‘Alien: Earth’ S1E08 Review | “The Real Monsters”
I believe the children are our future. This is not meant as a comforting statement.
[This review contains spoilers for the eighth episode of Alien: Earth, “The Real Monsters”]
Perhaps the largest question surrounding the first season of Alien: Earth was the fate of the hybrids, not just in terms of life-and-death stakes, but who they would become. By taking dying children and uploading their consciousnesses into synthetic bodies, Prodigy had created a new, undefined life form. This allowed the show to draw a curious parallel between the hybrids and the alien specimens, dangerous creatures also under scientific observation by the so-called adults in the room. As the season unfolded, we saw that few had the hybrids’ welfare at heart, and the hybrids’ growing realization of both betrayal and independence led to a second rebirth where the children decided to take control of their destinies.
The season finale’s title, “The Real Monsters,” outlines how Noah Hawley, as much as he clearly reveres the original Alien, didn’t want to only recreate the scenario of a xenomorph picking off humans. That exists in the show’s fifth episode, but for a larger story, Hawley went back to the nefarious scenarios created not by xenomorphs, but by humans. We’ve seen all the surviving humans (RIP, Arthur) behave in monstrous ways from Morrow holding Slightly’s family hostage to Dame Sylvia’s capitulation on resetting Nibs to every single thing with Boy. If children learn from the adults around them, then the season has been an education for the hybrids on how monstrous actions create a form of clarity and power, and the question is how that power will be employed. “It’s not our fault,” Smee remarks. “They made us.”
This leads us to an episode that resembles not so much Alien as much as it does Jurassic Park. Non-essential personnel have been evacuated, key systems are falling offline, and dangerous creatures are loose. Most importantly, Wendy is done playing around. She sends her fellow hybrids to capture the adults and has the xenomorph dispatch any soldiers. Her transformation is almost complete except when it comes to Hermit, the key remnant of her old life. It’s here that we see Wendy isn’t a total sociopath–she’s not going to let Hermit suffer or die even though she’s upset that he attacked Nibs–but she also plainly states she has no idea what she is anymore. She’s not Wendy, not Marcy, not human, not machine, not alive, not dead. And in this liminal space, perhaps the best solution lies not with humanity, but with the aliens, who at least have the clarity that being a predator provides.
It was a sharp move by Hawley to make Wendy’s journey the core of the story rather than using Hermit’s heroism as a guide. If anything, Hermit admits that he doesn’t have all the answers, and he’s trying to do what he feels is right in morally gray moments. For most of us, we relate to Hermit and his desire to preserve life. But the show can’t place Wendy in that same place because there’s the implicit acknowledgement that Hermit’s morality isn’t good enough to withstand malevolent forces (look no further than poor Arthur). Humanity, as it is, ranges from monstrous to ineffectively compassionate, and a world full of Hermits will only give more ground to the Prodigies, Weyland-Yutanis, etc. The hybrids can’t be human physically or metaphysically, so there’s no cause to follow a morality that, on the whole, only creates more suffering.
That’s a strong thematic conclusion, but in terms of narrative, “The Real Monsters” largely feels like it’s tidying up various threads while laying the foundation for a second season. This means we get a brawl between Kirsh and Morrow, but it lacks weight because the thematic stakes rest with neither character. Mostly, everything here is about rounding up the humans, and creating a new hierarchy under the same rules. It’s a historical dialectic that revolutionaries will embody the same sins as their former masters. For the show we’ve seen all season, the conclusion makes sense in that children will emulate what they perceive as power, but because it falls into a well-worn pattern, never feels as imaginative as the show’s starting point.
Perhaps that’s because the show doesn’t commit to any finality. For a show based on the Alien franchise, we only lost two major characters (Tootles and Arthur). Instead, most of our monstrous adults are put into a cage where they can be held for new storylines. The hybrids will now see the burden of ruling, and Yutani is on her way while a reanimated Arthur is now walking around with the Eyeball Alien. This all makes for a story that’s only as satisfying as Wendy’s journey; all the surrounding material leads to a milquetoast cliffhanger. You may as well have the xenomorph go wild on the adults because I’m not sure how much more we need of Boy, Atom, et al. They’ve served their purpose in providing the hybrids with a perverse education, and it would be more impactful to take those old monsters off the board and see what the hybrids do on their own.
This kind of narrative clumsiness pervades the entire episode. Characters monologue at each other rather than just taking care of business. We get Boy’s backstory, which helps clarify his behavior, but also feels both unnecessary and somewhat obvious. Even Boy confronting the hybrids and calling them “floor models,” feels like gilding the lily as we know Boy lacks emotional and interpersonal intelligence. As rewarding as it is to see the hybrids come into their own and a place undefined by previous mores, it feels like the show lost sight of the eerie, dreamlike tone that helped define previous episodes. Rather than hold the tone, the season finale of Alien: Earth strongly resembles the first season finale of Westworld where humanity’s creation rebels to create a new order that still resembles the power dynamics of the old world.
Perhaps this is where the story has to land if Hawley has a longer vision for what he wants to take these characters. But as a complete chapter of Alien: Earth, it all feels a bit deflating to come to a conclusion that doesn’t feel transformative as much as it feels iterative. The hybrids have now taken a step forward and changed the balance of power, but merely turning the tables doesn’t feel as revolutionary as the show’s promise of what the hybrids represented alongside the alien specimens. It’s one thing to have Wendy saying, “Now, we rule,” but the dimensions of that rule are a tiny cage with a bunch of defeated adults. Perhaps that’s why Boy smiles at the end: he too mistakes power for ambition.
Stray observations:
I suppose I should have sussed out earlier that Atom was a synth. It doesn’t really matter in the scheme of things other than showing Wendy has power over him because he’s synced into the network (I would assume this also gives Wendy power over Kirsh).
Should the show return (and given its expense, I suspect it will), I hope Hawley leans more into what it means to be a new lifeform rather than children repeating the mistakes of their elders.
Are all synths programmed with a dry sense of humor? Because “An eternity of ‘are we there yet?’” is a very good burn.
Alien: Earth has concluded its first season. Although creator Noah Hawley has plans for future seasons, FX has not yet issued an official renewal. Matt Goldberg is a film critic who lives and works in Atlanta. If you enjoyed this review, check out his newsletter, Commentary Track.
Bad finale, not a great show. So much money for so many silly things
I knew it was going to be bad when they kept talking about "downloading" the humans into new bodies. They mean upload.