We’re officially halfway through the first season of the newest installment in the Alien franchise and now is the perfect time to hop on board with it.
Now, this won’t be a full review of each of the four episodes released so far, but I will provide a quick overview of the story and some highlights of the series. Be warned, there are some mild spoilers ahead.
So, Alien: Earth is set just two years before the original Alien film. Episode 1 opens with some text explaining that mighty corporations are the ones in control of humanity’s ultimate fate, and there seem to be three options available. You have cyborgs (enhanced humans), synthetics (artificial beings), and hybrids (synthetic bodies that have downloaded human consciousnesses). But we’ll get back all that in second.
Now the actual story of Alien: Earth begins much like you’d expect an entry into the Alien franchise would: with a crew of space explorers waking up from cryosleep. This time, we’re abroad the Weyland-Yutani-owned Maginot, and we immediately see the complex and, at times, tense relationships between the different beings composing the crew. But we spot something else too. There are alien specimens on the ship, including our much beloved facehuggers.
Naturally, something goes wrong and some of the specimens get loose. We don’t know how or why, but do we really care? Because the next thing we know, the crew is largely dead and the Maginot is heading for a crash course with Earth, emphasis on the crash.
As the ship comes careening towards the planet, we jump to a research facility on Earth owned by the Progeny Corporation, one of the ruling corporations. Here, we meet Marcy (soon to be known as Wendy), a terminally-ill girl who becomes the world’s first hybrid when her consciousness is uploaded to a synthetic body. More sick children arrive at the facility and go through the hybridization process, leaving behind their sick bodies for new synth ones.
Once the Maginot crashes into a city (in a pretty impressive sequence I might add), our team of hybrid heroes race off to investigate and support Progeny’s search and rescue missions. Which, admittedly, feels a little odd and unexpected. But the viewers’ confusion is wiped away with the explanation that it’s simply a field test for the hybrids’ true capabilities.
The search and rescue mission quickly turns into a retrieval mission once the alien specimens are found on the ship. Some of the specimens are captured, while a xenomorph goes off stalking and killing various non-synth members of the search and rescue team.
Experiments are eventually conducted on the recovered alien species (including the dissection of a facehugger) back at the Progeny research facility. As the fourth episode wraps up, we’re given hints that maybe this series is going to offer up some long-held secrets behind the xenomorphs… and those who would use them for their own gain.
Because Alien: Earth proves time and time again that it’s not interested in just showing us more Xenomorph-induced carnage (although there is some of that in these early episodes). The series is interested in world-building. In exploring the implications of wealth, identity, technology, and morality.
The hybrids, for example, are just kids in superpowered skin suits. Their bodies may have changed, but their minds haven’t (at least maybe, anyway). The actors in the series do a wonderful job of holding onto their inner child and the conflict of kids being forced to live as adults. The fact that the series is led by these child/grown-ups whose understanding of rules and morals are not solidified is sure to play a big role in future episodes.
Admittedly, some fans of the franchise may find show’s themes a little heavier than what they’re used to. If they’re simply looking for episode after episode of Xenomorph killstreaks, they’re going to be a bit disappointed. The story is a slow burn, but don’t worry. There are still some incredibly gruesome scenes in this series (here’s looking at you, episode 2).
Speaking of episodes, they are unfortunately a bit long, with most pushing the hour mark (the pilot does indeed pass this, but not by much). That time commitment to wade into the series may make it a little hard to binge, but I’m thinking it’ll be worth it in the end.
So, go ahead and get started! With a holiday weekend coming up, it’s the perfect time to catch up on Alien: Earth, either through bingeing or spreading it out some.