Alien: Earth Episode 8 finale reveals Eye Midge fate and late-production twists

Alien: Earth’s season finale, Episode 8, 'The Real Monsters,' lands with climactic showdowns as Wendy overthrows her creator Boy Kavalier, the Eye Midge murders a human host, and Joe Hermit faces a brutal encounter with the alien—ending with a twist: the Eye Midge ultimately inhabits the corpse of Arthur Sylvia as its next host.

For weeks Hawley had seeded a bitter rivalry between Boy Kavalier and Hermit. Alex Lawther, who plays Hermit, says the decision on who would confront the Eye Midge was not settled until late in production. Lawther recalled: We got given Episode 7 and it was Boy Kavalier, Sam Blenkin, saying I know the perfect person. And I thought to myself, You motherfucker, is that going to be me? I am going to get killed by a small octopus in Episode 8. He also noted that the final arrangement arose during production of Episodes 7 and 8; when Episode 8 finally aired, he was relieved to find out that he had survived.

David Rysdahl, who plays Arthur Sylvia, says he didn’t know his ultimate fate until the day before the final cut was approved. Hawley texted him, I am not done with you yet. Up until then, he thought Arthur’s arc would end after Episode 7, saying, I did not know what was gonna happen with the Eye Midge. When I signed on, he told me Arthur’s arc, and I was like, okay, yeah, beautiful.

Rysdahl called the Eye Midge a fascinating character—intelligent, absurd, and capable of jokes—while Lawther described the on-set process of filming his confrontation as surprisingly silly. He explained that the Eye Midge is present in the scene, but the creature itself is a human performer worked by a creature handler, using a retractable bat with an image on the end that’s wriggled in front of the actor’s face; it’s static, and the final CGI will determine how believable the moment appears. Lawther also noted his curiosity about how the finished visuals would render on screen, given he had not yet seen the complete Episode 8 in its VFX form.

The finale’s revelations arrive as Hulu streams the closing chapter, wrapping a season that mixed high-concept sci‑fi dread with intimate, character-driven stakes. The Eye Midge’s abrupt host-switch sets the table for speculation about future installments, while the immediate aftermath leaves Hermit, Wendy, and the wider world—human and alien—reeling from a night of betrayals, power grabs, and biology that defies easy explanation.