One of the questions fans have asked about the Xenomorphs since 1979’s original Alien is “just how smart is the alien?” The creature definitely had problem-solving skills of a sort. But as far as we know, it couldn’t do anything complex, like fly a spaceship for example. Or, as far as we knew, Xenomorphs could not speak in any kind of language in Alien‘s world. However, Alien: Earth just revealed that the noises the Xenomorphs make actually do form a kind of communication system, one that possibly counts as language. The hybrid synthetic Wendy, played by Sydney Chandler, is the character who discovers it.
How Does Alien: Earth Introduce Xenomorph Language?
At the end of episode three, “Metamorphosis,” we see the Prodigy scientists in Neverland do experiments on their captured Xenomorph eggs. These eggs originated in the crashed Weyland-Yutani ship, the Maginot. After Kirsh (Timothy Olyphant) cuts into the egg, he starts to dissect a living facehugger. This causes intense and unexplained pain in the hybrid Wendy, who can hear the alien cries of pain in her head far away, and which makes her double over in pain and collapse on the floor. This occurs after she saved her brother from a Xenomorph earlier in the episode.
In episode four, “Observation,” Boy Kavalier and his scientists at Prodigy take notice of Wendy’s unique connection to the Xenomorph. They conduct intense experiments to see if she can reproduce the complex sounds the Xenomorphs make and communicate with them, which would indicate that the creatures have a language system and can talk to one another and others.
Can Xenomorphs Talk?
Wendy describes these Xenomorph sounds as “bugs rubbing their legs together.” This suggests the Xenomorph language is entirely vibration-based. And not on a frequency humans can hear. Most importantly, though, not only can Wendy hear the sounds clearly, but using her artificial vocal chords, she can literally replicate them.
Wendy can seemingly talk to the Xenomorphs and have them talk to her, confirming Xenomorphs have a form of vocal communication that qualifies as language. Wendy even communes with a newborn facehugger by episode’s end. We are unaware by the end of this episode just what the aliens are saying, however. That remains a mystery. Wendy doesn’t even seem to know what she’s saying when she speaks the Xenomorph’s vibration-based language, doing it all by instinct.
Noah Hawley on Xenomorph Communication and Why Wendy Can Communicate with the Aliens
Creator Noah Hawley shed a little light on his take on Xenomorph language. In an interview, he revealed, “I’ve just always been struck by this moment in James Cameron’s film where Ripley has rescued Newt and they find themselves in the egg chamber. We meet the Queen and then all these drones come in and Ripley aims the flamethrower at the eggs. Then the queen somehow communicates to these drones to back off, and they do. In that moment, you learn so much about these creatures.”
With this scene from Alien in mind, Hawley embarked on his own exploration of whether Xenomorphs could talk and communicate. He notes, “I mean, clearly it’s a matriarchy, clearly there’s a hive, clearly they’re drones, and clearly they can communicate on some level. Is it a pheromone? Is it telepathy? Is it a language we can hear, etc…?” Ultimately, Hawley settled on this vibration-based communication system.
Why Can Wendy Talk to the Xenomorphs When No One Else Can?
This all, of course, lends to the question of why Wendy can understand and talk to the Xenomorphs when no one else can. Hawley clarifies that her ability to communicate with the alien is not some fated connection, but because “of whatever hardware or software issue that she has.” He confirms there’s nothing specifically special about Wendy, sharing “There’s a moment in the fourth hour where she’s like, ‘They chose me.’ Right? Which is not true. They didn’t choose her.” Instead, it is merely her synthetic body that allows her to be attuned to things that other humans cannot experience by design.
But Wendy’s childlike innocence does contribute to her ability to be open to the idea that Xenomorphs might have language and can be spoken to. (Whereas many adults probably do not share that sentiment.) Hawley notes, “Children don’t really assign… I mean, these are just animals to them, you know? So she’s looking at these creatures and she has empathy the same way that my daughter became a vegetarian when she was nine… Well, these creatures didn’t ask to come here, and maybe they’re frightened.” Wendy even goes as far as to hope that the baby Xenomorph she talks to could perhaps be “good.” Well, Wendy, maybe one day.
What Does Xenomorph Language Mean for the Alien Franchise and Alien: Earth
Prodigy (and by extension, Weyland-Yutani) want to take control of the Xenomorphs as some kind of weapon. One that the Colonial Marines can presumably use off-world. We’ve known that since the very start of this franchise. But a weapon like the Xenomorphs is only really useful if one can control it, and if they have a language, and it’s one the corporations can replicate, then they have an undefeatable weapon of mass destruction at their disposal.
Of course, we know what happens in the timeline after Alien: Earth, starting with Ridley Scott’s original film and then James Cameron’s Aliens. So, it’s safe to say that the human corporations never fully grasp the Xenomorph language. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have had literally the whole rest of the franchise play out the way it did. However, knowing that the Xenomorphs have a language really changes what we knew about their levels of intelligence. We still wouldn’t go as far as saying they are sentient beings. But they definitely have more going on than just “kill and have babies.”
It remains to be seen whether Noah Hawley is willing to reveal what the Xenomorphs are saying to on another.
Alien: Earth drops new episodes every Tuesday on FX and FX on Hulu.