"Alien: Earth" (Episodes 1 & 2 Recap)

Noah Hawley's highly anticipated series premiered last week with two episodes currently streaming on Hulu. The following contains spoilers for episodes 1 and 2 of Alien: Earth. Episode 1, aptly titled "Neverland," opens with the following prologue:

"In the future, the race for humanity will come in three guises:

cybernetically enhanced humans: cyborgs

artificially intelligent beings: synths

and synthetic beings downloaded with human consciousness: hybrids"

The prologue concludes with the following message: "Whichever technology prevails will determine what corporation rules the universe." The year is 2120, just two years before the events of the original Alien. While fans of the original Alien are familiar with Weyland-Yutani Corporation, the series introduces audience members to Prodigy Corporation, a company led by CEO and founder Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin). Boy Kavalier has designed a way to transfer human consciousness into a synthetic body. On the island of Neverland, Prodigy's research headquarters, a young girl with terminal cancer prepares for the procedure. When she wakes up, she renames herself "Wendy" (Sydney Chandler) and becomes the first hybrid. Soon after, several kids with terminal diseases arrive and receive the same procedure, each receiving a new name (all sharing the names of Peter Pan characters).

Meanwhile, in space, the crew of the USCSS Maginot, a space vessel from the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, carries various foreign specimens. The ship malfunctions, the specimens escape and run rampant, and the crew dies. Morrow (Babou Ceesay), a cyborg and the lone survivor, leads the space vessel to crash into a building owned by Prodigy in New Siam. Hermit (Alex Lawther), a medic who works for Prodigy, and his colleagues witness the ship crash and heed the call to assist the wounded and evacuate the building.

Prodigy decides to send Wendy and the other hybrid children, known as the Lost Boys, to retrieve the specimens.  For Wendy, this means she will reunite with Hermit, who is revealed to be her brother. Escorted by Hirsch (played by the brilliant Timothy Olyphant), Wendy and the Lost Boys embark on their mission.

Episode 2, titled "Mr. October," begins with the search-and-rescue team trying to make sense of the wreckage and what happened to the crew of the USCSS. Hermit quickly deduces that foreign bodies, a.k.a aliens, were responsible for the death of the crew. Hermit encounters a specimen and manages to escape by hiding in the elevator. When he exits the elevator, he reencounters the alien when it attacks a member of his team. Hermit is saved by Morrow, who tranquilizes Hermit to save the specimen.

Wendy and the Lost Boys arrive at the wreckage site. Wendy and Slightly separate from the group to look for Hermit, while Kirsch and the rest of the Lost Boys carry out the mission. Kirsch and the Lost Boys find a plant-like specimen hanging from up above, so Kirsch instructs Curly, Smee, and Nibs to find something to capture the specimen.

Wendy and Slightly find Hermit, and together they make their way to the front section of the ship. As they make their way, Wendy reveals her true identity to Hermit, who's hesitant at first, but then embraces his sister. When they arrive at their destination, they find six alien eggs. Hermit gets a closer look, and he sees one egg move, concluding that they are in a nest. The alien reappears and captures Hermit. Wendy decides to pursue the alien and rescue her brother.

Capitalism is a recurring theme in the Alien franchise. The prologue, for example, provides the audience with sufficient evidence suggesting that corporations have enough power and control to colonize Earth and the rest of the universe. There's a discussion with the crew of the USCSS Maginot in which they talk about the four major corporations. Weyland-Yutani controls North and South America, as well as Mars and Saturn. USCSS Maginot crashes onto New Siam, a Prodigy City. Thailand was formally known as Siam before changing its name in 1939. Rechristianized "New Siam," this dystopian future reveals that Thailand is not only colonized but also controlled by Prodigy.

Boy Kavalier is described as "boy genius" and "youngest trillionaire ever." Currently, the trillionaire status has not been achieved by any individual; however, in the world of Alien: Earth, several individuals have achieved trillionaire status, implying that the systems and policies that allow for extreme wealth concentration are still intact. And, once again, we see a powerful corporation send out a team that they view as expendable to fulfill their obligation that puts their needs over others. When Boy Kavalier learns of the crash, he argues that the USCSS Maginot crashed into one of his buildings, meaning whatever is in the ship is rightfully his. After all, Boy Kavalier names his corporation Prodigy. A prodigy is defined as a (young) person endowed with exceptional qualities and abilities. Boy Kavalier, essentially, names the company after himself, which speaks to his hubris.

Let's compare Boy Kavalier's motivation to Hermit's search-and-rescue team. While Boy Kavalier's motives are purely selfish, Hermit is motivated by his legal obligation to his contract. In episode 2, Hermit tries to resign under special dispensation to fulfill his promise to his father and go back to medical school. He explains that the school offered him a scholarship, and classes start soon. Hermit appeals to human emotion, attempting to connect on an emotional and personal plane. Yet, he's appealing to an HR robot that cannot experience feelings. Thus, the goal to convince the HR robot to approve his request is futile.

It's not clear why or how Hermit works for Prodigy, yet the scene does imply that his social status makes Hermit more susceptible to duress. Hermit's situation resembles that of indentured servitude, in which he faces exploitation, harsh working conditions, and limited freedom.  He is denied his request to end his contract early, preventing him from pursuing his education. Boy Kavalier serves as a character foil to Hermit, so it will be interesting to explore the characters in more depth as the series progresses.

Alien: Earth is the first television series in the Alien franchise. Creator and showrunner Noah Hawley successfully adapted Fargo into a critically acclaimed anthology series, so it makes sense for him to adapt another classic film for the small screen. Hawley stays true to the franchise while also working with something new. Introducing Prodigy as the fifth corporation creates a bigger discourse on the exploitation of labor. I look forward to seeing what other surprises Hawley has in store for us.