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The show has gotten better in ep. 3 and 4, and with 5 definitely the strongest of the series so far. Which is actually a problematic thing in a way. I was far more attached to the crew (even though they weren’t gonna make it) than anyone we met so far on Earth. I know you can’t make ALIEN again, but wow Ep5 was a masterpiece and I wish we had more of it. Felt like a game session. When you know whats gonna happen and they still pull that off? Fantastic.

I’m hopeful it keeps on going this way.

Felt like a game session.

That Alien: Earth is written as an analogy to Peter Pan, both in its text and subtext, is hardly a worthy criticism, IMHO. Sure, one might be of the opinion that analogous writing is not to one’s liking – that is quite fair and valid – but attacking writers for using that approach is, I would say, not valid. It is a very common writing tool & story-telling shorthand, and quite popular.

Analogous writing worked well for Se7en (Dante’s Inferno), the very overt WWII French Resistance in Andor s2, The Lion King (Hamlet), just to name a couple. Personally, I find the analogous writing in Alien: Earth very sharp, and it is interesting to follow the writers’ machinations, so to speak.

One thing that interest me greatly in A:E – in addition to the fascinating characters and story arcs – is the fact that for the most part, I have no idea where all this is heading. I mean, it is pretty obvious that the rather peripheral Weyland-Yutani company is going to end up with all of Prodigy’s xeno research, (presumably through Morrow), which will prompt W-Y to redirect Nostromo’s course towards LV-426, tail-ending A:E straight into A. But other than that post-endgame destination, I have no idea how things are going to unfold going forward, and that is pretty cool.

Are there elements of the show worthy of criticism? Sure. For one, the pacing is a little weird (=high drama/action, followed by momentum-crushing dialogue scenes), and there is a LOT of stuff going on in every scene/sequence/shooting location (=somewhat distracting) but to be fair, that is a staple of Ridley Scott film-making, so a staple of the franchise. Moreover, I would have preferred if they hid the creatures and effects in smoke and darkness more, but apparently that is not allowed in the Alien franchise nowadays (=same problem in Alien: Romulus).

But largely, this show is pretty dang fine.

Shout-out to the acting (the people criticizing this show’s acting might have to check their medication), and the stand-out roles of Morrow, Kirsh, Nibs, Wendy, and Boy Kavalier; excellent stuff!

Timothy Olyphant is one of my favorite actors, so I’m loving Kirsch!