Meet Morrow: Alien: Earth’s First Cyborg — a Ronin with a Zen State of Dark Enlightenment
Babou Ceesay plays Morrow, the first cyborg in the Alien franchise, in FX and Hulu’s prequel series Alien: Earth’s Morrow. The 46-year-old British actor says the character is driven to recover extraterrestrial creatures stolen from his ship, and the show’s creator, Noah Hawley, describes Morrow as a Ronin-like figure who follows his own code.
Morrow’s role and origins
Morrow is introduced in Alien: Earth as the sole surviving member of the USCSS Maginot, which crash-lands back on Earth in the first episode. He is the first cyborg shown in franchise history, part human and part machine, and his central mission is to retrieve the extraterrestrial creatures taken from his ship.
How Ceesay approached the part
Babou Ceesay discussed the role over Zoom and said he and creator Noah Hawley emphasized that Morrow is still fundamentally a man with aims and emotions, despite his enhancements.
Ceesay looked to real-world references, notably artist Neil Harbisson, who has an implanted device that translates color to sound, and used that idea to explore what being “more than human” might feel like. He said Morrow will “deploy it when he needs to.”
Backstory, motivations, and alliances
As revealed in episode 5, Morrow owes a large debt to the Weyland-Yutani corporation after Yutani rescued him from the streets as a child and replaced his paralyzed arm with a robotic limb. That debt shapes his loyalty and actions during the season.
Additionally, episode 5 reveals that Morrow had a daughter on Earth who died while he was on his mission. Ceesay said this loss is the biggest definition of the character and fuels his drive: if he fails, then the sacrifice and loss would have been for nothing.
Morrow shows a complex relationship with Hybrids: he recognizes a shared human consciousness while also noting their greater physical enhancements. Ceesay described feelings of affection, possible envy, and a pragmatic willingness to use them if they help achieve his goals.
Key quotes from Ceesay and Hawley
On Morrow’s internal state, Ceesay said, “It’s almost a Zen state of dark enlightenment.”
Noah Hawley described the character this way: “I always like the idea of a sort of Ronin character. He’s a bit of a wild card. He has his own agenda, but his loyalty is there forever.”
Hawley also commented on the appeal of morally complex characters: “I think we have a fascination with bad men who follow a code,” he says. “There’s something romantic about that idea: Yes, you kill people or whatever, but you don’t lie about it. That’s where Morrow lives for me.”
When asked about Morrow’s riddle to the Hybrids, “When is a machine not a machine?” Ceesay explained he sees the question as a way into another consciousness: “It’s an icebreaker, but way more than that, obviously.”
Where and when to watch
Alien: Earth airs weekly each Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST on FX and Hulu.
