What If the CIA and Weyland-Yutani Merged? (Spoiler: Everyone Dies)
This week on the podcast, Alien: Earth Episode 5 and Episodes 3 & 4 of The Terminal List: Dark Wolf reviews.
Episode Index
Intro: 0:07
Alien Earth:
The Terminal List:
Alien: Earth (FX/Hulu)
Episode 5 – “In Space, No One…”
Summary:
A flashback shows the events that occurred on the Maginot starting seventeen days before it reached Earth. Junior security officer Clem wakes Morrow from cryosleep and tells him there has been a fire in one of the containment rooms. Two facehuggers have escaped and latched upon ship’s captain Dinsdale and science officer Bronski. Dinsdale dies from the facehugger’s acid blood when medical officer Rahim attempts to cut the tail from his neck. After being told by engineer Shmuel that the ship’s navigational systems were also damaged in the fire, Morrow concludes that a crew member has sabotaged the ship. Executive officer Zaveri assumes command of the ship, but Morrow threatens to relieve her if she does not prioritize the creatures above the crew. Bronski is placed in cryo-sleep to prevent the gestation of the Xenomorph, but this fails. In science officer Chibuzo’s lab, one leech specimen manages to open its test tube from the inside, and lays its larvae in her water bottle. Witnessing this, the Ocellus also escapes after Chibuzo fails to seal its containment vessel. Apprentice engineer Malachite drinks the water, and the larvae kill him from the inside; Chibuzo and Rahim are also killed by their defensive toxic gas when trying to extract them. Witnessing this, Zavari is in shock and Morrow relieves her of command. After being interrogated by Morrow, navigator Teng is killed by the fully-grown Xenomorph. Chief engineer Petrovich is revealed to be behind the sabotage at the order of Boy Kavalier, who promises him a hybrid body if the ship crashes in Prodigy territory. Petrovich kills Clem and is in turn killed by Morrow, who retreats to the control room and seals himself in. Zaveri is killed by the Xenomorph outside the door. With everyone dead, Morrow locks himself in the panic room and awaits the crash. Back in the present, Morrow meets with Yutani, offering to retrieve the specimens by force and kill Kavalier.
Writer/Director:
Written and directed by Noah Hawley
Cast Highlights:
Richa Moorjani (Zaveri), Sandra Yi Sencindiver (Yutani), Amir Boutrous (Rahim), Karen Aldridge (Chibuzo), Michael Smiley (Shmuel), Jamie Bisping (Malachite), Andy Yu (Teng), Max Rinehart (Bronski), Enzo Cilenti (Petrovich), Tom Moya (Clem).
Air Date & Stats:
Aired September 2, 2025, on FX and FX on Hulu. Duration: 64 minutes.
Viewership: ~0.361 million households; 0.10 rating (18–49 demo).
Style & Reception:
Critics lauded its homages to Ridley Scott’s original Alien, elevated tension, and emotional depth. Called a “banger” and “standout” bottle episode.
Out of 5 In Space, No One… Hears You in the Loving Embrace of a Facehugger
Darryl: 4.15/5
Brian: 4.28/5
The Terminal List: Dark (Amazon Prime)
Episode 3 – “What’s Past Is Prologue”
Summary:
Vahid and Cyrus Rahimi attend a conference on the Iranian nuclear agreement in Geneva, and later meet with Minister Yousef Saedi. Farooq, Landry, and another CIA officer, Ish Reinhart, join Haverford’s team. Danawi’s phone shows he received $5 million in cryptocurrency to deliver to Balaz Molnar, a nuclear physics professor in Budapest. Texts come through from another number identified as Thana Haddad. Farooq questions her and discovers she is Danawi’s estranged daughter, but can’t bring himself to follow orders to kill her. Varon agrees not to tell the others after he confesses that, as a teenager, his sisters were raped by Uday Hussein, but he later helped the Americans in eliminating him. Edwards and Perash bond, but he becomes more estranged from his wife stateside. Impersonating Danawi, Farooq meets with Molnar and purchases proof of concept for proprietary bearings he is selling to Iran, which will enable them to still enrich uranium with the smaller number of centrifuges mandated by the nuclear deal. A third-party team tail Farooq after the meeting until he is extracted by Landry, and one kills Reinhart. Edwards has Varon cut CCTV and guns the man down on the Budapest Metro, taking a photo for identification before being extracted himself.
Writer & Director:
Directed by Liz Friedlander, written by Naomi Iizuka and Max Adams.
Cast Highlights:
Taylor Kitsch (Ben Edwards), Tom Hopper (Raife Hastings), Chris Pratt (James Reece), Rona‑Lee Shimon (Eliza Perash), Dar Salim (Mo Farooq), Rashidz Tzarfati (Tal Varon), Robert Wisdom (Jed Haverford), among others.
Air Date:
Premiered August 27, 2025 alongside Episodes 1 & 2.
Episode 4 – “The Sound of the Guns”
Summary:
Hastings is contacted by a former Selous Scouts associate of his father, who confirms Haverford manages a long-term asset in Tehran codenamed Shepherd. Minister Saedi thanks Cyrus for his clandestine work, but Vahid begins to question their actions of putting nuclear weapons in the hands of such men. The team relocates to Munich, discovering the third party is the nuclear proliferation Khalid Network, working to move the bearings into Iran before the nuclear deal is finalised. Haverford plans to intercept the convoy in Geneva and swap Molnar’s bearings for fakes, rendering Iran’s new facility useless. He assures a suspicious Hastings that Shepherd’s intel is legitimate. Edwards and Perash kiss whilst scouting a location. Varon secures the fake bearings from Mossad agent Mordechai Ofer. Hastings becomes concerned about collateral damage with the convoy ambush plan and Edwards’ change in attitude. Edwards argues their current posting allows them to take real action compared to serving under military red tape. Haverford kills Molnar. Impersonating Austrian Federal Police, the team attacks the Khalid Network convoy and obtains the bearings, but are met by a large team of shooters on exfil. Farooq is injured and extracted by Landry. The Israelis betray the team, hacking Haverford’s phone and stealing the bearings after incapacitating Edwards.
Writer & Director:
Directed by Liz Friedlander, written by Kenny Sheard.
Air Date:
Dropped September 3, 2025.
Out of 10 Wood Chopping Like Steve Rogers in the Woods
Darryl: 8.2/10
Brian: 7.88/10
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