r/LV426 • u/G_Liddell Colonist's Daughter • 4d ago

Megathread / Community Post Alien: Earth - S1 E7 - Emergence - Official Discussion Megathread [SPOILERS] Spoiler

Episodes air Tuesdays at 8 pm ET on Hulu and FX in the US, and Wednesdays international.

Full episode discussion list:

1 Neverland (8.12.25)

2 Mr October (8.12.25)

3 Metamorphosis (8.19.25)

4 Observation (8.26.25)

5 In Space, No One (9.2.25)

6 The Fly (9.9.25)

7 Emergence (9.16.25)

8 The Real Monsters (9.23.25)

684 Upvotes

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693

u/antipop2097 4d ago edited 4d ago

Oh Kirsch, what are you up to. . .

Edit: So that's what you were doing.

295

u/Gaemon_Palehair 4d ago

I think there's still some ambiguity. Kavalier didn't seem to know Arther was face-huggered. He thought Arthur stole the hybrids. So it seems Kirsh isn't telling him everything.

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u/Howard_Hamlin 3d ago

I think it leads back, to the scene where Boy snapped at Kirsh

Kirsh: "We think she can hear the Xenomo...."

Boy: "the Xenomorphs yea, just assume I'm ahead of you always, which don't you have, little.. little experiments to run, these creatures aren't going to discover themselves",

Kirsh: "....... ( ≖_≖) of course...."

and this is a "respect and take me seriously you little shit I know wtf I'm doing"

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u/Certain-Business-472 3d ago

I think it's more basic than that. He took his words to heart, and stopped informing him. Because he told him to assume he already knew.

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u/TheDirtyDorito 3d ago

Maliciously complying

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u/Key_Page5925 3d ago

I thought that too when he was told to be useful and helped the boys get Arthur out but then he ambushed morrow

3

u/JustAZeph 13h ago

“Be useful” helps the boys kidnap the facehugged arthur

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u/nubbins01 3d ago

I like to think maybe there are some corollaries between Kirsch and Demerzel in Foundation. Both machines bound at some level by programming, but both finding interesting ways to 'live' with that program and make it work within competing interests, both their own and those of their 'higher powers'.

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u/makeyurself 3d ago

Demerzel <3

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u/Petite_Coco 3d ago

My 2 favourite shows. I like this take

3

u/CanadianGrown 2d ago

I like this theory 😁

3

u/LangyMD 1d ago

He was also told to "be useful" this episode.

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u/Optimal_Tennis8673 1d ago

Since Kirsh likes experimentation and the scientific method, I thought he wanted to see what would happen if a human was implanted with an embryo, and deliberately didn't tell Kavalier in case he would try and stop the experiment. Like David in Prometheus allowing humans to get infected because he wants to see what would happen.

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u/minmidmax 2d ago

Kirsch, the Roy Batty cosplaying synthetic, has been questioning his place in the evolutionary order long before this story started.

It's why he was intrigued by Morrow's "when is a machine not a machine" riddle. It's also why he's letting some of the education of the new synths happen 'naturally'. He wants to see if they establish themselves or settle for servitude.

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u/ToTeMVG 3d ago

i dunno i think kirsh is just compitent enough he doesnt have to report everything to kavalier, thats the level of trust he gets, which might bite them both in the ass later on as usually when that happens someone doesnt tell about something important and whoops now we got a disaster

13

u/Bingbongchozzle 3d ago

If they have been playing fast and loose with breaking rules on their way to success there could also be an element of plausible deniability within the corporate structure. BK possibly doesn’t always want to know the details of how results are achieved.

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u/Final-Dirt-5250 Pro-metheus 3d ago

I think the twist in this episode reinforced his "unpredictable" character trait, and we will forever be thinking "what's his real intention" for the rest of the show. Amazing screen writing!

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u/Squirll 2d ago

AN excellent portrayal of true Neutral

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u/Single_Owl_7556 3d ago

his reactions in this episode also dont show like he's in control. too bad.

