Earth Episode 5’s Nostromo Tribute Explained

Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Alien: Earth episode 5!Alien: Earth creator Noah Hawley has explained episode 5’s stunning Nostromo recreation and how the episode pays tribute to the 1979 movie. The story of Alien: Earth flashes back to the events aboard the Maginot in episode 5, revealing more details about the extraterrestrial outbreak. This includes visuals and events reminiscent of the 1979 original movie, Alien.

In an interview with ScreenRant‘s Grant Hermanns for the season’s halfway point, Hawley explained how Alien: Earth episode 5 used its visuals as a way to honor the Nostromo and the original Alien. The creator detailed the “classicness” of the Maginot‘s design, with the camerawork complimenting the events that unfolded. Check out what Hawley had to say below:

Noah Hawley: …classicness of that ship, especially being modeled precisely on the Nostromo in those rooms, and how you can shoot in them. In some ways, it tells you how to shoot it right, unless you start pulling walls and trying to be crazy about things. I had a guy flying a drone down those hallways at what felt like 50 miles an hour. I couldn’t believe he he navigated it, but that’s an energy that felt new to me, to add into it over time. And then,I did this really playful shot where Richa is hiding from the Xenomorph, who’s down the hall. And I basically did this in camera. I did two setups, I did one that was the zoom lens zooming on her, and then I did another that was zooming down the hallway to the creature. And then, I married those two shots. So, in some ways, it doesn’t make any sense, but it has this feeling to it, and that’s always my approach is like, “How do I create this feeling?” And because I never learned any of the technical skills, I’m always just guessing. I’m like, “Well, what if we did it as a split zoom?” And then you start to have people say things about like, flashing lights and how it won’t work. And you’re like, “It’s gonna work.” [Chuckles] You just have to make it work. So, there’s a certain classicness to the way the camera moved. But also, when I talked to Ridley about it, he insists that he shot most of that first movie handheld, and he did not shoot most of that movie that way. [Laughs] It’s sort of interesting what people remember or not.

ScreenRant: It would have been impressive if he did, given how just smooth all of his shots were in that film.

Noah Hawley: I’ve never been a fan, in my own work, of handheld, but here it was the right tool in a lot of different places, as things get out of control, the camera feels less in control. That makes sense to me. Doesn’t make sense to me in a Coen Brothers universe, but it made sense to me here.

What Noah Hawley’s Statement Says About Alien: Earth’s Nostromo Tribute

Episode 5 offered deeper insight into the characters in Alien: Earth who brought the extraterrestrial threats down with them during the ship crash. At the same time, it did so in a setting that paid tribute to the franchise’s earliest installment, with everything from shots to events that felt reminiscent of its events – with additional elements as well.

Hawley’s statement about the way various scenes were set up shows how much the episode pulled from the original, crafting scenes that offer various horrifying feelings that are meant to evoke similar ideas as the first installment. His discussion with Ridley Scott also seems to have influenced the way he approached the episode’s presentation and feelings he wanted to evoke.

This ended up working in the episode’s favor, as the lengthy installment delivers plenty of terrifying moments. It helps that Morrow, Weyland-Yutani’s cyborg on the ship, is just as packed with ulterior motives as Ash from the original film. This makes the Maginot‘s events a strong Nostromo tribute while still pursuing its own type of story involving various alien threats.

Our Take On Alien: Earth Paying Tribute To The Nostromo

Because of how many ideas episode 5 evoked from the Alien movies, especially the original, the flashback feels like an important way to honor all the installments that came before the TV series. It helps that the events of the Maginot play out differently thanks to the other species aboard, adding new and unpredictable horrors to what transpires throughout.

This level of horror is likely to continue as Alien: Earth‘s final episodes play out. With the next episodes set to return to Neverland Island and Wendy’s connection with the newborn Xenomorph, the show has plenty of unique ideas it can toy with. This could possibly include more tributes to the franchise as the story continues evolving in new directions.

New episodes of Alien: Earth arrive Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on FX and Hulu.