We’re now a few episodes into Alien: Earth, the new xenomorph-centric show from FX created by Noah Hawley. We’ve seen weird octopus eye monsters, cyborgs, synths, xenomorphs, and a weird French revolution-era, posh-boy cocktail party. We’ve also been treated to some political machinations between the five ruling companies of the ENTIRE WORLD, including Weyland-Yutani, and the new kids on the block, Prodigy, headed by the Boy Kavalier.
Prodigy is our focus; dealing with their leaps forward in consciousness implantation into synth bodies, a step towards human immortality. They’re so close as well, transferring a dying girl’s brain image into a robotic body, creating a new entity called a hybrid. That dying girl was named Marcie, but when she awoke, rising like a phoenix from the ashes, Marcie was renamed Wendy.
You know, like the character from Peter Pan? Yeah. That’s where it starts, but it’s not where it ends. This show has taken Peter Pan imagery to another level. Let’s discuss.
Neverland is the name of the island complex that is the home office of Prodigy. It’s an isolated land mass surrounded by miles and miles of ocean, protected from the world outside. This is similar to the original book by J. M. Barrie. The real world is referred to as the Mainland, so it suggests that Neverland is an island or part of a small archipelago. Although not every person who lives in Neverland stays the same age, some, like the Lost Boys and Peter Pan, remain at a constant state of youth.
Something we’re about to move onto.
The Boy Kavalier IS Peter Pan. Okay, maybe not literally, but he’s basically The Boy Who Never Grew Up. In the novel, Pan is the one who brings all of the Lost Boys and Wendy together. He’s the leader, the mischievous captain of their crew. Prodigy’s creator has assembled all of his Lost Boys and Wendy together, and he’s keeping them hidden away in the Neverland complex.
Unlike the novelisation of Peter Pan, the Boy Kavalier cannot fly, but, in a way, he’s always up in the clouds. I have no idea why he’s always got his bare feet out though. That’s not a Pan thing. Really, he should be wearing brown slip-ons with an upturned toe, right?
As the Boy Kavalier is so obsessed with Peter Pan, he names his creations after the story. Starting with Wendy, he then names all of the hybrid androids after Peter Pan’s lackeys, the Lost Boys. We have Tootles, Nibs, Curly, Slightly, and… Smee. We’ll come back to that. For the rest of the hybrids, the analogy works extremely well. They came to Neverland as children, and with a bit of scientific fairy dust, they are now no longer able to age in their synthetic bodies.
The outlier is Smee. HE ISN’T A LOST BOY! HE’S HOOK’S RIGHT HAND MAN!!! Maybe that’s a spoiler, or maybe the Boy Kavalier just couldn’t be bothered with this kid anymore, so he named him after a bad guy. He’s the most lovable villain on Hook’s ship, but he’s a villain nevertheless.
The Peter Pan wannabe said it himself: the Xenomorph is the crocodile in this story. As he explained it, Wendy fought the beast, survived, and now she can hear the tick-tick-ticking of the clock. In reality, she killed old Xenomorphy, and her hybrid abilities have zeroed in on the frequency of the Xenomorph embryos. She can hear the clicks of their language, and when it’s not kept in check, it makes her go crazy (pain, not homicidal rage).
Again, this isn’t a perfect comparison, because the crocodile was fighting Hook, not Wendy, and it wasn’t dispatched within the first act of the book while we awaited its croc family to grow big and strong, returning to slaughter all of the Lost Boys, Peter Pan, and all of the other innocent residents of Neverland.
So, how many more references are we getting? We’ve had pretty consistent references throughout the first episodes, so I’m pretty sure we’re going to get some more. There have already been suggestions that Morrow is Captain Hook. He’s got that cool metal hand to start with, he’s the main antagonist, and he’s definitely going to be eaten by one of those crocodiles.
Kirsh could be Tinkerbell. He’s the Boy Kavalier’s trusted confidante, who is becoming a bit jaded by him. He is also, by his synth nature, a little bit mean and cold, just like the fairy from the story. Is a flip-flopping loyalty whiplash coming in our future?
The Sylvias are acting like the parents of Wendy and the Lost Boys. Are they supposed to be the negligent Darling parents? It sort of makes sense that the loving couple that cares so much for the kids are about to stand by and just let disaster break out.
There are so many possibilities! Is there a Tiger Lily on the horizon? I doubt it, but I wouldn’t put it past the show from trying. One thing is for sure: we’re not done with this yet.
Are you watching Alien: Earth? What do you think so far? Be sure to catch the Watching Now: Alien Earth podcast wherever you get your podcasts, or watch right here on CouchSoup.com!
