Despite its lineup of parasitic extraterrestrials, rival corporations, and jaw-dropping action sequences, Noah Hawley's FX series Alien: Earth is a story about humanity — with a pair of long-lost siblings at its core.

Marcy (Sydney Chandler) and Joe (Alex Lawther) are known, respectively, as Wendy (after the Peter Pan matriarch) and Hermit (for their father's army callsign). The latter is a human, the former a hybrid, a pair who find themselves reconnected through an Ice Age in-joke, then come face-to-face in the ruins of a crashed Weyland-Yutani spaceship.

Mashable sat down with Chandler and Lawther to unpack their Alien: Earth characters, the major Xenomorph fight in episode 3, and how voice notes helped build their sibling bond.

Sydney Chandler and Alex Lawther bonded through voice notes and ANOHNI

Sydney Chandler in "Alien: Earth."
Credit: Patrick Brown / FX

Forming this bond between brother and sister saw Lawther looking to music to establish their connection, with The End of the F***ing World actor sending ANOHNI and the Johnsons' 2005 heartbreaker, "You Are My Sister," to Chandler.

"That song by ANOHNI, I'm not sure it's about a literal biological sibling relationship; it's about her sisters, I imagine her queer sisters. But it speaks to an immense love, an immense, familial bond, and about one person looking after the other when it's nighttime and there's scary things in the shadows," Lawther tells Mashable. "It just makes me cry every time. Even just thinking of that song makes me cry."

Another platform for the actors to establish their shared history as siblings? Chandler and Lawther would send voice notes back and forth to each other, initially as themselves, then testing a few as their characters Joe and Marcy during pre-production.

"I actually listened through, it was really interesting," Chandler tells Mashable. "It kind of just started because we had a few back and forth as us, and then I remember when I was like, 'Do you remember that night when Dad…' and then you [Lawther] would add on to it. None of that stuff came up specifically for me when working, but having that texture and hearing your voice and speaking to you in that way gave me an immediate history with you. And we had a secret, because no one else had that. No one else knew those pieces."

Inside the epic Xenomorph fight in episode 3

Alex Lawther and Sydney Chandler in "Alien: Earth."
Credit: Patrick Brown / FX

One of the more outstanding action sequences in Alien: Earth lies in episode 3, when Joe and Marcy go head-to-head with the dreaded Xenomorph in the crumbling tower's parking garage. Working closely with the Alien: Earth stunt team and a lot of KY Jelly, the sequence saw Chandler and Lawther in few weeks of night shoots — and giving it their all.

"I felt like I ran a marathon," says Chandler.

"We're so over enthusiastic," agrees Lawther. "Like, we would be giving 110 percent when really we could be doing 70."

"We were like, we want to be the A+ students," says Chandler. "My favorite days on set, too, we'd be doing pushups or jumping jacks or running in place really fast."

Alex Lawther in "Alien: Earth."
Credit: Patrick Brown / FX

In one of the most air-punching moments of the sequence, Marcy uses a massive hook to drag the Xenomorph off her brother and into an elevator to take care of it once and for all. Chandler worked closely with her stunt double, Mickey Facchinello to bring the nail-biting sequence to life.

"When you have the hook in your hand, it's so badass," Lawther tells Chandler. "But also that sequence that you do, it's so good. I remember Mickey, who was your stunt double, and also doing some stunt training with us all, showing you and you just picking it up and doing it all."

"She was incredible. Mickey is like…I have so much love for her. Really incredible stunt. The whole stunt team nailed it," adds Chandler.

"The slow-mo did a lot of work for me, to be honest. Maybe I should just always be in slow-mo."

Lawther's character Joe also gets multiple moments of slow-motion action in the series, usually featuring the Xenomorph leaping in terrifying motion behind him or at him — in the stairwell in episode 1, in the apartment in episode 2, and in the garage in episode 3.

"Everything looks great in slow-mo, doesn't it? Like, even like just walking into a room and turning your head something looks really cool," says Lawther. "So the slow-mo did a lot of work for me, to be honest. Maybe I should just always be in slow-mo."

Alien: Earth episodes drop weekly on Hulu and FX at 8pm E.T. on Tuesdays.

Vicky

Apple's FineWoven might be on its way out, but it should be replaced with FineWoven 2.0.

This is according to leaker Majin Bu, who claims that Apple plans to launch cases for its upcoming iPhone 17 lineup in a new, non-leather material.

Bu says that the new material will be a synthetic fabric with a "more technical, less luxury vibe." It will reportedly have a visible textile texture, enhanced resistance to scratches and wear and tear compared to FineWoven. Bu also claims it will feel more rubbery and grippy than FineWoven, making it harder to drop, will be some kind of eco-conscious material, and come in four matte colors: green, orange, blue, and purple.

We've first heard rumors about Apple working on a new synthetic case material back in April 2024. FineWoven is nice to the touch, but was quite prone to wearing down after a few months of use. Apple decided to keep some FineWoven accessories around for one more year, but it may finally be time for a change.

Bu also said that Apple "may" introduce Liquid Glass cases, which should offer a "more striking aesthetic," though details are slim on these. Finally, Bu says the silicone cases will come with a lanyard loop, similar to the one on the AirPods Pro 2 case.

All of this should launch alongside the iPhone 17 and 17 Pro in September, but nothing is official at this point.

Vicky

This week, a gay influencer couple announced their breakup online, complete with a "split custody" plan for their social media. The internet, in its usual fashion, went into prying auntie mode.

For years, New Orleans-based Matt Armato and Beau Ciolino shared lifestyle blogs and videos under the brand Probably This. They met in 2013 and established the brand in 2014, according to the Probably This website. The formerly married couple posted recipes, home design, and couples' content on their Instagram and TikTok accounts.

Then, in mid-August, Armato and Ciolino shared a video across platforms announcing their split — complete with a fist bump.

"Well, we broke up," Armato announced in the now-deleted video, The Tab reported. (The TikTok video link is now broken, and it wasn't saved on the Wayback Machine. Clips are on X.) Later, he said, "This is like the dumbest video I think I can imagine. This belongs in my journal, not out there, but I want you to know I'm single."

Ciolino, however, appeared to be in higher spirits. He smiled in the video and said it was a privilege to be partners for 12 years and to share their lives online for a decade. "I think that there is so much love between us, and really loving someone knows when to change the format of the relationship, and we've decided to just be best friends," he continued, according to The Tab.

At some point, Ciolino fist-bumped his now-ex. On X, viewers weren't shy to theorize about what happened to cause the breakup, or to psychoanalyze their facial expressions and movements:

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The men also announced that Armato would now control the TikTok account, and Ciolino would control the Instagram account. "They really did social media split custody," X user @computer_gay posted.

The two have since deleted the video from both platforms, presumably because of the reaction it caused. Due to Ciolino's appeared cheerfulness in the video, people guessed that he cheated, and Armato posted on Instagram stories and added a highlight to his profile to share the real story:

Matt Armato's Instagram story about the breakup
Credit: Screenshot: Instagram

In the statement, Armato acknowledged that the video "sparked a lot of reactions," and said he didn't want internet commenters to pile on against his ex.

"He is not a villain, he is a human, and a really beautiful one at that," he wrote.

"One large point of criticism has been the gap between our apparent demeanors. Neither of us was confident addressing this publicly but given that we've built our career together as a couple it felt necessary," he explained. "So what you might see as someone being carelessly giddy I see as nervous posturing and, sure, a bit of relief. I can't fault him for that. I too am relieved to be moving on."

Armato assured that he and Ciolino are still very close.

The discourse surrounding the video soon morphed into one about couples who base their social media presence around their relationship, and how it makes their entire lives "content."

And this isn't the first time that TikTok-famous couples have broken up. When Mashable spoke to such ex-couples in 2024, they shared the downsides of being a public couple — including internet hate and scrutiny into their off-camera lives. The same happened last year when another Instagram-famous queer influencer couple announced their breakup with matching posts.

Armato and Ciolino haven't responded to Mashable's request for comment.

Vicky