Alien: Earth has been a world-changing installment of the massive franchise from the very beginning. It took the Alien universe and gave it a horrifying spin, especially with its iteration of the infamous Xenomorphs.
In Episode 7 of Alien: Earth, “Emergence”, a Xenomorph gets thrust into the daylight for the very first time in the history of the franchise. Wendy released one of the terrifying creatures as part of her escape plan after hacking the lab’s system. The Xenomorph proceeds to kill the security guards and runs into the jungle.
When Wendy, Nibs, and Joe get cornered by the Prodigy on the beach, the newly freed Xenomorph bursts into action. And, in a twist of fate, it doesn’t attack the trio. Instead, it speaks to Wendy, who has the ability to communicate with the aliens. She then instructs it to fight off the Prodigy’s soldiers.
In an interview with Screen Rant’s Grant Hermanns, episode 7 director Dana Gonzales reveals how he managed to create such an effective scene. Check out the discussion below:
Dana Gonzales: That’s scary. You’re on the edge there, this thing has always been in the dark, and in a darker environment inside. And now, you’re bringing it out, full frontal, fully open. You’re taming it, you’re having these moments where it’s obviously not killing people. You’re seeing this thing happen with Wendy and the kind of relationship really forging, and her realizing the control of it all, and being in the jungle. My No. 1 thing in my relationship with Noah is I trust him 100%. I read what he writes, and then it’s my job to execute it at the highest level possible. And I know it’s gonna work, and I know it’s gonna be great. And then, within that, I try to find those devices or those setups to make it believable and work. I think that, yeah, when you first see it in that whole fight in the jungle, it’s horrific, and I think we’ve earned it. But when it comes over to Wendy and everything, we’ve earned that. It’s not like, “Whoa, what the hell is that?” We’ve seen this coming. We see her bonding in episode 6 and stuff like that. And obviously, the communication with the Xenomorph, so that’s when the writing really shows itself, and the strength of it. I think that’s why the show is working so well.
What The Xenomorph Appearing In Daylight Means For Alien: Earth
Up until now, Xenomorphs have only ever appeared in the dead of night. Preying on humans in the dark has always been one of the most terrifying aspects of the alien predators. Being chased while you’re at your most vulnerable, with absolutely no light to guide you, is everyone’s worst nightmare in the franchise.
However, while being chased in pitch blackness is horrifying, the fact that the Xenomorphs are able to hunt in the daylight is just as terrifying. Even though humans can see where they’re going, the Xenomorphs can, too. This increases the danger these characters are in because they no longer have the luxury of not having to worry about them during the daytime.
Our Take On The Xenomorph In Alien: Earth Episode 7
The Alien franchise has always been very vague when it comes to Xenomorphs and their vision. The RPG and several comics confirm that they rely more on senses other than their eyesight. In fact, they don’t even have visible eyes. Xenomorph creator H.R. Giger did this because having an essentially blind creature that can still viciously hunt would scare viewers more.