Mr. October (Alien: Earth)

In its original American broadcast, "Mr. October" was seen by an estimated 0.380 million household viewers with a 0.07 in the 18–49 demographics. This means that 0.07 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.^[3] This was a 36% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was seen by an estimated 0.589 million household viewers with a 0.11 in the 18–49 demographics.^[3]

"Mr. October" received positive reviews from critics. Clint Gage of IGN wrote, "Premiere episodes have become something of a lost art. As seasons of streaming series get shorter and shorter, it's good to see Alien: Earth come out swinging with a two-episode drop that features all the iconic creepiness we've come to expect from the franchise, paired with the promise of something new. Meeting a host of brand new characters, human, synthetic, alien and a bunch of Lost Boys that are something in between, Noah Hawley and his cast and crew have launched a very intriguing new show in a franchise in need of an evolution."^[4]

Matt Schimkowitz of The A.V. Club gave the 2-episode premiere a "B–" grade and wrote, "“Mr. October” director Dana Gonzales isn't the first person to struggle to make the monster scary after 1979. Still, it is a persistent issue within the episode, which lacks tension despite the preponderance of monsters stalking the building."^[5]

Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone wrote, "Hermit reunites with Wendy — or, as he knows her, Marcy — by the end of “Mr. October,” but the reunion's not peaceful for very long, as the Xenomorph crashes in and grabs Hermit, and Wendy chooses to leap down into the wreckage of the building to save her brother. Will she succeed? Again, this is an ongoing TV show where she's the main character, so the shock of Dallas dying midway through the first film, when at one point he seemed like its protagonist, won't be repeated. But this is a pretty thrilling start to Hawley's new chapter in this old story."^[6]

Noel Murray of Vulture gave the episode a 4 star out of 5 rating and wrote, "On the whole, “Mr. October” isn't as satisfying an episode as “Neverland,” if only because the series premiere was packed with characters and ideas, while this episode plays more like a continuation of the action-horror scenes that ended episode one. This chapter doesn't tell its own story or introduce anything excitingly new. That said, those action-horror scenes are pleasurably icky."^[7] Shawn Van Horn of Collider gave the episode an 8 out of 10 rating and wrote, "Wendy tells Slightly to stay with the eggs as she runs off after Joe. She just got her brother back, and she's not about to lose him."^[8]

Eric Francisco of Esquire wrote, "I'm not sure what kind of bizarre Eyes Wide Shut activities were going on in there, but the Xenomorph racks up around twenty kills in a manner of seconds. Episode 2 is basically a hype video for the alien — and its the best this franchise has been in a long time."^[9] Johnny Loftus of Decider wrote, "With Episode 2, and Weyland-Yutani's research vessel falling out of the sky and landing on a city owned by Prodigy, its corporate competitor, W-T's precious deep space cargo is now loose at the crash site, and already providing direct scares of the body cavity-filling, face-attaching Alien franchise variety."^[10]

Sean T. Collins of The New York Times wrote, "None of this is to say the show feels derivative. A product of its influences? Of course — this is franchise filmmaking. But Hawley's homages are laser-precise. And they make use of techniques rarely seen on big-budget TV, like the leisurely zooms of 1970s cinema. Hawley brings his own penchant for dreamy montage to the proceedings as well, adding an aesthetic ingredient that is new to the setting."^[11] Paul Dailly of TV Fanatic gave the episode a perfect 5 star out of 5 rating and wrote, "If the next six episodes can maintain this level of suspense, sharp character work, and corporate nastiness, Alien: Earth won't just be a good TV spinoff. It could be the best thing to happen to the franchise."^[12]

• "Mr. October" at IMDb