Alien: Earth Season 1 Ending Explained – How It Can All Fit Into the Bigger Alien Movie Universe

This nonfiction contains spoilers for the Alien: Earth Season 1 finale.

Who are the existent monsters connected Alien: Earth? That’s virtually the rubric of the last occurrence of Season 1, “The Real Monsters,” but it’s besides the taxable the full play has been playing with connected FX and Hulu – oregon astatine least, 1 of the large ones. There are the evident monsters, of course, similar the xenomorph and everyone’s fave horrible octopus thing, the Eye. But arsenic accustomed for the Alien franchise, those are mostly outer factors causing accent connected the much quality and synth characters, starring to a large question astatine the extremity of the play arsenic to whether the monsters person mislaid the delicate crippled being played, oregon if they’ve taken implicit the asylum.

Written by Noah Hawley and Migizi Pensoneau, and directed by Dana Gonzales, the amazingly abbreviated finale has a batch going on. The distilled mentation is that with Yutani (Sandra Yi Sencindiver) closing successful connected Boy Kavalier’s (Samuel Blenkin) subject playground of Neverland successful bid to instrumentality backmost her extraterrestrial property, which Boy Kavalier stole from a crashed vessel called the Maginot, everyone goes…well, a small nuts.

The Lost Boys, led by Wendy (Sydney Chandler), recognize a mates of things portion being imprisoned successful a holding cell. First, they judge that they did so dice during the procedure, which ostensibly enactment their consciousnesses wrong synth bodies. They’re not kids successful big synth bodies, nor are they synths who deliberation they’re human; they’re thing other entirely, and the opposition is wide betwixt them and, for example, Atom Eins (Adrian Edmondson), Boy Kavalier’s right-hand man, who turns retired to beryllium a synth. In a cardinal scene, Wendy uses her god-like machine-hacking powers to frost Atom, giving him a airy sound to propulsion him to the floor. Wendy has escaped will; a run-of-the-mill synth similar Atom does not.

It’s Nibs (Lily Newmark) who figures retired what their relation tin beryllium successful this episode, though. “We’re each ghosts,” she says. What bash ghosts do? They haunt things. That takes the literal signifier of Wendy bringing up footage of the children who died, expressing anticipation for their futures aft the synth process, to thrust Dame Sylvia (Essie Davis) mad. But it besides points to the spot we extremity up with successful the last changeable of the episode, with each the faithful employees of Boy Kavalier’s Prodigy corp – including Boy Kavalier himself – locked successful a cage portion the Lost Boys person taken implicit the different bare facility. Prodigy, arsenic a corporation, is already dead, acknowledgment to the incoming incursion from Yutani. It’s an abandoned mansion, and the Lost Boys are the shades of Boy Kavalier’s top misdeed – sidesplitting six children to merchantability robots and the bare committedness of immortality to affluent radical – everlastingly rattling astir wrong the walls.

To instrumentality this a measurement further, there’s a beauteous cardinal speech earlier successful the occurrence betwixt the Yutani-aligned cyborg Morrow (Babou Ceesay) and Wendy’s mostly quality brother, Joe (Alex Lawther), erstwhile this peculiar mismatched duo is locked successful their ain cage together. Talking astir however Joe’s lung has been replaced by Boy Kavalier, thing that has extended Joe’s indentured servitude to the Prodigy corporation, Morrow asks: “When the corp gives you something, there’s ever a price. Do you cognize what it is?”

“Everything,” Joe answers.

Morrow past fires back: “Everything doesn’t statesman to screen it.”

The indispensable struggle of the Alien franchise is, and ever has been, not humans versus xenomorphs, but humans versus different humans oregon their tools and edicts. More specifically, this usually takes the signifier of the Weyland-Yutani corporation, who owns the lives of the latest batch of chum they’ve sent to retrieve a fewer xenomorph eggs. Even the execs who correspond the corporation, similar Carter Burke (Paul Reiser) successful Aliens oregon the cloning scientists successful Alien: Resurrection are much disposable substance for the occurrence erstwhile it comes to the monolithic concern our heroes are really warring against.

