(NEXSTAR) \u2014 The fourth episode of FX\u2019s \u201cAlien: Earth\u201d<\/a> shows off some of the series\u2019 most grizzly, gory and spine-tingling creature scenes yet. Prodigy is putting its alien research to the test \u2014 but how long until it all goes wrong?<\/p>\n Gear up, because a lot happens in this episode!<\/p>\n Spoilers ahead for episode four.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2018Alien: Earth\u2019 episode 3 recap: The hybrid kids aren\u2019t alright <\/a><\/p>\n Though episode four, \u201cObservation,\u201d picks up right where episode three left off with hybrid Wendy\u2019s newly discovered xenomorph-hearing (more on that below), the episode is better framed by its two big laboratory sequences.<\/p>\n We\u2019re still on Prodigy\u2019s island, where synthetic scientist Kirsh (Timothy Olyphant<\/a>) and Prodigy CEO Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin<\/a>) are finally putting Weyland-Yutani\u2019s eyeball octopus creature to use. If you happen to remember a brief glimpse of a white sheep in the lab last week, well, you know where this sentence is going.<\/p>\n Kirsh and Kavalier release the eyeball creature, officially called Species 64, or Trypanohyncha Ocellus<\/a>, into the sheep\u2019s glass box, where a truly horrific transformation takes place. In one of the series\u2019 most unsettling scenes, the tentacled eyeball rips out the sheep\u2019s left eye and lodges itself squarely inside. This appears to hijack the animal\u2019s body and mind, as soon, the farm animal is standing on two legs and displaying increased intelligence.<\/p>\n The scene ends as the sheep\u2019s multiple irises hone in on its human captors.<\/p>\n Surely nothing bad will happen, right?<\/p>\n Side-note: We\u2019d be lying if we said we didn\u2019t love Kavalier\u2019s linen patchwork outfit from this episode. Shoutout to costume designer Suttirat \u201cAnne\u201d Larlarb<\/a> (\u201cNo Time to Die,\u201d among many films) for creating a look that feels both earthy and fashion-forward. Boy Kavalier, we didn\u2019t know you were such a drip king<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a> Pictured: Samuel Blenkin as Boy Kavalier in a costume designed by Suttirat \u201cAnne\u201d Larlarb for FX\u2019s \u201cAlien: Earth\u201d \u2014 \u201cObservation\u201d \u2014 Season 1, Episode 4 (Airs Tues, August 26) \u2014 (Credit: Patrick Brown\/FX Networks)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n While Kirsh and Kavelier push ahead in research, other Prodigy researchers are having doubts.<\/p>\n Scientist Arthur (David Rysdahl<\/a>) leads wife Dame Sylvia (Essie Davis<\/a>) out to the jungle for a chat away from prying ears. Arthur explains that Wendy\u2019s recent episode cast uncertainty on whether the hybrids are actually functional. What\u2019s more, the company\u2019s hybrid launch seems to have been derailed by Kavalier\u2019s fascination with the stolen alien species.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to think about what happens when this whole thing goes to hell,\u201d Arthur tells Dame Sylvia. Though she doesn\u2019t share her husband\u2019s worries, Dame Sylvia assures her husband that the team is following protocols \u2014 in addition to saying she\u2019ll make dumplings later that night for a quiet night in.<\/p>\n Are we gearing up for an ethical domestic rift?<\/p>\n Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce engaged <\/a><\/p>\n The Sylvias\u2019 covert conversation is interrupted by hybrid Nibs (Lily Newmark), who\u2019s been acting strange since her encounter with Species 64 aboard the Weyland-Yutani ship. Though the creature was stopped from doing to her what it did to the goat, her brush with the gnarly species appears to have changed something<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m pregnant,\u201d Nibs announces. Holding her synthetic belly, she says, somewhat menacingly, \u201cI woke up this morning and I just knew\u2026 It\u2019s a baby.\u201d<\/p>\n As Real Housewife Nene Leakes once said: Well, whatever that means<\/a>.<\/p>\n After Dame Sylvia attempts to reason with Nibs, the young hybrid attacks, prompting Sylvia to order Nibs to be locked in her room and watched.