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Alien: Earth takes the timeless legacy of its mothership, Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi horror Alien, and turns up the gore, suspense, and intellectually resonant storytelling. With one shocking moment after another, fans are always expected to be on the edge of their seats, not knowing how Wendy and the Lost Boys will tackle every formidable threat thrown their way.
Created by Noah Hawley, Alien: Earth season 1 immediately took fans into the thick of things: The USCSS Maginot crash-landed on Earth in 2120, where five companies control the Earth and the solar system. At Neverland Research Island, a young and sick girl named Marcy becomes the first hybrid, renaming herself Wendy. The paths of the two entities cross in unthinkable ways.
Disclaimer: All opinions in this article belong to the writer and are not ranked in any order. Spoilers for Alien: Earth season 1 ahead.
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Wendy's true powers, Atom Eins' history, and other shocking moments from Alien: Earth season 1
1) Wendy's ability to interact with the Xenomorphs
Wendy's powers as a hybrid are still a work in progress, so they can take any shape or form, making her a true wild card on Alien: Earth. When she travels to the Maginot crash site to save her brother in episode 3, she comes face-to-face with a Xenomorph.
In the brutal battle, Wendy attacks the beast with a hook and decapitates it clean. It is a horrific moment, one that hints at her strengths.
Later on, in episode 7, she shows more control over the species. When Wendy, Joe, and Nibs are held by the Yutani forces, she uses a Xenomorph to kill them and escape. She also uses them to round up all her enemies.
This shows that she is more powerful than ever, opening the doors for a more morally ambiguous character who will do what she must to survive.
2) Wendy announces, "Now we rule."
Wendy and the Lost Boys are always a question of moral righteousness. As a young child trapped in a synthetic adult body, her hybrid nature is created to make her more malleable to instruction.
However, the experiments fail to account for a child's strong will, curiosity, and underdeveloped societal or ethical complexity. That means that their sentience could prove more dangerous.
Empowered by the Xenomorphs, Wendy realizes that their foe is actually their creators for putting them through a distorted reality. She trusts the aliens, and her evil nature slips through the cracks, worrying her brother, Joe.
After rounding up Kirsh, Atom, Morrow, Kavalier, and Sylvia, her sinister announcement, 'Now, we rule,' is one of the most shocking moments from Alien: Earth.
3) Atom Eins has a convoluted relationship with Boy Kavalier
Atom Eins reveals himself as a Synth in the season finale of Alien: Earth. While that was mildly hinted at, his convoluted relationship with Boy Kavalier is where the shock factor comes in. Fans gain insight into what triggered Kavalier's evil side when he reveals his traumatic past with his abusive father. He made his first Synth, Atom, at age 6, and there was no turning back for the trillionaire wunderkid.
Atom became his 'yes' man, killing his father, becoming his father figure, and basically giving him everything he wanted. This enables the Prodigy Corporation CEO's whims and fancies, but it also makes him vulnerable, because Wendy can now control Atom's motor functions.
While the revelations left Kavalier unfazed, even laughing maniacally, anything can happen with Atom from here on.
4) Arthur's gruesome murder
After slowly manipulating his way into Slightly's life, Morrow blackmails him into affecting a human with a facehugger by hanging his human family's safety over his head. Slightly is forced, and first targets Joe, before Arthur gets caught in his crosshairs. The sight is grotesque, with the facehugger latching onto his face.
Arthur's moral soundness made him one of the best characters, and his death is one of the most shocking moments from Alien: Earth for two reasons. One, Slightly's desperation pushed him towards something so gruesome.
Two, after the face-hugger dies, Arthur's chest explodes, revealing a newborn Xenomorph escaping from the cavity.
5) Kirsh shows his human side
As a Synth, Kirsh (Timothy Oliphant) oversaw the training of the newly-made hybrids at Neverland. His role as the middleman makes him complex from the get-go, because he answered to Boy Kavalier, but spent his entire life raising Hybrids. More than one instance shows that he has a human side in Alien: Earth.
In episode 3, when Morrow threatens Smee and Slightly, they immediately hide behind Kirsh, who saves them. He knows he is a pawn, but chooses to be human when he helps the same duo take Arthur's mangled body to Morrow through a faster route and keep their secret from Kavalier.
His human side makes him a fan-favorite character, so his capture in Wendy's hands has more shock value.
6) Petrovich's betrayal
One of USCSS Maginot's own, Petrovich, was the reason for the ship's crash onto Earth. In the tense Alien: Earth episode 5, Morrow realizes the dire nature of things when a few face-huggers are released and begin attacking the crew. When it is clear that the sabotage is internal, Morrow digs his way to the answer: Petrovich.
Petrovich secretly makes a deal with Boy Kavalier to release the facehuggers, crash the spaceship on Prodigy land, and get a Hybrid body in exchange. But his tracks are barely covered, and his communications are revealed with a simple investigation, leading Morrow to kill him.
7) Morrow refuses to help Zaveri
Episode 5 of Alien: Earth had more than one shockingly revelatory moment. Morrow's true moral compass is revealed when he prioritizes himself in a moment of gruesome chaos. Facehuggers and other aliens are ravaging his crew, but instead of helping them, he locks himself in the panic room, waiting for the crash.
What makes things worse is that he could have saved Zaveri with plenty of time to escape. She dies right outside his door, and he could have opened and closed it for her. While his choice not to is subtle and quick, it quickly reminds fans of his remorseless predisposition.
Watch Alien: Earth on FX and Hulu.
