‘Alien: Earth’ – Standout Penultimate Episode Hatches a Horrifying Escape Plan [Review]

‘Alien: Earth’ releases its monsters and prepares for an impossible exodus in a standout installment that teases a grander war and status quo disruption.

“Finders keepers.”

Alien: Earth has knocked it out of the park from the start, but it’s been limited with how much it’s able to say in a season of eight episodes. “Emergence,” the first season’s penultimate entry, takes stock of what’s been accomplished and what’s still on the docket. It’s an episode that in many respects is just moving pieces around the board for its finale. Alien: Earth’s patience and confidence isn’t necessarily a problem during a time in television that tends to overstuff its storytelling. “Emergence” is another slow burn masterpiece of tension and anxiety that does more with questions than it does answers. In fact, the possibilities of what might happen, based on what’s put into motion in “Emergence,” are even more terrifying than any firm truth. ”Emergence” exemplifies that eerie calm before the storm where all hell breaks loose. Unfortunately, in this case, “hell” translates to a wild Xenomorph and a whole bevy of extraterrestrial threats. The second-to-last episode is another promising step forward that prepares its audience for the ultimate showdown between man, monster, and machine.

”Emergence” is largely a Lost Boys celebration, which is long overdue at this point in the season’s run. These plentiful characters have otherwise felt like afterthoughts and extensions of Wendy – and the Prodigy Corporation – in many respects. Slightly (Adarsh Gourav) and Smee (Jonathan Ajayi) are certainly putting the “lost” in Lost Boys. Morrow (Babou Ceesay) plays puppet master, the eggs begin to hatch, and the bodies start to drop. There’s such intense dread around these innocent, well-intentioned-but-ill-informed individuals as they head down an increasingly dark path until they’re eventually lost and light is impossible. There’s a heartbreaking moment when Smee’s cries nearly bring Slightly back to his senses  and make it seem like there might have been a world in which this disturbing fate was avoidable. It’s even more gutting when an eternally-understanding Arthur (David Rysdahl) gives Slightly and Smee the runway to apologize and explain — preventing them from corruption and an exodus from innocence — only for it to be too late. The damage is done. Paradise is lost. The monster has emerged.

It’s fascinating that so much of “Emergence” is an exploration of guilt, an inherently human emotion, yet this is done through the perspective of a synth. It’s yet another example of Alien: Earth’s characters rebelling against their natural stations and questioning their roles and where they belong. To this point, Slightly and Smee reckon with whether they’re heroes or villains. However, they’re also torn over whether they’re “grown-ups now,” due to the problem that Morrow has made them complicit in through his brain hacks. Slightly and Smee are just big kids who want to play games and be taken seriously, which quickly crumbles when faced with Morrow’s plan of systematic infiltration and inception. The synth duo need to take Arthur’s infected body to the beach for narrative reasons, but it also doesn’t seem like a coincidence that the beach and waves are frequently symbols for transition and a meeting of two worlds. This couldn’t be more relevant to what’s currently going on in Alien: Earth, making the beach a perfect hand-off point for this precious cargo.

Slightly and Smee function like two kids who are trying to clean up their mess before their parents get home and catch them in the act. It’s therefore only appropriate that Kirsh (Timothy Olyphant) and Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin) feel more like quarrelling parents than ever in “Emergence.” There’s a beautiful moment in which Kirsh returns to his lab and surveys the carnage, truly as if he’s a disappointed parent who is looking at a living room that’s full of discarded kegs, empty pizza boxes, and drunken teens. The way in which Kirsh quickly resolves this mess, without hesitation, is yet another economical distillation of who he is and what he represents. The episode is full of moments where Kirsh reveals that he’s several steps ahead of everyone else, all while he exudes eternal cool. 

Olyphant initially felt like quirky casting for Kirsh, but it’s slowly become clear why he’s the perfect choice for this heightened, inscrutable outlaw. He routinely steals whatever scene he’s in, which holds true in “Emergence.” There’s a brief moment in which the infected sheep gives Kirsh the smallest look of recognition, yet this gesture speaks volumes for how this advanced extraterrestrial creature recognizes Kirsh’s dominance. This is played directly in contrast to Kavalier, who practically froths at the mouth over the prospect of getting in some face time with the sheep, which leads to one of Alien: Earth’s most unsettling sequences.

