ALIEN: EARTH Gave Us the Franchise’s Grisliest Synth Death

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In the Alien series, it’s typically the human characters who meet grisly and gory ends. However, some artificial beings have also suffered brutal fates. For instance, Ash (Ian Holm) was decapitated and burned in Ridley Scott’s original Alien, while the Xenomorph Queen tore apart Bishop (Lance Henricksen) in Aliens. Despite being machines, these synths are quite similar to humans, which makes their gruesome deaths all the more disturbing. Although their “blood” is milky white instead of red, it’s still unsettling. In the latest series, Alien: Earth, we’ve seen one of the worst synthetic deaths yet in episode six, “The Fly.

Earth is Tootles, portrayed by Kit Young. Tootles was the eldest child transferred into a new body and was on the brink of adolescence. He serves as something of a leader among the group, handling the most mature responsibilities.

In episode six, robot character Kirsh (Timothy Olyphant) assigns Tootles the job of taking care of the alien creatures when he’s not at the Neverland facility during a mission. Eager for some grown-up tasks, Tootles goes to take care of these extraterrestrial beings on his own. While attending to them, he accidentally ventures into what is known as the fly alien’s living area. Unfortunately, things quickly go awry. In his overpowering robot strength, he unintentionally tears open the door leading to the feeding slot for the fly specimens. This leads him inside the habitat, and it’s there that the eye octopus/T. Ocellus alien, living within a rather intimidating sheep, taps on the glass, scaring Tootles. The sudden movement causes him to lose his balance, trapping him inside.

Inside the cell, Tootles unintentionally gets trapped. Suddenly, a creature from the hive in the wall makes an appearance, which appears to be one of the bloodthirsty bugs. Two colossal insectoid beings, resembling aliens, launch an attack on Tootles. Instead of crying out in agony, he doesn’t show signs of pain as synthetics lack pain sensors and a complex nervous system like humans. However, it’s apparent when his skin begins dissolving, revealing the synthetic muscles beneath him. As his system malfunctions, he shudders and convulses, expelling nutrients. Although Tootles isn’t biologically human, flies still find his remains appealing and start feasting on them, consuming his liquid essence. It’s rather revolting, considering Tootles is not an organic being like us.

In episode six, the most smug-looking sheep is seen triumphantly displaying its creation, while the five subjects make a desperate bid for freedom from their imprisonment. The facehugger latches onto Prodigy scientist Arthur Sylvia, and history has shown us that this never ends well. With Tootles’ lifeless body sprawled on the floor, a voice-over from Boy Kavalier quotes from Peter Pan, subtly suggesting that once they grow up, even the Lost Boys are of no help to their leader. In this narrative, Tootles was a burden to Prodigy and they had no qualms about getting rid of him. We’re left on edge as we wonder if humans, synths, and hybrids alike can withstand the onslaught of five aggressive alien species that have now been unleashed upon them.

Alien: Earth drops new episodes on FX and FX on Hulu every Tuesday.

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2025-09-10 04:03