Original artwork, not a still
We'd better get back, 'cause it'll be dark soon, and they mostly come at night...mostly.
— Aliens · 1986
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
A child says what the grown-up soldiers do not dare to: the monsters hunt in the dark, and she has survived because she knows it. The last word, 'mostly', is the dry hedge of a girl who has seen too much to promise anything. Fans quote it as a perfect bit of understatement whenever a rule has an exception nobody wants to test, and it shows why Newt, not the Marines, is the one who knows the colony.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for AliensShow the scene
The marines' dropship has just crashed into the colony's processing station, stranding the survivors on LV-426. While Hudson melts down with "Game over, man!" and Burke sarcastically suggests building a fire and singing a couple of songs, Newt, who survived alone in the colony's air ducts, quietly points out the practicalities. The group then barricades itself inside the colony and counts what weapons it has left.
Sources (3)
- Wikiquote: Aliens (film)Dialogue section, after the dropship crashReference checked
- Wikipedia: Aliens (film)Plot sectionReference checked
- Xenopedia: Rebecca "Newt" JordenBiography, Survival and rescueReference checked
Context reviewed
