Alien: Earth
I remember seeing the trailer for AVPR: Aliens vs Predator - Requiem in 2007 and being absolutely terrified. Mainly due to the fact that the trailer shows a kid being attacked by a Xenomorph in none other than present day Colorado. Despite the film being a box office bomb and having terrible reviews, that fear factor for Xenomorphs found its way to me at a young age. For the longest time I avoided the Alien franchise, and horror altogether, up until college. I finally gave the film Aliens (1986) a try with my brother and found myself not as scared as I used to be. The feeling seeing humans and Aliens battle it out felt similar to riding a roller coaster for the first time. Suddenly I found myself with a plethora of films to experience. I watched Alien (1979) and even Alien: Romulus (2024), both of which were excellent films that have become yearly rewatches for me. It’s safe to say I’ve become a fan of the Alien franchise.
The Xenomorph portrayed by Cameron Brown in FX’s Alien: Earth
When I got news that FX was developing an Alien series I was excited. It’s my personal opinion that FX and Hulu has been developing some of the best content this past decade. From Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey (2022) to Only Murders in the Building and The Handmaids Tale. They clearly have cracked the code to deliver a variety of stories. Alien: Earth is an excellent addition to FX and Hulu’s library. Earth fits the same strategy that Prey had; Tell a story in a new environment, introduce new characters and themes that don’t contradict the original, and go all out with the violence.
The Xenomorph leaping over Hermit played by Alex Lawther
When it comes to creating a project within an IP, there are certain rules that should be followed in order for the new project to shine while avoiding tainting the original. Take the Star Wars sequels for example, the films are ridden with nostalgia bait, mistreated characters, a bland script, and no direction. It’s no wonder fans are left worried and wondering what will happen next. Not too long ago, the Alien franchise was in a similar boat. After mixed reviews for both Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017) had Alien fans up in arms over certain creative decisions such as the android David played by Michael Fassbender supposedly created the Xenomorphs, it seems that the higher ups have pivoted towards more grounded stories like Alien: Romulus (2024) and Alien: Earth. This change has allowed the franchise to explore new areas instead of being stuck in a restricted narrative who’s only purpose is to ask the bigger questions.
Wendy portrayed by Sydney Chandler
Alien: Earth is set in the year 2120. Just two years before the events of the first Alien film in 1979. The first four episodes of Earth establish the worldbuilding really well, with Hermit played by Alex Lawther explaining in one episode that the world is run by five corporations instead of governments. One of these companies happens to be the infamous Weyland-Yutani from previous Alien projects. Instead of focusing on them, we follow a different corporation focusing on transferring human minds into androids. This is where the main protagonist Wendy comes in. Wendy played by Sydney Chandler delivers a phenomenal and groundbreaking performance. With her character being a new archetype for the franchise, it allows the story to explore new areas while adhering to the original installments. The same can be said for the numerous monsters shown throughout the show. The difference with Earth is that unlike projects such as Prometheus or Alien: Covenant, it focuses more on the characters and worldbuilding opposed to unnecessary gore for the sake of it and Michael Fassbender being an Alien Dad.
Overall, I would give the first four episodes of Alien: Earth an average of 90%. With episode two being the best on the board so far. I would only recommend this show for those with a tough stomach. While this isn’t as bad as Prometheus or Alien: Covenant, there still may be some scenes that may leave you feeling sick.
Alien: Earth
Episode One - Neverland - 9.3/★★★★⯪
Episode Two - Mr. October - 9.6/★★★★★
Episode Three - Metamorphosis - 8.5/★★★★⯪
Episode Four - Observation - 8.2/★★★★☆
The Second Half of Season One
While the first four episodes of Alien: Earth had me invested and intrigued, the latter half left me feeling annoyed and unsatisfied. This may come to a shock given my glamorous review of the first half, believe me I was shocked as well. While there were great scenes in each of the final four episodes, they were outnumbered by worse scenes three fold.
Wendy and Hermit played by Sydney Chandler and Alex Lawther
This begins with the characters. Wendy’s character is definitely the most erratic in the latter half of the season. While the case can be made that she is literally a child without the proper world view but the way her character acts in the finale feels way out of line with where I thought her character would arc towards. Other characters acted similarly and in the final two episodes, it really felt that every decision the characters were making was to just expand the runtime to the forty minute mark. This is disappointing to say given how well the characters were handled in the first half of the season.
It is always tricky when working on an already existing IP. In the past we’ve had Alien vs Predator, Alien dogs, whatever the hell is in Prometheus and Romulus (don’t ask, don’t tell) and it’s starting to get to the point were nothing is really all that shocking anymore. Maybe it’s me? Perhaps I’ve gotten too accustomed to the violence but I will say this, the second you have me rooting for the xenomorphs, the aliens that cannot talk over the English speaking humans, you might have a problem.
The show is confirmed for a season two. After an abysmal finale that really felt like a prologue for what is to come, I just hope that season two actually delivers some real authentic alien violence, not just yucky gross Alien bugs (again, don’t ask, don’t tell).
Alien: Earth
Episode Five - In Space, No One… - 6.8/★★★⯪☆
Episode Six - The Fly - 7.1/★★★⯪☆
Episode Seven - Emergence - 6.0/★★★☆☆
Episode Eight - The Real Monsters - 5.9/★★★☆☆
