Alien: Earth showrunner breaks down the gamble of a trainable Xenomorph

With its terrifying features and acid blood, Alien: Earth’s parasitic alien Xenomorph is one of the more dreadful extraterrestrial creatures to appear on screen. The fans of the Alien franchise have been well acquainted with the monstrous alien, but they were in for a surprise when the zealous hybrid protagonist Wendy (played by Sydney Chandler) communicates and controls the Xenomorph.

Alien: Earth creator Noah Hawley shared that, unlike the movies, they wanted to present the alien in a different way. The series, in fact, also focused on the evolution of the connection between Wendy and the Xenomorph. While speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Noah Hawley said,

“…There’s a romanticism that can happen in kids. She wants to believe that it’s not these creatures’ fault, that they didn’t ask to come here, and we shouldn’t experiment on them the way that she’s being experimented on. You can understand the rationale. But it doesn’t make it safe to make friends with one.”

Wendy’s connection with the Xenomorph raises several questions about the possible repercussions of a trainable vicious alien. Hawley added,

“One of the big question marks was if fans were going to go with this idea. I don’t want her to have (Xenomorph) pet. But if it seems like an alliance has been struck, what are the interesting possibilities that we can pull out of that? And because this is a horror story, we have to assume that, ultimately, I wouldn’t bet on this working out."

The gamble of a trainable Xenomorph in Alien: Earth

Despite its mysterious origin, the Alien franchise had earlier established that Xenomorphs can communicate with each other. But Alien: Earth has now brought forth that an outside species can also communicate with it, namely, hybrid Wendy.

Wendy learns that she can communicate with the Xenomorph in Episode 4, titled Observation. The revelation was a surprise to her as well as the Prodigy team. The episodes following that saw Wendy raise the alien, who would willingly follow her authority.

Hawley shared that, though there is some moral ambiguity to the whole scenario, seeing that Wendy’s decisions could have a huge impact on humanity as a whole. He said,

“...Humanity is a choice for her now, and the more she chooses to be human, the safer everyone will be. The more alienated and detached she feels from humanity and human morality … well, that’s not good. So there is a question of whether she is going to become a monster, too. I think that core tension makes the show really interesting.”

One of the more shocking moments on Alien: Earth came from episode 7 titled ‘Emergence’ when Wendy, who is overwhelmed by the treatment of hybrids, orders the Xenomorph to attack. Even though the moment is a turning point for her character, it also highlights the fact that she is still a child. Hawley explained,

“Let’s not forget she’s 12. My son is 12, and I’m like, “Why is there an ice cream wrapper in the closet?” There some things that they do where you’re like, “Oh, you haven’t thought a few steps ahead here.” There are some executive function issues going on. I don’t want to take the moral onus off of it, but I think she’s angry at the way that (the hybrids) been treated and what they did to Nibs, and she’s lashing out. Part of growing up is learning what consequences are.”

Alien: Earth Season 1 is available on Hulu.

ALSO READ: Noah Wyle honors health care workers in The Pitt Emmy victory speech

Trending

For more stories on shows, follow SoapCentral

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback