Alien Earth 1×8 Review: “The Real Monsters”

Alien Earth season one concluded with episode 8, titled ‘The Real Monsters’, as Wendy and her siblings banded together against Boy Prodigy.

With Wendy and the Lost Boys being put in a cell after the events of the previous episode, it was clear the finale was going to be about the Hybrids vs. Humans, with Boy Prodigy being the prime target. I liked how ‘The Real Monsters’ had the Hybrids realize it was time for them to stand their ground against the humans. The Hybrids have been struggling to maintain a sense of self, and seeing their graves during the penultimate chapter didn’t help. They were “alive” but not really. Also, I think we all can agree that Dame needed to do much more to assist the Hybrids with strengthening their bond with their “humanity”. It was her job to help them process their feelings. Sigh!

With how things currently stood with the remaining Hybrids, they had decided to identify as “ghosts”, meant to scare the humans around them.

Along with trying to create a new sense of self for herself, we also got to see Wendy forgive Hermit for shooting Nibs at the dock. What he did understandbly came across as an act of betrayal to Wendy, but then again, Hermit was the type of guy who was going to save as many lives as possible. He couldn’t allow Nibs to keep killing humans. He also couldn’t allow Wendy to summon her Xenomorph to wreak havoc on the guards. Similarly, Hermit wasn’t going to let the humans kill the Hybrids either. Hermit’s all about preserving life, and Wendy seemed to have made peace with that, in a manner of speaking.

I say this because Hermit and Wendy were kind of the same in their actions. While Hermit was about protecting the humans and Hybrids, Wendy was about protecting the Hybrids and the Xenomorph. As Wendy put it, Hermit and the other residents on the island were prey to the Xenomorph, unlike Wendy and the Lost Boys.

Wendy didn’t know what she was to the Xenomorph yet. But what she did know was that she was capable of a lot more than a mere Synthetic or human. I enjoyed seeing her hack the computer systems to mess with Boy Prodigy and the rest. Sticking with the ghost motif, I liked how the hacking sequence played out as if the systems were indeed haunted, especially during the scene where Wendy played a video clip of her human self in Dame’s room.

Along with being able to control computers, Wendy also exhibited the ability to control other Synthetics. I meant, such a skill was expected, but it was still nice to see her finally tap into it. Apparently, as long as a Synthetic was on the network, Wendy could tell it what to do.

That particular sequence revealed that Atom was indeed a Synthetic. I have to say I wasn’t expecting that at all, even though in hindsight I should have. Atom and Boy Prodigy did get along quite well.

Anyway, either Wendy’s ability to “talk” to machines was extraordinary, or the Prodigy network had a severe lack of security and firewalls.

Another major reveal involved Boy Prodigy’s past. With the current season blatantly referencing Peter Pan any chance it got, the writers finally answered whether Boy Prodigy was indeed Peter Pan or not. Turns out, he wasn’t. Wendy really dragged him when she mentioned how Boy Prodigy was never Peter Pan because he was never a kid. The boy genius had always been an angry man who grew up to continue being angry at the world for how his abusive father treated him. Boy Prodigy’s heightened emotions had prevented him from experiencing childlike wonder. He had morphed into a person obsessed with looking down at others and only wanting to create new technology to showcase his intellect. Even with chaos erupting across the island, Boy Prodigy still wanted to provide the T. Ocellus with a human host so the two could finally have a conversation.

With Wendy having imprisoned Boy Prodigy alongside Kirsh, Atom, Dame, and Morrow, I’m looking forward to seeing how he will try to undermine her newfound control if Alien Earth gets a second season renewal. You know he’s not going down without a fight.

After having easily placed the humans under her watch, let’s talk about Wendy dealing with the Synthetics and the Cyborg. The narrative did bring up early on how the introduction of the Hybrids made the two other forms obsolete. And we got to see that playout here. Everybody (living and non-living) manipulated the Hybrids as if they were mere toys, and ‘The Real Monsters’ had them finally face some consequences. Wendy and the Lost Boys had no sympathy for Morrow or Kirsh. I think they felt the most betrayed by Kirsh as he was supposed to be their mentor, but ended up using them for his little experiments, leading to Isaac’s death.

Due to the CEO of Weyland-Yutani Corporation making her way to Neverland Island, concluding the finale with Wendy and the Lost Boys being prepared for the human intruder was exciting. Having said that, the storytelling did feel lacking because it all hinged on the series getting a second season renewal. And we all know that a promising cliffhanger is rarely enough to guarantee a show’s return, especially in the recent TV and streaming landscape.

Even though I have enjoyed Alien Earth season one overall, I have to say that the narrative (bogged down by certain plot convenience tropes) could have been a lot stronger. Not only that, but Alien Earth hasn’t seen exceptional ratings (the most important metric for a renewal). That’s why I feel the creative team should have focused on delivering a satisfying finale to most of the storylines in the first season instead of promising answers in the future that might not come to pass.

Before I end my review, of course, I have to talk about T. Ocellus, who quickly became almost everybody’s favorite alien. After failing to use Hermit as a host, we saw it making its way to the beach toward Arthur’s dead body. Seeing it reanimate Arthur had me shook. I had no idea the T. Ocellus was capable of using an already dead body as a host. I have a feeling that Arthur’s body won’t last long, but it will be awesome to see a dead Arthur stumbling around while being used to create whatever mess the T. Ocellus has in mind. Again, it all hinges on the show returning for a sophomore outing.

What did you think of Alien Earth season one episode 8, ‘The Real Monsters’?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

Twitter

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary