Close watchers of FX‘s Alien: Earth probably figured out weeks ago that hybrid heroine Wendy (Sydney Chandler) shares some sort of mysterious affinity with the Xenomorph aliens that have crashed on Earth. We’ve seen her show sensitivity to not only their chittering, but also to their pain.

**Spoilers for Alien: Earth Episode 4 “Observation,” now streaming on Hulu**

Alien: Earth Episode 4 “Observation” elaborates further on Wendy’s unique ability to communicate with the alien species, showing her learn how to replicate their language. But why is she able to do this? Was Wendy really “chosen” by the Xenomorphs?

Perhaps more importantly: how did Alien: Earth pull off that insane ending where Wendy is petting the little Xenomorph that’s just emerged from her own brother’s lung?

“I found it scary going into that scene,” Alien: Earth star Sydney Chandler said. “I’ve never worked so fully with, you know, a blank space. There was nothing there.”

Chandler went on to explain how that final Episode 4 scene called upon her use her “imagnation.”

“They like put in a prompt for me to see and kind of like figure out where it would sit,” Chandler said. “Then the prop’s gone. And so it was, it was really, really fun because it was full on imagination.”

So there was no baby Xenomorph on set; the whole creature was just conjured in Sydney Chandler’s imagination before the Alien: Earth VFX team stepped in. But what’s going on with Wendy? Is her connection all in her child-like imagination, too? Here’s everything you need to know about the meaning behind the end of Alien: Earth Episode 4 “Observation.”

Alien: Earth Episode 4 Ending Explained: Can Wendy Control the Xenomorph? Why Can Wendy Talk to the Aliens?

Trying to figure out just what’s going on with Wendy and the Xenomorphs in Alien: Earth? According to series creator Noah Hawley, the genesis for Wendy’s ability to tune into the Xenomorphs came from none other than the original Alien sequel, Aliens.

“I’ve just always been struck by this moment in James Cameron’s film where Ripley has rescued Newt and they find themselves in the egg chamber. We meet the Queen and then all these drones come in and Ripley aims the flamethrower at the eggs,” Hawley said. “Then the queen somehow communicates to these drones to back off and they do. In that moment, you learn so much about these creatures.”

Hawley broke it down. “I mean, clearly it’s a matriarchy, clearly there’s a hive, clearly they’re drones, and clearly they can communicate on some level. Is it a pheromone? Is it telepathy? Is it a language we can hear, etc…?”

That mystery of how the aliens communicate felt like fertile ground for Hawley, and for one of Wendy’s “idiosyncracies” as a hybrid.

“Nothing is accidental to a kid, right? You know, everything feels meaningful,” Hawley said. “There’s a moment in the fourth hour where she’s like, ‘They chose me.’ Right? Which is not true. Right? They didn’t choose her. She just can hear them because of whatever hardware or software issue that she has.”

So Wendy’s connection to the Xenomorphs is not some holy or fated design. It’s merely a quirk of her synthetic form. However, that doesn’t change the fact that Wendy, with her child’s brain and heart, finds it easy to empathize with the alien creatures.

“The other thing with children is they don’t really assign… I mean, these are just animals to them, you know? So she she’s looking at these creatures and she has empathy the same way that my daughter became a vegetarian when she was nine,” Hawley said.”Well, these creatures didn’t ask to come here, and maybe they’re frightened.”

“You know, she says to her brother, ‘This one, maybe this one could be good.’ Right? And it seems like…. I don’t know, ‘your friend the shark,’ but you can understand her impulse to try.“

Wendy’s empathy for the baby Xenomorph was something that was shared by Alien: Earth star Sydney Chandler.

“I did find myself picturing my dog who passed away a few years ago.” Chandler revealed that she pictured the Xeno as her beloved deceased pet Ruby. She also joked that she took the Xenomorph home.

“Yeah, so I kept him. He’s he’s hanging out at home with my cats,” Chandler said with sweet sarcasm. “He’s really, really, really soft to the touch, actually.”