So much of Alien: Earth has been a patient test in waiting for Kavalier’s ego to go one step too far. He’s a truly insufferable character who fails to recognize the gravity of what he’s willing into action, yet he also manages to get results when it matters. There’s a reason, after all, that he’s one of the richest individuals in the universe. Kavalier’s tête-à-tête with the sheep is a foreboding sequence, from top to bottom, largely because the audience just knows that something is going to go wrong here. This sheep has already managed to outsmart more accomplished individuals, the likes of whom weren’t nearly as cavalier as, well–Kavalier. 

Kavalier just can’t help but poke the (Xenomorph-infected) bear. It’s far too easy to picture a scenario in which Kavalier makes a negligible mistake that allows the eye to upgrade from farmstock to a trillionaire CEO who has his finger on the planet’s pulse. It’s a terrifying possibility that seems increasingly probable as Kavalier tempts fate. “Emergence” works as well as it does because it intentionally embraces the anxiety that surrounds this grim endgame. Kavalier’s sheep “interrogation” brilliantly combines a season’s worth of concern for the Xenomorphs and aggravation towards Boy Kavalier.

Kavalier has comfortably occupied the role of Alien: Earth’s unabashed egotistical tyrant, yet “Emergence” begins to take Wendy down a comparable path once she understands the value in her communication powers. It’s shocking how Wendy gets up close and personal with a Xenomorph, yet she doesn’t exhibit genuine fear until she witnesses Isaac’s death and the destruction of one of her own. These recent complications with Tootles and Arthur prompt Hermit and Wendy to consider an escape plan that takes them – and as many synthetics as possible – out of Prodigy’s reach and into some sort of future where they can think for themselves. It’s an admirable goal that aligns with past Alien protagonists. It’s also a tragically simple objective that shouldn’t be as difficult as it is. That being said, Morrow’s tightening grip on the Prodigy Corporation, in combination with the release and proliferation of Xenomorph specimens, treats “escape” like an impossible pursuit.

Wendy and Hermit’s need to break free of this shrinking cage – juxtaposed against Slightly and Smee’s similar struggles – are the episode’s driving force. “Emergence” also feeds into a pervasive sense of betrayal that carries over to Nibs (Lily Newmark) and Curly (Erana James). This leaves them longing for a greater sense of purpose and security during a period when Prodigy becomes increasingly unmoored. There’s a poetic moment where Wendy, Hermit, and Nibs encounter a humble graveyard that marks their past – biological – lives. Wendy insists that these graves no longer represent who they are because they’re not dead, yet Hermit and Nibs still feel compelled to grieve the pieces of themselves that have been lost. It’s a melancholy, thought-provoking sequence that’s the type of scene that one would find in Prometheus. It’s a touching commemoration of the past by a version of the future that barely recognizes itself anymore. “Emergence” is still full of Xenomorph carnage and disturbing science experiments. However, it’s these muted moments of humanity that hit harder than any of the hard sci-fi.

Speaking of Xenomorph carnage, “Emergence” builds to a haunting sequence in which Wendy uses a Xenomorph to take out a trained team of soldiers. It’s a vicious moment that’s just as uncomfortable as Kavalier’s sheep sequence. It might feature completely different circumstances, but it actually verges on a similar degree of hubris. Wendy doesn’t hesitate to wield her gift because she believes that she will be safe, and may everything else be damned. She’s barely had a full day with her new power and yet it’s already gone straight to her head and made Wendy feel even more invincible. There’s a disturbing parallel between Kavalier and Wendy that puts them on similar ground, as much as Kirsh may be the more noble of her guardians. Kavalier is presented as the season’s greatest adversary, but there’s a strong case to be made that season one concludes at a point where Wendy is the biggest problem of all and an obstacle that’s too strong to stop. Hide and follow.

Alien: Earth’s “Emergence,” the season’s penultimate episode, sets the freshman season’s finale up for success. There’s a clear direction in sight for Hermit and Wendy that feels simultaneously simple and impossible. “Emergence” pushes many characters to their breaking points as power changes hands and an irrevocable culling begins. Wendy holds the key to understanding and communion between not just man and extraterrestrial, but also machine. However, none of this means anything if this connection is used for destruction. Wendy isn’t the only character who sits at a crossroads, but her following decisions and where she chooses to align herself could have consequences for all the involved parties. And unfortunately, some lies are too big to simply be fixed by apologies and confession.