Season 1 of Alien: Earth has finished, and the season finale has, expectedly, ended on a massive cliffhanger. However, it feels rounded up, too; we can assume what happens now that Wendy (Sydney Chandler) and the Lost Boys are keeping Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin), Kirsh (Timothy Olyphant), and others captive. They intend to rule Neverland Island and be in charge—if the story ended at that, that would’ve been an interesting open ending.
However, the season didn’t end on that note; it shows Yutani (Sandra Yi Sencindiver) arriving with a fleet, and a bunch of alien species on the loose. As exciting as the potential for a Season 2 is, I still have questions after the Alien: Earth Season 1 finale.
1
Will We Get More Impressive Needle Drops in Season 2?
Although it’s still unsure whether Alien: Earth will get a Season 2 (though it inevitably will), one thing I am really hopeful for is the return of Jeff Russo’s music selection and score. At the end of every episode, Russo inserted a throwback rock song, like Metallica‘s “Wherever I May Roam” and “Song for the Dead” by Queens of the Stone Age. These needle drops don’t just improve the overall impression of the story, but they also make the show feel nostalgic, even though it’s set in the future. Retro-futurism is currently very in, and Disney, of all, has been brilliant at it lately.
The composed score itself is also unsettling, evoking a constant paranoia and alien presence throughout the series; but it’s those incredible end credits needle drops that really round the whole thing out. Here’s hoping that if we get a second season—or when we get Season 2—Russo will continue giving us indomitable rock bangers that make the experience complete.
2
Is It Possible To Move Away From the Prequel Lore?
Since the ’90s, most of the movies in the Alien franchise have been prequels. Since Prometheus, we’ve been seeing movies set before 1979’s Alien lore. Alien: Earth is also a prequel; according to sources, it’s set two years before the main events of the first movie. But is there a way for the show to introduce the post-James Cameron’s Aliens lore, and could we be introduced to Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) at some point (though this isn’t necessary at all)? Also, if we only learn about Xenomorphs in the first Alien film, how does their existence on Earth in the show connect to the movies?
Could Weyland-Yutani have planted a Xenomorph on the ship, and why? And how much would that change the meaning of the relevance of everything that happens in the first movie? Also, if Noah Hawley plans to stay in prequel territory, he hopefully knows two years isn’t a long time. That would just mean that we’re inching closer to the movies’ lore without talking about milestones or advancing the narrative in a certain direction. It would be micro events and those usually don’t make history.
3
How or When Did the Xenomorphs Actually Get That Name?
The question may seem off, so let me rephrase it—how does Boy Kavalier know to call the Xenomorphs… “Xenomorphs”? If we only learn about their name in the movie Aliens, does that mean Boy Kavalier actually named them first? Or are they a well-known species to scientists on Earth, and were the main reason for the Weyland-Yutani expedition? Since Boy Kavalier paid off one of the Maginot’s crew members to deliver the Xenomorph eggs to him instead of Yutani, the existence of the aliens is already a fact to Earth.
According to Alien lore, the name Xenomorph is first mentioned by Lieutenant Gorman (William Hope) in the 1986 movie Aliens, which takes place after the events of Alien, and more importantly, Alien: Earth. The word literally means “alien form,” compiled from the Greek xeno-, meaning “other” or “strange”, and the suffix -morph, which refers to shape. Is Boy Kavalier’s use of the word a plot hole or something deliberate? And does it make a difference in any way?
4
What Will Happen to the Hybrids’ Prisoners (After Yutani Arrives)?
The season finale shows that Wendy and the Lost Boys finally realized their true power and decided to take advantage of their new bodies and capacities. They capture Boy Kavalier, Kirsh, Dame Sylvia (Essie Davis), Atom Eins (Adrian Edmondson), and Morrow (Babou Ceesay) in the same cage they were kept in just hours before; Kirsh and Morrow are severely wounded, while the others are incapacitated in some way. It’ll be interesting to see what they decide to do with them. Boy Kavalier will likely try and talk his way out of the cage and not take anyone else with him; it’s unlikely any of the prisoners will be killed, at least not by the Lost Boys or Wendy.
