Alien: Earth is finally here. And with it come a lot of questions about the lore. In particular there are questions about the artificial intelligence and synthetic bodies of it all. Our lead character Wendy does not have a human body anymore, Morrow has a robotic arm, and attracts the attention of the aliens, and Kirsch is the guiding hand for other synthetic beings. So what’s the difference between a cyborg, synth, and hybrid? We’ll explain with examples.
Morrow is a Cyborg
Cyborgs are humans with both biologic and artificial parts. Morrow for example is a cyborg. His arm has been enhanced, a blade emerging from in between his fingers. At the same time, he’s still human, the reason why the xenomorph went for him when he was escaping the Maginot.
Another way you can clock that Marrow’s human is that he had to put on an oxygen mask while in the crawl space beneath Mother’s command center.
MORE: Read where it started in our review for Alien: Earth Season 1 Episode 1 here!
Kirsch is a Synth
Synths, or synthetics, are artificially intelligent beings. Kirsch on Alien: Earth is a synth. He looks like a human, walks and talks like a human, but the aliens won’t perceive him as a human or as a viable host.
Synths are the most popular version we’ve seen in the Alien franchise. You have Ian Holm’s Ash in the first Alien movie. There’s also Lance Henriksen’s Bishop in Aliens, Michael Fassbender’s David in Prometheus, and David Jonsson’s Andy in Alien: Romulus.
From what we’ve learned over the years, there are evolved versions of synths; the latter versions being meant to make humans feel more comfortable.
MORE: Where does Alien: Earth fall in the timeline?
Wendy & the Lost Boys Are Hybrids
Wendy and the Lost Boys are the freshest take on synths we’ve seen since Alien in 1979. They’re synthetic beings just like the synths. The big difference is that they have human consciousnesses downloaded into their synthetic bodies. In Alien: Earth, the hybrids have the minds of children and feel grounded in a way that no other synthetic or cybernetic being has felt. But it’s not going to last.
When we look at where Alien: Earth falls on the time, it’s right after Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. That means that Weyland-Yutani or Prodigy managed to cover up the crash of the Maginot in 2120. Alien, with Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley doesn’t happen for two more years. Fast forward to Alien: Resurrection and xenomorphs of any kind don’t return to Earth until 2381 in the film franchise version of events.
In all that time, none of the synths are like Wendy and the Lost Boys, meaning that they’re not getting off that island. And it’s either going to be at the hands of Morrow coming for Yutani property, Boy Kavalier destroying his hybrids so no one else can have them, or the Lost Boys turning on Wendy. The aliens are just a plus for the death and betrayal that’s going to come for the rest of the season.
Alien: Earth is available on FX and Hulu with new episodes dropping on Tuesdays at 8pm ET.