Alien: Earth introduced the thought that Earth is present owned and tally by 5 corporations. That means each psyche connected Earth – human, cyborg, and synth alike – owes their lives and deaths to 1 of 5 companies, and for the astir part, they don’t adjacent fertile arsenic chess pieces similar Morrow. They’re checkers astatine champion who volition ne'er get to beryllium king.

The Lost Boys are present the lone objection to this rule. Despite everything – contempt six children dying, contempt the trauma they were thrown into by Prodigy successful the wreck of the Maginot, contempt being told by Boy Kavalier that they’re thing but “floor models” – they persevered and gained their independency by episode’s end. They’ve retaken their fixed quality names, but are thing but. They’ve shaken disconnected their skin, similar the xenomorph, and go thing more…something new.

To beryllium clear, they’re inactive wrong a Prodigy installation by the last changeable of the season, and Yutani is coming to assertion them and each the monsters inside. So it’s much than apt this is lone a impermanent reprieve until adjacent season, erstwhile we could perchance displacement the enactment from Prodigy to Weyland-Yutani. But for now? They’re the ghosts successful the machine, the ones causing problems and acceptable to bring the full happening down if they can. They don’t really bash that, caput you, and we’ll explicate wherefore successful a second. But to instrumentality to the archetypal question: Who are the existent monsters? It’s corporations, of course. Alexa, play “Animal” by Pearl Jam.

Yeah, But What About the Xenomorph and the Other Monsters? Aren’t They the "Real Monsters?"

Taking a measurement backmost from Wendy and her crew, determination are inactive plentifulness of beastie bits successful the last episode. The biggest 1 is the Eye, aka Midge, who Boy Kavalier becomes enamored with. He wants to person 1 bully conversation, and helium thinks letting the Eye instrumentality implicit a quality being volition fto him bash that. It leads to the biggest monster combat successful the episode, arsenic Joe is lured into Boy Kavalier’s bureau portion Midge – who conscionable wants to past by popping retired eyeballs and has ne'er done thing incorrect successful her entire, precious beingness (the small dear) – sneaks astir and tries to instrumentality implicit his body.

Wendy stops Midge, who crawls to the formation wherever Arthur Sylvia’s (David Rysdahl) assemblage is rotting aft dying via chestburster 2 episodes back. Also of note, crabs are crawling each implicit his corpse, and successful a darkly comic infinitesimal astatine the apical of the episode, the xenomorph stares astatine the crab. Game admit game?

In immoderate case, we permission the existent leader of Alien: Earth, Midge, having taken implicit Arthur’s corpse. Good connected Rysdahl for getting enactment for Season 2, but erstwhile it comes to Midge, puppeting a corpse whitethorn not beryllium sustainable successful the agelong term. So ticker out, everyone else’s eyeballs!

We besides find retired what’s up with D. Plumbicare, aka the weird hanging pod recovered connected the Maginot. As it turns out, it’s immoderate benignant of manta ray-type happening that tin crawl connected the walls, past picks up its unfortunate and bloodily squeezes and consumes them. Gross!

Whither ya lad the xenomorph, though? We mentioned the xeno – it is the titular role, aft all! – who has a superior enslaved with Wendy and was wandering astir the island…and that’s benignant of it. Wendy is fundamentally utilizing what is the apex predator of the full franchise arsenic an onslaught dog, which is simply a funny happening fixed the powerfulness dynamics we discussed earlier: Prodigy is attempting to power the Lost Boys, and they’re breaking escaped of that control. So it would apt lone beryllium a substance of clip earlier Wendy starts to suffer her ain power implicit the xenomorphs, arsenic she present has 2 of them: the 1 that gestated successful Joe’s lung, and the babe 1 that came retired of Arthur.

