<em>Alien: Earth</em> Episode 6 Recap

"Being grown-up sucks." Now ain't that the truth, Smee? Carrying its positive momentum from last week onward, Alien: Earth returns to the present time for another hour-long endurance of horror, suspense, betrayals, and heartbreaking losses.

We've officially reached the point in any given Alien movie where the bodies are beginning to pile up, and all that was meant to be contained is now unleashed. The use of Godsmack's ironically titled "Keep Away" as the episode's parting needle drop is not just a headbanger, but a welcome emotional release valve—an invitation to say "Hell yeah!" and "Oh no..." at the same time. Never has crossing the point of no return felt so satisfying. (Alien: Earth missed an opportunity to use this song, however.)

There's a lot to unpack and little time to do it. Here's all the important stuff that went down in Alien: Earth episode 6, "The Fly."

Now, I understand why it was forbidden to let the Lost Boys' families know that their kids survived. (At least outside of protecting intellectual property.) If the procedure wound up successful and the kids are "immortal," it's messed up to let the Lost Boys return to their daily lives. There wouldn't be such a thing as normal for any of them. Think about it: The kids would outlive their families and friends. There would be so much more elongated anguish. It sounds harsh and I don't want to side with the villainous capitalists here, but in this scenario, I can understand cutting off all contact—it's just easier for all involved in the long run.

But Wendy (Sydney Chandler) and her brother Hermit (Alex Lawther) have been an exception to procedure. And now, we ask questions about what's next for them. Well, at least Hermit is. At the top of "The Fly," Hermit asks Kirsch (Timothy Olyphant) about the maintenance required to keep his sister alive after they've left the island. But the steely Kirsch tells him he's mistaken. There's no such thing as life outside this place. Kirsch tells Hermit otherwise—that his sister can do just about anything. Like travel across the stars and expand humanity's reach further outward. (Funny how much Alien: Earth tends to feel like Blade Runner.) "And you want her to be a family?" Kirsch rhetorically asks Hermit, mocking him.

It's at that moment Hermit realizes the island is a prison, and the best way forward is to get the hell out. For the rest of the episode, Hermit can be found sketching out maps based on his on-foot exploration; he even inquires with his reunited friends from New Saigon about points of exit (which his friend calls him out on). But it's not until he speaks with Arthur (David Rysdahl), himself concerned with Prodigy's comic book villainy (more on that soon) that Hermit's suspicions are validated.

But does Wendy want to leave? Would she even? Her connection to the Xenomorph is growing to the point where she believes it's a good creature and not evolution's perfect weapon. She seems sold on Boy Kavalier's Kool-Aid too; note the light debate Wendy and her brother have about consent, on Prodigy's mission and outlook, and when to say yes and no. When the time comes for Hermit to grab Wendy's hand and get on the boat, something tells me they're going to revisit that debate at the most inopportune time. And lest we forget: Hermit's very lungs are the property of Prodigy. The man can die at the flick of a switch.

Samuel Blenkin as "Boy Kavalier" in Alien: Earth episode 5. The man’s got trillions and he really walks around with no shoes like that.

Until this episode, Dr. Dame Sylvia's (Essie Davis, best known as the mother from The Babadook) role in the story has been supportive at best, existing as the only person working in Prodigy with a heart and a conscience. This episode changes things quite a bit, with Dr. Sylvia making some questionable choices—including practically betraying her husband—and showing how much Prodigy's inner rot has infected even the ones you might call one of the "good guys."

(By the way, we interviewed Essie Davis about her role in the show and this episode in particular, which you can check out here.)

In short, Dame Sylvia seems to be the only one at Prodigy with any semblance of an ethical code. And she violates it anyway, when Prodigy, speaking via Atom Enis (played by Adrian Edmondson), who looks like a thumb in an expensive suit, demands she and Arthur erase the memories of Nibs (Lily Newmark). As you'll recall, Nibs hasn't been the same since New Saigon. She's had violent outbursts and eerie delusions that she's pregnant. She actually might be, by the way—hybrids are a cutting-edge science and these aliens are unknown entities. Maybe these organic monstrosities can reproduce through synthetic bodies? Or maybe Nibs is just out of control, traumatized by her encounter.

