The Alien franchise continues to expand, this time being entirely set on Earth and in the form of a TV show for the first time. Alien: Earth takes place 2 years before the original Alien, following Wendy (Sydney Chandler) and a group of soldiers sent to investigate the crash landing of a scientific vessel. Aboard the vessel are some of the most dangerous alien specimens known and unknown.
The universe of Alien is so diverse and lore-rich that bringing it into the world of TV only makes sense. While this series doesn’t directly concern itself with the narrative and lore established in some of the more recent films, it provides a fresh look into the universe that almost stands on its own outside of everything else going on. It’s a fascinating story, one which ebbs and flows in quality throughout the season, but remains intriguing and exciting most of the way through. Right off the bat this season wastes no time giving us exactly what we want – more unhinged xenomorph chaos. The first three episodes get the ball rolling by rapidly introducing our new characters, laying the groundwork for the journey ahead and packing in some of the most brutal xenomorph action sequences to date. There’s homages to the original film, both tonally and visually, but it gradually becomes more and more like its own thing as the environment shifts to a more exotic, Earth-based locale.
The unbroken gripping tension of those early episodes becomes a little uneven through the middle of the season. There’s a definitive lull in the progression of the story, marred by one episode which acts as a soft reset for the pace, then another episode which focuses on the past rather than the present. The latter of those two episodes may be the best individual output of the season, but its placement does the overall narrative progression absolutely no favours. This lull severely impacts the remainder of the season, despite initially holding up quite well. With three episodes left and seemingly a lot of story to tell, those episodes remain quite tense while constantly teasing some big, epic confrontations. Across the first two of these episodes there are some light payoffs for arcs that were established in the pilot, and the way is paved for a big finale. Unfortunately that big finale never comes.
The final episode of the season also happens to be the worst one. It feels like a cop-out in terms of milking all these potentially exciting scenarios and then delivering on absolutely none of them. Even with the uneven lull in the middle of the season, the progression of tension is relatively consistent, with the penultimate episode delivering some rewarding thrills and teasing a fulfilling climax. However everything it’s teasing is absent from the finale, and instead all we have is a measly season two tease. Calling it a cliffhanger would be incorrect – a cliffhanger is an abrupt ending following the occurrence of something exciting, or near-occurrence of something exciting. This ending is like if your saucepan got halfway to a rolling boil then you just turned off the heat entirely. It may sound like I’m being overly harsh, but in all honestly the finale unraveled a lot of the positive feelings I had about the season up to that point, dropping my overall score down a tad.
When it comes to visuals, atmosphere and quality xenomorph action, this series gets the vast majority of that right. Its space-set sequences are, to put it simply, incredible. For being a TV show, those moments are just as cinematic as they are in the original 1979 film, making full use of claustrophobic spaces to enhance the terror of the xenomorph. Speaking of the xenomorph – there’s loads of brutal, bloody action to enjoy as the alien tallies up an insane body count. While it is still an unstoppable force, I do prefer when the alien is shot and seen predominantly in the shadows. There’s sequences through the latter half of the season where the xenomorph is very well lit in a daytime environment and it’s just not the same as seeing it peering through a dark ceiling vent. It has nothing to do with the practical suit – the suit is very impressive and intricately detailed, it’s just that the aura the alien gives off is dampened by taking away the eerie atmosphere around it.
The narrative is centred around a new type of being – hybrids. Not humans. Not synthetics. Human consciousnesses uploaded into a synthetic body. It’s something entirely new for the franchise and it makes for one of the more intriguing throughlines. As the leader of the group, Wendy is the most fascinating character in here – her journey is layered with various emotional subplots and a number of arcs I would have never seen coming. I need to credit showrunner Noah Hawley because while not every big swing hit, I appreciate the dedication to pulling them off. Of the other hybrid characters, most of them are more annoying than interesting. Of those few that are interesting, their arcs don’t really develop int he ways I imagined they would, which lessened how much I enjoyed following them. Admittedly I believe it’s by design that you wouldn’t like some of those characters, but since they’re focused on so heavily, it did impact my overall investment.
Performance-wise there’s a lot to like in the supporting roles. Sydney Chandler is good in the lead, but there’s a few notable presences who shone brightly in every moment. Timothy Olyphant plays a synthetic known as Kirsch, and this is a brilliant example of perfect casting. Olyphant is mesmerising when it comes to portraying a deadpan, calculated and data-driven synthetic. His every line of dialogue felt so purposefully paced that it was both haunting and alluring at the same time. He commanded the screen no matter who he shared the space with. The only other person to give him a run for his money is Babou Ceesay as Morrow, a cyborg and one of the central antagonists. He also delivers a largely emotionless performances, but one with a little more pain and motivation driving his actions. He’s one of the more intriguing personalities and I was constantly seeking more of his journey every time it would cut away. Lastly Essie Davis plays Sylvia, a human scientist or other, and while she’s fantastic early, it’s almost as if the series forgets about her going into the latter half. She’s a brilliant actor, so I wish we got to see a little more from her character to allow her to really flex those acting chops.
In the end, Alien: Earth is an ambitious leap for the franchise – not the one I hoped it would go in, but one which brings an experience that’s definitively unique. This debut season has its ups and downs, with its best moments being those which harken back to the tone and atmosphere of the original film, and its worst being those which stray furthest away. It’s a fun ride with a lot of xenomorph action to soak up, but it is marred by some pacing and atmosphere issues late in the season. With the potential for more story to be told, I can say that while this didn’t leave me blown away, I am looking forward to what could happen next.
7.7/10
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