REVIEW: 'Alien: Earth' Episode 5 Is The Best 'Alien' Movie Since 'Aliens'
- Christopher Mills
- Sep 4
- 4 min read
This review contains minor spoilers for 'Alien: Earth' Episode 5.
Noah Hawley so far has already created a show that makes me confident enough to believe it’s the best Alien media we’ve gotten since Aliens, outside of the video game Alien: Isolation and the recent Alien: Romulus, which felt almost like a return to form. Although Noah Hawley brings us to a setting like Earth, which is uncharted territory for the franchise, he is still able to keep the heart and identity of the franchise, which “In Space, No One…” perfectly does.
“In Space, No One…” is a flashback episode, and while those can sometimes tend to ruin the structure of a series, Hawley chooses the perfect time to take us back to when the Maginot crash-landed in Prodigy territory, filling in the gaps from the first episode. The title of the episode itself, “In Space, No One…” is an homage to the iconic tagline “In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream” that derives from Alien. This episode feels like a respectful recreation of the original. With the crash of the Maginot being given its own episode, it stops Alien: Earth from gaining negative feedback and being labelled a copycat of the original Alien; instead, Hawley uses this structure to still make his own mark while showing his love for where it all began.
This episode in all its glory highlights Babou Ceesay’s role in delivering an all-time performance as Morrow, who takes the spotlight in this episode. From the previous episodes, we look at Morrow through a lens that truly sees him as the villain as he blackmails literal children to ensure he gets his way, but in “In Space, No One…” we finally get to learn partially about his backstory. The daughter who tragically died in a fire continues to be his driving force to ensure that he completes his mission; otherwise, what was the point to all of this?
That’s not the only piece of information that we gain. From the conclusion of the first episode, we were left in the dark about how the Xenomorph came to be on the ship, and to no one’s surprise, Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin) is the mastermind behind it all. While Morrow and the crew have to deal with a Xenomorph on the loose later in this episode and some newer alien creatures which are out to kill them, Boy Kavalier is proven to be the biggest threat in Alien: Earth.
It wasn’t hard for Boy Kavalier to persuade Petrovitch (Enzo Cilenti) to sabotage the Maginot and ensure it lands in Prodigy territory. The idea of being put in a hybrid body is the first step to immortality, and this was a first look at how high the demand was and how big of an investment Boy Kavalier had on his hands. Hawley gets to create his own Alien movie with this episode, and while it feels familiar in places with the crew trying to outlive the alien creatures on board, he explores Morrow in a way that we normally don’t get to see done with the Alien movies.
He’s trapped within the confines of a major corporation, and until he completes his mission, he won’t be free. There’s the question of if Morrow would even want to be free, and if he was, would he allow the corporations to continue controlling other people like they’ve done with him? This is the beauty of a show set within the Alien universe; it gives the time needed to explore all of these possibilities that would not be possible within a singular movie.
Alien: Earth Episode 5, “In Space, No One…” is Noah Hawley’s attempt at recreating the original Alien movie and letting audiences know that he’s more than capable of creating an Alien movie if he were handed the reins. This is such a heart-wrenching episode as we learn about Morrow’s past and what drives him to complete this mission. He’s broken and isn’t the villain that he was thought to be in the earlier episodes. It’s hands down the best Alien media since Aliens and the best episode so far of Alien: Earth. While it still retains its horror aspects and the tension that comes with being trapped on a space vessel, Hawley takes this chance to also create a character study on Morrow, allowing for Babou Ceesay to deliver his best performance yet as the character.
Rating: ★★★★★
About Alien: Earth
Premiere Date: August 12, 2025
Episode Count: 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: FX
Distribution: 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.
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