Episode 4 of "Alien: Earth" unfolds with Wendy stirring from slumber, only to find Kirsh and the rest of the team intently scrutinizing her. Her auditory senses have been temporarily deactivated, as Kirsh elucidates to the gathered scientists that the closer she ventures to the xenomorph, the more the frequency intensifies, piercing through the silence.
Enter Boy Kavalier, who orchestrates the laboratory's hustle and bustle, making the executive decision to keep Wendy's hearing offline for as long as Joe, the infamously indestructible character, remains in one piece. Fresh from having a new lung implanted, Joe is astounded to discover the existence of lethal creatures within the confines of the lab.
Engineers diligently work to adjust Wendy's frequency, providing a brief recap of the cliffhanger from the previous episode. Despite the challenge, Wendy is steadfast in her resolve not to become desensitized to the alien dialect, believing she has been specifically chosen for this role.
Curly, engrossed in the labyrinth of buttons and levers in the lab, watches with a hint of envy as Wendy articulates the alien's language through her own lips. The melodic chatter and chirps ignite Boy Kavalier's curiosity, prompting him to push for further tests, much to Joe's consternation over her well-being. Reluctantly ceding, Joe nonetheless allows the experiment to proceed, albeit with a reminder from Kavalier that it is his world they navigate, not the other way around.
In a private moment, Joe confides in Wendy, revealing his anger towards Prodigy for concealing the truth about his sister and keeping her existence a secret. For now, he vows to stand by her side, though his resentment towards Prodigy runs deep.
True to Noah Hawley's directorial style, the narrative intersperses with surreal visuals and montages, seamlessly transitioning to Morrow – undeniably the show's standout character – and Slightly. Morrow continues to wield his influence over his nascent friend, tasking him with retrieving an egg. Their telepathic communication deepens, with Morrow employing moral reasoning to resonate with the impressionable young mind.
Morrow skillfully manages to coerce Slightly into revealing his true identity: Aarush Singh. This piece of information grants him immense leverage over the synth, a potential goldmine for blackmail should Aarush ever refuse to cooperate. For the moment, however, Slightly strides into the facility, determined to procure the egg for Morrow, aware that the task ahead is anything but straightforward. Yet, given the ease with which Wendy slipped into the lab unnoticed and fell unconscious in the previous episode, perhaps the challenge isn't insurmountable.
Inside the lab, the experiments proceed with grim fascination. The eyeball monster, utilizing a sheep as its unwilling host, burrows into its eye, seizing control with chilling precision. Boy Kavalier watches this controlled chaos with wide-eyed fascination, as the creature demonstrates its astonishing intelligence, manipulating brainwaves and standing eerily still, observing them all with an unsettling gaze.
Arthur pulls his wife, Dame Sylvia, aside to voice his deep concerns regarding Kavalier and the synth children. He contends that their endeavors do not constitute science but rather a disregard for the human souls trapped within robotic husks. He insists on maintaining stringent protocols.
Suddenly, Nibs storms in, convinced she is pregnant. Sylvia guides her to her office, endeavoring to educate her on the miracle of conception, ready to unveil a diagram of a female anatomy. Yet, Nibs is having none of it; her encounter with the eyeball creature aboard the ship has left her with lingering PTSD. When her frustration erupts, Sylvia calls for security, deciding to confine Nibs to her room and escalating the situation to a level 3 event.
Meanwhile, Joe finds himself under scrutiny by Atom Eins, with little option but to comply. After all, his new lung, a gift from Prodigy, ensures his continued existence on the island. Departure is not an option, as it would mean forever parting ways with Wendy, who, like him, is now property of this enigmatic establishment.
Later that afternoon, Boy Kavalier beckons Wendy into a confidential conversation. She reproaches him for dissecting the xenomorph, oblivious to her own daring feat in the previous episode where she vanquished one of these extraterrestrial beings with nothing more than a pocketknife. This act, too, entailed slicing open the creature and beheading it, leaving her unscathed. As their discourse unfolds, Kavalier employs Joe as a bargaining chip, compelling Wendy to collaborate with him. He yearns to decipher the cryptic messages emanating from these xenos, and Wendy holds the key to unraveling this enigma. In return for her cooperation, Joe's safety will be assured.
Meanwhile, Morrow journeys to India to visit Slightly's mother, using her as a pawn to coerce the synth into obedience. Rather than extracting the egg himself, he devises a plan where Slightly will covertly transport a human into the laboratory, allowing the Facehugger to carry out its grotesque ritual. Subsequently, Morrow will intercept and extricate the resulting specimen.
Earlier conversations between Morrow and Kirsh, laden with subtexts about loyalty and "turning a blind eye," hint that Kirsh is privy to Slightly's clandestine ties with Morrow but bides his time, awaiting the opportune moment to strike.
As the episode draws to a close, Kirsh observes Wendy venturing into the laboratory, where she discovers the tiny xenomorphic offspring escaping from a lung tissue sample. She reaches out tentatively, captivated by wonder as she beholds the creature, bringing the episode to a cliffhanger that lingers in the mind.
