Why was Lope such an uninteresting character?

[Salt The Fries]

Despite being a quite known actor and having a considerable screen time, I think Lope is one of the least interesting main characters in the entire franchise - even minor characters from Alien 3 or just about anyone from Resurrection had more personality. Was he always that way? Or was it a result of some script revision?

Does anyone else feel the same way? Did you feel like he added anything to the movie?

[SM]

Lope is hardly Robinson Crusoe here.  Apart from David and Walter, Oram is the most interesting character in Covenant. Possibly the only interesting character.  Which isn't great for Daniels.

The gay angle was dialled all the way down, and he didn't get to mourn Hallet.  But Oram barely got to mourn Karine too, and T was cracking jokes after they got back to the ship despite his wife being dead.  They had couples in the film, but often carry on as if the dead were barely just people they met once. If they had space to react a bit more to the deaths, it may have developed the characters a bit more.  How Daniels copes with Jacob's death is all we know, because we never saw what she was like before.

[aliens13]

Lope is hardly Robinson Crusoe here.  Apart from David and Walter, Oram is the most interesting character in Covenant. Possibly the only interesting character.  Which isn't great for Daniels.

The gay angle was dialled all the way down, and he didn't get to mourn Hallet.  But Oram barely got to mourn Karine too, and T was cracking jokes after they got back to the ship despite his wife being dead.  They had couples in the film, but often carry on as if the dead were barely just people they met once. If they had space to react a bit more to the deaths, it may have developed the characters a bit more.  How Daniels copes with Jacob's death is all we know, because we never saw what she was like before.

I can't remember T doing jokes after knowing his wife it's dead 🤔 yes in the first half of the movie but no latter of knowing that

[SM]

Gag about Phantom of the Opera while Lope was getting treated. He had a brief scene with Daniels while she was cooking eggs and they shared a hug but the only real reaction we got was when Daniels told him Faris was dead. And to be fair it was a good scene, but there's an overall feeling as if all the death of actual loved ones was quickly forgotten. Faris was one of Daniels closest friends and there's really no reaction at the time or later.

And Lope got done pretty dirty by making it that far then dying off screen.

And I say all this as someone who likes the film more than most.

[The Cruentus]

It doesn't help that the introductions to the character is basically a short film that is seperate from the movie. People should not have to watch a seperate vid to get an understanding of the characters in the movie (regardless whether or not the short actually adds anything)

[Salt The Fries]

Lope is hardly Robinson Crusoe here.  Apart from David and Walter, Oram is the most interesting character in Covenant. Possibly the only interesting character.  Which isn't great for Daniels.

The gay angle was dialled all the way down, and he didn't get to mourn Hallet.  But Oram barely got to mourn Karine too, and T was cracking jokes after they got back to the ship despite his wife being dead.  They had couples in the film, but often carry on as if the dead were barely just people they met once. If they had space to react a bit more to the deaths, it may have developed the characters a bit more.  How Daniels copes with Jacob's death is all we know, because we never saw what she was like before.

Karin and Farris were interesting characters that unfortunately played lesser roles (they're excellent actresses otherwise), T was mostly for comedic relief but also kind of evolved during the movie somewhat, becoming a pillar for Daniels. Oram was the single most interesting character (outside David/Walter) and because of his loss, he started bonding with Daniels which was useful for the dramatic purposes of the movie.

Lope was just a reliable, quiet military type and added nothing for others to interact with. Even Ricks and Upworth were shown to have distinctive personalities and actually had some good comments about what was going on.

The couples theme was interesting but I think ultimately heavily underutilized. If movie was allowed to be 2.5h then maybe, along with all antagonistic exchanges between AIs, it could've been more fleshed out in this respect.

[BigDaddyJohn]

Upworth and Ricks were totally underdevelopped though. They mainly are there for the shower scene.

[SM]

It doesn't help that the introductions to the character is basically a short film that is seperate from the movie. People should not have to watch a seperate vid to get an understanding of the characters in the movie (regardless whether or not the short actually adds anything)

Last Supper doesn't introduce the characters for the film, nor does it help us understand them (particularly since two main characters in Tennessee and Karine say things that are out of character). The whole thing is fun but completely disposable.

The film introduces everyone it needs to ie. Daniels, Walter, and Oram just fine.  Nearly everyone else is pretty much just along for the ride.  The problem is that as a lead character, Daniels just isn't that interesting. Waterson did a good job with what she was given, but she wasn't given much.

[BlueMarsalis79]

I actually hate The Last Supper, it sucks.

[Salt The Fries]

It doesn't help that the introductions to the character is basically a short film that is seperate from the movie. People should not have to watch a seperate vid to get an understanding of the characters in the movie (regardless whether or not the short actually adds anything)

Last Supper doesn't introduce the characters for the film, nor does it help us understand them (particularly since two main characters in Tennessee and Karine say things that are out of character). The whole thing is fun be completely disposable.

The film introduces everyone it needs to ie. Daniels, Walter, and Oram just fine.  Nearly everyone else is pretty much just along for the ride.  The problem is that as a lead character, Daniels just isn't that interesting. Waterson did a good job with what she was given, but she wasn't given much.

She wasn't given much, that's true. The only things that elevated her as character were exchanges with Oram and Walter. Conceptually, she kind of worked as a reluctant, emergent hero with Cassandra complex.

[Nightmare Asylum]

I actually hate The Last Supper, it sucks.

Happy Good Friday!

I agree. I'm all for all the other viral shorts, but really detested that one.

[Immortan Jonesy]

Oram is better than Fifield and David combined?

...by the way, the head is the trully gem character out there🤓👉👈

[SiL]

David in Prometheus was the only interesting character in either film, fight me.

[The Cruentus]

I would argue he was less interesting in Covenant as he became far less ambiguous.

[Immortan Jonesy]

aye, the Dr. Moreau-Frankenstein hybrid gothic Bond-like villain from Covi doesn't quite work as a satisfying payoff for the more mysterious David's presence in Promi. Although it works as its own thing...almost like a 'what if' scenario.

When you watch Raised By Wolves, with everything and Dariusz Wolski's cinematography *no less*, it seems like a blood relative/spiritual successor to Ridley Scott's Alien prequel narrative; eerie-eldritch AIs, creation, existential horror, monsters, ancient mythology, science vs. Religion...etc.