'Covenant' title meaning

[Molecules]

Unsure if this has been raised before, but it would be interesting to get some forum speculation on this.

The dictionary definition of 'covenant' is broadly 'an agreement'. Given the previous film in this cycle, and all the themes Ridley is repeatedly quoted as favouring in his autumn years, it's a no-brainer that it's a continuation of the established Biblical overtones:
"An agreement which brings about a relationship of commitment between God and his people."

Aside from the mass-marketing sop of the 'Alien' prefix (which I'd be surprised if Ridley had always intended), I think that like Prometheus the title has multiple applications. Whereas in that story, David opportunistically grabbed the flame of creation ("the trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts"), outwitting his masters as they were punished for their hubris, perhaps here the Covenant refers to a deal between David and the Engineers of Paradise? If so it would surely be one that asserts a perverse supremacy over them. Or perhaps the 'Alien' prefix is actually not as clumsy as it seems, and it is David's covenant with his creations? Either way, it's sinister.

One angle I'm looking forward to seeing revealed is David's final intent - what is the driving motivation behind his actions? I can't believe he is simply an villainous nihilist bent on destroying the destroyers with a 'perfect organism', or a deluded megalomaniac (although the Juggernaut's alpine mountaintop placement ingeniously suggests a Dracula's castle or Frankenstein's laboratory)... Maybe he is all of these things, an avenging angel, a Colonel Kurtz, but it seems a bit short-sighted. I liked that David, supposedly a slave in body and soul, was paralleled with Lawrence as a kind of liberator of his race (disregarding the general dodginess of the Lean film in its history and racial politics). I wonder if any trace of this will be left in Covenant, but based on what we know so far it looks like thing have escalated a few notches. Maybe he has become more of a Lucifer, lashing out against his Father.


... And speaking of covenants-as-God's law, this mural that decayed in the head-room's changing atmosphere has never left my mind. Are we any closer to determining if the figure on the left perhaps depicts the 'black goo gene' race?



More detailed breakdown of covenants ('often include the slaughter of animals as a symbol of their significance'): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covenant_(biblical)#Meaning_of_the_term

[Darth Vile]

Well there's a clear and direct link to the Ark of the Covenant, which features on the ships badge. So I'd imagine that it links (figuratively speaking) to Gods will/laws, and our adhearance to them. What happens when you break his law?

[rabidranger]

Just as Prometheus was an allusion to the theft of something powerful from the "gods" (black goo) Covenant probably has a similar context. Who is the agreement between though?

[whiterabbit]

The Covenant can also be a weapon.

[Enoch]

Covenant ultimately is - TO BE FREE OR LIBERATED.
Its a state of mind. an agreement, covenant with self, so I believe its
an allusion closely related to David's character.

[acrediblesource]

I believe anything that happens with Walter, began with David and as the movie progresses we start to see Walter's ultimate goals fall in line with Ash. Somewhat very two faced, hidden agenda kind of theme. Hence his covenant for the alien is what the synthetics wanted all along. We get a more substantial view of what every Alien movie will tie in with: the concept of Mortality of the Human and immortality of the Synthetic being. Who is god, who is the true pure creator, which ultimately isn't human at all.

[Enoch]

So... create your creator.

DAVID.

[acrediblesource]

exactomundo!

So... create your creator.

DAVID.

[Molecules]

Well there's a clear and direct link to the Ark of the Covenant, which features on the ships badge. So I'd imagine that it links (figuratively speaking) to Gods will/laws, and our adhearance to them. What happens when you break his law?

In my excitement had totally forgotten about the Covenant also being the colony ship - derp.

I wonder where Ridley et al draw the line on discussions of all these ironically-named vessels. 'Nostromo' makes sense (a brave seafarer), but surely old Weyland was setting himself up for a fall by greenlighting 'USCSS Prometheus' - they bang on about it enough in the film.

As for Covenant you have the two-by-two of the ship's couples: "And so it was to be, that after the waters receded, Noah commanded all the animals to 'Go forth and multiply.' "
But as acrediblesource and Enoch point out - the Good Ship Facehugger Fodder is undoubtedly going to be fulfilling a covenant of a different kind... David has seen just how mortal and self-destructive the Engineers are, and has inherited humanity's dogged determination to find a perfect being to believe in (an early influence may have been observing Shaw's dreams, and her faith arising from grief and awareness of human decay).

The Covenant can also be a weapon.

