TV - Movies
The Ending Of
Prometheus
Explained
By DUNCAN CARSON
Set decades before “Alien,” “Prometheus” is essentially Ridley Scott's version of “2001: A Space Odyssey.” It contains big ideas about the origins of humanity, evolution, and faith that Scott had been mulling over for years before finally getting to make it, so it’s natural to feel a bit confused when watching it for the first time.
The opening scene of the movie shows a member of the pale humanoid race known as the Engineers arriving on Earth, watching his spaceship depart before drinking a dark liquid that breaks down his DNA. We later learn that he had been sent to dissolve himself into the building blocks of humanity, making the Engineers the definitive creators of the human species.
After creating humanity, the Engineers left behind a star map to their base in ancient cave paintings. When the crew of the Prometheus arrive at said base, they discover that the Engineers there had actually planned to destroy humanity before all dying, but the reasons for this change of plan are never made clear.
Compounding the already fog-like impenetrability of "Prometheus" are the strange actions of David, a synthetic android who seems rather antagonistic towards humans. It transpires that David has been serving a hidden master the entire film — Peter Weyland, the trillionaire CEO of Weyland Corp who wants to obtain the secret of eternal life from the Engineers.