Alien: Romulus’s Most Baffling Plot Holes

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2024 sees the release of “Romulus,” the latest addition to the highly acclaimed “Alien” series. Directed by Fede Alvarez, this chilling sci-fi horror film follows a group of young miners from a distant planet who seek refuge at a faraway colony. To extend their journey, they dock their ship at an abandoned space station in search of more fuel for their cryopods. However, the station was once home to an accident involving Xenomorphs, leaving no survivors. Unfortunately, a stray facehugger triggers the birth of a new Xenomorph, leading to the gruesome demise of Rain’s (Cailee Spaeny) crewmates one by one.

The film “Alien: Romulus” is set 20 years following the Nostromo catastrophe from the 1979 film “Alien,” and approximately 37 years before the events in the 1986 sequel, “Aliens.” Despite offering numerous chills and grotesque visuals as the facehuggers and Xenomorphs pursue the protagonists, this movie has several inconsistencies that challenge some significant storylines.

Despite the fact that Alien: Romulus has received praise from many viewers, there are three inconsistencies in its storyline that continue to perplex fans, which unfortunately keep it from reaching the same heights as the franchise’s top-tier titles.

How Were Rain & Her Crew Members Able to Leave LV-410 So Easily?

In “Alien: Romulus,” I, as an admirer, find it intriguing that the story sets clear boundaries regarding space travel to and from LV-410, yet my character, Rain, along with others, manages to bypass these restrictions effortlessly when they decide to escape. They seize their opportunity and board the hauler Corbelan IV, initiating a lengthy nine-year journey to Yvaga III. Interestingly, there are no apparent hindrances as they depart from LV-410, leaving viewers puzzled about the purpose of highlighting such strict travel regulations if the characters’ departure was going to be so unencumbered. While fans of “Alien” know that the real challenges arise when a facehugger implants a Xenomorph into a human, “Alien: Romulus” seems to hint at difficulties for its main characters leaving their planet, which appears unnecessary and confusing since it doesn’t seem to accurately reflect the story’s events. Fortunately, this inconsistency doesn’t persist throughout the film, but it does leave one pondering why such a plot point was included.

Why Was the Renaissance Space Station Abandoned for So Long?

Upon the arrival of Rain, Andy, Tyler, Kay, Bjorn, and Navarro at the Renaissance space station, they discover it severely damaged and deserted due to a Xenomorph-triggered incident. Operated by the influential corporation Weyland-Yutani, Renaissance housed valuable resources and knowledge that could be salvaged post-catastrophe. This leaves one questioning why Weyland-Yutani failed to dispatch an exploration or recovery team to investigate the damage and gather research materials – like the vials of black goo, also known as Z-01, a liquid compound derived from Xenomorph DNA, meant to transform humans into optimal space-dwelling organisms. It’s plausible that news of the Renaissance space station massacre had not yet reached Weyland-Yutani during the time of Alien: Romulus, but it’s certainly peculiar that such a forlorn structure would remain undisturbed for so long, given its orbit around LV-410.

[MORE: Alien: Romulus Prequel Reveals What Happened on Renaissance Station]

How Did the Crew of the Renaissance Produce So Many Facehuggers?

Not long after the Corbelan IV has docked at the station, they stumble upon numerous facehuggers stored in cold-storage within one of the labs. In the sequel Alien: Romulus, it’s shown that Renaissance’s scientists somehow managed to recreate the Xenomorph responsible for slaughtering the Nostromo crew in the original Alien film. However, it is never made clear how they achieved this reverse-bioengineering process. It seems that the Weyland-Yutani researchers didn’t have a queen Xenomorph, which lays the eggs hatching into facehuggers, so the origin of the transformation of regular Xenomorph DNA into facehuggers remains unexplained.

To make the storyline of “Alien: Romulus” follow the pattern of other Alien films, it’s essential to include a facehugger and chestburster sequence to set the action in motion, however, this particular instance demands a bit of imaginative acceptance. The Alien series thrives when its narratives blend terror with thoughtful science fiction, but unfortunately, Romulus didn’t fully achieve that balance.

Watching Alien: Romulus offers an exhilarating viewing adventure, filled with questionable developments. However, it strays significantly from the intricate and meticulous style that characterizes its most popular installments.

Alien: Romulus is currently available to stream on Hulu.

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2025-03-21 00:15