Quote from: oberonqa on May 10, 2014, 02:37:53 PM
Frankly the entire mission was a bust from it's inception due to Burke being there representing corporate interests. The team basically disregarded Ripley's report (I have to question if they even read the disc that was referenced in the briefing). Gormon being there with more experience, as others in the thread have posted, probably wouldn't have changed the outcome. They were not prepared for what they were walking into and the one person on the mission who could have put the brakes on the mission to ensure a higher chance of success was a greedy suit who saw the entire thing as an opportunity to climb a few rungs in the corporate ladder.
Heck... it's entirely possible Burke may have had a hand in getting Gormon assigned to the unit specifically because of his inexperience and therefore willing compliance with maintaining a good relationship between the USCM and W:Y. A more experienced and veteran CO would have been more cautious during the initial sweep... probably only sending a small team into the nest instead of the entire unit... and would have known about the danger to the cooling units from weapons prior to the unit entering the structure (shake and bake colony, remember - atmosphere processors weren't a new thing) and would have compensated for the change to the rules of engagement accordingly.
A better question to ask would be what if Burke hadn't gone along?
This is a great post with some keen observations. I think that's very likely that Burke may have either had a hand in Gorman's assignment, or chose him and the 2/9th deliberately because he was a by-the-books, somewhat skittish rookie Lieutenant.
The issue that no one took Ripley seriously only compounded everything. Since we're discussing this, I have to mention that Apone was as much at fault as Gorman. Platoon Sergeants are usually the strong leaders on the ground, and the Lieutenants rely on them heavily in a real combat unit.
It's common with platoons that the PSG (Platoon Sergeant) has the most perceived authority regardless of rank. Lieutenants come and go, are constantly shifting around and getting promoted/demoted, while the PSG stays with the platoon for much longer. They know their men, and they are the fighting leader on the line while the Lt. is normally huddled with the command group, radio operator/antenna farm, FO, etc... coordinating the larger operations.
Apone put up a bit of a fight, but I feel that was a little unrealistic. He was portrayed as a very experienced, very aggressive leader that knew what he was doing, so his decision to just roll over to Gorman without any real argument or other suggestion was kind of weak.
Though it's a testament to the strength of the film as a whole that these scenarios are very believable. Everyone was spooked by the Alien itself, even the hardest veterans in their own way, and their lapses in judgment were relatable. I think the film is so well done in that regard, convincing in an area where most films fail.
