By Juan Markos
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 09/02/2025
This episode takes us back to the beginning, not exactly to the expedition, but to the moment aboard the Maginot, a few weeks before the ship crashed into Earth. In episode one, we glimpsed what happened during the return home. Now we see exactly what transpired with the crew: various issues, foul play, betrayal, carelessness, and human error all contributed to the disaster onboard.
The episode opens with Morrow (Babou Ceesay) being awakened. There’s been an incident: the captain is dead. He receives a rundown of the situation, which is confusing. Among other issues, the egg crates have been opened, and there has been a fire. The ship is compromised; it’s now hurtling toward Earth like a missile. But why and how did this happen? Further investigation is necessary.
Zaverni, portrayed by Richa Moorjani, has taken control as captain, which raises suspicions since she had a relationship with the captain. However, the captain isn’t dead; he has a Zenomorph parasite on his face and is put into cryosleep. Morrow confronts her about their prohibited relationship.
The scenes aboard the Maginot are reminiscent of the original Alien film. I’m intrigued by why the ship is named Maginot. The name reminds me of the Maginot Line, a French defense fortification built between the two World Wars along France’s eastern border to deter a German invasion. Named after André Maginot, the former Minister of War, the armed barrier was designed to force an enemy to launch attacks elsewhere or give France time to mobilize. However, during World War II, German forces outflanked the line by invading through the Ardennes Forest, demonstrating a significant miscalculation.
It’s no coincidence that the ship is named Maginot; André Maginot himself did not die in battle or from enemy attack but from typhoid fever. Similar to how the crew miscalculated their mission and failed to recognize the evident danger of these creatures, Schumel, played by Michael Smiley, tells his subordinate that the ship’s mission is proof of human stupidity. There is a saboteur on the ship, and no clues as to their identity. Eventually, the cryopod containing the Xenomorph is breached, giving rise to the alien.
Now, there’s an alien aboard, a crew member capable of sabotage, and scientific experiments are being conducted on unknown creatures. Dr. Chibuzo (Karen Aldridge) is experimenting on “species 19,” an alien resembling a cockroach. In an instant, the creature escapes. Another captured creature, referred to as the eyeball squid, tries to warn her, but she, annoyed, puts it back into its holding tank without securely locking it. The cockroach-like creature escapes and quickly expels eggs into her water. Dr. Rahim, played by Amir Boutrous, notices the cockroach has escaped after she locks it back up, unaware that the eyeball creature can now escape.
During a meeting, Zaverni informs the crew of the ongoing problems. The young maintenance guy starts to choke and drinks Chibuzo’s contaminated water. Morrow begins interrogating the crew, suspecting that unknown issues are brewing. As he searches call logs for incriminating conversations, he discovers that a crew member thought to be in cryosleep has been active. He finds a call between this member and Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin), revealing that the ship’s crash was no accident; Kavalier was aware of the creatures and ordered the saboteur to crash-land the ship at Prodigy in exchange for money.
Malachite, the young maintenance boy who drank the infected water (Jamie Bisping), begins to feel unwell. He starts vomiting blood and is rushed to medical. Dr. Rahim and Dr. Chibuzo examine him and discover ticks. Zaverni orders them to perform surgery, but when Dr. Rahim pulls out a tick, it releases a gas that kills everyone in the room upon contact.
Chaos ensues as Morrow encounters the saboteur, who kills the young security guard before Morrow manages to kill him. Zaverni comes across the alien and narrowly escapes. She finds Schumel, who isn’t himself; he has been taken over by the eyeball creature, which incapacitates Zaverni. Morrow confronts him in an attempt to electrify him; we are unaware of how formidable this eyeball creature truly is until now. Previously, we saw it reanimate a goat, but we hadn’t seen it occupy a human.
Schumel seems to summon the alien, leading to a confrontation in which the alien kills him. However, the eyeball creature attacks the alien, causing it to flee. Until now, I viewed Morrow as the villain; however, my perspective has shifted. Boy Kavalier is the ultimate antagonist, responsible for the chaos aboard the Maginot and the crash. Weyland Enterprises will retaliate, and Morrow is on board.
