REVIEW: Sydney Chandler Channels Her Inner Ripley In 'Alien: Earth' Episode 3
- Christopher Mills
- 1 minute ago
- 4 min read
This review contains minor spoilers for 'Alien: Earth' Episode 3.
Last week, we got the double episode premiere of Alien: Earth, which was arguably one of the best double premieres we've gotten for a show. It introduced us to the two companies, Yutani and Prodigy, who will be at the forefront of this show, fighting for something that doesn't truly belong to either of them. We met Wendy (Sydney Chandler), the first synthetic hybrid who misses her brother Hermit (Alex Lawther) and takes the Lost Boys to the crashed Yutani vessel, Maginot, which has a Xenomorph on the loose alongside other specimens which security officer Morrow (Babou Ceesay) is in charge of retrieving at any cost.
Alien: Earth episode 2 ended in sort of a cliffhanger as the Xenomorph finally caught up to Hermit, taking him hostage, with Wendy once again on the search for her brother. In this episode, we start to get a clearer understanding of the ringing in Wendy's ear. She has a connection with the Xenomorph, and while the show hasn't explained exactly why she's the only hybrid to have this connection, it's clear that this connection is what's leading to her to have an advantage against the intellectual creature.
The intellect of the Xenomorph is put on display as it could've easily killed Hermit but instead uses him as a trap for Wendy, understanding that it can get two for the price of one. In moments where the Xenomorph has a clear kill shot of both Wendy and Hermit, it still chooses not to kill, staring down Wendy as it feels like they have a conversation that the audience can't hear. This relationship that Noah Hawley is building with Wendy and the Xenomorph is one that the Alien franchise has barely touched. Prometheus and Alien: Covenant might've played with the idea, but Alien: Earth takes the risk of possibly giving us our first character who can communicate and understand the Xenomorph.
It's here that we get Sydney Chandler's most iconic moment of the show so far as she channels her inner Ripley, taking down the Xenomorph in a one-on-one fight which doesn't end with it being blown out into space (as we're on Earth) but instead decapitated. One of the many reasons why Alien: Earth remains engaging as Noah Hawley subverts expectations with what fans are so used to from the franchise. While Wendy might've been victor, she still ends up going offline after taking too much damage which leads to her, the deceased Xenomorph and her injured brother being taken away from the crashed ship to recover as they return back to Neverland.
As captivating as Wendy is becoming with her unique talents, Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin) continues to be a character that intrigues with the writing that Noah Hawley delivers with him. He's so close to achieving immortality yet is pushed by greed and his ego to take Yutani's specimens and experiment on them in hope of discovering something new that he can hopefully utilise or monopolise. His dialogue still leans into the idea of what being a prodigy means, as he has a discussion with Curly (Erana James), a hybrid who believes she's the best out of all the hybrids and that she can become bigger than Boy Kavalier one day. He said it in the last episode; he wants to engage in a conversation with someone that's interesting, and while Curly may not be his favourite yet, there's a hint that these hybrids might be able to give Boy Kavalier exactly what he has wanted for so long.
Earlier in the episode, Morrow comes across Slightly (Adarsh Gourav) and Smee (Jonathan Ajayi) and quickly comes to the conclusion that they're something new that no one has ever seen before. While Morrow escapes before the alien egg hatches, he's able to get free from the ship, but his mission isn't over, as now his specimens are in the hands of the enemy. Morrow has only known one thing as a cyborg: to ensure that these specimens make their way to Yutani. Every character in Alien: Earth believes they're the good person, and while, from the viewpoint of the audience, him slowly manipulating Slightly, who's still a kid, might seem genuinely despicable, Morrow is only doing what he must and the only thing he has been programmed to do. The first two episodes showed us the lengths that Morrow would go through to ensure the safety of the specimens; if that and the conversation with Slightly are anything to go off, it's not looking bright for Prodigy.
Alien: Earth episode 3 leans heavily into the sci-fi of the show as we begin to see experiments take place on the facehugger, which gets extracted from the egg. Wendy finally wakes up towards the end of the episode and continues to hear a ringing and screeching sound that attracts her towards the creature as she witnesses the embryo being placed into a lung which seemingly belongs to her brother Hermit. This third episode is quite fast-paced compared to the previous two, which set up the storylines for this first season of the show. We get Sydney Chandler delivering iconic scenes, although they barely last, and Noah Hawley continues with the genius writing that he lends to his characters, which not only continues to keep the show engaging but also allows for the build-up to feel worthwhile.
Rating: ★★★★☆
About Alien: Earth
Premiere Date:Â August 12, 2025
Episode Count:Â 8
Executive Producer/Showrunner: Noah Hawley
Writer: Noah Hawley, Bob DeLaurentiis, Bobak Esfarjani, Lisa Long, Maria Melnik, Migizi Pensoneau
Director: Dana Gonzalez, Ugla Hauksdóttir, Noah Hawley
Production:Â FX
Distribution:Â Hulu
Cast: Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Essie Davis, Samuel Blenkin, Babou Ceesay, Adarsh Gourav, Erana James, Jonathan Ajayi, David Rysdahl, Diêm Camille, Moe Bar-El, Timothy Olyphant, Kit Young, Sandra Yi Sencindiver, Lily Newmark, Adrian Edmondson, Amir Boutrous, Lloyd Everitt
Synopsis: When the mysterious deep space research vessel USCSS Maginot crash-lands on Earth, Wendy (Sydney Chandler) and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet's greatest threat in FX’s Alien: Earth.