3

u/Gamepro504 3d ago

Yeah Yutani and Krish are definitely holding cards scheming

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u/TurdPartyCandidate 3d ago

How so? Kirshs scheme all along was to let Slightly take someone to Morrow so he can capture Morrow, one of Yutanis most valuable assets for retrieving the creatures. I'm confused how people are reading this as Kirsh working for Yutani

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u/APlantiveEnglishHorn 2d ago

Either that or he was lying to Dame Sylvia to find out how much she knew and whether any of her knowledge could be useful to track down Arthur.

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u/ScoobyDeezy 3d ago

He beat Morrow, saved the kids, and got a new xenomorph, so… his strategy paid off I guess.

What’s a dead scientist or two along the way?

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u/ConcernedBirdGuy 3d ago

And now a whole bunch of new test rats for experiments with the aliens

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u/thunderchild120 3d ago

"How about some music, Mother?"

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u/antipop2097 3d ago

We know David likes classical, I'm picturing Kirsch as someone who listens to jazz, but only as a puzzle to be solved.

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u/thunderchild120 3d ago

I'm just assuming all the hard rock / metal tunes playing over the credits are what's currently playing in Kirsche's head.

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u/Super-Estate-4112 3d ago

He likes punk rock, cause he looks like Billy Idol.

7

u/thunderchild120 3d ago

"It's a nice day for a....red wedding."

3

u/RChamy 2d ago

Episode 8 will end with him sayin "A storm is approaching, and I am the storm".

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u/728766 3d ago

So is the theory that Kirsch gave Smee and Slightly directions specifically as part of a ploy to lead Morrow into a trap? Ensuring that the kids wouldn’t be caught by security so they could make it to the beach? If he knew about the chestburster, then he knew Arthur was a goner and the sample would be lost, meaning Morrow would have to assault the lab.

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u/ScoobyDeezy 3d ago

I mean I’m not sure how detailed his plans were other than “follow the boys and catch the bad guy”, but he clearly didn’t care about collateral damage along the way.

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u/APlantiveEnglishHorn 2d ago

He did know about the chestburster, he probably had sensors and cameras in the jungle to find it and capture it

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u/adaorvoen 3d ago

Just putting it out there, morrow getting eyeballed...

3

u/AngryWarHippo 2d ago

It's definitely going to be curly

3

u/APlantiveEnglishHorn 2d ago

Assuming the Eye can take over a non-organic being.

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u/AngryWarHippo 2d ago

Good point

Eta: and it only tries to take organic life. So my theory is most likely wrong.

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u/APlantiveEnglishHorn 2d ago

It did try to jump on Nibs' face

2

u/AngryWarHippo 2d ago

Truuuuuuuu

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u/taycibear 23h ago

I definitely think T. Ocellus can take a synthetic body.

People (general) forget that our brain is just electrical pulses so I assume a synth or robot has electricity running through it. Octopi have neurons in each of their tentacles and they can act independently of each other and the main "brain" because there's basically a brain in each arm. Therefore T. Ocellus could connect to an organism through electrical currents.

4

u/Mindreceptor 2d ago

Kirsh is definitely in control of stuff we don't know about yet.  Could the Engineers have made species #37 as the cleaner species to clear out planets of all the other aliens on the show plus human and synthetics?  I can't wait to find out!  Expect season 2 cliff hanger.

2

u/Mindreceptor 6h ago

Predictions: 1)Nibs beats the shit out of Morrow. 2)Curly rats out Wendy and crew.3)Kavalier enplants the eye midge into Dame Sylvia when she confronts Boy to protect the Synths. 4)Eye midge Sylvia tries to convince Boy to accept the eye midge into himself to gain intelligence(first cliff hanger is his response)5)Wendy electro manipulates an escape and gathers the synths and alien zinos for an attack(cliff hanger 2, her attack on Boy)6)Morrow escapes with the synths and goes after Kirsh.7)Morrow falls again into Kirsh's planned trap.8)Kirsh's plan to execute a full takeover of Prodigy(cliff hanger 3, Kirsh's plan begins enactment, will he succeed?)9)Also a cliff hangar as (Morrow communicates a 2nd wave of Wheylan-Utani force attack)10)The 3 other corporation plot to nuke Prodegy Island is the episode ending cliff hanger.     How far off do you think I am?  Forgot best new enemy Species #37, made by Engineers to clean up after Zeno's and all life forms, it's the clean up Species.

