Morrow: Alien: Earth’s Darker Ripley

Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Alien: Earth season 1, episode 5.Even though the human-synthetic hybrid Wendy seems like Alien: Earth‘s version of Ellen Ripley, it’s actually a much more surprising character. Since the original Alien in 1979, the franchise has only had a few different protagonists. Ripley (and her clone) led the first four Alien movies, and the protagonists since then have all been brunette women who share some major personality traits with her.

At first, it seemed like Alien: Earth was following in the footsteps of Prometheus and Alien: Romulus. Wendy seemed like the new Ripley; a strong “final girl” who goes toe-to-toe with a Xenomorph and lives. For all of Wendy’s similarities to Ripley and her status as Earth‘s protagonist, however, there’s a different Alien: Earth character who fills the role better.

Morrow Is Alien: Earth’s Version Of Ripley, Not Wendy

Courtesy of FX Networks/Credit: Patrick Brown

Morrow, not Wendy, is Alien: Earth‘s version of Ripley. He has much more in common with Ripley than Wendy does. Ripley and Morrow are both, essentially, space truckers who work for the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. They’re also both sticklers for the rules, as Morrow enforced strict security protocols and Ripley wanted to enforce quarantine procedures on Kane in the original film.

We also learned in Alien: Earth episode 5 that both Morrow and Ripley left a daughter behind on Earth that died while they were on their space voyages. Morrow did knowingly leave his daughter, Estelle, for a 65-year voyage, while Ripley was supposed to return to Amanda before her 11th birthday. Their respective daughters’ deaths were both unexpected, though, and Morrow and Ripley have very similar traumas and motivations because of them.

Morrow and Ripley are also both the final survivors of their respective ships, the USCSS Maginot and the Nostromo. To top it all off, Morrow replicates one thing about Ripley that Wendy simply can’t: he controls his fear. Wendy is a hybrid, she doesn’t have to worry about being torn apart. Ripley and Morrow, however, are very mortal, yet they face off against Xenomorphs in spite of their fear.

Morrow Has Similarities To Ripley, But He’s A Much Darker Version Of Her

While Morrow does have some major character traits and roles in common with Ripley, he’s also a very different character. Morrow is a much darker version of Ripley, one who is much more cold-blooded. Ripley always hated Weyland-Yutani for forcing her to encounter the Xenomorphs, for example, while Morrow pledges his undying loyalty to them and actively collaborates with them.

Siding with a company as evil as Weyland-Yutani is dark, but Morrow also has more personal sins on his conscience. Ripley constantly tried to save everyone she could, from Jonesy to Newt and anyone else. Morrow, however, was fine with sealing a door and condemning Zaverni to a gory death. He also knowingly abandoned his daughter, and he would have willingly missed the vast majority of her life even if she hadn’t died at 19.

Now, Morrow is also actively manipulating and threatening Slightly — a child — to get the Xenomorph ovomorphs back. Ripley, on the other hand, very famously put herself in mortal danger to protect children like Newt and destroy Xenomorphs. Even though they have similar backstories and personalities, Morrow is much more of an anti-hero or villain in Alien: Earth than Ripley ever was.