<\/p>\n Next, Joe (Alex Lawther<\/a>) has a meeting with Prodigy C-Suite executive Atom Eins (Ade Edmondson<\/a>), where Joe learns the real cost of the life-saving procedure Prodigy gave him last episode. Though Joe is eager to learn news of his team, Eins explains that the company intends for Joe to test Wendy for proof that the transfer of his sister\u2019s mind to the synthetic actually worked. Joe, who works for a subsidiary of Prodigy, refuses, saying he quits. Eins explains that he\u2019ll have Joe escorted off the private island \u2014 which he won\u2019t be allowed to return to \u2014 right away. He also won\u2019t be able to contact Wendy.<\/p>\n \u201cAlso, as your body keeps reminding you: You have a new lung,\u201d Eins says. \u201cWhilst it comes courtesy of the Prodigy Corporation, it isn\u2019t free<\/em>. You could work off the price here, assessing Wendy\u2026 or simply go home, and we\u2019ll bill you.\u201d<\/p>\n Resigned, Joe agrees.<\/p>\n <\/a> Pictured (L-R): Alex Lawther as Hermit, Sydney Chandler as Wendy, David Rysdahl as Arthur in FX\u2019s \u201cAlien: Earth\u201d \u2014 \u201cObservation\u201d \u2014 Season 1, Episode 4 (Airs Tues, August 26) (Credit: Patrick Brown\/FX Networks)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Also, in case you weren\u2019t sure: Yes, Eins did make a reference to the Snuggie<\/a>, which he called \u201can invention that nobody wanted.\u201d We\u2019ll take the fact that the Snuggie is still being talked about this far into the future as proof of its success, personally!<\/p>\n \u2018Severance\u2019 star Adam Scott talks Emmy nod, reveals if he\u2019d ever direct <\/a><\/p>\n Wendy\u2019s also given an ultimatum this episode: Joe can stay on the island, if she helps Prodigy understand what the aliens are saying. Wendy agrees.<\/p>\n In \u201cObservation,\u201d we learn what Weyland-Yutani cyborg security officer Morrow (Babou Ceesay<\/a>) has planned for hybrid Slightly, whose communications he hacked into last episode. We also learn Kirsh has been listening in on these conversations. He\u2019s just not letting Slightly know yet.<\/p>\n Off-island, Morrow contacts Slightly again (Adarsh Gourav<\/a>) with a proposition: Steal back a xenomorph egg or an infected human for Weyland-Yutani and his mother back home lives. And he\u2019s got 24 hours to do it.<\/p>\n Slightly\u2019s target? None other than Joe.<\/p>\n Finally, at episode\u2019s end, we learn the fate of Joe\u2019s previously xenomorph-inseminated lung. Say that sentence to someone out of context today.<\/p>\n After a tense conversation with the rest of the hybrids (who now think they too should be able to have family members on the island), Wendy heads to the lab to unwind, where she begins \u201cspeaking\u201d to Joe\u2019s infected lung through its glass box.<\/p>\n Lil Nas X breaks silence following release from jail and bizarre walk in Studio City <\/a><\/p>\n The lung starts pulsing before a chestburster<\/a>-like creature (this technically<\/em> isn\u2019t a chestburster) springs forth and cracks through the glass. As established, the creatures don\u2019t attack synthetics, and this one also doesn\u2019t attack \u2014 but it does immediately seem to form some sort of bond with Wendy. The two keep chatting as credits roll.<\/p>\n Will Wendy become \u201cAlien: Earth\u201d\u2018s Mother of Dragons<\/a>? Stay tuned.<\/p>\n Grade: A.<\/strong><\/p>\n There were some rougher moments in last week\u2019s episode, but thankfully, episode four buffed out some of those dings. The Wendy-Joe relationship, which we opined last week wasn\u2019t really working, is at least given a complex new angle to make us care about. All-in-all, \u201cAlien: Earth\u201d is turning out to be a weekly dose of surprise to look forward to.<\/p>\n We hope you\u2019ve enjoyed this recap as much as we\u2019re enjoying \u201cAlien: Earth.\u201d The series, created by Noah Hawley, airs Tuesdays on FX, Hulu and Disney+.<\/p>\n Nexstar\u2019s Russell Falcon can be found on Instagram<\/a>, X<\/a> and TikTok<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/i><\/p>\n For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\nEye can\u2019t believe they did that<\/h2>\n
Trouble in paradise<\/h2>\n
Do androids dream of electric babies?<\/h2>\n
No such thing as a free lung<\/h2>\n
<\/div>\n
Slightly screwed<\/h2>\n
Talk xeno to me<\/h2>\n
Final thoughts<\/h2>\n