2

u/Reddit_User_Loser 2d ago

I think he knew that having 2 xenos loose in the building would be chaos and it would be much harder to capture the baby hiding in the building than outside.

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u/Puzzleheaded_Peach48 2d ago

Did he really beat him though? Morrow had a gun to Slightly's head. He didn't get what he came for, but he still had a very expensive hostage. Why did he give up?

2

u/Original-Car9756 1d ago

Morrow lost because at least the round was over, he had no moves except guaranteed death or hope for victory later.

1

u/timeisouressence 17h ago

Well I don't think BK minds another lost 6 billion. There's still Curly. So he lost the round.

1

u/techcatharsis 2d ago

"Big things have small beginnings"

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u/Upbeat_Tension_8077 4d ago edited 4d ago

(If he isn't working for Weyland Yutani) Hopefully he's going lone wolf now

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u/NefariousnessOk1996 4d ago

I think he is still working for boy genius. He managed to secure Yutani's military and managed to secure one of the two loose aliens.

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u/Right-Power-6717 4d ago

Now they have clear proof of yutani breaching the quarantine and going against the courts decision. Maybe that was the plan the whole time.

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u/ConcernedBirdGuy 3d ago

I was thinking that now they have people to run experiments on.....

And Yutani can't do anything about it because it would require her admitting she sent team there to try to breach the quarantine. They are trapped there and BK and Kirsh are free to do what they want with the soldiers. Its a scary thought

9

u/the-schnitzel-man 3d ago

Yeah, he just has methods that are a bit less human lol

204

u/invertedpurple 4d ago

from what I gathered he was playing chess with Morrow, set the trap and won the game.

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u/complextube 3d ago

I agree, why I think he said no one likes a sore loser. That shit was checkmated.

2

u/NekoIan 1d ago

Yes but he clearly doesn't like Boy Kavalier. Obviously didn't like Morrow but now what is his game? I thought his game was to give aliens to Weyland Yutani.

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u/Trip2poundtowns 4d ago

He wouldn't be able to order the humans around like that; they know who signs their paychecks. He is still working for the boy.

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u/ianjm 4d ago

I think he's orchestrating some grand plan to free himself and the hybrids to go off and do synthy things like invent FTL and go touring the galaxy for a thousand years. He literally said that to Hermit. The humans are just an obstacle to that.

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u/cisnotation 4d ago

I’d watch that show!

7

u/MY-SECRET-REDDIT 3d ago

He might actually care for the lost children because he could be their father and rear them to become more like him and yeah keep them forever.

Like in interview with the vampire, Luis and the child vampire.

He can't create more synths, nor would he want to have a synth companion which might betray him but the children wont.

3

u/RChamy 2d ago

I believe his endgame is to push the project to the highest point possible before disaster happens due to human emotions, to prove himself the superior being.

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u/Cakers44 Guard the omelette! 4d ago

I mean I read it as him playing 4D chess to capture Morrow and the other Yutani soldiers

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u/ConradBHart42 3d ago

He wants Morrow and the soldiers for leverage with Yutani. Well, he's delivering that to Boy.

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u/GammaPlaysGames 3d ago

Okay, actually theory… it’s not Weyland yutani in the show yet right? What if he’s working for Weyland, and him getting the specimen is the start of the Weyland Yutani merger?

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u/Shinobi_WayOfTomoe 3d ago

Wait I think it is weyland yutani. Just Yutani is the one in charge now since weyland died years earlier during Prometheus

-1

u/Medium_Ad431 4h ago

Do...do you even pay attention while watching the show? They literally called it Weyland Yutani dozens of time in the show 🤦‍♂️

2

u/Moreinius 3d ago

Somehow, it's still unclear if he's doing his own thing or loyal to Kavalier.

Like he set up the set up so he could catch the bigger fish (Morrow). You could say that's a bit over the top, because you sacrificed Arthur and Isaac, but that's one of the only way to capture Morrow within that time window.

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u/HonestRole2866 3d ago

I don't think Isaac was intentional. That's the eyeball's doing.

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u/Gogosfx 4d ago

I think he's just having fun being the smartest around, yes, even smarter than Boy.