I can think of multiple ways to interpret this The writer of yer typical covenant almost certainly has the upper hand in their agenda. And (again) the idea that this colony ship would be dubbed 'Covenant' reveals a typical supremacist view of the galaxy. What if the planet you're 'settling' isn't compatible with you, or it hosts people with other ideas?

[Enoch]

What if its a Covenant between David and Walter...
And that switch... where seemingly Walter killed David,
but in fact its other way around.

PERHAPS some connection with this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Thomas_Covenant

Some elements of this novels are similar to those found in Richard Wagner's epic "Ring Cycle" and in earlier Celtic literature, but with some of the values inverted.

All other titles of the ships in Alien Universe were actually derived from literature e.g. Joseph Conrad Nostromo,  Narcissus, Sulaco, http://avp.wikia.com/wiki/Joseph_Conrad

Prometheus is in fact an allusion to humanity and David - perhaps derived from original myth or maybe from  Mary Shelley's novell Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Maybe its even derived from her husbands (Percy Bysshe Shelley) famous four-act lyrical drama Prometheus Unbound", there are even some mentions of doppelgangers there.. and we know about David and Walter.

[cliffhanger]

yeah that's all fun and games, and interesting, but the covenant crew has a logo of 2 cherubs facing eachother like the biblical references of said object [arc of the covenant]. also, prometheus was a titan, and in the additional material to the prometheus movie, Peter Weyland is facing TED 2050 or something like that and telling the tale of the titan prometheus and his quest for something bigger, so no. it's not about the literature primarily.

[Enoch]

And what is the meaning of cherubs... its not quite like biblical version
because they are holding planet instead of ark.

[Molecules]

cliffhanger - I agree that these things can be (more often than not - futilely) overanalysed, but to a certain type of person this is enjoyable. Also, in cinema (not to mention Ridley's back catalogue) you will find a tendency for screenwriters and directors to think these things through; it may not be of direct relevance to the plot but they acknowledge layers of allegory or literary parallel or whatever and sometimes roll with it in a superficial way (like the Conrad stuff).

Speaking of lit, somebody on the board mentioned Mad Professor David as belonging to that Dr. Moreau heritage, which I quite liked. Some of the quotes in here ('pain gets needless') could be attributed to David or his 'quest' https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/68894-the-island-of-dr-moreau

Here is the Covenant emblem with cherubim for reference. I know people have tried to break this down before though. There's plenty to go on here (http://thetorah.com/the-cherubim/), I'd be surprised if Walt n' Dave didn't cross somebody's mind when they were spitballing tongue-in-cheek designs.



Incidentally, doesn't this support the theory that the Covenant was heading for LV-426 (or another moon in that system), before being diverted to Paradise by the Juggernaut's distress beacon?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Thomas_Covenant

Some elements of this novels are similar to those found in Richard Wagner's epic "Ring Cycle" and in earlier Celtic literature, but with some of the values inverted.

Prometheus is in fact an allusion to humanity and David - perhaps derived from original myth or maybe from  Mary Shelley's novell Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Maybe its even derived from her husbands (Percy Bysshe Shelley) famous four-act lyrical drama Prometheus Unbound", there are even some mentions of doppelgangers there.. and we know about David and Walter.

The first is a stretch but I love it. In the 'Furious Gods' making-of, apart from getting a sense of the contradictory hell/challenges Ridley was creating for the screenwriters and designers, you did see him just snatching up references on a whim - he was looking over someone's shoulder and asked if he could borrow the 'Forever War' comic, from which he nabbed a bunch of tech/ship designs I think?

Deliberately or not, this matches up with our story: "Shelley's play concerns Prometheus' release from captivity, but unlike Aeschylus' version, there is no reconciliation between Prometheus and Jupiter (Zeus). Instead, Jupiter is abandoned by his supportive elements and falls from power, which allows Prometheus to be released".

[Enoch]

Incidentally, doesn't this support the theory that the Covenant was heading for LV-426 (or another moon in that system), before being diverted to Paradise by the Juggernaut's distress beacon?

Oho, yes...I also thought that.
The constellation of the planets on the crew patch suggest that!

[Molecules]

Oho, yes...I also thought that.
The constellation of the planets on the crew patch suggest that!

Yup! And if that's the case it throws open a whole new avenue, maybe the LV426 Derelict really was the Juggernaut after all, carrying David's final solution, etc. Enough to make some fans angry, that's for sure...