Alien: Romulus’ Ending, Explained

Alien: Romulus has hit theaters, and director Fede Álvarez delivers a film that’s as intense and horrific as others in the franchise. It also draws on previous films in the canon and Roman mythology for a chilling and disturbing ending. Here’s Alien: Romulus’ ending, explained

What Happened at the End of Alien: Romulus?

Alien: Romulus centers around a group of workers from a mining colony who plan on breaking and entering into the abandoned Romulus science ship using their mining hauler, Corbelan. Hoping to get cryo pods so that they can survive the journey to a less hostile atmosphere and planet, their trip to the Romulus ends in tragedy. Unbeknownst to the crew, xenomorphs and facehuggers are on board, and they come from the remains of the original alien from the 1979 film found on the Nostromo. The usual chaos that fans expect of an Alien film ensues, and Alvarez cleverly takes bits and pieces that work (and some that don’t) from the previous Alien entries to create a terrifying experience.

Whether it’s the off-the-wall quick-cut action reminiscent of Aliens in one sequence or the plot structure of the original Alien film but with a heartfelt story of siblings at its center, there’s plenty for fans of the franchise to pick up on. However, it’s the third and final act of Alien: Romulus that features the most terrifying aspect of the worst Alien film (although, in this writer’s opinion, none of them are truly terrible), Alien: Resurrection. By that, I mean that the film ends with a terrifying human-xenomorph hybrid, much like Resurrection does. Moreover, the behavior and disturbing actions of the hybrid at the end of the film play into the title of Alien: Romulus as well.

Interestingly enough, the title of Alien: Romulus and the name of the ship on which the horror film takes place derive from Roman Mythology. In the film, Romulus is part of another ship known as Remus. These names come from the story of the twins Romulus and Remus, siblings in Roman mythology whose story leads to the foundation of Rome. This specific myth is symbolized by the image of two human figures breastfeeding on a she-wolf. That may sound odd and have nothing to do with the plot and ending of Alien: Romulus, but bear with us here.

In keeping with the theme of Romulus and Remus, the story of the film centers around siblings Rain (Cailee Spaeny) and Andy (David Jonsson), a human and android who see each other as brother and sister. A secondary player in the film is Isabela Merced’s character Kay, a young woman who happens to be Tyler’s pregnant sister, the man who is responsible for the whole heist. When the xenomorphs attack and kidnap Kay, she is heavily injured, so she decides to use an untested supposed “miracle cure” serum made from xenomorph DNA, created on the Romulus, before Rain and the others arrive. She does this so she can get to the Corbelan before the Romulus is destroyed by an asteroid belt impact.

Related: Ridley Scott Had Some Serious Notes for Alien: Romulus’ Director

Unfortunately, this is where the imagery of the Romulus myth and the Alien: Resurrection connection comes into play. After a narrow escape from the Romulus ship, Rain, Andy, and Kay seem to be the only survivors of the six original crew members who were with them. Although the film appears to be ending, the scene suddenly reveals Kay’s body and unborn baby transforming due to the serum. This results in her giving birth to an absolutely horrifying human-xenomorph creature with the anatomical structure and height of a full-grown xenomorph but the face of a human. The marketing of the film did an excellent job hiding this final horror, and it doesn’t disappoint.

The addition of this new xenomorph type is as unexpected as it is disgusting, and it only gets worse when the alien kills its mother, Kay. As Rain tries to track the creature down, she sees it tearing apart Kay’s body, as it implies it’s trying to breastfeed and sustain itself (again, harkening back to the imagery of the myth the film’s title comes from). It’s absolutely horrifying imagery that takes the human-xenomorph concept from Alien: Resurrection to a whole new level. Eventually, in a scene reminiscent of the original Alien film, Rain manages to kill the hybrid before it could become any more dangerous.

The film ends on a somber note, with just Rain and her android brother Andy alive, although he is critically injured by the hybrid. Rain freezes him in a cryo pod to try and keep him alive, and she also goes under in cryo sleep, hoping to survive the journey to a better planet. At the end of the day, Alien: Romulus takes the rich mythology of the films before it, as well as Roman mythology, to tell a grandiose and horrific Lovecraftian story about two siblings who would do anything to keep each other safe.

And that’s Alien: Romulus’ Ending, Explained.

Alien: Romulus is now playing in theaters.