On Wednesdays We Wear Faceghuggers

 

The lore expands. Knowing that in Alien nobody knew about the xenomorph, I think Ripley is already in space — or everything will end with the death of the Prodigy company. Another guess I have is that, for the first time, we’ll get clear communication with the perfect organism. Wendy is hearing the aliens, and in one of the trailers she mentions that they’re talking to her. I can’t wait to see how this plays out and actually hear that communication.

Wendy already displayed her power of controlling machines and altering their code when she answered her brother, who was denied early retirement for another seven months. The show has such a rich lore — completely new for the franchise — and an incredible production that, even with those minor head-scratchers, I’m glued to the story and the new information. I think the show would work better as a binge, but maybe this “week-to-week” format will create an even stronger fan base that promotes the show themselves. I’m already talking about it, so I guess it works.

But just like with the trailer for Avatar: Fire and Ash (that I loved), the general audience gets it last. And just as that trailer suffered in views and lacked conversation, Alien: Earth could also fall because of this class-release schedule. The Avatar trailer was shown months earlier to select people before it came to us, so by the time it did, I already knew the scenes and felt offended it took so long to release it publicly.

Many YouTubers already saw six episodes — in some cases, the whole season — and they’re building the hype, sure. But it still feels like we were excluded from the party before it even started. Now the party is on, but it takes more time for us to join, while those who already saw more talk about the entire thing. We’re left waiting on the doorstep, invited back only once a week.

The show definitely delivers and has plenty of goodies, but it’s a shame that marketing can damage a property this way. Of course, I’m streaming it almost every day, and I keep discovering new details, which helps with rewatchability. But will the ratings demand a second season? Like I said, the show has material — every time I watch the first two episodes, I find something new. It’s so rich, such a whiplash of information and settings, that you could miss a lot the first time.

On Wednesdays, we wear facehuggers. 

Or we put the xeno in our lungs and hope for the best.

Also — I’m at war. I found myself fighting three mosquitoes at 2 in the morning, so I put on the third episode the minute it dropped. I’m kind of taken aback by synthetics acting so human. The kid qualities are a bit annoying, but the set designs and new lore keep me invested.

Yesterday I was starving for Alien content, so I watched Aliens with Sigourney, and a thought blew me away. All the people who space-travel probably have nothing holding them to the past. The journeys take so long that their futures are only focused on survival in space and on planets that aren’t Earth anymore. Some missions may last 5–7 years, but colonization as a concept basically obliterates the past you came from.

And as someone living in a country that isn’t my original one, the concept doesn’t sound far off from my own life. That is, until three mosquitoes attack you and you realize you always bring your old ways with you. I don’t kill unless provoked. I’ll even take an insect out of the toilet (with so much creativity) before I pee, even if I’m in a rush. But when I’m attacked, when my dream is ruined, I become a monster. No one can hear those mosquitoes scream anymore. I even closed the windows so they couldn’t escape.

The series benefits from a second viewing, and I cannot wait to get home, rewatch, and dissect the choices — like that awful xenomorph costume. It’s like the first pancake you throw away: that first viewing, with those three mosquitoes, is already in the trash.

I really love the boy Cavalier — both as a character and as an actor. He really reminds me of Robert Sheehan from the British superhero show Misfits. He’s got the same arrogant, “I know everything” attitude. And when he said “grow a spine” to that guy who really needed one, I fell in love.

Iliya Badev