Alien: Romulus is the latest sequel to Ridley Scott’s beloved film Foreigner universe, taking place between the events of the first and second films. The story follows a young girl named Rain who teams up with her scavenger friends to attack an abandoned bus outside their planet’s orbit, where they come into contact with various iterations of the deadly Xenomorphs. Rain is one of the Foreigner best protagonists in the series, but it’s her relationship with her brother Andy that really sets this sequel apart from the others.
Andy is a self-programmed android who was repurposed by Rain’s father as the young scavenger’s surrogate brother, and the two have an inseparable bond at the beginning of Alien: Romulus. However, Much of the film’s narrative revolves around Andy’s adaptability and corruption at the hands of other androids.particularly those who have been programmed with the selfish, capitalist Weyland-Yutani protocols. Its changeable guidelines allow some of the Alien: Romulus‘ scarier scenes as he embodies the film’s main themes of corruption and selfishness.
Andy’s original prime directive is to keep out the rain
Android was programmed to protect your sister
At the beginning of Alien: RomulusAndy’s main directive is to protect Rain at all costs. This was the protocol his father gave him shortly before his death, and it is a principle the android has obeyed ever since. He doesn’t care about his own safetyoften putting himself in danger to ensure his sister’s safety; this is proven at the beginning of the film, when Andy allows himself to be attacked to avoid any escalation of danger.
The exact wording of Rain’s father’s protocol is very important, as it relates perfectly to the main theme of the story, moral ambiguity – it’s not always clear what “protecting” The rain must result, so that the android has some essence of autonomy when deciding its next moves. This becomes extremely important later in the story, as it is this autonomy that causes Andy to move away from his prime directive and develop his own moral compass. When the Xenomorphs on Romulus Station cause trouble for Andy and Rain, their goals become more confusing.
Rook gives Andy a new prime directive to help Weyland-Yutani
Rook is more concerned about the mission than his safety
Upon boarding the Romulus, Rain and his friends discover the remains of another old android Weyland-Yutani who aids them in their battle against the Xenomorphs. Rook gives them important information on how to kill the creatures, warning them against mistakes his own team has made. However, Rook’s true motives become clearer when he inserts his own control chip into Andy’s drive.giving android a new primary directive: “Complete the mission.”
This directive completely changes Andy’s purposeworking alongside his newfound sense of morality to cause more trouble for Rain and his friends. For example, when Kay is being attacked by the Xenomorph, Andy calculates that the risks associated with saving her are too high and allows her to be taken by the creature; This is when Rain first notices the changes in his brother and becomes wary of his possible deception.
The rain changes Andy’s prime directive to help him too
The protagonist brings Andy back to his original self
At the end of Alien: RomulusRain discovers that Rook’s control chip is what is causing Andy to act so conflicted, and she restores his original chip with a slightly altered directive: “do what’s best for us.” This gives Andy even more free will and autonomy over his own actions, letting him think for himself and relieving him of the guidelines that have controlled him in the past. Instead of thinking only about Rain, or exclusively about the mission, Andy can do whatever he thinks is best for them – is an important message about the futility of corporate greed and selfishness.
Andy’s wavering directives are a crucial aspect of Alien: Romulusallowing the film to deeply explore the concept of mechanized morality and its role in the future of humanity.
Thanks to Rain’s new directive, Andy returns to save the day. Alien: Romulus‘final moments. He intervenes in Rain’s fight against the Xenomorph, killing him at the last moment when the ship collides with the rings of a nearby planet. He also fights alongside Rain and Kay after the latter gives birth to a human-Xenomorph hybrid, atoning for his previous actions against Kay. Andy’s wavering directives are a crucial aspect of Alien: Romulusallowing the film to deeply explore the concept of mechanized morality and its role in the future of humanity.