(This article contains spoilers)
Things are now moving fast in Alien: Earth episode 6, The Fly. True to the Alien tradition, things are getting worse and worse, but not for everyone.
After an episode entirely dedicated to the events on the Maginot preceding those of the series, we are back in business on the Prodigy island. Each hybrid is following their own storyline, separately. We first go back to Wendy (Sydney Chandler), who’s perfecting her Xenomorph language with the Xenomorph now at what could be an adolescent stage. Of course, this dog-like size won’t last as these creatures grow up fast.
As a child, Wendy is forming her own opinion of herself and the world she’s now living in. Her brother Joe (Alex Lawther) is not in the same development stage, and is trying to find a way to get her out of there. Thing is, she likes it here, she enjoys the “yes place”, as she calls it, probably because Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin) pushes this narrative on them. At Prodigy, “no” is seen as “the first step to nothing”, which we all know what it really means. It’s about control and soft coercion, it’s about making people believe everything is possible. It’s toxic positivity, stripping people from the choice they’re owed, from their autonomy and agency.
Of course, Joe is trying to make her see a more nuanced point of view, but again, Wendy seems to like this situation. And of course she does, she’s seen as useful, talented, unique. She was previously a deadly sick girl, and she could lose everything by going against Kavalier. She knows what she needs to do. It’s also easier to make children obey under false kindness and superficial love. Joe will have to find another way.
If anyone had any doubt about Kavalier and his true motivation, the meeting he’s attending with Yutani (Sandra Yi Sencindiver) can’t be more clear. In the previous episode, In Space, No One…, we discovered the sabotage of the ship was his doing, crashing it on his territory so he could claim whatever was on it for safety reasons. Officially, it’s a very sound argument, the creatures need to be contained during a six-week quarantine, but we know it has nothing to do with it.
The negotiations with Yutani eventually reach a billion agreement, and everything is in favor of Kavalier. Or so he thinks. Because while he’s playing with Yutani’s nerves and money, things are going very wrong on his island. Between Morrow working in the shadows, and his own people slowly going off-script, Kavalier is in for a harsh reality check: money can’t buy everything.
Meanwhile, Nibs (Lily Newmark) gets the Men in Black treatment. Her behavior is showing signs of violence and delusion, and being a hybrid with no agency over her body and mind, what happened on the crash site is erased from her memory, solving her issues. But erasing someone’s memory out of the blue without creating a suitable context around it is a dangerous thing to do, and if the procedure worked, it has now created new issues. Not only does Nibs know she’s missing a part of her week, but Wendy is now aware of what Prodigy can do to them without them noticing any of it. They could reset all of them, they wouldn’t even know it.
Again, new questions arise: how is Prodigy dealing with hybrids knowing about their memory being reset? Do they really hope they’ll just shrug and move on? They’re stealing memories from them, from their still very human minds, they’re not dealing with emotionless machines. How will Wendy deal with that reality? I’m waiting for the moment we discover the kill switch.
At the lab, it’s Tootles’ (Kit Young), now Isaac, turn to perform his duties. Kirsh (Timothy Olyphant) being away, he’s tasked with feeding the creatures. The lab is quiet, the creatures are settled, the Ocellus is watching. Everything looks normal so, obviously, everything quickly takes a very dark turn.
The door to one of the serving hatches breaks, forcing him to open the main door to the container. The creatures living in it haven’t been seen yet and, judging by what Isaac put on the tray, they eat electronic components. They nest in what looks like an inverted and disgusting termite mound, in the corner of the glass container, not showing themselves as Isaac opens the door. And this scene is yet another reminder why choosing children was a mistake. Instead of pushing the tray of food into the room and being done with it, Isaac steps into the container, his back turned to the creatures.
On the other side of the glass, the Ocellus is watching and visibly analyzing the situation. Seeing Isaac making all the wrong decisions, she pushes him to a fatal mistake by bumping her sheep head on the glass, making Isaac flinch and trip. The door closes behind him. Trapped.
We discover now why this episode is called The Fly, unfortunately not directly related to David Cronenberg’s The Fly (1986), though the homage is clear. The winged creatures finally emerge from their nest, immediately moving towards Isaac, most likely smelling his synthetic body full of treats, and the inevitable happens. One of them regurgitates a white liquid on Isaac’s face, melting his synthetic skin and his face. Food is indeed served.
In the meantime, Joe, still decided to find a way to escape with his sister, is having a glimmer of hope. Arthur (David Rysdahl), who was just fired for disobeying Eins (Adrian Edmondson), discreetly gives him the code to a boat to escape, and shows him he can disable the hybrids’ trackers so him and Wendy can leave unnoticed. Arthur is not leaving without sabotaging Prodigy and we love it. While doing so, he also notices that Isaac’s tracker has been disabled, which should not have happened without him knowing, and locates him in the lab.
The horrors are not done yet. Slightly (Adarsh Gourav) is still on the hunt for a human host and trying to get Joe to follow him to the lab. It’s not an easy task as the two don’t have any real reason to interact. Slightly is awkward as a child, can’t come up with an excuse and fails. But the plan needs to be seen through, and Morrow is here, in the back of his head, putting him under pressure. It needs to be done today.
The perfect opportunity lands in Slightly’s lap as Arthur arrives at the lab, panicked. Two storylines are now merging into one. Slightly doesn’t hesitate and takes advantage of the fact that Arthur is trying to save Isaac by opening the egg container and letting a Facehugger escape. Half of the mission is accomplished, Arthur didn’t stand a chance. But in the middle of the commotion, the flies escape into the lab and zero in on the hybrid. Slightly shoves Arthur’s limp body in a vent and follows him, escaping from the technology-eating creatures now on the loose.
And again, Kirsh is witnessing everything in secret. He’s conducting his own experiment behind Kavalier’s back, letting the children follow the orders, whoever is giving them, or following their own thoughts. Kirsh is not the only one watching, observing and analyzing. The Ocellus is also witnessing everything happening in the lab, studying people’s behavior, reactions, the way they solve problems. Now, how will she get out of her container?
Alien: Earth is broadcasting on FX, and streaming on Hulu (USA) and Disney+ (rest of the world).
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