Noah Hawley set some big challenges for himself when he signed on to run Alien: Earth . To begin with, it takes nerve, bordering on arrogance, even to try putting any personal stamp on a franchise as well known as Alien . Then Hawley’s decision to introduce “hybrids” with synthetic bodies and human minds — and to make the human component of those androids children — amped up the difficulty level. It’s hard to write dialogue for kids, even when they’re part robot.

“Emergence,” the penultimate episode of Alien: Earth ’s first season, is hybrid-heavy, mostly for the better, though occasionally for the worse. It’s a short episode, primarily concerned with setting the stage for next week’s finale. Much of its entertainment value comes from how well the characters set up the rest of thi

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