After three straight episodes of fairly relentless science-fiction/horror action — interspersed with a few quieter, quirkier moments of kid-lit fantasy — Alien: Earth slows down considerably for episode four. “Observation” is more functional than fun, seemingly aimed at setting up the back half of season one while also filling in some gaps in the characters’ backstories. There’s a lot about the Prodigy staff and their revolutionary hybrids that the Alien: Earth creator, Noah Hawley, didn’t feel the need to explain when he started this story. Here at the season’s halfway point, he takes a beat to clarify a few things.

Take Dame Sylvia. She’s been a constant presence through the first three episodes, yet I’ve barely had cause to mention her before. And until this moment, I had yet to me

See Full Page