"Alien: Earth" (Episode 8 Recap)

We’ve reached the finale of Alien: Earth. Let’s break down the episode with a summary of events. As always, this post contains spoilers, so I suggest you avert your eyes.

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Episode 8 opens with the synths locked up in a holding cell, while Morrow and Joe are locked in another. Boy Kavalier watches them on a monitor, with the T. Ocellus, still latched onto the sheep, locked in containment. Boy Kavalier instructs a security officer to find Atom Eims. “Just to be safe, I think I’ll feed you someone weak,” Boy Kavalier tells the T. Ocellus.

The synths quarrel with Curly, arguing that she was never the favorite. Wendy declares that in Peter Pan, Wendy Darling is the favorite until she grows up, angering Peter and driving him to kidnap her daughter, Jane. “We’re all in the cell because we can’t be kids anymore. But they won’t let us be adults,” Wendy says. “We’re all ghosts,” Nibs concludes, leaving Wendy and the synths to give the adults reasons to fear them. Wendy hijacks the system, turning off the cameras and communications. They begin by terrorizing Dame Sylvia with footage of the children before their operation, seizing control of the elevator that holds Siberian and Rashidi, and releasing Morrow and Joe from their holding cell. Joe runs to find Wendy, while Morrow vows to burn the facility to the ground.

Morrow finds Kirsh in the laboratory and engages in a fight.  Morrow shoots at Kirsh, but he misses, hitting one of the containment cells holding the Orchid. Morrow manages to break Kirsh’s back. Before Morrow can fully defeat Kirsh, the Orchid breaks out of its containment cell and escapes, allowing Kirsh to incapacitate Morrow. 

Boy Kavalier visits the synths in their holding cell. He opens up to them with a story from his past. Boy Kavalier describes his father, claiming that his father wanted to kill him for being a prodigy. Boy Kavalier explains he created his first synth at the age of six. When his father returns from work, the synth, or Boy Kavalier, kills Boy Kavalier’s father. It’s revealed that Atom Eims was his first synth. Wendy instructs the synths to capture Dame Sylvia and find Morrow and Kirsh.

Boy Kavalier roams the hallways of the facility, and the xenomorph appears before him. Wendy and Joe appear, along with armed soldiers. Wendy directs the xenomorph to attack the soldiers, sparing Boy Kavalier. Back at the laboratory, Rashidi and Siberian arrive to evacuate any remaining personnel. The Orchid hangs above Siberian and attacks her, killing her. Curly emerges and attacks Rashidi. 

On the beach, where Arthur’s body lies, the T. Ocellus finds its new host. We also see Yutani space vessels arriving to Neverland. The synths have successfully locked up and captured the adults. When Curly asks what comes next, Wendy declares, “Now we rule.”

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Overall, I found the final episode of Alien: Earth rather lackluster. There were moments worth of praise, such as the confrontation scene between Kirsh and Morrow. There was a lot of build up towards the finale, yet the ending felt uninspiring. I can see why Wendy, Slightly, and Nibs turned against the adults, but Curly’s decision felt forced: It’s not so much that she felt betrayed learning she was not Boy Kavalier’s favorite but because the plot demanded it for her to turn against the adults. If the show gets picked up for season 2, I hope they dive deeper into her character. 

I will admit that I was happy and relieved that Boy Kavalier was spared from the synth’s wrath. Aside from Kirsh and Morrow, Boy Kavalier is one of my favorite characters. I loved his elation when Wendy declared that the synths are in charge now. His hubris makes him believe that the syths are successful because of him. I think there’s more to explore to his character moving forward. 

Important Note

Next week, I’ll be switching gears and stear away from writing television recaps. I loved waiting every week to watch Alien: Earth and diving into detail, analyzing aspects of the show like the characters’ motivation; however, I found the process tedious. For me, it’s more fun and interesting writing about a show as a whole than rehashing the plot of each episode. Writing about a show allows me to engage with the show because I focus on something specific, such as character development or themes, whereas writing recaps limits any critical analysis. 

That being said, I hope you will enjoy next week’s post about my review Karissa Chen’s debut book, Homeseeking.