Slightly is struggling to get Arthur’s Face-Huggered body to Morrow; Joe is trying to get Wendy off the island; and the goggly-eyed sheep brings a whole new meaning to the idea of Shepherd’s Pi (sic).

An essential feature of longform multi-episodic dramas is the increase in narrative momentum as a series approaches its climax. Indeed the trap many shows fall into is to have a brilliantly nail-biting penultimate episode, making the season finale a must-watch, only to throw it away in the last instalment as the showmakers get distracted by the bottom line imperative of getting a second season recommission. In this spirit, I was looking forward to Noah Hawley knocking it out of the park prior to next week’s finale of Alien: Earth.

Regretfully, the team have somehow managed to drop the ball. Episode 7, Emergence, while perfectly watchable, is something of a Xenomorph’s breakfast. As Slightly (Adarsh Gourav) recruits Smee (Jonathan Ajayi capturing the character’s inner child with meticulous observation) to help with getting impregnated Arthur to Morrow’s team waiting on the beach, what follows is just too predictable to really thrill. A storyline about Wendy/Marcy wanting to take the rest of the Lost Boys with her never really takes root, despite the episode’s most arresting scene at a significant burial site. There are various teams of goons in black combat gear squaring up against each other, but after a while I lost track of who was who and a proper sense of their objectives. Elsewhere, Boy Kavalier is stunned to discover the extent of his psycho alien baa-lamb’s intelligence. But while this and other scenes are engaging in their own right, the multi-stranded nature of the story telling is dissipating the narrative energy rather than drawing things together and intensifying it. Key characters like Joe and Morrow barely get a word in.

Most disappointingly of all, by allowing Wendy to ‘befriend’ the Xenomorph, the show’s raison d’horreur is negated. It’s the horror equivalent of Jonny Rotten doing ads for Country Life butter.

Verdict: Emergence is an uncharacteristic mis-step for this fine series. Hopefully it can rediscover its heart in next week’s finale. 6/10

Martin Jameson

www.ninjamarmoset.com