Alien: Covenant explained!

I didn't write any of this, all credit goes to Prof. A from AVP- galaxy. I agree 100 percent!

Hi all,

I'm a new member so I apologize in advance if I make some mistakes regarding board/posting norms. I teach college level classes in Media Studies and have a background in Film/TV along with degrees in the aforementioned fields and the social sciences.  Since Hollywood movies aren't always respected by those in higher learning, I thought I would feel more at home with fellow Alien fans rather than writing/discussing in other places.

Just saw Alien: Covenant last night. After viewing it, I was impressed with how everything is starting to connect with the entire Alien universe. This connection is occurring at both a plot and thematic/philosophical level. I was particularly stunned at how Scott was still able to thread the philosophical nature of Prometheus with pacing/horror of the original series - all in an attempt to assuage Prometheus' critics.

Let's look at some key elements:

David's name and birth - Why call Fassbender's android David? Many speculated that this follows the series' alphabetical android naming process. We have Ash (letter A) in Alien, Bishop in Aliens/Alien 3 (Letter B), and Call in Alien: Resurrection (letter C). Prometheus follows the pattern by giving the letter D it's due. However, Alien: Covenant breaks this pattern with Walter (letter W). Why?

Part 1:
We learn that David is named after the famous Michelangelo statue. This greatly changes the meaning of his name. The David statue is important on two levels:

1) it represents the Renaissance's physical representation of the ideal man. Just as David, the android, represents Weyland's "ideal" creation/son.

2) It foreshadows the critical importance of David's actions. The David statue is modeled after the Biblical character (religious themes like in Prometheus). David, the mere weakling, destroys the giant, more powerful Goliath. This parallels David's actions with both the death of the engineers (the Goliaths or giants) and his intent to kill mankind (the other Goliaths, his masters/creators). The unlikely android servant becomes a god just as the Biblical character becomes an unlikely victor.

The question is: was this the plan from the start? Was this Scott's plan with Prometheus? It all ties in. The name has nothing to do with an alphabetical nature (as evidenced by Walter) - David's name comes from a place of deeper meaning planted in Prometheus.

Part 2

Ozymandias, Shelley, and Frankenstein

Along with the David statue, another major artistic reference is Percy Shelley's Ozymandias poem. The poem refers to the decline of a great civilization (Ancient Egypt). David recites a line from the poem when dropping the black ooze (or black oil from The X-Files if you prefer.  So, David is destroying the empire of the engineers just as referenced in the poem. He is also intent on destroying the other declining civilization - mankind. He references this in his conversation with Walter stating something along the lines of "why are they leaving earth, looking for colonies - they are in decline and shouldn't be allowed to restart."

However, there is a multiple layer of deep meaning in the Ozymandias choice:

1) David mistakenly claims that the poem is written by Byron. This is CRITICALLY IMPORTANT - on a surface level, it shows that David is not programmed correctly, which explains his many violent actions.

On a deeper level, it highlights David's totally incongruous actions. Byron was actually an outspoken critic of "automation" - he claimed it would hurt mankind. Yet, David admires Byron (albeit erroneously) - just as he kills Shaw, yet clearly loves her. He is like a robotic Jekyll and Hyde. He serves Weyland, yet undermines him. He kisses Walter, yet tries to destroy him. He kisses Daniels, before he attempts to murder her.

2) Percy Shelley, author of Ozymandias, was married to Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein. Frankenstein, of course, is about the horrors of creation, the horrors of Man playing God. This lines up thematically with the prequel series - when Man plays God (Weyland creates AI) horrible things happen.

What's important about the Shelley connection? Many claim that Percy may have co-written Frankenstein. Does anyone know what the original title of Frankenstein was - The Modern Prometheus

So again, the seeds of Covenant and its plot are thematically connected to Prometheus. To some extent, by giving the title Prometheus to the first prequel, we were destined to have the plot in Covenant - the engineers were never (thematically) going to make sense as creators of the Xenomorph. I know this may hurt the perceptions of some fans - but look at the threads - the prequel series is a futuristic Frankenstein or (Futuristic "Modern Prometheus").

It is mankind's actions (AI creation) that lead to the horrors. The Frankenstein monster (David) turns against its creator. Scott and crew just make the Frankenstein monster, David, become another creator in his act of revenge on mankind.

Part 3

Who is Prometheus?

We all know the tale of Prometheus by now. So who is Prometheus? I will contend that Elizabeth Shaw is in fact "Prometheus" - it is why she is the lead of the first prequel and why she must be deceased in the second prequel.


Prometheus, a god (creator species), gives the power of making fire (ability to start civilization) to mankind (created species). For this action, Prometheus is chained eternally and tortured.

Elizabeth Shaw, a human (creator species) gives android David (created species) power by reattaching his head and granting him access to the Engineer ship(ability to start civilization/create life).  For this action, Elizabeth Shaw is taxidermied/turned into a stuffed animal (chained eternally/tortured).

Conclusion (I know, finally)

So, all of the themes/references in Prometheus actually connect quite well in Covenant, despite the fact that the film feels more like an "Alien" movie. I'm impressed with how this was all done and wonder if this was planned all along or if they've been able to connect the dots as they go.

I've read some of the fan criticisms and respect the viewpoints. But from a thematic perspective, this was the direction they seemed to be heading in since Prometheus. Shaw was never going to be the lead for the entirety of the prequel series and David was always going to play the critical role in the creation story.

Now since the Xenomorph origin has been largely revealed and philosophical connections have been made, we are left with two major PLOT points moving forward:

1) How does the company learn about the Xenomorph and why/who wants it?

2) How does the original derelict/Space Jockey wind up in the condition of the original Alien?


Thoughts?