David the creator

[Voodoo Magic]

The reason why cocooned victims likely remember is that they have not been sedated at all, Verheiden was cocooned and conscious while having a hugger on him,  it is possible a facehugger won't sedate cocooned victims because it is unnecessary, the hosts can't escape or fight back.

I think they can fight back. They can shake their head. Force their mouths closed before penetration. They can bite down on the facehugger if penetrated, and if wounding it, unbeknownst to the host, release acid blood and kill the host. I think I'd try anything to fight the situation.

But since the facehugger is going to die anyway, it has absolutely no reason, no reason at all, not to sedate the host.

[The Old One]

I agree.

But even without the knockout
"toxin" they can still strangle
a host into submission if it's
necessary.

[Necronomicon II]

Granted the hosts have necks/an esophagus, another nifty pre-adapted feature of the 'hugger.

[Voodoo Magic]

Granted the hosts have necks/an esophagus, another nifty pre-adapted feature of the 'hugger.

[Necronomicon II]

 

Unrelated note, I love Franco and I don't actually know why. 

[The Cruentus]

The reason why cocooned victims likely remember is that they have not been sedated at all, Verheiden was cocooned and conscious while having a hugger on him,  it is possible a facehugger won't sedate cocooned victims because it is unnecessary, the hosts can't escape or fight back.

I think they can fight back. They can shake their head. Force their mouths closed before penetration. They can bite down on the facehugger if penetrated, and if wounding it, unbeknownst to the host, release acid blood and kill the host. I think I'd try anything to fight the situation.

But since the facehugger is going to die anyway, it has absolutely no reason, no reason at all, not to sedate the host.

But none of that is going to stop a facehugger. Shaking your head will do nothing because the grip is too strong and if you keep your mouth shut, the tail will constrict or wait until you need to take a breath, also one of the novels mention how biting down on the tube thing is not really possible as its too strong. I think it was cold forge actually.
If the host becomes too problematic, it may sedate them but as they are cocooned and not going anywhere and won't be able to resist a hugger indefinitely, sedation becomes redundant.

[Voodoo Magic]

The reason why cocooned victims likely remember is that they have not been sedated at all, Verheiden was cocooned and conscious while having a hugger on him,  it is possible a facehugger won't sedate cocooned victims because it is unnecessary, the hosts can't escape or fight back.

I think they can fight back. They can shake their head. Force their mouths closed before penetration. They can bite down on the facehugger if penetrated, and if wounding it, unbeknownst to the host, release acid blood and kill the host. I think I'd try anything to fight the situation.

But since the facehugger is going to die anyway, it has absolutely no reason, no reason at all, not to sedate the host.

But none of that is going to stop a facehugger. Shaking your head will do nothing because the grip is too strong and if you keep your mouth shut, the tail will constrict or wait until you need to take a breath, also one of the novels mention how biting down on the tube thing is not really possible as its too strong. I think it was cold forge actually.
If the host becomes too problematic, it may sedate them but as they are cocooned and not going anywhere and won't be able to resist a hugger indefinitely, sedation becomes redundant.

While I personally only accept movie canon, a host struggling with the facehugger, causing the facehugger increased difficulty, futile or not, is not sedation redundancy. It's illogical for the facehugger to endure any of it, when it is going to die anyway, and has absolutely no reason, no reason at all, not to sedate the host.

[Local Trouble]

Maybe it's not chemical sedation at all.  I'm not a doctor, but the facehugger may be capable of rapidly asphyxiating a resistant host into unconsciousness and then regulating its air supply so it remains comatose until the embryo implantation is completed. 

This may explain Kane's short-term memory loss and bad dreams.  It may also explain the variable duration of the implantation process from movie to movie.  If the host sustains any injuries that delay its recovery, then it may be endangered if the facehugger were to detach prematurely.

[Voodoo Magic]

Maybe it's not chemical sedation at all.  I'm not a doctor, but the facehugger may be capable of rapidly asphyxiating a resistant host into unconsciousness and then regulating its air supply so it remains comatose until the embryo implantation is completed. 

This may explain Kane's short-term memory loss and bad dreams.  It may also explain the variable duration of the implantation process from movie to movie.  If the host sustains any injuries that delay its recovery, then it may be endangered if the facehugger were to detach prematurely.

No toxin, huh? Interesting theory!

[windebieste]

Kane's embryo implantation may have happened immediately. 

The hugger may have then remained on his face and kept him alive because his suit had been breached.   

If the hugger had just left him straight away, he would have been dead by the time Dallas and Lambert got him back up from the silo.

So, it sat on his face until it was safe to leave.

-Windebieste.

[Local Trouble]

No toxin, huh? Interesting theory!

It's possible.  Why invent a toxin if the facehugger already has total control over its victim's respiration?

The hugger may have then remained on his face and kept him alive because his suit had been breached.

That too.  They're like miniature, biomechanical atmosphere processors.

[Huggs]

The hugger may have then remained on his face and kept him alive because his suit had been breached.   

Interesting. But it was on the Nostromo for a good while. Implantation always seemed to take some time, until we got that mach 3 hugging in Covenant. Then again, the little bugger had been waiting for years.

[Local Trouble]

If embryo implantation can be done quickly, there's no reason to believe that Newt wasn't the one that got hugged in Alien 3 after all (as was intended per the script).

Same for Burke in his deleted scene and everyone in AvP, if that even matters.

[Huggs]

If instant implantation is possible, does that mean all the other ones were just looking for a good time?

[Local Trouble]

As I suggested, a struggling victim may require more force to subdue which may result in injury.  If that happens, the facehugger may deem it prudent to remain attached longer than otherwise necessary in order to ensure the host's survival and recovery.