IR TV Review: ALIEN - EARTH - EPISODE 2 (“Mr. October”)[FX]
The progress of a situation depends on the variables added into the mix. With Episode 2 of "Alien: Earth" entitled "Mr. October" it is about understanding the containment of the situation and what needs to be done. With Kirsch (Timothy Olyphant) and his team of kids turned into something more, the aspect of taking on a crash site just to figure out the horror inside seems like more than a calculated risk but reckless nonetheless. The person causing this to play in the danger zone is Boy Cavalier (Samuel Blenkin) who is the genius that developed this new tech that allows for a transference. However his immaturity (which is a little grating at times) shows a cavalier attitude which destroys worlds. Weyland's company which most of us know from the Alien films is the one who owns the ship that crashed into the building on Earth but the building itself belongs to Cavalier. One specific conversation shows that an ego fight will obviously exacerbate the situation. The alien itself doesn't care or understand.
Babou Ceesay as Morrow is still the bad ass at play especially in a party scene gone awry. There is also a person inside the building that is motivating Wendy (Sydney Chandler) the lead kid turned would be warrior. But it depends what kind of resistance to the alien force she can actually exact. Her perception is the most interesting because of an underlying connection. The gore in this episode also doesn't pull the punches. Even though "Alien" and "Aliens" was R, this pushes it slightly further while still existing within the aesthetic. It might be a little bit for some folks but it amps the horror structure while still understanding there needs to be a bit of humor (gallows...but nonetheless).
The way the building and the ship have merged now is interesting because it is not clear where one begins and one ends or what containment actually means. Granted right now it is more about one character's focus (which is obviously a central tenet of the show -- and obviously key to creator Noah Hawley). As the episode concludes, and some of the military sent in (like Star Wars' Stormtroopers) make some tactical mistakes, it leads to a crux that will lead deeper into the lion's den wherever it exactly might be. B+
By Tim Wassberg
