REVIEW: ‘Alien: Earth’ Episode 6 — “The Fly”

The tensions between numerous characters rose so high during Alien Earth Episode 6, “The Fly,” that you’ll be pulling at your collar during your first watch. There’s no spending time on the Maginot or in space in this episode; we’re simply landlocked. The episode does focus on Wendy (Sydney Chandler) again, but there’s also an exploration into other characters’ points of view. And everyone is struggling one way or another with a decision or an indecision. Not to mention absolute chaos incoming at Prodigy’s facility due to Slightly (Adarsh Gourav) letting Morrow (Babou Ceesay) manipulate him, character deaths, and Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin) toying with Weyland-Yutani to keep the specimens with him longer. 

Alien Earth Episode 6, “The Fly,” follows the unraveling that’s occurring on Prodigy’s island, the confusion that the hybrids are experiencing about their identities, and what Weyland-Yutani is willing to do to retrieve the specimens. The very specimens that they’re willing to pay billions to get back for their own capitalistic purposes. Meanwhile, Boy Kavalier is acting childish and trying to handle beings he doesn’t understand, as he’s not a scientist. 

At the beginning of Alien Earth Episode 6, we see Wendy’s connection and fascination with the creatures grow considerably. All while her brother and Kirsch (Timothy Olyphant) watch over her. There’s a consistent reinforcement of the fact that Wendy isn’t technically a grown woman in her mind; she’s still a child. And it does bring up the topic of who she really is, versus how everyone else sees her. Wendy is the property of Prodigy as a hybrid individual, but she’s still someone’s sister. The human aspect of her still causes conflict for herself and for those around her. 

Boy Kavalier’s character continues to be more of a trillionaire brat than anything in Alien Earth Episode 6.

Later in Alien Earth Episode 6, Wendy’s brother, Joseph (Alex Lawther), makes it clear that he wants to take Wendy away from there and receives help in attempting to do so from a newly fired Arthur Sylvia (David Rysdahl), who meets a terrible end by way of a facehugger before the episode is over. 

Aside from the focus on Wendy, “The Fly” does give us the first on-screen confrontation between Boy Kavalier and Yutani (Sandra Yi Sencindiver). The confrontation goes about as well as can be expected and is set in a professional setting rather than somewhere private, where antics can ensue. The scene continues to give us insight into what led to the events of Alien and just how vital the specimens were to Weyland-Yutani’s future. 

Boy Kavalier’s character continues to be more of a trillionaire brat than anything, and Yutani tries to maintain some professionalism, with Morrow by her side. Morrow continues to have such a magnetic presence throughout the season, and he pairs very well with Yutani’s mild ruthlessness. It makes sense why he’s been working for the company as long as he has. What he has planned in the upcoming episode is going to bring him to a different level of villain status if he’s even able to extract one of the xenomorphs with the help of Slightly, who is foolishly believing that Morrow regarding the safety of his family. 

Alien Earth Episode 6 proves that characters keeping secrets from other characters does not bode well.

In Alien Earth Episode 6, the other hybrids don’t fare all that well, and we do lose hybrid Issac/Tootles (Kit Young) to one of the specimens in the lab. Due to Kirsch being gone, and due to having to travel with Boy Kavalier for the meeting with Yutani, he leaves the lab duties to Issac. Of course, nothing goes right, and he ends up locked in one of the glass cages with a flying specimen. And from there, he gets sprayed with a substance that ends up melting his face, making his system go on the fritz. Ultimately, it kills him, and nobody’s there to help him as it happens. 

Just like in other horror properties, someone’s death leads to another person’s death because investigation and curiosity get the better of characters. Alien Earth hasn’t killed any of the characters we’ve become familiar with, at least until this episode. Therefore, it’s somewhat surprising that it all unfolded in one singular episode, rather than someone being able to thwart their fate. Sylvia’s death is horrible, but the facehugger will only attach itself to an entirely human host, and it’s convenient for Slightly to encourage him into the lab to check on Issac. 

Another thing that “The Fly” does throughout the episode is prove that people keeping secrets in this series never bodes well. The entire time that Slightly is acting off and essentially luring someone to their death, Kirsch is watching through an electronic device he brought with him. What will that lead to for Slightly? It’s unlikely that there will be anything good in the upcoming episode, and it seems Alien Earth is setting up more character deaths with its final two episodes of the season. 

It’s incredibly clear that Noah Hawley understands what fans of Alien want to see on screen.

Unlike its previous episode, Alien Earth Episode 6, “The Fly,” takes a break from xenomorph and other creature feature action, and it gets back to working on where our characters go from here. Alien Earth keeps a balance and doesn’t neglect that it’s a sci-fi horror series for a second. We’re firmly in the subgenre, and the delights of the Alien universe are on full display here. Whether that’s through the new species we’ve become aware of or when we see the xenomorph getting ready to tear people apart. 

As the episodes go on, it’s incredibly clear that the creator, director, and writer of the series, Noah Hawley, understands the assignment of what fans want to see. Hawley is also able to craft new ideas for fans to potentially appreciate, like hybrids, communication with xenomorphs, and what was going on with Weyland-Yutani not long before the events of Alien. Knowing what we know after this episode, Weyland-Yutani wasn’t as in control as they wanted to be in terms of corporation wars. 

The end of Alien Earth Episode 6 sets us up for a chaotic seventh episode because, thanks to slightly pressing the buttons to open the cages, all the specimens are free to roam and do as they please. And that certainly won’t lead to anything good. Overall, it’s another strong episode of Alien Earth with character direction, some creature feature moments, and there’s nowhere to go but up with the final episodes of the season. 

Alien Earth Episode 6 is streaming now on Hulu and Disney+ internationally, with new episodes releasing every Tuesday.

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