Alien: Earth has lastly crash-landed into our lives after many months of leaving followers awestruck by among the IMAX-worthy scenes being touted within the trailers. I used to be stoked to leap in and luxuriate in one of many greatest exhibits on the 2025 TV schedule, to the purpose the place my eagerness wasn’t hindered by a need to atone for every of the franchise entires I would missed earlier than Noah Hawley’s new present arrived.
In case you’re like me and need to watch the brand new FX collection, however possibly do not need to need to pre-game all 9 motion pictures forward of time, I’ve obtained your again. (And I promise to not burst by means of it.) I solely noticed a number of of the flicks forward of this one, and might confidently say it did not impression my enjoyment, even when I could not have caught each easter egg on show. Listed here are a few of my takeaways, in addition to my degree of information in regards to the franchise getting into.
How A lot Of The Alien Franchise I would Watched Prior To Alien: Earth
Whereas I’ve seen Alien and contemplate it among the finest sci-fi motion pictures of all time, I’ve admittedly not been a loyalist to the franchise. I’ve seen Ridley Scott’s traditional, James Cameron’s aces sequel, Prometheus, and that is it. I assume I’ve additionally seen scenes from Alien vs. Predator right here and there, however positively not sufficient to assert I’ve watched your complete film.
Even after skipping out on the extremely acclaimed newest installment Alien: Romulus, I used to be nonetheless destined to verify this present out due to creator Noah Hawley. I used to be an enormous fan of what he achieved with FX’s Marvel collection Legion, additionally love Fargo. (To not point out supremely disenchanted that his film with Star Trek by no means got here to be.) My religion in his storytelling helps ease the troubles of not being a franchise completist, so anybody feeling the identical means is probably going additionally going to take pleasure in watching Alien: Earth.
I genuinely consider those that have watched at the very least a few Alien motion pictures are going to be misplaced watching Alien: Earth. Whereas I would not go as far as to say that it ought to be an entry level to the Alien franchise, and I am positive there are references that I’ve already missed, none of it has been so wild that it is impacted my expertise.
A part of this could be on account of one thing regularly touched on by critics of their rave evaluations of the FX collection. Loads of Alien: Earth is about additional fleshing out the universe first established within the motion pictures, and bringing the horror of house to Earth. At its roots, this story is centered round super-powered synths with the minds of youngsters, and we’ll find out how they’re used to assist one trillionaire seize and domesticate the Xenomorphs and different odd creatures we have seen to date.
The primary two episodes set the desk for what’s on the way in which for the remainder of the journey, and I’ve to say I’m all in to date. I feel what I loved essentially the most to date is that the Xenomorph we have seen does not appear fairly as invulnerable as different motion pictures I’ve seen, so I am excited to study extra about that, too.
What Would Be Useful To Know If You are Fully In The Darkish
In case you’re going into Alien: Earth utterly blind, to which I might say at the very least watch the primary film forward of this, I nonetheless assume it is doable to benefit from the present. Most of what you want to know is ready up within the first episode, and I feel there’s an unstated acknowledgment that Xenomorphs are killing machines you by no means need to let loose of containment or attempt to manipulate in any means.
After all, who higher to try to underestimate the damaging energy of a Xenomorph than an eccentric wealthy one who looks like they seem to be a god due to their wealth and pursuit of science? Whereas I feel Alien: Earth dives into some advanced themes and ethical questions fairly early on, I feel the fundamental premise of “Harmful Alien is unhealthy” is sufficient for somebody to observe this with out having seen it earlier than.
All that being stated, I’ll add that for many who have by no means watched an Alien film, it’s an extremely violent and gory franchise. Even with the sensible results used within the present, it is fairly excessive by way of blood and never a present for the faint of coronary heart. I might say anybody who’s averse to seeing stomachs explode or individuals reduce in half, I do not assume you are going to take pleasure in watching Alien: Earth.
The Stunning Disney Film You Would possibly Need To Revisit Beforehand
One film that shall be useful to stream forward of Alien: Earth, in case you occur to have a Disney+ subscription, is Peter Pan. I assumed the present would consult with it when watching the primary trailer when the island was famous to be “Neverland,” however two episodes within the present are inclined to lean on making references to it rather a lot.
It is largely baked into the plot, with the previously sick youngsters having their consciousness transferred to grownup synth our bodies. They have been likened to the “Misplaced Boys,” and Prodigy CEO Boy Kavalier is appearing as their self-appointed Peter Pan. It does not take a genius to see why the world’s youngest trillionaire is interested in this narrative and believes he’s the hero on this story.
What turns into of Kavalier in the end stays to be seen, although one can not help however really feel he is not particularly Peter Pan-like, eradicating a bunch of terminally sick youngsters from their households to heal them underneath the contingency that they will by no means return house. There’s simply one thing inherently evil about his power normally throughout these first two episodes, however possibly he’ll subvert expectations and develop into an honest man as Season 1 continues. In any case, watching Peter Pan would in all probability be essentially the most useful factor you can brush up on forward of this Alien: Earth.
Catch new episodes of Alien: Earth on FX on Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Atone for the collection, which feels prefer it has a price range up there with among the greatest we have seen on tv as of late, and I can not wait to see what’s developing in these future episodes.