‘Alien: Earth’ Is Good. It Could Be Great.

The Alien franchise is in a bit of predicament similar to the Star Wars franchise: a billion-dollar property trapped in its own shadow. Neither franchise has figured out how to move its stories forward, so they linger in the past near their inception points, almost 50 years later. While Star Wars’ most recent television show, Andor, and upcoming films keep beckoning to the original film trilogy, FX’s television show Alien: Earth picks up just two years before the original Alien movie. The challenge for Alien: Earth creator and showrunner Noah Hawley (who also created the critically acclaimed Fargo and Legion shows) was how to take a beloved horror franchise that is mostly set in dingy space ships and dimly lit rooms and give it gravity and uniqueness. Can this show be as cherished as Alien or Aliens, develop a cult following like Prometheus, or become dismissible as Alien Resurrection? After a first season with mixed results, it may be too early to tell its place in the Alien hierarchy.

As a franchise overall, most Alien films have modest aspirations: to terrify with space creatures and to thrill with big action set pieces. The brunette heroine saves the day, mostly reserved for Ripley, even well after she passed away, and the newest iteration of the Xenomorph pushes the limits of creepy alien designs and violent kills. Largely, the films have worked, but with diminishing returns. The first two films, Alien and Aliens, duke it out for the title of best of the franchise (my money is on the former). The next two entries, Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection, are not afforded the same grace as both are largely dismissed by critics and fans. Keeping with the theme of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, last year’s Alien: Romulus took heavy inspiration from the original four films, but did nothing interesting with the story or characters. 

The only movies that tried to create mythology and incorporate philosophical ideals to elevate the story were Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, through the character of David, an android with an Oedipus complex who plays God by engineering the Xenomorphs. This left a noticeable void, allowing us to explore the people in this universe a bit more closely. This is where Alien: Earth steps in.

Noah Hawley, who wrote or co-wrote every episode and directed two, uses the Alien universe as a massive sandbox to question what humanity is and to check unregulated greed and power from the überwealthy. Governments are powerless, and major corporations run the global stage and contend for power (Message?). Humans have technologically enhanced bodies (cyborgs), full humanoid robots still cause havoc (synthetics), and human consciousness can be ported into a full robot body (hybrids). With the Xenomorph crash-landing (literally) on Earth, along with the newly invented hybrids, Alien: Earth showed great promise for unique stories.

Wendy (Sydney Chandler; Don’t Worry Darling), the first ever hybrid, is crafted by Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin; Mickey 17), the world’s youngest trillionaire. For as rich as he is, Kavalier is equally egomaniacal, creating the hybrids simply to hold a conversation with another being he dubs smarter than him. To create Wendy, along with a stable of five other hybrids, the androids have been uploaded with the consciousness of terminally ill preteen children. Wendy emerges as the most cunning from the group, as she shows great intelligence, the ability to mystically control all electronics on Kavalier’s network, and even learns to communicate with and command Xenomorphs like a dog owner and their pit bull. This wrinkle eventually grew into a double-edged sword. 

With the human consciousness imported into robot bodies, an underlying tension for the hybrids was whether they were actually human. By season’s end, the most fascinating aspect of Alien: Earth was the humanity being drained from almost every character, including the hybrids. Kavalier is genius enough to create immortality, yet he and his creations have little understanding or compassion for human life. Kavalier sacrifices countless lives to gain access to alien species. Wendy wields the Xenomorph to kill nameless foot soldiers and Kavalier employees. In the finale’s final moment, Wendy proclaims, “Now, we rule,” and the moment is meant to come across as heroic because she thwarted Kavalier. However, it should be concerning because it is unclear whether Wendy wants to rule Kavalier’s nestled island or over Earth. This may be the first Alien property where no person is concerned with humanity. The disregard for life is potent. 

Though Wendy emerges as the strongest hybrid character (and one of the show’s best), the rest of the hybrid group, dubbed the Lost Boys, grows to wear out their welcome all too quickly. Because they have children’s consciousness, their actions throughout the season are stuck in a permanent state of young adolescence. This produced performances that were often one note and grating once the luster of their creation wore off. It is a bad sign that the season’s best episode included zero appearances from the hybrids.

Harkening back to the original film’s tagline, the fifth episode “In Space, No One…” functions almost as a standalone Alien movie, returning to the franchise’s bread and butter of claustrophobic spaceship rooms and hallways, scary monsters, and a thrilling conclusion. Spaceship Maginot, heading to Earth, carrying multiple deadly creatures, including facehuggers, is sabotaged. As a result, the entire crew, except the cyborg chief security officer Morrow, is killed. Of the eight episodes, this has the least heady ideas, questions, or reflections, yet it is the best of the season. It is fair to question for future season(s), will Noah Hawley stick with the tried-and-true formula, or will he carve his own lane? Also, do audiences really want Hawley’s vision or just another scary Alien flick?

Speaking of Morrow, Babou Ceesay’s tenacious and rugged performance elevates Alien: Earth. While Morrow is not painted as a hero, men who kidnap and kill have only been labeled as such by skewing facts. His fierce determination, even at his lowest, makes him compelling, similar to Walter White and Tony Soprano. Ceesay gives the strongest performance of the show. Timothy Olyphant as his adversary, synthetic Kirsh, is as interesting to follow. As mentor to the Lost Boys, he loathes humans and pushes the hybrids to be the superior beings they were crafted to be. Olyphant carries the role with his usual understated, flippant charm, making every scene he is in watchable. Though strong characters backed by great actors, their story and everyone else’s seems to stall during the season finale.

A conundrum of all franchise entertainment is that it must always build to the next thing. As a result, the last episode of these shows typically feels like just wait until next season when things really get crazy! Alien: Earth is no exception. There is no true conclusion to any important character’s story. The show’s questions about humanity or lack thereof are still questions. Wendy and the Lost Boys seemingly have power, but do they actually want it? What can they do with it? Kavalier, who would have absolutely died if the show were a movie, is around for next season, but it is unclear what purpose his presence serves. For the first time in the franchise, the Xenomorph is wielded as a weapon. While unique, it neuters one of sci-fi’s greatest villains. Overall, Alien: Earth is a flawed though enjoyable show. Howley will need to straighten out these contradictions in the show’s second season if he wants to create a standout Alien property.