Read this review to see if the Alien: Earth episode “Metamorphosis” is worth watching.
About Alien: Earth
- Season 1, Episode 3: “Metamorphosis”
- Directed by Dana Gonzales
- Written by Noah Hawley and Bob DeLaurentis
- Synopsis: The team returns home with unexpected cargo. An unsettling experiment occurs, and a new talent is discovered.
- Airdate: August 19, 2025
- Starring: Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Essie Davis, Samuel Blenkin, Babou Ceesay, Adarsh Gourav, Erana James, Lily Newmark, Jonathan Ajayi, David Rysdahl, Diêm Camille, Moe Bar-El, Adrian Edmondson, Timothy Olyphant, Sandra Yi Sencindiver, Kit Young, and Sahajak Boonthanakit
If you want to avoid spoilers for this episode, skip to the overall section at the end.
Warning: Spoilers for Alien: Earth Season 1 Episode 3 “Metamorphosis”
Recap Alien: Earth (2025): S1E03 – “Metamorphosis”
The first two episodes feature Wendy (Sydney Chandler), a hybrid with human consciousness, and her Lost Boys exploring the wreckage of the USCSS Maginot.
This episode opens with Kirsh (Timothy Olyphant) admiring the five unknown species. Nibs (Lily Newmark) is bitter because they weren’t able to choose their new names. But she discusses the Peter Pan connection with the others. Meanwhile, the Chief Scientist and Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin) talk about Wendy going off by herself to rescue her brother. He’s less concerned with human lives and more with his research ROI. He sees an opportunity to take Yutanis’s research.
The CEO of Prodigy Corporation decides to secure specimens for study. They could be worth trillions, but Dame (Essie Davis) and Arthur Sylvia (David Rysdahl) focus on developing the hybrid synths implanted with sick kids’ brains. This episode explores the struggles of the Prodigy scientist couple. They fear Kavalier’s shift from their hybrid project to the discovery of alien species. The two may play a larger role in the story, as they must accommodate alien creatures and deal with the loss of the Lost Boys.
Wendy and Joe find themselves on a damaged ship with semi-truck containers. Joe warns her that it’s a trap. But she goes for Joe anyway, and the two are trapped by the alien xenomorph. As they fight, the alien slinks away. But Wendy uses a paper cutter blade to impale it, sending its acid blood raining down.
She’s thrown out of a trailer, and Joe is forced to save his sister. He is attacked by the xenomorph, but Wendy manages to hook it in the mouth. She dragged them both into the elevator. After a fierce battle offscreen (we have to assume it’s like Ryan Gosling in Drive), Joe finds his sister alive, but the xenomorph’s head is ripped off. Wendy looks like an adult but is still a child and is terrified. She falls to the ground unconscious, and he lies down. It’s a very touching moment, like when Joker lies in that knife circle in Suicide Squad.
Slightly (Adarsh Gourav), left alone to guard the alien eggs, is relieved when Smee (Jonathan Ajayi) brings him back to Kirsh. They excitedly discuss their adventures, like SpongeBob and Patrick jellyfishing. Morrow (Babou Ceesay), with a gun, interrupts them. He talks about the eggs and monsters they encounter, but he notices something unusual about them. “You’re like a couple of kids,” The cyborg questions the hybrids’ true nature, but Kirsh intervenes. Morrow assures Yutani of Prodigy’s rights and warns them about Yutani before jumping off the Maginot as an egg hatches.
The next morning, the site is being swept by Prodigy. Wendy, Joe, and the decapitated xenomorph are brought back, but no one can find the cyborg. Boy Kavalier, excitedly, goes to see the egg and acid-blood monster. The synth scientist is furious at the company leader for endangering years of their research. After Kavalier is told about the parasitic nature of the creature, he bans non-synthetic individuals from the lab and puts Kirsh in charge.
Atom Eins (Adrian Edmondson), the young man’s right-hand man, questions tnhe two about Morrow whispering, “When is a machine not a machine?” Smee fears the synth will find and kill them, but Eins remains unconcerned. Kirsh watches the Lost Boys intently, suspecting something is awry.
Meanwhile, Morrow is on the run in New Siam and calls Yutani (Sandra Yi Sencindiver). She wants Morrow to return, but he refuses to abandon his life’s work.
While that’s going on, Curly, the smartest Lost Boy (Girl), questions Boy Kavalier about Wendy being his favorite, Kavalier explains that all geniuses are children with vast imaginations, and she’s now in the race to be his favorite.
Back at the island, Slightly is watching TV when Morrow hacks into his brain. He figured out that he and the other Lost Boys are hybrids. Fearing the cyborg, Slightly agrees to be his friend. While Curly loves her new body, Nibs hates it and examines it in the mirror.
Dame Silvia sleeps at Wendy’s bedside, while Joe undergoes surgery. He has a lung removed and suspended in a liquid container.
At the same time, Kirsh, Curly, and Tootles examine an alien egg, with Curly recording. Kirsh cuts through the shell, revealing the membrane. When Wendy hears the facehugger inside, she and the other hybrids react, and she collapses for some reason.
Kirsh takes the tadpole-like baby xenomorph over to the container with Joe’s lung and puts it in. The xenomorph swiftly slides inside the flesh. On its way to becoming a chestburster. The boy genius is trying to make a monster. This will not go well.
The episode “Metamorphosis” ends with “Wherever I May Roam,” by Metallica. It’s certainly not the first song you think of from their iconic Black album from 1991. But the themes of independence and forging your path fit this episode well. Morrow is chasing his alien despite the company ending his mission. The Lost Boys are discovering who they are. Wendy and Joe are rebuilding their relationship.
Overall: Watch Alien: Earth (2025): S1E03 – “Metamorphosis”
Episode 3 of Alien: Earth, titled “Metamorphosis,” explores more of the life cycle of the xenomorph and sets up a terrifying new chapter. It also explores the corporate rivalry between Prodigy and Weyland-Yutani. Characters get to show a different side as the Lost Boys explore who they are, and others explore their potential.
It’s an action-packed yet thoughtful episode, so I’m giving this episode 4 out of 5 stars
All episodes of Alien: Earth are available to stream on Hulu. New episodes of Alien: Earth drop every Tuesday.
Click here to read our review of the previous episode, “Mr. October” Review
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