Spoiler Alert: This story contains spoilers for “The Real Monsters,” the season 1 finale of “Alien: Earth.”
“Every child, one grows up.” It is the opening line for J.M. Barry’s “Full Peter Pan,” following the story of a boy who cannot grow, bringing the children of unreachable people crying, far from the adults who plague the imaginative mind. It’s a type of story as Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin), CEO of Prodigy Corporation, is on the brink of transforming humanity by building an empire, becoming the youngest in the world, and transferring the subconscious of terminal children into synthetic bodies.
Throughout the season, Boy Kavalier’s true intentions begin taking over Neverland Research Island after successfully securing the alien specimens USCSS Maginot was studying in space and dumping a decade-long work on hybrids. Until the finale, Cavalier’s perspective on eccentric actions begins to change for the lost boys as they are held in the cell while the island terrifies with the loose xenomorphs and kills all the genius corporate security guards in sight. On a low-staffed island, the boy is in war. Not only the aliens he captured, but the children are trying to earn him trillions of dollars.
Samuel Brenkin as a boy Cavalier
Patrick Brown/FX
Brenkin spoke with Variety about how that finale influenced the development of his character, what his final laughter represents, and how he could hear a song based on Boy Cavalier sound like a future season of “Alien: Earth.”
The boy Cavalier talks about his upbringing and reveals that when he was six, he killed his alcoholic father due to the fact that he was jealous of his son’s intelligence. He grew up through the synthesis he created at a young age and became a ruthless CEO in his 20s. How do you imagine his childhood after being raised by something programmed for his own needs?
Much of the way that experience shaped him existed throughout the series, especially in the sense that there is no example in his life when he fails to be slightly humble. He has never been humbled before. This character has two separate lives. One is the life he had before the events when he killed his father, and the hero version of himself that he invented down the road. He has this little bit of himself. His father is abusive and horrifying to him, and it is trapped deep inside.
When you are completely surrounded by people who consistently say yes to you, it turns you into a Cavalier-type boy. It was a very strange upbringing and I think it was very fast to get into power. He ultimately succeeded with his fingertips from a very young age, and it really does something to someone.
Hermit (Alex Lower) is on a research island with Wendy (Sidney Chandler) after a rescue mission, and watches him enter under the boy’s skin. Does his hatred for the hermit come from the knowledge that both brothers had a proper childhood with the father who cared for them?
He can’t get what Hermit has to Wendy. Wendy is an emotional connection that comes with being a family. It’s something he actively removed and left his life away. The reason it turns into hatred (for the hermit) is because anyone deserves that connection to something or someone he considers as his wealth. He sees Hermit as a major threat to Wendy’s ownership.
In episode 2 there is a line the boy says to Sylvia (Essie Davis). He reveals that all he wants is to properly talk to someone smarter than him. At the final moments of Episode 8, he is taken hostage with a new perception Wendy, and the rest of the lost boys are able to betray him. Does his final laugh come from the fact that he got exactly what he wanted?
That’s absolutely going through his head. When that laugh comes out, it comes from a sense of what will happen in “Peter Pan.” Wendy says the lost boys must grow up to lead meaningful lives and leave Neverland. The fact that the books he loves so much come to life, but he is proud of them! They did an amazing job.
He said, “My kids did it!”
Indeed, he’s very arrogant about it! He said, “I invent these guys and they’re doing exactly what I wanted!” They’re way beyond what he thought he could do. The laughter is filled with praise for them.
He has gained the desire to be intellectually challenged, but the Hybrid doesn’t know that he is celebrating his victory even after being chased by the Xenomorph.
That’s scary. He was a very rog arrogant and uncomfortable personality throughout the season, so I was really excited by the fact that we would get a few moments in this episode where he defeats Lang. When he first faces Xenomorph, this performance he has done for a series of series in which he is his journey hero, leaves forever. At that moment he is flesh and blood. For me, the moment was a feeling of being my body and realising how fragile my skin was.
By looking at Xenomorph in front of him, he realizes that no one is left to protect him and protect him. He is the reason why many of his staff are dead, and he gets what he wanted, but that’s not what he imagined.
What happens after he’s talking about his father is a great scene. At that moment, the door opened (to the cell) and he loves that he decided to talk anyway. It is to develop a lifetime that has never failed, and choose to believe he is not beatable. It is necessary for him to see the jaws of Xenomorphs to realize that he is in fact just a human being.
Each episode of “Alien: Earth” is driven by music, from heavy metal needle drops to song covers from Noah Holy releases, amplifying the series’ soundscapes. As a musician who previously wrote music for other characters portrayed in projects like “Mary & George,” what do you think it would sound like if you were asked to compose a Boy Kavarie song for the series?
Singing is everything he is, and it will be completely unbearable! No one wants to hear that. In fact, I’m writing my own songs and it’s been meaningful to send some of my works to Noah. I love the fact that he incorporates music into every project in a variety of ways. So who knows, perhaps in a few years! I understand.
This interview was compiled and condensed.
