Alien: Earth Episode 7 Review

Spoilers ahead for Alien: Earth episode 7, “Emergence!”

Alien: Earth hasn’t been shy about taking its time laying the groundwork for the explosive events of episode 7, “Emergence,” but all the deliberate pacing and foreshadowing pay off in the season’s latest episode. Though the Boy Kavalier stays relatively calm, preparing to let the eyeball monster take over a human instead of worrying about the Xenomorph on the loose, the stakes are higher than ever as loyalties crumble and each character is forced to lay their cards on the table, showing who they really are.

Alien: Earth episode 6, “The Fly,” featured some scary moments, but while there’s plenty to be nervous about throughout “Emergence,” the penultimate installment is less terrifying than it is electric. With two Xenomorphs on the island, an invading army, and a trillionaire whose main concern is communicating with the eyeball creature, it’s not tough to imagine that the chaos is only getting started as we hurtle toward episode eight. Though I feel confident that we’ll see more of Alien: Earth in the future, I feel just as sure that this episode is leading us to an unforgettable finale.

As The Island’s Protections Fall Away, Wendy & The Hybrids Realize They Can Control Their Own Destinies

Wendy Is Primed To Become Our Most Dangerous & Interesting Character

Wendy is getting closer to becoming our most interesting character in Alien: Earth in “Emergence,” learning with every passing moment that the most powerful individual on the island might just be her. The moment when she sees her grave and attempts to shake off the part of herself buried there is one of the most emotional scenes of the series so far, especially considering that Hermit clearly feels as if the Hybrid standing in front of him isn’t quite his sister. Unfortunately, after the events of “Emergence,” it seems that Hermit’s right, and that the Hybrids are their own species.

Timothy Olyphant’s Kirsch has been more than a sleeper hit this season, stealing every scene he’s been in, and the episode’s narrative is only making me more desperate to know what Kirsch’s motivations are as he pulls the strings from behind the scenes. One of the major thematic questions that Alien: Earth, and the franchise in general, grapples with is the nature of what it means to be human, and the line between Kirsch as a pure Synth versus the children as Hybrids has captured my attention.

The way Olyphant portrays Kirsch’s placid impassivity makes it difficult to tell what he’s interested in, if anything. It’s possible that all Kirsch wants is pure chaos, taking his programming as a scientist to its fullest potential, letting all events unfold as they will. However, Kirsch is far from the only character with secret plans and a stake in the game, even though it seems that he put a stop to Morrow’s plan. In the wake of watching Arthur die and the moral complications of lying and secrets, Smee, Slightly, and Curly are becoming just as unraveled as the other children.

The so-called indestructibility of the Hybrids has been called into question over the last two episodes, with Isaac gone and Hermit’s electrocution of Nibs leaving her fate uncertain. The way Wendy has reacted to the events is telling, as she is deeply empathetic with those she identifies with and sees as family, but quickly crosses the line into pure cruelty and violence when someone poses a threat to her. How she’ll come to see Hermit now that he’s betrayed her with Nibs will change their dynamic forever.

However, for Hermit and the other humans, the Hybrids are dangerous, especially Wendy now that she’s exercising control over the Xenomorph. While Nibs was already exhibiting unstable behavior, it was also the intervention of Dame Sylvia that pushed her past the point of reason, further estranging her from the humanity that she’d been clinging to. In the final moments of the episode, when Wendy sees her brother as something more foreign to her than the Xenomorph, her evolution is complete. Though they were programmed in a lab, it’s the actions of others that have shaped the children more than anything.

Alien: Earth Questions The Nature Of Humanity As The People On The Island Become More Expendable

The Price Of Knowledge & Exploration Gets Higher In Each Episode Of Alien: Earth

Wendy wants off the island, and it’s been easy to forget over the past few weeks spent in isolation with the Hybrids on the island that there’s an entire Earth out there that will be decimated if the Xenomorphs reach the mainland. Of course, the unbridled greed of the Boy Kavalier and Yutanti clouds their judgment and makes the possibility of billions of lives lost worth the risk of bending the universe to their will. Wendy’s more ideologically pure, but no less unsound, reason for taking the Xenomorph away comes from a misplaced sense of justice, as Wendy isn’t being taught the right kind of lessons on the island.

There are plenty of burning questions on the audience’s mind as we head toward the series finale of Alien: Earth. While I want to see my favorite characters survive, if only to see what they’ll do next season, I’m not sure if anyone in the series has proved themselves to be incorruptible. However, that’s been the fun of watching Alien: Earth so far, and I hope that Wendy and the other Hybrids come into their power even further before the series wraps up for the season.