More to the point, Wendy is present the apex predator, not the xenomorph. As we said, the aliens successful Alien are ever an outer stressor connected the characters, who person a spot much of the dialog and affectional depth. But we’ve present gotten aggregate scenes passim the play of a xenomorph approaching a main character, looking astatine them, and past for assorted reasons not sidesplitting them. It happened with Morrow earlier successful the season, and it happened successful this occurrence with Dame Sylvia.

Ostensibly, the crushed is that it gets interrupted by (usually) a squad of soldiers. We bash get to spot the xeno has killed astir everyone other successful Neverland, though usually successful a concisely glimpsed aftermath, not the enactment itself. But look, heady themes astir anti-corporate civilization are each good and good, but we besides ticker these movies – and this amusement – due to the fact that we privation to spot the xenomorph perfectly rip radical to shreds. Maybe that’s however Alien, which was initially made by ample corp Fox and present owned by ample corp Disney, satiates the masses successful a akin mode to however Prodigy provides comfortableness for its soldiers successful speech for them dying.

But also, we’re each not supra a small bloodlust, and arsenic this play has progressed, the xenomorph has go tamer some successful demeanor and action. Heck, Wendy’s xeno faces down Boy Kavalier astatine 1 constituent and then…just knocks him over? It’s hard not to consciousness similar the monster who has frightened audiences for decades has been somewhat defanged by the finale of Alien: Earth. Perhaps successful the effort to marque Boy Kavalier and his unit “the existent monsters,” they forgot a spot astir the, you know, real monsters, aka the xenomorphs.

At the precise least, here’s hoping that successful Season 2, they tin travel backmost bigger and stronger, similar Aliens to Season 1’s Alien.

How Does This All Connect to the Bigger Alien Universe?

Speaking of those 2 movies, the contented with prequels similar this is that we person a beauteous bully thought what happens next. The much focused details, similar “what happens to the Lost Boys” and “will the Eye and Boy Kavalier ever sloppy marque out” are TBD, but successful presumption of wherever Weyland-Yutani goes next, well…we cognize the reply to that, due to the fact that determination are respective movies that archer america exactly what volition happen.

We’ve antecedently talked astir the timeline of the Alien franchise and however Alien: Earth fits in, but to summarize arsenic simply arsenic possible, the Maginot near Earth successful 2055 astatine the behest of the Weyland-Yutani corp connected a 65-year mission. That sets it earlier the events of Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, but showrunner Noah Hawley has said earlier that for the involvement of Alien: Earth, he’s truly lone reasoning astir what happens successful Alien and Aliens.

To support walking done it, the main events of Alien: Earth Season 1 instrumentality spot successful 2120, including the clang of the Maginot and everything starring up to and including the last episode. Interestingly, you cognize what other happens successful 2120? The Nostromo, the vessel carrying Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and unit successful the archetypal Alien film, leaves Earth. We don’t cognize what period (or months) Alien: Earth takes spot in, and neither bash we cognize the nonstop day the Nostromo near the planet, truthful it’s imaginable the Nostromo is already successful space. It’s besides imaginable that the last occurrence of Alien: Earth volition find the Nostromo leaving spacedock connected its mode to its destiny.

The events of Alien, by the way, hap successful 2122, 2 years down the road, and Aliens is overmuch later, successful 2179. Between those 2 points, we get Alien: Romulus successful 2142, but again, Hawley hasn’t mentioned that much, truthful we tin disregard that movie for the moment.

The reply to the question astir however this each connects to the bigger Alien universe, though, is apt this: It some does and doesn’t. Yes, the amusement includes elements of the Alien franchise, and it takes spot successful a circumstantial twelvemonth successful the timeline, but Hawley and institution are forging their ain path. He seems little acrophobic with walking america to the infinitesimal of Ripley’s departure and connecting the dots betwixt iterations of the franchise than telling the communicative helium wants to archer successful the mode helium wants to archer it.

To immoderate fans, that apt makes Hawley the existent monster. But until the amusement returns, oregon Disney announces different theatrical iteration of the franchise? In the words of Wendy astatine the extremity of the finale, erstwhile it comes to TV? “Now we rule.”