Alien: Earth Episode 5 Scared The Xenomorph For The First Time
The following contains spoilers for "Alien: Earth" season 1, episode 5, "In Space, No One..."
The Xenomorph is a perfect organism. An apex predator, the icon of the "Alien" franchise is naturally the single best movie monster of all time, as we've argued here before at /Film. The creature's psychosexual design by H.R. Giger and the way it kills its prey, combined with its horrific life-cycle, makes the Xenomorph scary beyond words. And though we've seen several variants of the Xenomorph in the "Aliens" films by now, including hordes of them moving together in "Aliens" and the "Alien vs. Predator" films, the property has yet to recapture the fear factor of a single original-recipe Xenomorph terrorizing a human crew in an enclosed space in Ridley Scott's original "Alien."
Indeed, other than capitalism, the Xenomorph used to be the scariest thing in the "Alien" universe; a being that is extremely hard to kill and fears nothing. But now, that's all changed thanks to "Alien: Earth", which only just gave us something we've never seen before: a scared Xenomorph.
In season 1, episode 5, "In Space, No One...," "Alien: Earth" finally unravels the mystery of how the Weyland-Yutani spaceship the Maginot crash-landed into New Siam, leaving its entire crew (minus one cyborg) dead and a bunch of extraterrestrial creatures on the loose. However, the highlight of the episode (one full of cool moments) comes near the end, in which a Xenomorph corners acting captain Zoya Zaveri (Richa Moorjani) and chief security officer Morrow (Babou Ceesay). With no hope of fighting the alien, the pair are saved by an unlikely alley in the form of the T. Ocellus (aka the eyeball monster or Species 64), which takes control of the corpse of engineer Shmuel (Michael Smiley).
The T. Ocellus then brings the fight to the Xenomorph and quite literally sends it running. This not only cements the eye monster as a ferocious foe unto itself, but it also gives us the incredible sight of a Xenomorph screaming in pain and anger.
Even a Xenomorph knows better than to mess with the T. Ocellus
Noah Hawley's "Alien" prequel series does many things right besides looking spectacular. For starters, it understands that it can't have the Xenomorph appear too often, as that would diminish the creature's power to instill fear. That's why the Xenomorph shares the spotlight with several other extraterrestrials, including a plant-like alien and blood ticks. But the T. Ocellus is a clear standout among these newcomers, as the bizarre octopus-like being (and its single eyeball) has now proven it can even go toe-to-toe with a Xenomorph.
It's also clear the T. Ocellus is extremely intelligent, as we see it either warning one of the Maginot's scientists of incoming danger or distracting her to allow the blood ticks to briefly escape — depending on how you view the creature's allegiance. But again, the big thing is that it's apparently crafty enough to do battle with a Xenomorph and win.
When the T. Ocellus-possessed Shmuel sees the Xenomorph at the end of "In Space, No One...," it immediately goes on the attack like it's a Yautja hunting down a Xenomorph in one of the "Alien vs. Predator" movies, bodying the fully-grown alien and beating it with all its might. Even when the Xenomorph uses its tail to stab away at Shmuel's corpse, forcing the T. Ocellus to escape, the little eyeball octopus doesn't simply flee. Instead, it doubles back, leaping onto the Xenomorph and biting at it before trying to take over its body. (Too bad the Xenomorph has no eye sockets.)
And while there's nary an exchange of words, there is a brief hint of recognition in the T. Ocellus when it spots the Xenomorph. It appears the creature either understands what the humans on the Maginot have been saying — and knows they're afraid for good reason — or recognizes an ancient enemy (again, like the Yautjas and the Xenomorphs). The Xenomorph remains similarly silent, but its meaning is obvious when it screams in pain at the T. Ocellus' relentless attacks. What we're left with is an extremely rare sight of a Xenomorph in panic mode, freaked out by the franchise's new adorably deadly addition.
New episodes of "Alien: Earth" drop Tuesdays on FX and FX on Hulu.