Review: ALIEN:EARTH Episode 3

Having reviewed the first two episodes of Alien: Earth last week, I thought I would keep it going for the remainder of the eight-episode season.

To summarise last week’s review, I said it was a promising start but there was still plenty of time for them to screw it up, so I want to stick around and see if it happens. I bet it happens.

Another reason for keeping it going is that it gives me the opportunity to reflect on the previous week’s show, having had time to fully digest it. My approach to movies and television shows is a ‘glass half full’ one and I tend to see the positives initially. The negatives sometimes take a while longer to bubble to the surface, like a bout of acid reflux after a nice meal.

So I will start each week with a few points about the previous episode that I may have missed or skimmed over the first time. I may even revise my score. It’s not often that a reviewer receives the luxury of a cooling off period.

I’ve also decided to go a little harder on Alien: Earth from hereon out. I demand excellence from my favourite movie monster, and I know you Outposters do too. There will be no free pass for something that’s merely ‘good enough.’

Episodes 1 and 2: what I missed or ignored (spoilers alert)

1. Episode 1 opens with the crew of the ‘Maginot’ waking from hyper sleep, and the scene riffs on the opening of Alien to a fault. The helmet visor on the console reflecting the computer code. The editing style as they wake up. The banter at dinner. Not a big deal, but it could have been a little subtler.
2. It looks like DEI policies are still alive and well in the 22^nd Century because ALL the races are represented in the crew. Were they really chosen on merit? I have no problem at all with diversity, but it just seems artificial. Ironically, this is consistent with the themes of the show, but almost certainly accidental.
3. Timothy Olyphant looks like Tommy Lee Jones in JFK.
4. I joked about Boy Kavalier’s decision to send the Lost Boys (kids brains in synthetic adult bodies) to help with the rescue/clean-up because they are scared of everything. But it’s a bigger deal than that. Children’s brains are not fully formed. It’s why they are chosen to be hybrids in the first place – their brains are malleable. Their synthetic bodies may not be vulnerable to trauma, but their minds sure are. The more I think about this decision, the more stupid it gets. But we’ve got to get this show started somehow.
5. The alien looks like it’s wearing a blindfold. I guess I can live with it.

I still enjoyed the first two episodes of Alien: Earth but will revise my score down from 4.5 stars to 4.

Episode 3: Metamorphosis (minor spoilers)

The third episode of Alien: Earth is a step down from the previous two, for a couple of reasons.

The first reason is an early showdown between hybrid Wendy, her brother Joe and the alien that is poorly executed and contrived. It’s a common problem I notice with modern productions that makes me wonder if they script action anymore. Do they just write THEY FIGHT and sort out the details on set? I’ll go into specifics in next week’s recap, but for now let’s just say it’s badly choreographed.

The second reason is that this is a build episode. After the alien encounter, the Lost Boys leave the downed ship and return to Prodigy Island. We get an extended slow-motion montage of them returning with the specimens. Apart from the excellent melancholy guitar on the soundtrack, it seems unearned and indulgent.

The remainder of the episode sets up what’s to come. There are two instances of child grooming, a face hugger autopsy, artificial alien insemination and discontent among the Lost Boys. It should bear fruit in the future, but for now it’s just seeds in the dirt.

The best thing about episode 3 of Alien: Earth is Babou Ceesay’s Morrow, the cyborg survivor from the ‘Maginot.’ He sacrifices his crew and obeys his Weyland-Yutani masters like Ash from Alien, except he’s part human so he feels a degree of guilt about it.

Morrow oozes menace and gravitas, and his musings on what it means to be a machine and to be human remains the most compelling aspect of the show. Well, that and the fact that he’s coming for his specimens…

Random observations

1. A new twist on the alien egg mechanics is interesting and makes sense.
2. A person being cocooned by the alien is a nice nod to the original (albeit the deleted scenes). I like to believe the alien is acting on instinct even though there is no queen around (there are eggs, of course).
3. One of the Lost Boys calls out how misplaced the constant Peter Pan analogies are. I’ve read other commentators criticise the show for this, but it appears to be intentional. Boy Kavalier is determined to cast himself as Peter Pan no matter how inappropriate. Didn’t Michael Jackson see himself the same way?
4. Lost Boys ‘Smee’ and ‘Slightly’ acting like kids is funny, but their antics undermines the tension at times. It’s probably not a good thing that this show sometimes reminds me of Tom Hanks in Big.
5. Metallica’s ‘Wherever I May Roam’ on the end credits is most welcome.
6. Timothy Olyphant’s expression when one of the Lost Boys says ‘everybody needs friends’ unironically is gold.
7. Timothy Olyphant in general is gold. I forgive him for plotting to kill JFK.

Overall

Episode 3 is a somewhat messy episode, but it can be forgiven if it sets the stage for the rest of the season. But there’s no forgiving that truly atrocious fight with the alien.