"Alien: Earth" (Episode 7 Recap)

"I don't think I am anymore."

We’ve reached the penultimate episode. Although not as exciting as episode 6, episode 7 leaves audiences on a cliffhanger. This post contains spoilers.

---

The penultimate episode opens with Slightly cowering in his room, watching Arthur, who now has a facehugger latched onto his face. Smee enters the room and discovers Slightly hiding Arthur. He agrees to help Slightly take Arthur’s body to the beach with the promise that Arthur will be okay.

Boy Kavalier, Atom Eins, and Kirsh return from their meeting with Yutani. When they enter the laboratory, they discover Isaac’s body. Rather than express his shock and dismay, Boy Kavalier is indifferent to the news of Isaac’s death. Instead, he’s excited to learn more about the T. Ocellus and wants to continue experimentation. Wendy enters the lab and laments Isaac’s death. Kirsh and Boy Kavalier are shocked to discover that the trackers on the synths have been disabled.

Joe decides the time has come for him and Wendy to escape by boat. Wendy, however, will not leave without her friends. She persuades Nibs, and they flee; yet, unbeknownst to Joe, Wendy hacks into the Prodigy Corp. system and releases the xenomorph. The group encounters soldiers, and Wendy summons the xenomorph, killing them all. Wendy tells the xenomorph to hide. 

As they are leaving the facility, Slightly and Smee encounter Kirsh, who advises them to take the elevator to get to the beach. The two are surprised by Kirsh’s assistance. They make their way to the beach and spot armed soldiers in the distance. It’s Morrow, and he brought reinforcements. The two drop Arthur’s body and hide. When the coast is clear, they return to Arthur, only to discover that his body is gone. The two begin to search for Arthur’s body when the facehugger drops from above. It’s dead. Arthur appears; however, he has no recollection of the previous events, such as seeing Slightly locking the door for the facehugger to attack. Slightly and Smee lie and convince Arthur that they are on their way to the beach to meet Dame Sylvia. 

As they reach their destination, Arthur begins to suspect the boys are lying. Like a warm parental figure, Arthur convinces Slightly and Smee to head back to the facility. Suddenly, Arthur starts to groan in pain, and an alien bursts out of his chest, killing Arthur. Slightly tries to follow the chestburster, but Smee stays with Arthur, grief-stricken. 

Slightly and Smee run into Morrow, and they make their way back to the facility. When they arrive, armed soldiers surround Morrow. Kirsh appears and reveals he captured the chestburster. The soldiers take Morrow away. 

Joe, Wendy, and Nibs arrive at the dock and prepare to board the boat when soldiers emerge from hiding. Among the armed soldiers are Siberian and Rashidi. Conflict arises when a soldier takes Nib’s toy and throws it into the water. Nibs retaliates by ripping his jaw off. Wendy tries calling the xenomorph before Joe stops her. Nibs goes after Siberian, but Joe uses an electro gun and electrocutes Nibs. 

“What did you do?” Wendy bellows out to Joe.

---

It’s no secret that the show heavily alludes to Peter Pan, with Boy Kavalier representing Peter himself. He walks around barefoot and in pajamas. Essentially, it’s his brand. Dressing in pajamas and going barefoot conveys not only that Boy Kavalier is emitting his youth but also exudes his rebellion against cultural norms. Yet, we need to note the double standard. Being barefoot is often associated with poverty or perceived as a sign of slovenliness. And yet, Boy Kavalier is “the youngest trillionaire,” so he’s not perceived as slovenly but as “a boy genius.” But I digress. Like Peter Pan, Boy Kavalier is boastful, mischievous, and careless. This brings me to Kirsh. If the synths represent the Lost Boys, does that make Kirsh Tinkerbell? All jokes aside, Kirsh was Boy Kavalier’s shiny new toy before he turned his attention elsewhere and created the synths. Tinkerbell is very loyal to Peter Pan, like Kirsh towards Boy Kavalier; however, we’re beginning to question his loyalty. After all, he knew about Morrow’s plan and allowed Slightly and Smee to escape and meet Morrow. He never disclosed any of this information to Boy Kavalier, so I predict Kirsh will outsmart Boy Kavalier. 

The character of Wendy in Peter Pan serves as a maternal figure to Peter Pan and the Lost Boys. In a way, this episode shows Wendy take on a maternal role when she initially refuses to escape without her friends. We also saw her watch and communicate with the xenomorph as it grew. Much to Joe’s displeasure, Wendy released the xenomorph from captivity and commanded it to attack the soldiers. She empathizes with the xenomorph; however, the empathy and bond she shares with the xenomorph is driving a wedge between her and Joe. Similar to how she questioned Boy Kavalier's experimentation with foreign species for his own personal gain, I think she will question Joe’s loyalty. Isaac’s death affected Wendy, proving to her that the synths are not safe. With Joe shooting Nibs, I think Wendy will begin to question whether she can be safe with Joe.