(NEXSTAR) — As the first season of FX’s “Alien: Earth” nears an end, this week’s penultimate episode unleashes chaos across Prodigy Island, where the sheep is about to hit the fan.
Tuesday’s episode, titled “Emergence,” picks up right where last week’s messy-but-enjoyable sixth episode left off with an intense propulsion right into the finale.
Spoilers ahead for “Alien: Earth” episode seven.
Bed bugs
It’s still a bad day for Arthur Sylvia.
Slightly (Adarsh Gourav) is trying to figure out how to move the now facehugged Arthur out of the Prodigy facility and onto the beach, where Morrow and the rest of Weyland-Yutani’s soldiers await to collect him. In a moment of childishness that works (so much of Slightly’s childishness doesn’t work, so I’ll give credit when it’s due), Slightly tries to hide Arthur under his bed but a curious Smee quickly discovers what’s under the duvet.
Slightly begs a dismayed Smee to help him save his family but Smee says he’ll only help if Arthur will be OK — Slightly assures him he will.
Back in the lab, synthetic scientist Kirsh (Timothy Olyphant) deploys the security team to contain the acid-spitting flies the late Isaac accidentally unleashed last episode. Kirsh informs Prodigy CEO Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin) that Isaac died after the flies spit acid all over him. Boy Kavalier’s reaction is basically, “That’s too bad. Anyway, Alexa play ‘I Melt With You’ by Modern English.” But Kavalier’s instantly intrigued once Kirsh shows him surveillance footage of the sheep causing Isaac’s death.
Kavalier orders Kirsh to move the sheep for further observation.
Next, Wendy enters the lab to confront Kavalier and Kirsh about Nibs’ memory wipe, and learns of Isaac’s death. Wendy says she thought they’d been built to survive such things but knowing she actually can die appears to put new fire under Wendy’s hood.
As she goes to tell the others’ the news about Isaac, Kavalier orders the guards to stop her. Unfazed, Wendy chitters to the nearby caged xenomorph, who begins attempting to break its glass cage. Kavalier acquiesces, and, realizing Wendy is more powerful than he thought, says merely, “Oh, s–t.”
Hybrids gone wild
Following what she’s just learned, Wendy (Sydney Chandler) finally agrees to escape the island with Joe (Alex Lawther). Even though the siblings have a small window to get to the boats, Wendy says she won’t leave without the other hybrids, arguing that they’re her siblings, too.
Wendy and Joe are joined by Nibs, but Curly (Erana James) refuses.
“The Boy Genius is not your friend,” Wendy warns.
Curly, still on her quest to be BK’s number 1, says she believes Kavalier “just wants to help people, like he helped us,” and though she declines to leave with them, she agrees not to tell on them.
But before the hybrids and the human make a run for it, Wendy unveils a new trick: She can hack and manipulate the island’s security system. As the others look on in surprise, Wendy creates a deadly distraction by releasing her pet xenomorph in the lab. Joe appears disturbed by Wendy’s choice to let Prodigy guards and scientists die but says nothing.
‘Children have to learn how to lie’
Slightly and Smee finally reach the beach with Arthur, whose facehugger has just fallen off (we even get a classic dead facehugger jumpscare!), leaving a confused Arthur asking why he’s out in the jungle with them.
The hybrids tell him the facilities are being evacuated after a contamination (little do they know how close this lie is what’s actually happening), and that he passed out. The boys say that Arthur’s wife, Dame Sylvia, is waiting for him at the beach. Reluctantly, he agrees.
Back at the facility, we learn that Wendy’s xenomorph escaped into the jungle through a trash chute. Creator Noah Hawley and the producers of “Alien: Earth” are really sticking to the “cockroachification” of the xenomorph, here, and I really like it. Anyway, the xenomorph’s now loose in the jungle — and it’s about to be one of two.
Slightly, Smee and Arthur make it to the island’s shoreline, when Arthur makes a confession.
“Children have to learn how to lie. And you two are still learning,” he says, offering them the chance to come clean. Tragically, Arthur tells them he loves them and offers to help them get out of whatever they’re involved in but it’s too late.
Arthur feels the chest cracking we’re so used to hearing at this point, and seconds later, he’s on the ground dead, with a new xenomorph fresh out of his body. As the two horrified hybrids stare in shock, the creature wriggles itself away into the jungle.
“You said he was going to be OK!” a blood-soaked Smee tells Slightly. Hoping to hide what they’ve done, they move the body to a nearby cove, where they’re ambushed by Weyland-Yutani soldiers and their leader, cyborg Morrow (Babou Ceesay). He orders the two to be captured and the crew move to storm the Prodigy labs.
Shepherd’s π
In a private room, Atom Eins (Ade Edmondson) and Kavalier test the sheep’s intelligence. The animal, still in control of the T. Ocellus eyeball monster, acknowledges and understands human language.
Kavalier next poses the alien species a bigger challenge: Give the next numbers in the mathematical constant Pi (3.14…). Using its hooves to tap (in addition to defecating), the creature does better than I did in high school algebra. A delighted Kavalier plans the next big project for T. Ocellus — a human host.
After saying he wants to use someone with a low IQ “so they can see the difference,” BK says he knows just the person. Knowing Arthur Sylvia’s bad luck, it’ll be him.
No wey, land
Morrow and the W-Y soldiers enter the Prodigy facility, where they’re immediately ambushed by Prodigy’s security soldiers. Surrounded, Kirsh (who’s captured the recently born xenomorph) orders everyone locked up and tells Slightly and Smee they’re in trouble. It feels kind of anticlimactic but hey, a sheep just did math.
Wendy, Nibs and Joe make it boat side, though not before Wendy commands her xenomorph to attack some W-Y soldiers, discomforting Joe even further. Finally aboard the board, the crew are surprised by Prodigy security soldier Siberian (Diêm Camille) and an entire ambush of others. (This is a really ambush-heavy episode).
They attempt to capture the three before one of the soldiers makes the mistake of throwing Nibs’ stuffed animal in the water (for some reason?), causing her to rip his jaw clean off his body. The redheaded hybrid assaults several others and before she can kill Siberian, Joe shoots Nibs in the chest.
The hybrid drops to the ground, twitching.
Betrayal in her eyes, Wendy looks at Joe and screams, “What have you done?”
Final thoughts
Though episode seven has some of the same of the same “moving person x to point x” feeling that I criticized last week’s episode for, it’s much more palatable here. “Emergence” is better-written and more focused.
This isn’t at all meant to be a knock at James Cameron’s 1981 masterpiece “Aliens,” but “Alien: Earth” is at its best when it’s more akin to Ridley Scott’s “Alien,” than the action-heavy (and great) sequel. Hawley’s writing feels more at home within the lofty ideas and mystery of Scott’s realm and less successful when it’s trying to exciting.
Lest we forget, the most exciting moment in all of episode six was a negotiation meeting between Boy Kavalier and Yutani. All this said, “Emergence” sets the stage for what we expect to be a rager of a finale.
Grade: B
“Alien: Earth” airs Tuesdays on FX and Hulu.
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