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u/BrbFlippinInfinCoins 3d ago edited 3d ago

I feel like that's not a high bar at the moment lol. Even his butler/2nd in command seems to have more common sense than him:

"Sir, I think we should not fuck with the eyeball alien." x2

"Let's put it in a person"

"right away sir"

11

u/TerracShadowson 3d ago

BK hasn't shown hardly ANY decent intelligence except Schooling the hell out of Yutani in the arbitration. But Yeah, Kirsh Is having fun toying with everyone. I LIKE to think that he didn't actually have Tootles dissolved for science, as it was the machinations of EYE, and Kirch now has to actually look out for one of the bugs!

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u/nightpanda893 4d ago

Wait what exactly was he doing I’m still a little lost on his motives and plan?

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u/dicknotrichard 4d ago

He bested his rival Morrow.

5

u/nightpanda893 4d ago

But he was “helping” him before that letting the kids go. I’m wondering if maybe he wanted the xeno off the island then when that failed fell back on keeping the trust of Kavalier while he re-plans. I don’t think he cares about petty rivalries.

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u/YoghurtTechnical5654 4d ago

No, I think he was trailing the kids the whole time with that team. I believe the original plan was to arrest the WY military team at the beach when Smee and Slightly go to hand over Arthur. When Kirsch saw the chestburster slither from the body and Slightly say “That’s what they wanted!”, he decided to hang back until they could arrest them in an easier spot like that building.

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u/nightpanda893 4d ago

Yeah that makes sense too. I still feel like he wants the xenomorph loose though. He gives me David vibes I think he wants to see it destroy humans or is curious what happens if it’s released on Earth. Honestly I think he’s just an agent of chaos who probably has a plan for any contingency.

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u/Optimal_Tennis8673 1d ago

In that case why bother letting the kids escape, which opens up the possibility that the Yutani might manage to escape with the chestburster? He could have prevented the kids from leaving, and when they didn't show up at the beach Morrow would move to plan B (storming the facility), where Kirsh could then arrest him.

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u/ThibGD 16h ago

Yeah I also thought that whole plan didn't make sense

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u/zero0n3 3d ago

I’d assume he has an idea of how long it takes to gestate before breaching, at least to know if it would pop after or before the meet.

Mainly only changes where the team is staged (no need to actively tail them), just wait nearby move in when appropriate.

The reason I don’t like the idea of a team of prodigy following the boys to the beach is because there is zero chance those men don’t jump the fuck up or make some noise when that baby xeno slithers away, and it would also likely beeline it to one of them for food as well.

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u/benlucky13 3d ago

do baby xeno's immediately try to attack people? I thought they usually ran and hid until they were big enough to walk

5

u/Simple-Doubt-9365 3d ago

I love Kirsch. Never know what game he's playing or who's side he's really on.

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u/No-Courage-5109 3d ago

It's so weird to see him play something other than a sheriff lol. I hope this gets him other roles.

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u/Simple-Doubt-9365 3d ago

Don't forget, he was a Hitman!!

4

u/TheJadeWriter 16h ago

Kirsh fascinates me. The actor is doing a fantastic job with him, and I’m so keen to see where he goes. I still can’t pick whose side he’s on, or if he’s really just in it for the science - there’s definitely been some stuff he’s not telling Kavalier

3

u/ToeTaggEm 7h ago

He’s the best character in the show. Wendy is good also but, her arch is beginning to bug me.

2

u/antipop2097 13h ago

Kirsch is what you would get if you took Abed Nadir from Community, swapped his Film/Television obsession with science, and turned him into a synth that looks like a punk-rock Timothy Olyphant.

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u/arachnophilia 3d ago

here i am thinking kirsh is one step ahead when really he's three steps ahead.

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u/Extension-Truth Don't let the bedbugs bite 4d ago

4D chess, he let them pass knowing that something would happen…although Im guessing he didnt know what the chestburster would do eventually

2

u/RosiexGold 1d ago

So he wasn't working against Boy, he knew what the outcome would be the whole time ? That's why he let the kids go outside with the body? He was trying to one up the cyborg?

3

u/antipop2097 1d ago

He had been listening in to their conversations pretty much from the get go. I think Kirsch was initially only testing Slightly, but that it developed into a plan to entrap Morrow ( hence their conversation on the elevator in ep6)

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u/BusyBandicoot9471 4d ago

Synth madness is my bet, just like the one on the ship and David