Alien: Earth's New Episode Is a Gruesome Masterpiece With Ties to Franchise Lore Hiding in Plain Sight

Hulu’s Alien: Earth has just aired its best episode yet, and fans can’t help but feel a strong wave of nostalgia. Rising in popularity under the expert direction of Noah Hawley, Alien: Earth ​​​​​​episode 5 takes viewers back to the beginning. Fans knew from episode 1 that the Maginot met an unfortunate end, but they never knew how.

Morrow seemed to be the only survivor, but it was never explained how a xenomorph was let loose on a ship and why it crashed in the first place. By strategically placing a flashback episode at the show’s peak, Hawley has just reawakened the dormant Alien fan base, who had been waiting for this perfection of an episode since the beginning. From learning about the deaths of the Maginot crewmembers to Morrow’s undying fidelity to Weyland-Yutani, Alien: Earth episode 5 has been nothing short of a sci-fi masterpiece.

Alien: Earth Episode 5 Features Maginot’s Backstory

In episode 1, a Weyland-Yutani ship crashed in the middle of a Prodigy city, and in it were an adult xenomorph and other alien lifeforms. After Wendy defeated the xenomorph, its corpse and the rest of the creatures were confiscated by Boy Kavalier and shifted to his private island. The following episodes didn’t delve much into the details of what happened in the Maginot until episode 5.

Named after one of sci-fi’s most popular dialogues, “In space, no one can hear you scream,” the episode offers exactly that: body and alien horror in the most isolated setting possible. The audience knows Maginot is carrying the facehuggers among other lifeforms, so of course, it was all bound to go to hell at some point. However, the suspenseful buildup and twists and turns leading to that fateful moment are nothing short of impressive.

Instead of indulging in the pleasantries of introducing the crew or setting up the atmosphere, episode 5 put viewers directly into a crisis on the Maginot. Morrow, as the head of security, is awakened from his cryosleep just to see two of his crew members’ faces being smothered by facehuggers. This is the exact moment when fans are transported back to the Nostromo when the first facehugger latched itself onto one of the crew members.

Apparently, the captain died when one of the science officers tried to cut the facehugger’s tail, which ended up killing the host and damaging the ship’s hull — another callback to the Nostromo. Therefore, the crew was careful not to touch the other victim and proposed that he be put in cryo for the remainder of the journey. It turned out that there was a fire in the containment bay that released the facehuggers, but Morrow doesn’t buy it. He showcases his relentless tactics of sniffing out the truth with his razor-sharp instincts, making him perhaps the best part of the entire episode, of course, next to all the gnarly stuff.

Episode 5 Is Essentially A Love Letter To The Original Alien Movie

It seemed that Hawley was saving the best for last because, in its entirety, “In Space, No one Can…” has all the makings of a standalone Alien movie. Instead of being a cheap copy of one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time, Alien: Earth episode 5 does its best to establish its own identity. It incorporates all the best elements from the original movie and restructures it to fit the TV construct. It almost feels like stepping back into Alien—but with a fresh tone and a narrative designed to weave multiple storylines together.

Unlike the Nostromo crew, the Maginot soldiers weren’t blindsided; they walked in fully aware of the risks. They knew they were harvesting hostile organisms and exactly why Weyland-Yutani coveted them — unchecked power. As a result, their decisions feel more calculated than panicked—though freezing a facehugger while it was still latched onto a living host was reckless at best. Episode 5 mirrors the slow-burning dread of Alien, yet shifts into a tense mystery-thriller rather than a straight creature feature.

That balance makes Alien: Earth interesting: it honors its roots while carving out a chilling identity of its own. It pays tribute to the Nostromo bloodbath by setting up stomach-churning events when the inevitable happens, but it doesn’t forget to progress the narrative for what’s about to unfold on Earth. The episode maintains a tight leash on what it reveals without ruining it for the Earth storyline, and regardless of knowing its outcome, the Maginot crash backstory provided more answers than the entire series combined.

Alien: Earth Episode 5 Flawlessly Connects With Weyland-Yutani’s Villainous Arc From 1979’s Alien

Alien: Earth has been incredibly subtle about how it connects to the original trilogy. It may use the same setting, monsters, or structuring, but the show is more dedicated to highlighting antagonism other than the one associated with the xenomorph. Honestly, the formidable creature doesn’t even enter until the final act; before that, the entire episode is headed by the familiar sense of the classic Alien foreboding.

What’s more chilling is that the xenomorph becomes the least of the crew’s problems as other alien lifeforms beat the monster to it. From infected waters to the creepy Eyeball monster, the Maginot was a colossal dumpster fire that met an end far grislier than the 1979 crew. However, besides all the chest-busting and eyeball popping, it does come to light that Weyland-Yutani always knew what they were dipping their toes into.

The company knew about the xenomorphs and their capabilities, and the crew was also aware of the risks associated with such a mission. With that in mind, it makes the Nostromo crew's mission even more sinister since they were sent to their deaths deliberately. It was never a coincidence, and they were always meant to retrieve the xenomorphs no matter the cost. The thing that must have shocked the audience the most would be the Big Boy Kavalier reveal. Forget what Weyland-Yutani did with the Nostromo; it turned out that Prodigy had been running the show since the beginning.

Kavalier had one of the crew members deliberately sabotage the ship so that it would crash in Prodigy territory, automatically making the cargo their property. All the hype around sending the Lost Boys and pretending to be intrigued by the ship’s mysteries was a big façade — a way to fuel his ego and his self-anointed title as the so-called boy wonder. He’s the ultimate corporate villain, who is giving both the xenomorph and Weyland-Yutani a run for their money.

The Eyeball Monster Stole The Limelight From The Xenomorph

There’s no denying that the iconic black creature has always been the highlight of every Alienmovie. That’s why Alien: Earth ensured it didn’t fall into predictable patterns by making an entire TV series about a xenomorph stabbing and shredding people. By incorporating a rich palette of alien forms, the show has expanded its landscape and led the franchise in a potentially better direction. Episode 5 is a testament to an Alien story working without a xenomorph or a facehugger at the forefront.

For instance, it was more compelling to see the Eyeball monster at work than the xenomorph doing what it has done for the past 70 years. The little critter’s problem-solving skills were mind-blowing; even more so, it fought the giant alien with its tiny body. Of course, the xenomorph doesn’t have eyes, so the T. Ocellus couldn’t properly do its work, but it probably wanted to attack the former for taking its majestic and powerful body for its own.

This little standoff has unleashed a whirlwind of endless possibilities about the true nature of xenomorphs and why they have been on Weyland-Yutani’s radar for so long. Beyond the label of the “perfect organism,” the xenomorph’s most incredible ability is adaptation. The fact that it doesn’t have eyes and the T. Occelus needs the eye socket to burrow into its host’s brain speaks volumes about the species' incredible adaptive capabilities.

It seems there might be a secret connection between the species hiding in plain sight. How did the Eyeball monster summon the Xenomorph, and why did it know its language? Was it studying the creature, or does an ancient tie link the two? Some Alien enthusiasts even speculate that T. Occelus and the Xenomorphs are natural rivals—and that the latter deliberately evolved without eyes to avoid falling prey to the Eyeball.

It weirdly makes sense, but it’s a long shot considering that this particular plotline may not have any consequential effect on the broader narrative. Alien: Earth delivered a perfect episode, a gift to the Alien fandom in ways no one expected. Just when everyone thought that the show was going off course, it threw a curveball by taking everyone back to the roots. The sting of nostalgia was immaculate, whether it was the classic interior or that quintessential Alien unease.