“Alien: Earth” season 1 added a lot of new details to the longstanding sci-fi universe, from building out Earth’s cyberpunk corporate plutocracy to introducing new kinds of humans via cyborgs and the Prodigy Corp. hybrids. But while that’s all well and good, anything with the “Alien” tag on the box is always going to come back to the aliens, and “Fargo” and “Legion” creator Noah Hawley’s FX series delivers big in that department as well.
In addition to the Xenomorph, of which multiple appear in season 1, “Alien: Earth” adds four new deadly species to the franchise mythos, all ripped from their extraterrestrial homeworlds by Weyland-Yutani and brought to Earth for experimentation. These new creatures include a (massive) human-eating plant, a variety of giant buzzing insects, and a truly grotesque species of blood parasite. But the obvious star of the show among the newcomers is Species 64, aka Trypanohyncha Ocellus, aka the Eye.
A tiny, tentacled eyeball, the little fella might not look too powerful at first glance. But over the course of the season, Species 64 establishes itself as both the most intelligent species in the bunch — to the point of apparent sentience — and the most dangerous. Speaking with Empire in the wake of season 1, Hawley discussed the new fan favorite and his philosophy in creating the Eye, which he compared to Billy Bob Thornton’s malevolent Lorne Malvo from “Fargo” season 1. “It just wants to create chaos,” Hawley explained when discussing the creature’s motivations. Trapped on a strange world, Species 64 is willing to do whatever it takes to escape captivity and subdue its enemies — a storyline that will surely grow wilder if “Alien: Earth” season 2 ends up happening.
Read more: Every Canceled Alien Movie We Never Got To See
Alien: Earth’s Species 64 is deeply strategic
Species 64, the Eye, staring up in Alien: Earth – FX
“I needed to have this sense of a zoo,” Hawley told Empire when asked about his approach to designing the new alien creatures. The goal was to introduce enough variety that the show can continue to play with the disparate threats and abilities of the species as it (hopefully) continues. While some of the new aliens appear to be more animalistic, striking out for food or territory, Species 64 has a far greater cognitive ability, as demonstrated by its encounters with Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin)
“As we see with The Eye, it’s a very strategic thinker,” Hawley told Empire. “It’s often doing things not to help itself in the moment, but knowing that by destabilizing the environment and the humans, it’s going to ultimately get what it wants.” This capacity for larger planning is seen several times in “Alien: Earth” season 1, such as in the flashback episode where the Eye helps the blood parasites escape the Maginot lab in order to sow danger and discord among the crew.
That more sinister motivation, the capacity for large-scale planning and chaotic strategy, makes the Eye arguably even more dangerous than the Xenomorphs. At the end of “Alien: Earth” season 1, the creature manages to escape the Neverland facility and finds a new home for itself in the corpse of former Prodigy scientist Arthur Sylvia (David Rysdahl). There are prior examples in the show of Species 34 infesting another lifeform by ripping out an eyeball and taking its place, thereby assuming control of the organism’s neural control and motor functions. However, in those other instances, it’s pretty obvious that something isn’t right. If the Eye were able to effectively masquerade as a real human, though? That would be a far more dangerous prospect.
The Eye could become the main villain in Alien: Earth season 2
Arthur Sylvia standing in the jungle near Neverland in Alien: Earth – Patrick Brown/FX
As of this writing, “Alien: Earth” still hasn’t been renewed for season 2. Hawley remains hopeful, and his track record at FX bodes well for more stories set in Ridley Scott’s sci-fi universe. For now, we can only cross our fingers and theorize about what might happen in the next installment, but it seems pretty obvious that Species 64 is being set up for an even bigger role going forward.
There are other story threads hanging, of course. Wendy (Sydney Chandler) and the Lost Boys of Neverland’s hybrid program have effectively taken control of the facility, imprisoning Boy Kavalier and attaining power through Wendy’s strange bond with the captured Xenomorphs. At the same time, Weyland-Yutani launches a full-scale invasion of the island in the “Alien: Earth” season 1 finale, determined to reclaim the specimens.
But while these various factions are fighting amongst themselves, the Eye is watching, waiting, biding its time. “This one actually is the one we should really worry about,” Hawley said in his interview with Empire. “The others are more like animals, or insects.” The Eye is still a parasite, of course, but it’s implied that its species has advanced knowledge of mathematics and language, which suggests a larger civilization. Could the one captured on Earth use its new host body to contact the rest of its kind? Or, alternatively, to destabilize the social order on Earth? With enough determination, the little guy seems capable of anything.
“Alien: Earth” is streaming on FX on Hulu.
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