FX’s science fiction horror series, Alien: Earth, continues adding intensity and depth to its already nerve-wracking plot, as Wendy’s ability to hear the alien Xenomorph screech and cry out, which we saw in the previous episode, is now explored in detail. On the other side, the hybrid, Curly, had also been approached by Captain Morrow of the crashed USCSS Maginot, and this plot point is further developed as well. Lastly, Alien: Earth episode 4, appropriately titled “Observation,” also features the Prodigy scientists observing and studying the alien species, which gives us an insight into the latter as well.
Spoiler Alert
Why did Wendy hear the screeches?
The previous episode of Alien: Earth had ended with Wendy fainting from loud screeches that she heard at the same time when Kirsh was experimenting on an alien embryo. Quite naturally, episode 4 begins with Wendy’s physical health being looked into at the Prodigy research facility, with Kirsh and Dame Sylvia coming to a conclusion as to what must have happened to her. Essentially, Wendy is able to hear frequencies much higher and lower than ordinary humans, and while all of the hybrids must have this ability, Wendy particularly stands out because of her being able to hear the aliens. It is clarified by the scientists that she is technically able to hear only one of the species, the Xenomorph, as Wendy had not reacted to the sounds of the other alien species earlier. It is not just the adult Xenomorph that she can hear, but also significantly the young ones as well, which is why the shrieks of the embryo being pulled out had caused her to lose consciousness.
Being a hybrid, Wendy’s hearing abilities can be easily tampered with by the scientists, which is what they do to study what is going on with her, taking away her ability to hear for some time. As she is joined by her brother, Hermit, he naturally does not want such experiments to go on, as he feels that they are bound to be hurting her. But the discovery that Wendy can hear the aliens has different sorts of reception at the facility, with Boy Kavalier being the most excited about it. In fact, he immediately brings Curly with him and asks her if she is able to hear any of the sounds, confirming that it is only Wendy who has somehow developed the ability. Kavalier then asks Wendy to use her powers of communication to play the same sounds in a frequency that can be heard by humans, and although she initially does not know how to do so, she does eventually figure it out and make a screeching noise.
Wendy describes the sound as something similar to an insect rubbing its legs together, and while there are no evident patterns noticed in the sound that she makes as of now, she will probably soon figure out meanings and messages in the sounds. This is exactly what Kavalier wants, as he sees this as a great opportunity to communicate with the aliens and possibly to understand and even bring them under control. Therefore, when Hermit asks for the experimentations to be stopped, he responds with a resounding ‘no,’ as he has great ideas of scientific discovery, leading to business opportunities, already running inside his mind. He wants Wendy’s ability to be explored as much as possible and does not care much about her well-being.
Interestingly, Wendy herself does not want the experimentations to end either, and she even shuts her brother down at one point by stating that she can speak for and defend herself. It seems like she too is interested in figuring out the extent of her abilities, and so she reassures Hermit that she is not feeling any pain or discomfort during the experience. It might also be that Wendy starts to feel a deep connection with the aliens, which is also seemingly suggested at the very end of the episode, and the implications of this can be quite intense. But for now, both Boy Kavalier and Wendy herself decide to let her attempts to communicate with the aliens continue, with two different intentions in their respective minds.
Does Hermit have an alien living inside him?
In the previous episode, when Hermit had been stabbed by the Xenomorph with its tail, it had seemed like the doctors at Prodigy had inserted the alien embryo into his damaged lung as a sort of cruel experiment to see what would happen. But it is now revealed that this was not the case, for Hermit does not really have an alien being living and growing inside his lung. The damaged lung inside his body had actually been surgically removed and replaced with a synthetic lung, which was possible because of the scientific and technical marvel that Prodigy has achieved, while his original lung was kept for experimentations. It was in this lung that the Xenomorph embryo was inserted, to observe the effects of it and study how exactly the aliens can affect human organs.
At present, Hermit starts to question whether Wendy is really his sister, since the concept of his sister’s conscience having been downloaded onto a synth body still seems too far-fetched to him. He also expresses his desire to stop working for Prodigy, as he is too disillusioned with the company by now, but Atom Eins, a senior employee of the corporation, reminds him that doing so would mean that he would never be able to contact Wendy again. As per the company’s policy, the hybrids are not supposed to be in touch with anyone from the outside world, and so Hermit will not be able to meet his sister, if he can call her so, ever again.
Secondly, Eins also reminds Hermit that the lung inside his body, which has kept him alive after his fatal injury at the hands of the Xenomorph, has also been given to him by Prodigy as a sort of gift or donation because he is employed in the company. But if he is to terminate his contract, then Prodigy will also immediately refuse to bear the costs of his treatment and lung replacement surgery, and would send him a bill to be cleared. As is quite obvious, Hermit would never be able to clear the bill in his lifetime and would therefore get embroiled in more legal trouble. However, he ultimately changes his mind not out of fear of Prodigy, but simply so that he can stay in touch with Wendy and be an active part of her life. As a result, Hermit stays back at the Prodigy research island, which nicely plays into the plot development later on.
Is Nibs really pregnant?
One of the other hybrids, Nibs, had earlier been attacked by the T. Ocellus alien on the crashed Maginot, and although she had managed to save herself from the lunging creature, the experience had brought about a change in her. Nibs had started to question her existence and especially her name, which suddenly sounded too stupid and childish to her. In Alien: Earth episode 4, Nibs shows even more signs of emotional transformation, which are much more concerning than her existential questioning. Nibs tells Dame Sylvia and her husband, Arthur, that she is pregnant and expects to give birth a few months later, which surprises the scientists tremendously, as such a statement is directly in conflict with what the hybrids stand for. It is technically impossible for hybrids to get pregnant and give birth, especially at such an early stage of development, and so Dame Sylvia sits down with Nibs for what seems like a therapy session.
