Alien: Earth reaches a pivotal moment with its flashback episode, “In Space, No One…”. This episode takes us back to the series’ opening scenes, where writer-director Noah Hawley expands on the final moments of the USCSS Maginot and creates a legacy prequel that cleverly uses the familiar Alien narrative to challenge our expectations. This isn’t a simple rehash; it feels like a testing ground, hinting that the downfall of Maginot might have influenced Yutani’s strategy with the Nostromo. 

Before diving into the latest episode, revisiting the series’ opening provides key insights. Schmuel’s (Michael Smiley) lesson in civics introduces essential plot points and character developments that clarify the narrative unfolding in the current episode. We observe hints of sabotage from Petrovitch and romantic entanglements between Zaverni (Richa Moorjani) and Bronski (Max Rinehart), which a cyborg later exploits to manipulate his superior and seize control of the ship. Initially perceived as typical Alien shorthand, these elements evolve into a complex mystery playing out in Morrow’s mind, though his detective skills prove inadequate as the real issues stem more from the crew’s incompetence and cynicism than from external sabotage.

The episode unfolds approximately three and a half months after the prologue. Clem (Tom Moya) awakens Morrow from cryosleep to confront a slew of problems: a fire has depleted their fuel and wrecked the navigation system, two Face Huggers are loose, the captain has died following surgery, and Bronski is currently being attacked by a Face Hugger. Interestingly, Clem seems more preoccupied with Zaverni and Bronski’s sexual relationship than the dire issues at hand, hinting at the immature and distracted state of the crew, who seem more concerned about Morrow’s lack of attire than their captain’s fate. The name Maginot is derived from the Maginot Line, the infamous French fortifications that failed to protect France from German invasion during World War II, symbolizing a costly illusion of security—a fitting metaphor for the crew’s actions, as their safety measures are only as effective as the people implementing them. Morrow suspects that the ship’s recent calamities are due to either sabotage or incompetence, with evidence pointing to both.

After several episodes filled with philosophical musings on hybrids, “In Space” injects a burst of energy into the series by showcasing the crew’s own foolish errors leading to their demise. Rahim remarks, as he looks over Bronski’s body, “Another victory for the enemy of reason. This space bug is evidence of the stupidity of intelligent people—smart enough to design spaceships, split atoms, and sequence genomes, but too foolish to understand that you shouldn’t bring parasites back home.” He aptly summarizes the situation: the crew of the Maginot are not just unwise but fatally negligent. Chibuzo (Karen Aldridge), for instance, forgets to secure the lid on her bug jar and properly fasten The Eye, leading to fatal consequences for her and Malachite (Jamie Bisping), the ship’s engineer’s apprentice, who is arguably the most foolish character in any Alien film to date.

Hawley cleverly plays with audience expectations, knowing we are familiar with typical Alien plots and twists. Characters like Mr. Teng (Andy Yu), who might be mistaken for sinister synthetics, turn out to be merely unsettling individuals. Even expected scenes, like a dinner table chestburster sequence, unfold unexpectedly—the creature bursts offscreen, and the Xenomorph remains hidden for much of the episode. Instead, the tension builds around Malachite drinking from Chibuzo’s contaminated glass, inadvertently infecting himself with ticks. When his end comes, it mirrors a scene from the original 1979 movie, highlighting Lambert’s (Veronica Cartwright) iconic death under the spotlight. But the episode goes beyond mere subversion, deepening the character of Morrow, portrayed with nuanced emotion by Babou Ceesay, who reveals layers of sadness, obsession, and frustration. We glimpse the darkest parts of a man: his grief. Morrow left behind his daughter to serve his surrogate mother, Yutani the elder, only to discover through her letters that she perished in a house fire eight years into his mission—her belongings await him, should he return in 53 years. That’s profoundly distressing.

Yet, unlike his crewmates, Morrow possesses a sense of purpose that drives him forward. A pervasive nihilism among the crew surfaces through Petrovitch, who, as Morrow discovers, is conspiring with Kavalier to crash the ship in Prodigy City in exchange for a hybrid body. “You can’t stop it,” Petrovitch declares. “They want their monsters. Here they come.” Indifferent to humanity, his motives align more closely with Morrow’s than it seems, except Morrow chooses a different corporate master. The episode concludes with Morrow reaffirming his mission to the younger Yutani, gazing out from her balcony as Smashing Pumpkins’ “Cherub Rock” plays in the background, encapsulating the episode’s theme with the lyrics, “Freak out and give in. Doesn’t matter what you believe in. Stay cool. And be somebody’s fool this year.” 

Random Observations

• • Morrow’s knife plunging through Petrovitch echoes numerous Xenomorph attacks from the past. (The way we were…) 
• • The performances tonight were particularly impressive. With just one episode to convey a complex tragedy, the actors brought their characters to life with remarkable immediacy, especially Yu, Boutrous, and Aldridge, who communicated volumes with mere glances.
• • It was a pleasure to see more of Earth‘s homage to Alien‘s iconic production design. The array of buttons was irresistibly tempting.
• • Despite Noah Hawley’s claims of disregarding Prometheus and Covenant, the similarities between the ticks in Chibuzo’s water and the spores that kill her are too close to ignore.
• • More time with the cat would have been welcome.
• • The writing deserves praise for making every new revelation about the crew intriguing. What exactly was Teng up to? How did those bugs get on board? This curiosity harkens back to what made Alien thrilling before Prometheus introduced us to the enigmatic Space Jockey, one of Alien‘s most captivating and unexplored mysteries.