So with a searing hiss and the flash of a set set of inner teeth, we finally reach the end of Noah Hawley’s efforts to not only crash land the Xenomorph on Earth, but to skillfully land the Alien franchise onto the small screen. For the most part, the man has done an incredibly skillful job at making the transition not only feel like a genuine entry into the Xenomorph cannon, but he also added many bold new wrinkles to the lore which has managed to keep matters gripping, gloopy and thrillingly unpredictable.
However, as the superiority of Prodigy Island started to crumble under the forces from both within and without, the last episode tended to feel a little wobbly when it came to its normally rock solid storytelling and characterization – can Alien: Earth manage to turn things around as the season comes to an end, and will we finally see what the cadre of other alien species have lurking up their creepy, inhuman sleeves?
After the events of the last episode which saw chaos finally erupt on Prodigy Island, we return to find that the dangerously shaky status quo is as fragile as ever despite Boy Kavalier’s best efforts. The Hybrids have been contained after their various outbursts have lead to various deaths; a Xenomorph is prowling the forrests of the island; and the Wayland-Yutani strike team has been subdued with a battered Mr. Morrow locked in a cell with Hermit who is on the outs with with his Hybrid sister, Wendy after stunning her comrade, Nibs, after she went on a bloody rampage. However, despite all this, Kavalier can’t tear his attention away from the the T Oculus alien and the recent revelation that the little eyeball is far more intelligent than anyone could have dreamed of. Plotting to let the creature burrow into the eye socket of an unwilling human victim in order to try and communicate with it, Kavalier takes his eye off the ball long enough for Wendy to use her various attributes to allow her and her fellow Hybrids to escape and form a mini new world order on the beleaguered island. Having the ability to manipulate technology proves incredibly valuable when it comes to hijacking security cameras, opening locks and overriding the programming of Atom Eins who is revealed to be a synthetic who Boy built as a child; but proving to be extra useful is her control over the Xenomorph who she uses as terrifyingly effective muscle.
In the ensuing chaos, an escaped Morrow attempts to settle his score with conniving synthetic, Kirsh; the T. Ocellus attempts to bond with a terrified Hermit and the final alien species, the pod-like D. Plumbicare, makes its long awaited presence felt – but when the dust settles and the forces of Weyland-Yutani surround the island, Wendy and the Hybrids finally take the power from the adults who have abused their toys so horribly.
So it’s something of a relief that after some strange missteps in the last episode, Alien: Earth closes out its first season on a high as not only does the show nail us with some massive paradigm shifts that sort of justify a lot of the odd choices the last episode made, but it leaves us with incredibly tantalising things teased for a possible season if it should so occur. However, first, I do have to say that anyone still resistant to the idea of Wendy having Xenomorphs at her beck and call like some sort of writhing pit bull has better get on board as that seems to be the part that the creature will be playing in the foreseeable future. Of course, that’s not to say the beast is passive as it continues to rack up large numbers as it continues to tear through the soldiers hunting it in the forest, but worryingly, Wendy is starting to admire the creature because of how dedicated and simple it’s predatory life is compared to the back stabbing machinations of those fleshy humans. While she hasn’t gone full Ash quite yet (or God help us, David), she is now openly challenging her brother’s support for his fellow homosapiens as she’s had it up to her artificial eyes with the machinations of both Kavalier and the well meaning Dame. Her endgame proves to be incredibly impressive as she uses her control over the Xenomorph and the on-line systems of Prodigy Island to bend everything to her will. Every lock is openable, every solider is killable and at the end of the episode, her announcement that she and her fellow Hybrids now rule will no doubt lead to future confrontations both political and physical that I’m itching to see.
However, while Wendy leads the Hybrids to ascension, we also learn some very revealing aspects about Boy Kavalier which explains his continuing erratic decision making. Essentially a certified genius from the age of six, he built his own synthetic at that ripe old age to murder his abusive father and then be the adult figurehead of the company the child eventually nurtured into Prodigy. That syth turns out to be his aide, (Ade Edmondson, now I get it) Atom Eins, who is still willing to fight for his creator even if the brat won’t listen to any of his advice. Also, the revelation that the billionaire has severe ADHD suddenly makes him far more interesting than just a smart brat because we know know that the dude will suddenly chase any idea he has whether it benefits humanity or not just as long as it suits his own, personal curiosity.
Something else that comes to a head is the grudge match that’s been building between synthetic Kirsh and cyborg Morrow that finally results in a brawl that seems bigger than just a sense of dislike. It’s actually augmented human vs artificial person and all the superiority issues that comes with it. We already know that Morrow’s attitude to his “improved” state means that he’s set himself apart from his all-human peers and he certainly proves it after choke slamming Kirsh through a table and breaking his robot back. However, while the two couldn’t hate each other more, they all end up in the cell at the end of the episode along with Boy, Dame and Atom.
But what of Alien: Earth’s breakout star, the tentacled critter that’s come to be known by a bunch of names that’s officially known as T. Ocellus – how does the season finale treat that sneaky little bugger? Well, pretty damn good actually as it gets its own little sequence where it attempts to burrow into the face of Hermit, only to be Roadhouse spin kicked across the room by a heroic Wendy. But not to worry – because as the episode ends, we find that it does finally find itself a human host in the form of the chestburst corpse of Arthur that promptly sits up like the fricking Undertaker. Along with the pod-like D. Plumbicare finally making its bow and unfurling like a predatory umbrella to envelop it’s prey, as the season ends, it truly feels like the gang’s all here.
Keeping up the edgy, creepy sense of terrible discovery that’s been the lifeblood of the show since day one, Noah Hawley’s storytelling fittingly leaves the show in a place where anything can happen. It may have played thrillingly within the sandbox created by Ridley Scott, but it was smart and brave enough to do its own thing that ranged from bold (Xenomorph language!), to admittedly odd (those Ice Age references), the the utterly magnificent.
Whether future seasons will continue to examine the alien threat (any chance of an Alien Queen showing up anytime soon?), or delve deeper into the trans-human debate that’s raging with all the Hybrids, Synthetics and Cyborgs running around, time will tell. But as it stands, Alien’s impregnation of television has proven to be the slimy, icky, uncomfortable experience I’d been waiting for.
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