Alien 3 (1992) – Act Three Summary

Setting and Context

• Ellen Ripley is stranded at the penal colony on planetoid Fiorina "Fury" 161.
• She is the only survivor from the events of 'Aliens' (1986), having lost everyone she cared about.

Major Revelations

• Ripley discovers she is host to a Xenomorph Queen embryo after being spared by a Xenomorph Runner (aka "the Dragon").
• A failed attempt is made by Ripley and the inmates to trap and kill the Runner in a nuclear waste storage tank, resulting in many deaths.

Key Plot Points

Ripley's Discovery

• Ripley uses the Sulaco EEV's medical neuroscanner to confirm she is implanted with a Queen embryo.
• Reactivated android Bishop confirms Weyland-Yutani is aware of the Facehugger and a rescue ship is coming, intent on capturing both the Runner and Ripley.

Prisoners’ Plan

• Inmate Leonard Dillon convinces Ripley to help kill the Runner in exchange for her own death.
• Their plan: lure the Runner into the prison’s lead works foundry and drown it in hot lead.
• The prisoners work together to bait the Runner into the foundry, suffering casualties in the process.

The Lead Works Showdown

• After several deaths, Dillon and Ripley manage to trap the Runner in the mold by using themselves as bait.
• Dillon sacrifices himself to hold the Runner while Morse pours molten lead, seemingly killing the creature. Ripley finishes it off by activating sprinklers, causing the Xenomorph to shatter from thermal shock.

Ripley’s Final Sacrifice

• Weyland-Yutani’s team (led by Michael Bishop, designer of the Bishop android) arrives, claiming they wish to remove the Queen from Ripley safely.
• Ripley distrusts them and chooses to die rather than let them exploit the Xenomorph. She throws herself into the molten lead just as the Queen Chestburster emerges, ensuring its destruction.
• Ripley's final moments play over her original audio log from 1979's 'Alien'.

Significant Outcomes and Themes

• All known Xenomorphs are destroyed (within movie canon).
• Weyland-Yutani’s obsession with using Xenomorphs as bioweapons is confirmed; they are willing to lie and sacrifice anyone.
• The character Michael Bishop reveals that androids can be modeled after real people, raising questions about identity.
• The franchise’s tone shifts from space horror (Alien) to action thriller (Aliens) to tragic drama (Alien 3); Ripley becomes a tragic figure, forever shaped by her experiences.
• Introduction of a new Xenomorph type, the Runner (dog-host), demonstrates that Xenomorphs take traits from their hosts.

Core Takeaways

• Ripley’s sacrifice ends the Xenomorph threat (as far as the films’ canon goes).
• Weyland-Yutani’s pursuit of bioweapons is relentless and unethical.
• Android technology is advanced to the point of indistinguishability from humans.
• The nature and threat of the Xenomorph mutate depending on the host organism.
• 'Alien 3' concludes Ripley’s story as a tragedy—her life defined and ultimately ended by the alien menace.