The original post: /r/television by /u/-oddly-ordinary- on 2025-08-15 01:26:26+00:00.
Hello, all. I’ve been intrigued while reading the premiere discussion thread for Alien:Earth a lot over the past day or so.
While the show is not perfect, I think it’s decent. I do believe there are a good number of conveniences taken by the script. Mostly with regard to things like horror/action tropes - such as the xenomorph killing 6 people in about 20 seconds then toying with the last person for 10 seconds by themselves. (Even if xenomorphs in other movies sometimes kidnap people in order to trap them for egg incubation.)
Also the convenience of such a huge ship crash landing seemingly without much warning at all. Although I do hope a deeper explanation may be still possible.
However, I’ve been seeing a surprising number of people critiquing a few remarkably similar things for supposedly not making sense despite the fact they do indeed seem to have an explanation within the show.
I hope that some of these takes may be helpful to people who may soon watch the show for the first time - whether you love the show or hate the show.
- Why were the hybrid human/synthetic children (a.k.a. “The Lost Boys”) allowed to go to the crash site in episode 1? ======================================================================================================================
Examples of people asking similar questions:#1, #2, #3
I believe this topic is confusing people because the better answer comes by way of a flashback near the beginning of episode 2.
In episode 2, there is a flashback to the day before the ship crash in which Wendy “hacks” a computer network and surreptitiously contacts her brother Joe via an administrative robot. Wendy’s hack causes Kavalier (the CEO of Prodigy) and his team to perk up, as they did not previously seem aware Wendy had that capability.
That flashback is supposed to better explain why, in episode 1, Kavalier allows the Lost Boys to go to the ship crash site. Wendy offers to bring the Lost Boys in order to help, Kavalier initially refuses, and then Kavalier changes his mind once he learns Wendy’s brother is at the crash site.
Originally, in episode 1, it looks like Kavalier is simply intrigued by Wendy appearing “human” when she makes her request, but that understandably did not seem to satisfy a lot of people.
After watching episode 2, we now know the full reason why Kavalier in episode 1 was so intrigued by Wendy appearing “human.” Her brother seemed to help unlock a new “power” within her. Now we know Kavalier may hope Wendy has the potential to learn other “powers,” and he appears willing to risk all of the hybrid Lost Boys in the pursuit of his own entertainment.
(It should also be noted Wendy was previously told that she was not allowed to contact her brother, but I think it’s reasonable to presume Kavalier doesn’t really give that much of a fuck about that by the point of Wendy’s request. Plus, the Prodigy corporation owns the whole city. Even outside of Joe, Prodigy is unlikely to need worry about widespread news stories if anybody realizes the hybrid Lost Boys are among the soldiers.)
- Why do the “search & rescue” teams have guns? ================================================
(Examples of people asking this question and similar): #1, #2, #3
In short: they are not only there for “search & rescue.” They are going to prep the ship to be looted, because the militaries privately belong to the corporations and the corporations themselves are cutthroat.
In general: the corporations in Alien appear to operate like autonomous governments. The beginning of episode 1 reveals the corporations own entire cities and even entire continents from which they operate. Their militaries are privately owned. The corporations do not get along, which is reinforced when the CEO of Weyland-Yutani calls the CEO of Prodigy (Kavalier). When the CEO of Weyland-Yutani requests to send her people over to the ship crash site, Kavalier basically tells her, “Your ship crashed on my property. If you send your people then that will be construed as a hostile action. Have your lawyers send me a letter, or else go fuck yourself.”
After the phone call with Weyland-Yutani’s CEO, Kavalier all but says that he is going to loot the ship. However, even before that, the implication that the ship was going to be looted was already there. On the ride over to the crash site, Joe Hermit’s squad leader tells them that they are there to both help civilians and to secure the crash site. At that point, the scene changes to Morrow waking up within the crashed Weyland-Yutani ship. Morrow states he is going the armory to help “secure the ship until [Weyland-Yutani] reinforcements arrive.”
Even if Morrow’s specimens are not your everyday cargo, it seems reasonable to believe that these rival corporations - who are seemingly not even allowed into each other’s territories without issue - would absolutely kill each other and loot each others’ ships. Hence… even the Prodigy search & rescue soldiers have guns in order to detain or possibly kill any Weyland-Yutani crew members still alive.
(It may also be worth noting that the corporate dystopia setting means that the citizens are not treated very well either. It is entirely plausible that the soldiers would be allowed to rough up citizens while evacuating them and/or that they would shoot other would-be looters. The fact that most citizens may be treated poorly is also reinforced when Kavalier requests that citizens be “triaged based upon income status.”)
- Why did the female crew member on the Marginot act so calm while the xenomorph was on the loose? =====================================================================================================
(Examples of people asking this question and similar): #1, #2
There are some people who wrote this off as bad acting. Maybe it wasn’t great. Maybe it was what the script demanded. There is something from the show that is worth considering:
Morrow was also in that scene maintaining an incredibly composed, stoic look on his face. Morrow later reveals to Prodigy soldiers that the xenomorph can sense fear. Morrow then successfully demonstrates the truth of his claims by keeping calm while the xenomorph breathes down his neck long enough for the xenomorph to find somebody else to kill.
It is not 100% guaranteed, but it is plausible that the female crew member aboard the Marginot was trying her best to remain calm specifically for the above reason. Of course, as we know, Morrow unfortunately left her to die and there were no other distractions left at that point. (The xenomorph then attacks Morrow as well once he is the last person left - calm or otherwise.)
The possibility that the crew member was trying to remain calm seems like it could have gone over some people’s heads due to the fact that Morrow’s reveal about remaining calm does not happen until later; somewhat similar to Wendy’s flashback where she contacts her brother. Prior to that, it’s understandable if Morrow just seems like a cold-blooded killer who is betraying his crew.
There are undoubtedly other common criticisms, but this post is likely long enough. If anybody finds this post useful, or if anybody has other common critiques which have fascinated them, or who knows what… do what you wanna do, lol.