Nibs does mention her feeling that something is growing inside her body, which she believes to be her baby, since her adolescent mind knows all about reproduction in the animal kingdom, as the girl whose consciousness had been transferred into her belonged to a farming family. She was accustomed to the concepts of breeding and giving birth in animals from her very childhood, and so Nibs now confirms that she too is aware of all this. But in a very concerning move, Nibs actually pounces on Dame Sylvia and impulsively tries to attack her when the latter tries to explain to her how hybrids like her do not have biological bodies like humans and then goes on to talk about Nibs’ experiences on the crashed ship.
Nibs’ attack is not only out of frustration at having to converse about something that she is not interested in, i.e., the aliens, but also seemingly out of anger against the scientist claiming that she cannot have a baby. This is exactly what Arthur Sylvia talks about in a very concerned conversation with his wife earlier, in which he criticizes Boy Kavalier’s impulsive decisions and his disregard towards following scientific and moral codes. Arthur talks about how the Neverland program can go extremely wrong if the hybrids, who are essentially synths, start to believe themselves to be human beings, and this is exactly what seems to be happening with Nibs. The hybrid is increasingly starting to believe herself to be a human, and her lunge at Dame Sylvia can also be seen as a motherly instinct to protect her child, even though she is not really pregnant. Nibs has to be ultimately locked up in her chamber, and a security alert is raised after her unexpected act.
Why does Boy Kavalier try to wedge a gap between the siblings?
As Wendy and Hermit are able to sit down for a proper conversation for the first time since their unexpected reunion, they discuss matters from their past, particularly about Hermit’s experience of having to attend his sister’s funeral. They are both apologetic for not being able to be for each other in the past, but there was really nothing that either could have done. Hermit never knew that his sister’s consciousness was in the process of being transferred onto a synth body, and so he had to go through the natural process of grieving her death. He had not been able to visit her in the hospital during her final days either, and Hermit says that it was simply not possible for him to visit because of the ongoing war at the time and him being on the opposite side of the world, serving in the army.
It is clear that the fact that Wendy, or Marcy, as she was originally called, could not see her brother before her biological death still hurts the woman at present. Later in the episode, Boy Kavalier tries to use this very matter to wedge a gap between Wendy and Hermit by trying to claim that Hermit had intentionally not come to see her in the hospital because he did not care enough to do so. Kavalier says that had Hermit really wanted to meet his sister, he would have found a way to do so. It seems like he wants to ensure that Wendy would support him, or carry out his orders, in any situation where he and Hermit are on opposite poles. Whether this would actually happen is a different question, though, as Wendy still remains very loyal to her brother.
Does Slightly execute Morrow’s plan?
Slightly continues to communicate with Morrow through the chip in his neck, with the latter now presenting his plan openly. Morrow wants Slightly to steal one of the alien eggs that are kept at the Prodigy research lab, claiming that the eggs originally belonged to him and they had only been stolen by the corporation. Knowing very well that the human consciousness in the hybrids can be exploited to a certain degree, Morrow tries to establish a deeper connection with him by referring to him by his original name, Aarush Singh. This decision does work out, as Slightly heads to the laboratory to sneak in and remove one of the eggs, but he is ultimately spooked after seeing Kirsh there.
Realizing that his original plan has been of no use, Morrow now indulges in direct blackmail by tracking down Slightly, or Aarush’s biological mother, who had been told that her son had passed away, and suggests that he will hurt Slightly’s family if the hybrid does not pay heed to his words and execute his plan. Morrow now tells Slightly to simply take a human near the egg so that the face-hugger can jump out and reside in the human host for two days so that the alien can then be handed over to Morrow. Slightly agrees to execute this plan as well, and he is seen eyeing Hermit, the only human around him, to become the host.
However, the biggest problem in this matter is that Kirsh had suspected something was up with Slightly and had then tuned into the hybrid’s communication channels to realize that Morrow was in constant touch with him. Kirsh even listens to the whole plan and learns how the Xenomorph eggs react when a human goes near them, but he does not yet take any action with regard to Slightly. Rather, the way in which the scientist approaches the eggs after overhearing this conversation suggests that he is too intrigued by the strange nature of the eggs to stop the hybrid from doing anything rash. It seems like Kirsh is himself going to try to get a face-hugger out by bringing an unsuspecting human close to the eggs, or maybe he will let Slightly carry on with his plan involving Hermit, only so that he can observe the aliens and learn from the incident.
Is Wendy able to communicate with the Xenomorph?
At the very end of Alien: Earth episode 4, Wendy heads over to the laboratory to check out the detached lung from Hermit’s body, as she now knows that an alien embryo has been inserted inside it. There is a very intense interest that Wendy seems to be growing towards the Xenomorph, almost like a motherly instinct to know them better, and she then observes a chest-buster jump out of the lung, rupturing it and shattering the glass case it had been kept in. But instead of being scared of it or shocked by the sudden development, Wendy tries to calm the small snake-like Xenomorph baby, as if feeling a connection with it. Strangely, the alien also does not react to her touch violently but enjoys her company, as if she is able to communicate with it. There is definitely something in Wendy that makes the Xenomorph baby see her as a friend, and this is also perhaps why the adult Xenomorph had not initially attacked her in the previous episode. What this mystery is, and how Wendy might use the alien creatures to do her bidding, will only become clear in the next episodes of Alien: Earth.
