Alien: Earth (Episodes 1 and 2)
First Thoughts on the Latest Addition to this Sci-Fi series
When they originally started teasing the Alien: Earth series —the Alien dome head holding a glistening image of Earth in its slimy reflection —I immediately pegged it as a coy play. "We're showing you the amazing Alien creature design, and this tease will be as good a glimpse as you'll ever get in the actual show."
And I was dead wrong. A lot of characters are DEAD wrong after two episodes.
Alien: Earth doesn't pull punches with its titular monster. But it also adds a cohort of disgusting parasitic new monstrosities to give it a run for its money. Throughout the first two episodes, it has become very clear that the xenomorph is not just a name to market the show (with it disappearing to hide in the floorboards or vents during the actual runtime). While it is physically hiding, it's also enacting possibly the bloodiest encounters I've seen in the Alien franchise to date.
It is on Earth, and the earthlings are not prepared for it... and it shows - all over the walls in splattered guts and blood.
For those curious, you do get a 'good look' at the Alien, perhaps looking slightly different than before if you haven't tuned in since 1979. It's not the slimy (KY-jellied), throbbing demon creature from the original Ridley Scott film. While it looks much the same in shape and form, it is fairly 'dry and shiny' and its chompers are pristine, metallic weapons (well... pristine in its early appearances).
Now, one thing that threw me off in these early episodes was a few of the moments where she is revealed in the scene. (Yes, 'she'. A character refers to the alien as 'she') The characters will be traversing through a scene, and she will have either been there a moment before/after or throughout the scene in the background... and then the camera seems to just ... linger ... on her after the characters exit the scene (and she may as well 'look' at the camera). These moments are brief disappointments in an overall good depiction of the alien in episodes 1 and 2.
A Tale of Three Stories
A lost (dead) crew, a lost (dead) family, and the lost (dead) boys.
In Alien: Earth, two plots are running in tandem across both episodes: a group of private soldiers working for a corporation and a group of science experiments known as the Lost Boys. And the connective tissue is a third story that brings them crashing together in the second episode.
I've gone back and forth on how much I want to say in this discussion because I don't want to share a SPOILER-ridden post for folks who want to watch it and hate spoilers. I decided to keep things as spoiler-free as possible, so we can just talk at a fairly high level.
SPOILERS IN THE FOOTNOTES IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE DETAILS:1
Suffice to say, the stories are very much in line with the overall themes of the Alien series: the Alien, Synthetics, and the Company... but now it's multiple alien types, multiple companies, and multiple synthetic types. From the opening minute, the show will get you up to speed on this new paradigm. It doesn't inherently retcon any of the major Alien film lore, but it introduces new complications that it explores on its premise, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Memory Splices
Alien: Earth also has a habit of splicing in random shots of terror, gore, or non-'related' story elements (meaning not coverage of a scene, but they may have dramatic or emotional significance to what is happening on screen). I like these to a point. However, there are times early on in the first episode when more understated, silent scenes are interrupted by violent, action sequence cuts... and it undercuts the tension or dread the scene was building.
This specific qualm I have is a problem that many modern films share. Many films release tension in scenes before they have to, and it can undercut the power of the emotions that were building (for example, Marvel films using humor during intensely emotional moments to undercut darker themes and release tension).
Lore Additions and Callbacks
You've seen the ship in the trailers, with it crashing on Earth to give us our title and premise. The Crew of the USCSS Maginot line... err, ship ... is introduced to the audience from the start. The crew wakes up, almost beat for beat like the original film, complete with nearly identical hypersleep pods, attire, and dining mess.
I joke, but the historical irony of naming the ship the Maginot... and the crew feeling comfortable with housing a bunch of alien 'specimens' on board (their border?) ... not realizing they are doomed to be massacred (invaded). Where was I going with this? Hmmm, rhyming irony.
Unlike in Alien, the 'secret synth' trope is not here: you will know from the start. And there are some lore additions here (barring a nerd correcting me) that add some more complexity to the dynamics among humans and machines.
A Strong Start
Overall, the first two episodes serve as a strong opener and effectively address some of the concerns that Alien fans had when the project was announced. The alien remains the center-stage monster, while the show presents some new parasitic life forms that honor the horror aesthetic of the series. The company, as well as the dynamic of humanity versus machines, are kept center-stage as themes, while adding new elements that create a messy, combative dynamic that also adds nuance to both.
Score: A-
(or 27 feral alien specimens breaking containment)
Thanks for the Meme-ries
Very good review. Nailed the nuances on the head! Ridley Scott style steam and water bears mentioning. Even the title reveal brings back the suspenseful feel of the original movie.