Whatever the case, Prodigy deems Nibs unfit for the grand reveal of the hybrids in a few weeks. So they order their lab coats to tamper with her memory drives, or else—despite their objections. While Arthur insists it would be unethical and damaging to the experiment, Dame Sylvia—who also argues on behalf of slow, careful therapy—agrees to the procedure. Although Essie Davis gave us a very valid explanation as to why Dame chose to go along with Prodigy's orders, it's a strange step (albeit not out of the ordinary for Noah Hawley) to obscure her reasoning. That the episode never makes time for any follow-up between this married couple is stranger too, never mind how much more story this episode crams into its 57-minute runtime.

Sandra Yi Sencindiver gets a little more screen time as Yutani in Alien: Earth this week, but I wonder if there’s more to her than what we’ve seen thus far.

The main event of "The Fly" happens at the 11-minute mark, when Boy Kavalier and Yutani (Sandra Yi Sencindiver) meet face-to-face over the crash of Yutani's Maginot in Kavalier's New Saigon. Aside from the hearing—which is revealing about the law of governance in this corporate-dominated dystopia—it's just fun watching the uber-wealthy scratch and claw for things that money can't immediately buy them. (No wonder The White Lotus is a big hit.) Boy Kavalier's gross feet and Yutani putting him down like a child is good television, even if we're not meant to like either of them on any meaningful level.

The battle isn't about cleanup and reparations—these two have all the money in the world to take care of that—but the precious cargo that the Maginot had on board. That is what's really worth this tête-à-tête, with both trillionaires one-upping each other in a way that's delicious to watch. It's almost as good as Alcaraz and Sinner's duel at the US Open. Ultimately, Boy walks away the winner with $20 billion in couch change and two weeks with the species, in observance of a lawfully mandated quarantine that Yutani somehow failed to remember. "Your thoughts and prayers" are appreciated, Boy says, in a way that renders the sentiment worthless. Here, no one cares about the lives lost. What matters are the profits that could be gained.

But Yutani isn't without a trump card. A quick update from Morrow (Babou Ceesay) reveals that his plan using Slightly (Adarsh Gourav) is still ongoing, although not the strongest bet. "There's a strong potential for failure," he warns her before giving Yutani his true plan of attack: "We destabilize the facility and exil in the chaos." A long, lingering shot on Yutani's face, one that changes expression subtly, says it all. Mission proceed.

"The Fly" is a busy episode, with incredible bits and pieces worth recognizing. I hate doing this, but here's another round of bullet points to touch on several bases I'd be an idiot to look over:

• Poor Tootles, or Isaac, played by Kit Young. He's the most enthusiastic member of the Lost Boys! All the kid wanted was to just do his part. The way the One-Eyed Octopus (who, by the way: villain status confirmed) locks him in to die is gnarly. Watching his artificial body ooze white synthetic blood is even gnarlier. Stuff of nightmares.
• Jonathan Ayaji's body language as Smee is truly incredible. Ayaji really comes off like an overgrown kid in a way that's mesmerizing to watch. His performance is probably the most committed to the idea of acting like a child more than the other Lost Boys, who at this point have stopped acting like children.
• Isaac/Tootles isn't the only one to die in this episode. Finally, Slightly stumbles upon his luck when Arthur goes to the lab to check on Isaac, and winds up the true victim of Slightly's desperate attempts to lure a warm (natural) body for a facehugger. Slightly promises Smee that they'll have all the time in the world to play after his mission is complete, but as Morrow predicts, the island is about to erupt into chaos. There won't be any time to play very soon.
• Dame is going to be torn up when she finds Arthur like that. That they never exchanged words before it happened is going to eat at Dame like nothing else.
• I doubt Nibs's recovery is going to last long. The way she immediately snaps back at Wendy in her bedroom suggests that the memory wipe didn't completely take, or that you simply can't defy nature even when someone is no longer natural.
• The show has been setting up Kirsch's mutiny against Boy Kavalier for a minute now, and finally, it's happening. I'm not sure if Kirsch actually knew that giving Isaac the task of feeding the specimens would end in disaster, or if Kirsch (like Slightly) simply lucked into this happenstance. But the way Kirsch is hiding the problems at the facility from a clueless Boy is paying off his simmering resentment against the man-child. What side is Kirsch on? His own.
• Anyone else catch that Atom's suit has his jacket collar popped up like Paul Reiser in Aliens? Behold the future of menswear, everyone.