Observation

Ep 4 "Labyrinth" is a vexing slog, squandering its promise in a mire of aimless filler.

Noah Hawley's vision, once brimming with dread, stalls as Wendy (Sydney Chandler) and her "Lost Boys" meander through a derelict facility, xenomorphs reduced to mere shadows.

The vaunted Neverland set, though grimly splendid, hosts naught but repetitive traipsing, with nary a thrill to stir the blood. Chandler's emotive grit strives to salvage the torpor, and Samuel Blenkin's Boy Kavalier injects a flicker of corporate malice, but Timothy Olyphant's Kirsh languishes in obscurity. The "Lost Boys" grate with juvenile prattle, their purpose muddled.

Only the final three minutes, teasing a belated escalation, offer a glimmer of hope, sparing this episode from utter ruin. Expository drivel and lethargic pacing betray the Alien legacy, leaving one teetering on abandonment.

A dire misstep, barely redeemed by its closing spark.

For a show that has seemed to have covered a lot, when I take a step back and try to take stock of what I've seen, I'm not sure where we are?

The action sequences are top notch; it's so hard to do Alien without just a rehash of what we've seen in the movies, and in general it's been well done. The introduction of the new species (especially the eyeball alien) has been a needed freshness the franchise has been looking for.

The characters are a bit all over the place. Marrow is the strongest and most interesting, followed by Kitch. But after that, it's a bit of a drop off - Marcy/wendy is ok, but she and the entire "kid" cast are hampered by exactly who they are - children in robotic bodies. The thing that makes characters interesting is the baggage they bring with them, and the children just don't have that baggage to make them relatable to the viewer. Kid cavalier is a bit too stereotyped in the show and the character so far lacks any depth or true examples of narassism that may make him more interesting.

Which leaves the last and most important part of this review - the story. What is this story, exactly? Is it the rushed technology of the hybrids? Is it the invasion of alien lifeforms on earth? Is it the relationship of the 5 corporations (which we meet only 2 and even their interaction seems strange)? It's hard to know where this is going ... and maybe that is the point? To quote a famous line from a silly movie "and we are all dumber for having listened to that."

That's how I feel- not any smarter about what this show is half way in.

Still, the ride so far has been mostly a fun one. I'm not nearly as frustrated with alien earth as I have felt with other shows (for example, house of the dragon). I'm excited to see how the second half of this season goes... but like most viewers, patience wears thin unless I really like characters, and alien earth hasn't done enough with its characters to make me want to hang out with them doing nothing for another 4 hours.

Actually, this episode has less nonsensical parts than the previous episodes (which are full of them), but there are still some issues.

A 13-year old girl feels she's gonna have a baby. Really? And when being reminded of how babies are actually conceived she mentions Jesus. Yeah...

Apparently, Xenomorphs have chosen Wendy (Marcy) to be their medium. Why her? It's the first encounter of Eathlings with Xenomorphs.

How come that she of all the hybrids has more abilities? And why does Boy Kavalier think that she is a challenge to his genius? She's the first prototype, wouldn't it be more logical that the later models are more sophisticated and advanced?

Oh, and that "genius" Boy Kavalier does not show any signs of being a genius. Ever. He looks more like a spoiled rich man's kid.

The scenes involving Wendy are the most interesting, particularly concerning her recently discovered ability. I find this quite compelling, and hope it leads somewhere that fits with events depicted in the classic movies. Bringing Joe back into the fold works well and adds more tension to the dynamic between the hybrids and Prodigy.

This episode offers more exposition on the social/political order of Earth. The exposition comes in a fairly unsubtle information dump, but scenes, such as the dialogue between Joe and Atom Eins, demonstrate more about the type of world Earth has become. You cannot help but hope the Ocellus scene foreshadows a gruesome demise for the character Boy Kavalier.

The other plot thread of note involves Morrow, who, along with the aliens, is the most sinister lifeform depicted on Alien Earth. You feel a sense of dread for Slightly and family, but you want to see Weyland-Yutani doing terrible things to obtain a xenomorph, as so much of Alien and Aliens is underpinned by this.

Is the pace too slow? Arguably, it feels so currently, but if it is laying foundations that make future events good, I will not complain. At this point, though, the jury is out for me. The next episode needs a major event or significant plot movement.

This episode doesn't move the story forward as much as the previous ones. Instead, it focuses more on psychology and social relationships. We see some of the core team members getting distracted - for different reasons - which will likely make them the source of problems in future episodes.

What I really appreciated was the explanation of The Five - the five companies that have replaced governments. While it wasn't directly tied to the main plot, it added valuable context to the Alien universe. In general, I like how the series continues to educate us about aspects of the universe we didn't know before, and that educational angle keeps me engaged.

I'm also glad they did something with the other species Prodigy brought to their lab; I had assumed those species would simply be forgotten in favor of focusing solely on our familiar alien character. The ending sets up a new direction that will definitely need a deeper explanation in future episodes - otherwise, it risks feeling confusing.