This one is all over the place thematically, BUT, it does all fit together pretty well. It's decidedly dark, "funny" more often than it's funny, and not an untenable stretch on the believability scale (aliens aside). It mitigates a lot of that THROUGH the alien device, but since it fits, I don't really have a complaint there. It is moderately refreshing to see something fall between silly and serious with regards to aliens (yes yes there are some, but usually canted more towards the fluffy/silly side, whereas this one lingers a bit more on the serious side). While the alien aspect opens up an almost infinite trove of cliches and devices to use, thus far the selection has been pretty good, and utilized concisely. This new wrinkle should be entertaining, and the spectre of Teru's death opens up a lot of options going forward.
As ever, thank you for scanlating.