"Alien: Earth" (Episode 4 Recap)

"I think when a hostile alien species decides to speak, one needs to ask why.”

I think it’s safe to say that the kids are not all right.

As always, this post contains spoilers, so proceed with caution. 

Episode 4 opens with Dame Sylvia and Kirsh observing Wendy, whose hearing is currently “off-line.”Kirsh explains to Arthur and Dame Sylvia that Wendy claimed she heard a sound coming from the xenomorphs and believes it has something to do with that particular species. 

Boy Kavalier arrives and kicks Kirsh out of the room. When he tries to do the same to Dame Sylvia, she refuses to leave Wendy. “It’s an IT issue, not a gab session,” Kavalier declares. Notice the two contrasting views they share towards Wendy. Dame Sylvia wants to protect Wendy, like a mother protecting a child. Kavalier sees Wendy as a machine that’s experiencing a disruption and requires immediate attention to restore normal operations.

Before Kavalier and Arthur begin testing, Joe appears. Joe is horrified to learn that Prodigy brought the aliens to the research facility. They begin testing, and Wendy regains her hearing. She recounts her events, starting with the sound she heard and following the sound to the lab where Kirsh operates on the alien egg. Arthur explains to Wendy that they will find what she’s hearing and how to make it stop. Both Wendy and Kavalier reject this idea. Wendy believes the alien picked her to help them, so Kavalier orders Arthur to continue testing. After increasing the frequency, Wendy reports she can hear the sound. Kavalier asks to make the sound she hears. Wendy can recreate the sound she heard. Joe stops the tests, arguing that Wendy is not a machine but a child and needs to rest. Everyone leaves the room except for Kavalier and Atom Eins. Kavalier orders Atom Eins to tell Joe he can stay, but he works for Prodigy. 

Wendy shows Joe her room and asks Joe if he’s mad at her. Joe reassures her that he’s not mad at her but at Prodigy for their role in keeping her a secret and apart from her family. Atom Eins and Joe meet, and Atom Eim threatens Joe that if he does not help observe and answer questions regarding Wendy, he will be removed from the island and never see Wendy again. 

Meanwhile, Slightly retreats and finds a solitary area to communicate with Morrow. Morrow instructs Slightly to retrieve one of the alien eggs. To gain his trust, Morrow reveals his full name to Slightly as Kumi Morrow. When asked what his name is, Slightly gives his name, given to him by Prodigy. Morrow wants to know his real name, and Slightly, with some hesitation, reveals his real name as Aarush Singh.

Slightly returns to the research facility and encounters Kirsh in his room, staring at the three wise monkeys on his wall. Kirsh explains that the monkeys represent avoiding evil thoughts and deeds, yet the monkeys also reflect a new meaning, describing those who choose to ignore wrongdoing. Unbeknownst to Slightly is that Kirsh is aware of his communication with Morrow. When Slightly reaches out to Morrow, he explains he won’t steal the egg for him. Morrow reveals that he’s sitting across from Slightly’s mother. Coerced, Slightly agrees to help, but instead of stealing the egg, he will need to sneak in a person. The idea is that the egg will hatch and attach itself to the person. After a few days, the alien will fall off the person’s face, and Slightly will bring in the person, now implanted with an embryo. 

The Prodigy team prepares an experiment. A sheep is standing in the center of an enclosure, and the Prodigy team releases the alien species that attacked Nibs. It attacks the sheep, takes out the sheep’s eye, and inserts itself there. The alien takes control of the sheep’s body. 

Arthur and Dame Sylvia find a secluded area to talk. Arthur is worried that Kavalier is straying away from science. He was against sending Wendy and the Lost Boys to the crash site; rather, he wanted to continue running tests and collecting data. They are interrupted when Nibs arrives and claims she’s pregnant. Dame Sylvia takes Nibs back to her office, and the two begin to talk. When Dame Sylvia tries to get Nibs to discuss what happened to her at the crash site, Nibs gets increasingly violent towards her. Dame Sylvia discreetly alerts security, and she classifies Nibs as a Level 3 threat.

Later, Kavalier and Wendy talk, and they get on the subject of Joe. Kavalier wants to send him home, while Wendy wants him to stay with her. Kavalier makes a deal with Wendy: if she agrees to help him discover what the aliens are saying, then Joe can stay. Wendy goes to the lab and observes the lung that was removed from Joe explode, and a chestburster emerges. The chestburster does not attack Wendy, but she soothes it, allowing her to pet it. 

Episode 4 is titled “Observation,” and it seems everyone was being watched or monitored. Dame Sylvia noticed that Nibs is not the same after the incident at the crash site. Kirsh observed the connection between Slightly and Morrow, and he is aware of Morrow’s plan. Kavalier, Atom Eins, Kirsh, and Toodles recorded the behavior of the alien latching onto the sheep. 

When the alien species assumes control of the sheep, Kavalier looks at the creature and says, “Me,” as if he sees himself as the alien taking control of a body that’s now theirs. After all, the hybrids are experiencing a moment in which they realize their bodies are not their own. For the alien, it depends on the sheep’s flesh to provide it with the nutrients it requires to survive. Kavalier depends on Joe and Wendy to meet his financial needs. He needs Wendy to help him communicate with the alien species, but she will only help if Joe stays. Though Kavalier does not like Joe, he knows he’s important to Wendy. In short, both the alien and Kavalier are parasites, relying on others and exploiting them for their own personal gain.

I’m not sure what to make of the chestburster and Wendy. It seems as if the chestburster is imprinted on her. Yet, this bond between the chestburster and Wendy might benefit Kavalier if he intends to weaponize it.

I look forward to the next episode. Morrow gives Slightly 24 hours to sneak a person into the lab, and Slightly has his eyes set on Joe.