Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Alien: Earth episodes 1 and 2.
Alien: Earthis the latest entry in the iconic horror franchise but alongside introducing some interesting new characters and thrilling action sequences, the series revealed a dark truth about hybrids. Despite debuting in 1979,Alienhad never branched out into TV until the new prequel show, which is already tweaking and expanding the lore.
Set before the original film,Alien: Earthhas plenty of story connections to the movieseries while still being friendly to newcomers, making it a great way to get fans invested in the sinister sci-fi universe. While the show does contain some wholesome moments, such as Wendy and Hermit’s reunion, there is still an overwhelmingly unsettling tone, particularly around hybrids.
The new concept sees human minds being fused with synthetic bodies, creating the next step in human evolution. On the surface, this is a great technological advancement that completely changes the franchise as we know it, but despite how impressive these creations are,Alien: Earth’s dark spin on its hybrid charactersis nothing short of tragic.
Alien: Earth Essentially Makes Kids Go Up Against Franchise Threats
The hybrids introduced inAlien: Earthhave the potential to be some of the most powerful characters in the franchise, but there is one major caveat: they’re all children. Although Prodigy wanted to become the first company to transfer human minds into synthetic bodies, the experiment was a huge risk, which is why they used terminally ill children for the process.
Given that the kids had almost no chance of surviving their illness, opting to give them a chance not only at life, but immortality seemed somewhat humane. As a result,Wendy became the first successful hybrid ever created inAlien: Earth, with Prodigy turning several more children into these enhanced beings, seemingly with the consent of their guardians.
Release Date (Tuesdays @ 8 p.m. ET)
Episode 8 - “The Real Monsters”
September 23
However, with Wendy determined to save her brother, Boy Kavalier sent all the hybrids to recover whatever was on the crashed ship. Although the genius wasn’t aware of what the kids would find, he essentially sent a group of children to face the Alien franchise’s biggest threat, which feels even darker than any other entry in the series.
WhileAlien: Romulusfocused on characters in their early 20s, most ofAlien: Earth’s hybrids haven’t even reached their teenage years. Therefore, these young and impressionable minds taking on xenomorphs and other terrifying hostiles is understandably a mentally scarring experience, hence their disturbed and innocent reactions to the ship’s horrors.
Why Prodigy Allows Wendy & “The Lost Boys' To Investigate Maginot’s Wreckage
Although there is some reluctance about sending the hybrids to investigate the wreckage, Kavalier eventually sees it as an opportunity to test their capabilities. Wendy is adamant about finding her brother after suspecting he could be involved in the incident, hence pleading with Prodigy’s owner for consent to help rescue those impacted by the debris and assist in the clean-up.
Kavalier ultimately agrees, wanting to test how “The Lost Boys” handle the stress and what their emotional responses are, presumably because he feels it could help make them more intelligent, which is his overarching goal. He clearly still views them as more synthetic than human, explaining why he’s willing to risk their lives for the sake of research.
Even after the discovery of unknown creatures alongsidexenomorph eggs and the blue mist inAlien: Earth, Prodigy doesn’t seem like it will allow these children to return. Instead, Kavalier will presumably force them to continue their investigation since he wants control of whatever extraterrestrial life they find, highlighting the dark truth about why these hybrids are taking on such dangerous threats.
