Is Teng a Synth in Alien: Earth? Speculations explored

If you think the facehuggers or the eye monster are the only creepy life forms in Noah Hawley's Alien: Earth, a certain Maginot crew member gave fans the creeps in Episode 5. The recent entry in FX's sci-fi series shifted its narrative from Boy Kavalier's research lab and took us back in time, to the final moments on the Maginot before it crash-landed on Earth.

The dramatic hour finally revealed the saboteur among Morrow's crew and also checked in with one of the creepiest members: Teng, played by actor Andy Yu. Yu has previously also appeared in Hawley's black comedy-crime anthology series Fargo.

Fans are highly skeptical about Teng's anatomy in Alien: Earth, because many of his behaviors and actions do not seem human-like at all. He creepily stares at Sullivan while she sleeps in her cryopod, remains aloof to his crew, and magically deciphers the mole aboard the Maginot even before the cyborg Morrow.

So, is Teng a human, a synth, or an altogether different species in Alien: Earth? Here's what Reddit fans are saying.

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Alien: Earth- Reddit fans speculate about Teng

Alien: Earth revealed many secrets about the Weyland-Yutani vessel's crew in Episode 5, including the saboteur on board who intentionally started the fire on Maginot and crash-landed it into Prodigy's kingdom.

While the majority of Morrow's crew seems weird and socially distant, Teng was especially creepy in the latest episode of the sci-fi series. After he creepily stared down on Sullivan while she slept in her cryopod, Reddit fans are speculating that Teng is just too weird to be human. Maybe he is a synth, like many characters of the series, including Timothy Olyphant's Kirsh.

Noah Hawley confirmed (in a recent interview with Decider) that the mystery around Teng was intentional, and it is up to the fans to decipher the creepy character's anatomy:

“Part of the fun of Alien is you never know. You know, because of the Ian Holm reveal, there’s always a part of you that’s suspicious of like, ‘Is that person a person?'” It’s not my job to answer that for you...Clearly he is a dangerous person to be on a spaceship with and just super creepy.”

Many Alien: Earth fans are conflicted about whether Teng is actually a human or a synth. On the one hand, he appears to exhibit human habits, such as smoking, but he also remains aloof and behaves suspiciously and creepily with the Maginot crew, especially Sullivan.

A Reddit user believes that Teng is a human who possibly grew up with Synths, and thus picked up their behavior naturally. Since he is a part of the Maginot crew, Teng likely has an unnatural history, and this might be the secret behind his creepy behavior:

''My theory: he grew up in a human orphanage and raised by early model synths that showed less emotion and had less communication skills compared to top of the line models that could pass for humans...It’s like the kids that grew up with dogs. They mimic their behavior.''

While this Alien: Earth theory seems plausible, another Reddit fan thinks that Teng is a human who is just anti-social and creepy. His behavior, albeit suspicious, does not confirm that he is a synth, and some fans seem to believe that he is just a red herring:

''I think he was just a red herring. In the end he was just a creep, I don't think there's anything more to it, he's an antisocial weirdo.''

u/OnTheNod further points towards the character's various contradictions in Alien: Earth:

''He knew how Petrovich was moving around and how the sabotaging was being done. Yet hes so apathetic about everything. Barely follows orders doesn't even seem to care about their situation or death until the xeno comes for him.''

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Symbolic meaning behind Teng's mysterious anatomy in Alien: Earth

While fans are eager to learn about Teng's origins in Alien: Earth, Hawley's cryptic comments and the character's mysterious anatomy fall perfectly in line with the series' larger theme: What does it mean to be a human?

For a near-future show that is laden with mysterious and dangerous life forms, Teng's mystery further adds to the confusion the characters face daily. The creative decision to include such a complicated character blurs the lines between a human and a synth even further.

Additionally, the creator points out how we often try to force people into neat boxes and predefined categories, purely for our own convenience, even though reality, particularly in the Alien franchise, is far messier and more complex. Lastly, Hawley did not even leave us a breadcrumb by killing Teng off-screen, as the blood (or its lack thereof) would have given out the character's secret.

Alien: Earth Episode 5 is now streaming on FX and Hulu.

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