The opening scene of Alien: Earth’s first episode may be the biggest tribute to the iconic 1979 Alien movie that fans have seen so far in the series, but episode 5 of the FX sci-fi show plays homage in its entirety.
That’s according to Richa Moorjani (Never Have I Ever; Fargo) who plays Zoya Zaveri, the co-captain of the USCSS Maginot ship that crash-lands in Prodigy City on Earth. Confirming the connection in an interview with TechRadar, the star explained why the episode is creator Noah Hawley’s “gift” to Alien fans.
“The Alien franchise fans are going to be so excited about this episode because I think most of them are already really loving what Noah’s done so far with something totally new, taking place on Earth. But this episode really goes back to the movies, especially the original one,” Moorjani excitedly shared.
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Fittingly titled ‘In Space, No One…’, episode 5 of the hit Disney+ and Hulu show is set entirely in space just like the original movie, taking fans of the sci-fi franchise back to its early beginnings in more ways than one (the memorable tagline is one reference of many).
“Everything, from the set design to what we’re wearing to the dynamics between our characters [is a throwback to the original movie],” Moorjani says, adding that there are also subtle parallels “when you see us all in the mess hall, the way everyone’s talking over each other and the relationships”.
“Even the opening scene of the first episode when you see us coming out of cryo sleep – from the way it was shot to the angle to the feeling you get – it’s exactly like how it was in the movie,” the Alien: Earth actor says. “I think Noah and everyone [who’s worked] on this show has done such a brilliant job of really trying to create that feeling again, while also doing something totally fresh.”
What is episode 5 of Alien: Earth about?
Spoilers follow for Alien: Earth episode 5 from here on.
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If you’ve read our Alien: Earth review, you’ll already know that episode 5 is a highlight of the show’s first six episodes and that’s mainly because it breaks away from a linear format to take us back to the events before Maginot crash-lands in episode 1, giving us a more classic whodunnit storyline confined in a single setting.
The 60-minute episode centers around chief security officer Kumi Murrow’s investigation into how a fire broke out on the ship damaging the navigational system and fuel intakes. Looking at security footage, Murrow begins questioning everyone on board including co-captain Zoya, who he discovers is having a secret relationship with the science officer Bronski. This becomes the heart of the episode and one of the many storylines that makes it different direction to the original movie.
“Everything about this episode is trying to honor the original feeling that you feel from the original movies, while also trying to be new and do something different,” Moorjani reveals. “But like you said – and that’s even what Noah said to me – the relationship between Zoya and Bronski really is the heart of the episode.”
Of course, we already know from the opening episode of Alien: Earth that everyone onboard the ship dies before the crash – except for Murrow and the specimens – but seeing how each come of the other crew members meets their demise at the hands of one of the five extraterrestrial specimens onboard is an ordeal that we had been spared from in the first episode, only ever seeing a series of lightening-quick flashbacks.
“It makes everything else feel so much more terrible when you see who these people are,” says Moorjani. “These people loved each other; they’re not just people with no humanity, they have hopes and dreams. And so when you know everything turns out really badly for them, I think it really evokes empathy in the audience, and hopefully people will be devastated by each and every one of these people’s deaths.”
Throughout the episode, Zoya is doing everything she can to save the crew. Even going as far to abandon the mission they’ve been on for 65 years, which is to deliver the cargo secure and intact, for the sake of potentially saving the crew by killing the specimens. While her actions are reminiscent of Ellen Ripley’s same heroically badass fight for survival in the original movie, Zoya’s character arc is not destined for a hero ending.
“I really tried to make Zoya a totally new character with obvious similarities and parallels, so that it’s exciting for the Alien fans. But she’s the first South Asian captain in the Alien franchise you ever see, she’s different, and she’s not Ripley. She may have similarities, but she’s a very new character.
“Even though she could technically come off as the traditional hero, she’s not and she’s not perfect. She’s flawed and she doesn’t always know what the right thing to do is. She’s struggling between her morality and wanting to do the right thing, and struggling between that and having to do what she’s being told to do, which is to prioritize the cargo. And so she ends up making mistakes.
“The scene when they’re outside the bed bay, when the doctor performs a surgery and they all unfortunately die – I think that’s the moment when she really feels like she’s failed. She’s done everything she can to save her people, but maybe she should have just listened and prioritized the cargo. It’s kind of the moment where she’s almost given up, until the Xenomorph gets into the picture, and then she’s snapped back into warrior mode,” Moorjani says.
The scene that finally breaks Zoya’s spirit comes later in the episode when Murrow betrays her by not opening the door of a control room to escape a Xenomorph chasing her. “She feels so betrayed, and she can’t understand why, because she would never do that. The most important thing to her is to protect her crew, so when he doesn’t let her into the room, I think that’s the worst moment for her.
“After she realizes that he’s not going to let her in, seeing the Xenomorph is almost not as bad, because what just happened right before that was worse, the moral horror of it, and I think that’s really where Noah has done such an incredible job with this whole series. It’s not just about the aliens, it’s not just about the monster horror. It really is about the moral horror of what humans do to each other. And it’s terrifying.”
Alien: Earth episode 5 is streaming now on Hulu in the US and Disney+ internationally.
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