we aren't getting a divorce."
"We just wanted to tell you that Dr. Vanderspeigle is coming to dinner tonight."
"What? No! Why can't you just be getting a divorce?!"
- Kate Hawthorne, Mayor Hawthorne and Ben Hawthorne, "Birds of a Feather"

"I-I wish I was like you. I'm terrified of pretty much everything. But sometimes I look at you, and... you're so fearless. It makes me feel, I don’t know, less scared."
- Mayor Hawthorne to D'arcy Bloom, "Heroes of Patience"

"Good evening, sweetheart. Oh, yeah, day was good. What's for dinner? Divorce? Great."
- Mayor Hawthorne, talking to himself in the aftermath of his encounter with D'arcy Bloom, "Heroes of Patience"

"Look, honey, I don't want to talk about the resort, okay? Let's just leave it."
"The part of me that's your husband is glad to see you smiling. I like it when you're happy."
"Thank you. I am. I'm really happy."
"But the part of me that's fighting for this resort cannot wait to crush you in court. I will stomp on you like a grape until you realize you have wasted your time and you feel absolutely worthless."
- Mayor Hawthorne and Kate, "Cat and Mouse"

Behind the scenes[]

According to Resident Alien creator and showrunner Chris Sheridan, Ben Hawthorne's feelings of doom and fear throughout his whole life are the result of him having been abducted by The Greys ever since he was a child, even though he does not recall those experiences.^[1]