Like any story, you can’t really judge it until you’ve seen the full arc. You wouldn’t walk out of a movie halfway through the second act and declare it a disaster. Same logic applies here for Alien: Earth. That said, we can still pick apart this episode on its own merits. And The Fly has plenty worth talking about.

The Mini Morph Problem

Let’s start with the xeno-sized elephant in the room: the so-called “mini morph.” Basically a Chihuahua-sized xenomorph. The dorsal tubes aren’t fully grown, it looks half-finished, and the design feels off. Less Giger, more Saturday morning cartoon. I get what they were going for, but shrinking the alien down doesn’t make it scarier. It makes it feel less alien.

Compare that with Alien: Romulus, where the chestburster molted inside a cocoon before becoming a full xeno. Creepy, unsettling, and it added to the mystery of the life cycle. Here, the writers skipped straight to “baby alien with training wheels.” That move weakens the entire creature design.

Kirsh Steals the Spotlight

On the flip side, Timothy Olyphant as Kirsh is killing it. He’s got that icy disdain for humanity that instantly calls back to Ash or David. Whether he’s truly that archetype or the writers are planning a misdirect remains to be seen. Personally, I’d love it if they pulled the rug out and made him something entirely different. Judging by the last two episodes, I’m not convinced the writing team will pull that off. Still, Olyphant’s performance stands out as inspired casting.

Corporate Arbitration: Peak Alien Worldbuilding

One thing I genuinely liked was the arbitration scene. Governments have collapsed, corporations now rule, and disputes get settled by legally binding “arbiters.” It’s dystopian capitalism at its finest. Some people might think it’s too far-fetched. But when you look at companies like BlackRock already controlling wealth that dwarfs the GDP of nations, the leap doesn’t feel so big. It’s the kind of bleak corporate detail that makes the Alien universe feel authentic.

Enter Specimen Five: The Fly

Now onto the big reveal. We finally meet the Fly. And it’s actually pretty cool. This thing spits corrosive fluid that eats through metal. Watching it melt poor Toodles’ face off was peak body horror. The only odd part is that if it can spit acid strong enough to chew metal, it should have already dissolved its cage. Maybe the walls are made of some exotic material. Either way, the effect worked on-screen.

Dumb Scientists Doing Dumb Things

Here’s where the writing falls apart. This episode doubles down on one of the show’s biggest flaws: making supposedly brilliant scientists act like complete fools.

Take the memory wipe scene with Nibs (Lily Newmark). The staff erase her memories and then just put her back in her room with no monitoring, no safeguards, and no plan for the fallout. She wakes up confused, traumatized, and ends up learning what happened from Wendy (Sydney Chandler). That’s not careful storytelling. That’s sloppy setup for a conversation.

Later, Arthur Sylvia wanders into a secure lab and opens doors he knows he shouldn’t. These aren’t kids playing around. They’re professionals working in a high-stakes research facility. The tension collapses when the danger comes from characters making boneheaded choices.

So, where do we land? The Fly delivers a memorable new monster, some standout Kirsh moments, and corporate intrigue that feels right at home in the Alien mythos. But the episode is weighed down by lazy writing choices and characters making decisions that no trained professional would ever make.

Daniel Wilson

Daniel fell in love with movies at the ripe old age of four, thanks to a towering chest of drawers filled with VHS tapes. Which, let’s face it, was the original Netflix binge-watch. Ever since then, this lifelong movie buff has been on a relentless quest for cinematic greatness, particularly obsessed with sci-fi, drama, and action flicks. With heroes like Nolan, Villeneuve, and Fincher guiding the way, and a special soft spot for franchises where aliens, androids, and unstoppable cyborgs duke it out (think Terminator, Predator, Alien, and Blade Runner), Daniel continues to live life one epic movie marathon at a time.