(This article contains spoilers)
This is it. After seven episodes of an inevitable fall into a hell of its own, it’s time for everyone to face their fate. The hybrids had had it and we can only support their rebellion. Following the events of the previous episode, the island is now cut off from the rest of the world. Yutani (Sandra Yi Sencindiver)is jamming the satellites and the comms are down. Neverland will have to deal with its fate alone. Is this the end? Well, not for everyone, and we hope not for the show either.
Ghosts in The Machine
The hybrids are confined in a reinforced cell, just like Joe (Alex Lawther) and Morrow (Babou Ceesay). If the human and the cyborg are at the mercy of Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin), the situation is very different on the hybrids’ side. Since the beginning of the show, Wendy (Sydney Chandler) has never hidden her skills, one of which being manipulating communication networks. From their cell, the hybrids are plotting, not knowing they could easily break out from it.
However, with technology being everywhere around them, Wendy does what she’s been doing for weeks. Controlling the island is an easy game for her, and she is now overriding everything, shutting down cameras and… opening prison cells.
Joe and Morrow also benefit from Wendy’s cybersurfing session and their cell is unlocked. Morrow, looking very much like Barret from Final Fantasy XVI with his cyborg arm jail, is out for blood and vengeance.
Kavalier thought the minds of children were more suitable for his little experiment because of their flexibility and imagination. Well, their imagination is now turning them into ghosts, haunting the facility, trapping people in elevators, streaming video archives on screen, and opening doors.
The hybrids are not the only ones to find their freedom. The creatures also take quarters in the facility. The deadly orchid is feasting on people’s blood, the Xenomorphs run free, and after failing to set itself in a new host, namely Joe, the Ocellus is on its own adventure now. And this might be the more unexpected element of the entire episode as it chooses Arthur’s (David Rysdahl) corpse, abandoned on the beach, as a new host. Now this is something I want a follow-up to in a second season. The Ocellus really became one of the most fascinating and exciting characters on the show.
A Battle of Wits
In addition to its theme about different races, species, and what makes people human, Alien: Earth explores different kinds of intelligence. There’s Kavalier and his business and science smart brain, there’s characters like Arthur, Sylvia (Essie Davis), and Joe who are the emotional intelligence of the show (not wanting to manipulate, focusing on empathy, seeing the hybrids as human souls instead of inhabited machines), and there’s characters like Morrow and Kirsh (Timothy Olyphant), very task oriented with a fixed goal they will reach, whatever the cost.
In this psychological landscape, the hybrids, still very much acting like human children, are learning, developing, and choosing their own path. By the end of this season, they all grew up differently. Slightly (Adarsh Gourav) and Smee (Jonathan Ajayi) stay close and are probably the most faithful to their original selves. Curly (Erana James) finally stops trying to be the favorite and chooses to be back to her original self, even using her real name. Nibs (Lily Newmark) completely changed and doesn’t hesitate to kill violently (which could also be in response to a much older trauma than being attacked by the Ocellus). And Wendy became a leader, not only for the hybrids but for the Xenomorphs too.
All together, they form a group that shouldn’t work, but in the context of their new life, they’re learning to use their differences for their own benefits, like a tiny society. And even Joe doesn’t make the cut: the hybrids are now ruling on their own.
Kavalier forgot what it meant to be a child, probably because he never really had the opportunity to be one. Children grow up, and while synthetic bodies can be controlled, their mind, their soul, is an abstract thing technology can’t subdue, not at this stage of technological evolution. If they can be taught and molded, the freedom they were granted backfired.
This finale highlights the way human hubris is always at the root of our demise. Kavalier wanted to play God, a recurring theme in the Alien world, by creating a new form of life, and manipulating and exploiting other living beings. The limitations of the smartest people are, in fact, quite obvious as they very often see themselves above anyone else, dismissing others’ potential if it doesn’t match theirs.
The Weaknesses of The Finale, and a Potential Season 2
With 8 episodes, the first season of Alien: Earth was never meant to tackle its story in-depth or with a lasting red thread. While closing many chapters, the finale also gives the show the opportunity to keep the story going. Hybrids took control of Neverland, the remaining adults are contained, and Wendy has control over the two Xenomorphs. Other creatures pose very little threat to them, especially now that they are one with the facility. They merged with the system managing the entire island, which gives them total control of, well, everything.
This is a perfect place for the kids, they make their own rules, they don’t need food, they learn to take care of themselves. Maintenance might be trickier, but with Sylvia still alive, they could have her work for them under their surveillance.
That said, this finale felt quite underwhelming, probably because the other episodes were so generous, maybe too generous. With each week came new shocking moments, new revelations, and twists that changed dynamics and outcomes. After all this, it was time to tie the biggest loose ends. The rise of the machines, the rebellion of new human-made lifeforms, is an old trope in science fiction, so hybrids taking over the island wasn’t that much of a surprise. I was expecting more significant deaths too, especially Kavalier, but it didn’t happen so what now?
And then there’s Yutani landing in the middle of this coup of sort. Will the hybrids negotiate with her? Will they just hand over whatever they deem useless to them and keep the island and the Xenomorphs? And with the Ocellus, a highly intelligent lifeform, now roaming around the island, there is a new threat… or a potential powerful ally. Without proper closure, some things felt quite unfinished. It’s good for the imagination, and has so much potential, but it’s also frustrating after such an intense build-up.
A second season is yet to be confirmed, but creator Noah Hawley said, in an interview with Polygon, he was “[…] pretty confident, given the show’s success, that we’ll get to make more,” before adding there’s no guarantee, “The risk is the reward.” Alien: Earth has been a solid first season, with many new fantastic concepts, characters and creatures we definitely want to see more of, and a strong storyline for the hybrids. We’re ready for more!
