We’re all in this cell because we can’t be kids anymore.
我們都被關進牢裡，是因為我們無法再當小孩了
8. The Real Monsters
The first-ever television series in the classic sci-fi Alien franchise has finally reached its season finale. However, as the title suggests, don't expect any clean resolutions. In fact, the fates of several key characters are left hanging in the balance. To put it bluntly: the story is far from over. All suspense is being saved for Season 2, and while managing expectations is key, the abrupt ending after so much buildup of chaos on the island delivers a truly chilling gut punch.
The episode opens on a beach, where waves crash against the shore. The camera pans to reveal the lifeless body of Arthur, washed ashore with his eyes wide open. Poor Arthur! But even in death, his role isn't over, as an unexpected development awaits him. Elsewhere, his wife Sylvia carries a bouquet of flowers to the graves of the children whose consciousnesses were transferred, paying her respects. As she turns, she comes face-to-face... or rather, face-to-inner-jaw, with a Xenomorph lurking behind her. Fortunately, Prodigy's security team opens fire, scaring the creature away and escorting Sylvia back to the base. With the island on the brink of collapse, Weyland-Yutani secretly jams satellite communications and dispatches a massive military force. Inside the facility, personnel numbers are dwindling from the failed Xenomorph hunts. CEO Kavalier listens to a string of bad news while monitoring the five remaining members of the Lost Boys in their cell. Some are desperate, others resentful, but Wendy uses the allegory of Peter Pan to make her companions see the cruel reality: this corporation never intended to let them grow up. As they transition from people into something else, a newly awakened Wendy asks: "What do ghosts do?" The real monsters have awakened.
Her brother Hermit, also imprisoned, uses his medical expertise to check on his cellmate, the bruised and beaten android Morrow. Though they'd only met once before during the bloody feast, Morrow reveals he's been monitoring Hermit and knows everything about his arrival on the island. Morrow points out that transcending humanity comes at a cost—nothing the corporation provides is free, and a lifetime of payment may not be enough, much like the original sin he carries as an android. As the two sit in despair, the cell door suddenly unlocks. It's Wendy, remotely controlling the system and toying with the security team like a prankster in a haunted house. A flood of memories of her brother, combined with persuasion from the pure-hearted Smee—who insists Hermit is still one of them—convinces Wendy to help him escape. Seizing the opportunity, Morrow's first objective is to find the white-haired Kirsh, who is busy in the lab trying to repair Isaac. But Kirsh anticipates the attack and fires a shot at the ambushing Morrow. Whether he missed or it was intentional is unclear (you probably shouldn't fire a gun in a lab), but the bullet shatters a small hole in the glass enclosure holding the "Flower Bud" creature. The two engage in a fierce brawl, an evenly matched and brutal fight. But when Morrow executes a head-clutching shoulder throw, Kirsh malfunctions, spitting up white fluid. As Morrow scoffs that humans always win—it's just a matter of willpower—the Flower Bud seizes the chance to break free. While a startled Morrow scans the room, Kirsh stages a stunning comeback, and the triumphant android is knocked unconscious in Kirsh's arms.
As the Lost Boys watch this chaotic drama unfold, a barefoot Kavalier arrives at their cell with his entourage, mocking the ungrateful children. But with a snap of her fingers, Wendy unlocks the cage, instantly reversing the power dynamic. A stunned Kavalier, still trying to play it cool, recounts his dark past: as a child prodigy, he built a synthetic to murder his own father and then adopted the synth as his new father, all to erase the continuation of "mediocre genes." His extreme self-worship and lack of morality shock even Slightly, the Indian boy who once did everything to save his mother. Kavalier finally admits what he truly thinks of the hybrids: they are merely "showpieces" for the company's technology. This statement completely shatters the Lost Boys. Nibs is the first to act, and another unlucky employee falls victim to her deadly claws. Realizing the situation has turned, Kavalier makes a run for it. Wendy suggests they all play a game of hide-and-seek, splitting up to find their target. The once-arrogant Curly finally lets go of her assigned identity, accepting that she is Jane from the Peter Pan story. At this moment, the awakened monsters are unleashed to begin their hunt...
Meanwhile, the freed Hermit predictably returns to Wendy's room. As he's getting lost in memories, Kavalier's senior confidant, Atom, suddenly appears from a corner. The bald man, adept at anticipating his boss's wishes, tricks Hermit into another room. Inside, the glass pod is empty. As Hermit approaches the half-open door to investigate, the loving eyes of the sheep are staring right at him from behind. The eyeball octopus creature bursts from the sheep's eye socket and lunges at his face! Hermit reacts quickly, ducking into the glass pod for safety. But to his horror, the creature can open doors, just like a velociraptor from Jurassic Park. Hermit desperately holds the handle shut. After failing to force its way in, the creature—relying on memories of the feeding process it observed in the lab—climbs over and enters through the feeding trough on the other side. With nowhere to run, Hermit is about to be implanted when Wendy arrives just in time to help him fight off the monster. Neither of them notices that Atom never left. In an instant, both are knocked down. Atom begins muttering to himself, admonishing Kavalier's folly in developing the hybrids in a fatherly tone. Combined with Kavalier's earlier confession, it seems this Atom may be the very synthetic created to replace his father. However, the timeless movie rule applies: villains die from talking too much. After his long-winded monologue revealing his synthetic nature, Wendy seizes the moment, shouting "No!" to override his programming and freeze him in place. The eyeball creature, seeing its host is now out of reach, quietly slips away through a conduit and finds Arthur's body lying alone on the beach. It climbs onto his right cheek, rips out the clouded eyeball, and burrows into the cold, empty left eye socket...
Having escaped danger, the brother and sister finally have a moment to talk. Although Wendy struggles more than ever with the question of "What am I?" she refuses to be bound by helplessness and resolves to find the answer her own way. The other Lost Boys, operating separately, find their targets: Nibs corners a terrified Sylvia; the two brothers-in-arms head to the lab, where Smee ties up Kirsh, who had punished them with confinement, declaring an end to the old era of authority he represents. Slightly, filled with rage over Arthur's death, delivers a heavy blow to Morrow, who had threatened his mother. As for the fleeing Kavalier, he's trying to maintain his composure while arranging his escape. As he hops down a corridor, a blinding light flashes. Kavalier nervously glances back, and when he turns forward again, he's greeted by the terrifying grin of an alien dog! Surprise! Just when it seems Kavalier is about to be killed, the siblings appear. Wendy stops the alien from delivering the final blow, allowing Hermit to vent his anger with a single, brutal kick that knocks the terrified genius unconscious.
With most of the main characters still alive, it's the poor side characters who are sacrificed. The Flower Bud monster, yet to score a kill, finally gets its moment when the security team is investigating the chaotic lab, giving a female soldier a gruesome, crushing death. (So much for political correctness, Disney!) To cap it off, Curly takes down the last of the Prodigy security soldiers. The season's final scene shows that the five occupants of the cell have all been replaced, while Xenomorphs of all sizes surround the facility. What bloody chaos the invading Weyland-Yutani forces will bring is a question that will have to wait for next season.
Editor's Note
The Alien photos featured in this article series are all repainted versions of prize figures from FuRyu. Thank you for reading along with us!
Image Sources: Alien: Earth, The Flower Bud, Eyeball Alien