Spoilers Alien: Earth Spoiler Thread

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

One question that hasn't been asked by the characters is how in the world does Schroedinger's Plant move around? I found it so odd/interesting that it was initially found attached to the ceiling in one of the Maginot's hallways. It certainly has capabilities we aren't privy to yet.

My guess is that its "petals" or "leaves" are actually wings. In other words, we're looking at a big tentacled bat hanging from the ceiling.

 

[Aellic Mornbringer]

Speaking of the xenomorph, I have been leery of Wendy being able to talk to them, especially to control them. So I'm heartened a bit by Wendy saying she "thinks" she knows what they're saying, but isn't sure. I am hoping this relationship turns out to be like the ones where people have "pet" chimpanzees, tigers or lions that eventually maul or kill family members. A juvenile xenomorph in the lab should be very different out in the wild, surrounded by prey. I still think Wendy is likely to walk away from this season more or less intact, but I expect -- and hope -- that her illusions about the xenomorph don't survive the season finale.

Strong agree to everything in your post and want to highlight this specific part. As mature as Wendy presents, she is definitely still a child. This feeds her illusions on the xenomorph itself and lack of understanding towards its biological nature as well as the callousness she displayed when she released her "pet" and the poor red-shirt security and cleaning crews got theirs. Anyone in her way is expendable but then she is forced to confront that reality (and have that bubble burst) when her brother shoots/stuns Nibs. Things aren't as simple as she thinks they are and she's having that moment of realization there while she tries to fathom what Hermit just did.

It will definitely be interesting to see a scene where the juvenile xeno chooses to ignore her because of its nature. Perhaps Arthur's chestburster will play a factor in that equation.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Strong agree to everything in your post and want to highlight this specific part. As mature as Wendy presents, she is definitely still a child. This feeds her illusions on the xenomorph itself and lack of understanding towards its biological nature as well as the callousness she displayed when she released her "pet" and the poor red-shirt security and cleaning crews got theirs. Anyone in her way is expendable but then she is forced to confront that reality (and have that bubble burst) when her brother shoots/stuns Nibs. Things aren't as simple as she thinks they are and she's having that moment of realization there while she tries to fathom what Hermit just did.

It will definitely be interesting to see a scene where the juvenile xeno chooses to ignore her because of its nature. Perhaps Arthur's chestburster will play a factor in that equation.

Yeah, I think the Hermit siblings are headed for an irreconcilable break in their relationship. That might actually point to both of them surviving and roaming Earth next season with different agendas.

 

[Stalker0]

This feeds her illusions on the xenomorph itself and lack of understanding towards its biological nature as well as the callousness she displayed when she released her "pet" and the poor red-shirt security and cleaning crews got theirs.

yeah its cool we have this nice span of moralities among the kids.

Slightly is really guilt driven over his decisions.
Wendy actually has a pretty cold streak, and seems aware of her actions but continues to kill.
Nibs has basically a psychotic break and isn't in full touch with reality. (side note: Nibs in the last season said she remembered everything, and was clearly still messed up. Did she recover her memories....did someone put them back?)

You can say that honestly, Wendy is the worst of the bunch, a cold blooded killer when it suits her.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Nibs has basically a psychotic break and isn't in full touch with reality. (side note: Nibs in the last season said she remembered everything, and was clearly still messed up. Did she recover her memories....did someone put them back?)

She's in denial. As I recall, someone directly asked her about something after she said that and she clearly didn't remember what they were referencing.

 

[Clint_L]

Someone’s Law: In real life, people do stupid things all the time. In fiction it’s bad writing.

It's bad writing when it is done or the sake of plot and is inconsistent with what we know of the characters and with how we would expect people to behave.

People behaving stupidly in Dumb and Dumber is not bad writing. Scientists failing to follow anything vaguely remembering basic scientific protocols, or even basic common sense, especially when the potential conseequences are obvious and horrific is bad writing. A super strong hybrid suddenly struggling to drag a body across a few metres of smooth floor is bad writing. At least for me - if it's not taking you out of the moment, then that's fine.

But, I'm curious, if it's not bad writing, then how do you explain the latter? The series has repeatedly shown us that the hybrids can handle carrying a human as if it is nothing. Did, I dunno, a servo break in his hip ot something?

 

[Clint_L]

I think for somebody who doesn't like fiction with the hubris of people making terrible choices and dying horribly as a consequence as it's basic premise, the Alien franchise probably won't appeal. That is, after all, what Alien is basically about.

Except I love the first two Alien films - the second is my favourite movie. And there the bad choices make sense, and are called out. When Dallas breaks protocol, it both makes sense in the story (he's not a scientist, it's his friend), it is immediately called out by Ripley, which establishes a lot about both their characters, and it has consequences make sense, establishing her as the true protagonist of the film.

That's different than a lot of the head scratching moments in this series. As I wrote, I'm still enjoying it, but the writing is keeping it from being great, for me.

 

[Morrus]

Except I love the first two Alien films - the second is my favourite movie. And there the bad choices make sense, and are called out. When Dallas breaks protocol, it both makes sense in the story (he's not a scientist, it's his friend), it is immediately called out by Ripley, which establishes a lot about both their characters, and it has consequences make sense, establishing her as the true protagonist of the film.

That's different than a lot of the head scratching moments in this series. As I wrote, I'm still enjoying it, but the writing is keeping it from being great, for me.

One is the same as the other. The franchise is about hubris. Heck, as plenty of people pointed out above, they put a lamp on it with the name of the ship.

This is deliberate storytelling. The writing might not be telling the exact story you want, but that does not make it bad.

 

[Voadam]

I mean realistically it should be a random nobody that has absolutely no relations with the kids whatsoever as that would just cause more unnecessary problems....but BK will do as BK wills am I right?

" . . . I will make a list."

 

[Voadam]

A super strong hybrid suddenly struggling to drag a body across a few metres of smooth floor is bad writing. At least for me - if it's not taking you out of the moment, then that's fine.

But, I'm curious, if it's not bad writing, then how do you explain the latter?

It did not particularly pull me out of the scene.

I think it is just awkward for him. While we have seen that Wendy has explored super strength jumping and knowing her strength in holding up the children on her arms and ripping off the paper cutter and such I don't remember seeing the boys do such things, though I would generally expect them to test out their new super strength too, particularly when playing on the island. The boys, these two in particular it has seemed to me, have been more goofily physically awkward than the girls.

I expect in his stressed mental condition he is also just doing what he expects a physical boy body would do for dragging a body, maybe being extra careful not to pull too hard so that things don't rip and accidentally kill Arthur.

Different things are going to hit that jarring sense for different people, we each have different lines for various things. The no explanations for Nibs or the other kids on her memory wipe before she woke up with Wendy there did hit as a jarring thing for me.