Also, keeping prisoners in Neverland is risky business since the final moments of Episode 8, “The Real Monsters,” depict Yutani arriving to the island. If the hybrids manage to survive the “invasion,” they won’t allow Yutani to take anyone. Other alternatives include Yutani capturing the whole island and claiming it for herself or grabbing everyone from it and leaving the island, incinerating it to bits. The likeliest survivors here are Boy Kavalier and Kirsh, potentially Morrow, since Yutani is his boss. She won’t go without a fight, that’s for sure.
5
Is Ocellus Going To Help the Humans or the Hybrids?
In the season finale, we also see the eye-octopus—alien they name Ocellus, overtaking dead Arthur’s (David Rysdahl) body. With a hole in his chest, Arthur is raised from the dead, though he’s no longer himself, but under Ocellus’ control. The show has hinted at this happening across several episodes, with Boy Kavalier speaking to it while it was controlling the sheep; his biggest wish was to be able to talk to Ocellus and learn more about it from its manner of expression.
Now that Ocellus is occupying Arthur’s body, the question is—will it help Boy Kavalier or the hybrids, or will it achieve its own agenda? It’s undoubtedly going to learn the mannerisms of regular humans and find ways to camouflage itself to live among humans; in this respect, Ocellus is even more dangerous than a Xenomorph, and an interesting addition to the Alien: Earth lore. Will it stay in Arthur’s body, or look for someone more suitable? Even crazier—will it potentially occupy Boy Kavalier’s body? There are some signs there, due to Boy Kavalier’s curiosity about Ocellus, and it might be the alien’s ultimate revenge for being experimented on.
6
Can Joe Influence Wendy Anymore?
Joe Hermit (Alex Lawther) is Wendy/Marcy’s older brother, and she has a strong bond with him; they’re shown watching Ice Age as children and learning the movie by heart, but also as being very connected and close after growing up together. Joe believes Marcy is dead after she ends up in Wendy’s body, but she manages to convince him it’s still her; they find each other and stay close on Neverland. However, Marcy is now in Wendy’s body, and it’s obvious she’s discovering her capacities with a lot of curiosity and creativity (almost like a child, one might say). Since she’s no longer just a mortal kid, the question is—will Joe ever be able to reach the inner Marcy again?
It seems Joe’s kindness and humanity are motivators for Marcy; she relies on him and looks to him as a guiding force, which is why this dynamic shift is taking a left turn the more she becomes Wendy and less Marcy. When Joe’s attitude and guidance no longer help, what will happen? Will she see him as weak and a nuisance and reject him fully, or will she decide to listen to his advice after all? If things go as I think they will, Wendy could fly too close to the sun and get confident enough to think of herself as all-powerful (she kind of is, too). I hope Joe’s presence won’t be a filler in further seasons.
7
Why Does Wendy Have All This Power?
Speaking of Wendy, I’m curious about why she is the one with all the power. It could have easily been any of the Lost Boys, since they’re all hybrids with the same capacities and bodies; my guess is that Wendy is the most powerful because of Marcy. Marcy is resilient, curious, and intelligent, which can be seen from some of the flashbacks of her before becoming a hybrid. She speaks with clarity and understanding, and is the most mature of the kids. OK, I answered my own question there, but there’s still a lot that we don’t know.
The biggest curiosity around Wendy’s powers is her ability to speak to Xenomorphs. While hybrids can access tech and networks, Xenomorphs are organic creatures and base-level predators and there’s no database she can access to read and understand their language. It has to come organically, so why does it come to Wendy? She learns the language so quickly, too, that she’s not just able to exchange small phrases, but work together with the Xenomorphs. Why was she given this ability, and how will it affect the rest of the Alien: Earth series and the rest of the franchise?
